With the movie set to open in just over two months, and with rumblings of behind-the-scenes battles between the director and studio having quieted, Darren Aronofsky is putting the final touches on his Biblical saga “Noah.” And today he announced a new cast member, hitting Twitter saying: “just added the legend nick nolte as the watcher samyaza in #noah . long live the nephilim! it was an honor.”
So who is Samyaza? Thanks to Wikipedia, we’ve learned that he’s a fallen angel (sometimes referred to as Satan), who is part of group of angels know as Watchers “that are consumed with lust for mortal women” and eventually “begot giant offspring (in Genesis called Nephilim or ‘fallen ones’ in Hebrew) that dominated and feasted upon humans during the days of Enoch.” Uh, awesome/WTF. Consider us even more intrigued by “Noah” which opens on March 28.
In other news, THR reports that Jonas Cuaron is gearing up his sophomore feature directorial effort “Desierto,” and has added Jeffrey Dean Morgan to the cast that includes Gael Garcia Bernal. The film will tell the tale of “a group of illegal immigrants, one of which is played by Bernal, who try to cross the border but run afoul of a man (Morgan) who has taken up border patrol duties in his own racist hands.” Production begins in February.
Lastly, Ethan Hawke and Asa Butterfield have joined the previously announced Hailee Steinfield in the adaptation of Eleanor Henderson’s critically acclaimed novel “Ten Thousands Saints.” Set in the sometimes glamorous – and often gritty – East Village Punk scene of 1987, “Ten Thousands Saints” is a coming of age story following a young man, Jude. Sent to live with his estranged father in Manhattan, the tale follows Jude on an unforgettable journey where he discovers love, music and forges a new connection with dad Les. Bob Pulcini and Shari Berman (“American Splendor“) will direct.