Epic Mohammad movie in pipeline

[Uthman]

An epic movie about Islam's Prophet Mohammad is in the pipeline, backed by a producer of the Lord of the Rings.

American Barrie Osborne, who also produced The Matrix, told Reuters the film would be an "international epic" aimed at "bridging cultures".

In accordance with Islamic rules, the Prophet cannot be depicted on screen. Images of the Prophet are considered blasphemous by Muslims.

The $150m (£91m) English language film should go into production in 2011.

2010 talks

Qatari media company Alnoor Holdings, which is behind the plans, said it wanted to attract the "best international talent" for the film.

"The film will educate people about the true meaning of Islam," Osborne said.

Raja Sharif, vice president of international projects at Alnoor, told Reuters he expected to conclude deals next year.

Qatar, the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, is aiming to become the cultural centre of the United Arab Emirates.

Source

[Uthman]

Matrix producer plans Muhammad biopic

Barrie Osborne, part of the Oscar-winning team behind the Lord of the Rings films, says the new production 'will educate people about the true meaning of Islam'

Producer Barrie Osborne cast Keanu Reeves as the messiah in The Matrix and helped defeat the dark lord Sauron in his record-breaking Lord of the Rings trilogy. Now the Oscar-winning American film-maker is set to embark on his most perilous quest to date: making a big-screen biopic of the prophet Muhammad.

Budgeted at around $150m (£91.5m), the film will chart Muhammad's life and examine his teachings. Osborne told Reuters that he envisages it as "an international epic production aimed at bridging cultures. The film will educate people about the true meaning of Islam".

Osborne's production will reportedly feature English-speaking Muslim actors. It is backed by the Qatar-based production company Alnoor Holdings, who have installed the Muslim scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi to oversee all aspects of the shoot. In accordance with Islamic law, the prophet will not actually be depicted on screen.

"The film will shed light on the Prophet's life since before his birth to his death," Ahmed Abdullah Al-Mustafa, Alnoor's chairman, told al-Jazeera. "It will highlight the humanity of Prophet Muhammad."

The as-yet-untitled picture is due to go before the cameras in 2011. It remains to be seen, however, whether it will be beaten to cinemas by another Muhammad-themed drama. Late last year, producer Oscar Zoghbi announced plans to remake The Message, his controversial 1976 drama that sparked a fatal siege by protesters in Washington DC. The new version, entitled The Messenger of Peace, is currently still in development.

Source

[Supreme]

I'm sure it's unallowed in Islam to portray Muhammed isn't it?

[Uthman]

Greetings,

I'm sure it's unallowed in Islam to portray Muhammed isn't it?

That's correct. In the second article, it says:

In accordance with Islamic law, the prophet will not actually be depicted on screen.

[Supreme]

Greetings, That's correct. In the second article, it says:

Oh, OK. Thanks. I missed that part.

[OurIslamic]

Do you think the movie will be historically accurate?

[Nσσя'υℓ Jαииαн]

^^Don't know..I hope they do it well if they do...InshaAllah...

[~Raindrop~]

^^Don't know..I hope they do it well if they do...InshaAllah...

InshaAllah. If theyre going to all that trouble, the least they can do is make it accurate.

[Nσσя'υℓ Jαииαн]

^^Yea...but we won't know till we see I guess lol :/

[OurIslamic]

I'm just afraid that they are going to make Muslims look bad in the eyes of everyone else, which would give our religion an even worse reputation.

[Cabdullahi]

Barrie Osborne is good at what he does with the title productions of the matrix and lord of the rings so on the production part there is no question about him delivering but question marks are on the authenticity of the story

[Raphael]

Barrie Osborne is good at what he does with the title productions of the matrix and lord of the rings so on the production part there is no question about him delivering but question marks are on the authenticity of the story

In Hollywood, "based on a true story" usually means that some of the names are kind of similar sounding.

[Sampharo]

If Qatar is paying for it, then they're calling the shots.

I didn't understand this though:

Qatar, the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, is aiming to become the cultural centre of the United Arab Emirates.

Why would Qatar be the cultural center of UAE, another country, actually RIVAL country? Try to be Arabia's maybe?

[aamirsaab]

This is going to be so dog-gone cool! I'm expecting the battle of Badr in bullet time. It had better not dissapoint!

[Ramadhan]

Why would Qatar be the cultural center of UAE, another country, actually RIVAL country? Try to be Arabia's maybe?

I always thought Qatar is part of UAE, but i just checked on wikipedia, and found out that I was wrong all that time!
Bahrain and Qatar separated from the nine sheikdoms in the 70s.

[Sampharo]

Yeah that's what I meant. It is as if England wanted to be the cultural center of France. Didn't get where BBC got that.

Anyway, I sure am hoping more than bullet-time battle effects, some deep insight into the personalities of the companions. Also hope they stay away from what the old movie had with this "Ten Commandments" approach to many of the scenes (theatrically stand gazing into the distance while being arranged in "biblical" portrait positions)

[Asiyah3]

some deep insight into the personalities of the companions.

I agree and hope so



I can't wait

[Asiyah3]

Actually now that I think about it, I am very worried. The film will put our religion more and more on the spotlight. And people will comment on it etc. Huh,

I hope they will do it well.

[czgibson]

Greetings,

I'm looking forward to seeing this, partly to see how they get around the logistical problem of having a main character who can never appear on screen.

Does anyone have any ideas on how that might work?

Peace

[Raphael]

Similar to another movie called "The Message", where the scenes are shown through the eyes of the prophet - first person view!