Ridley Scott’s Exodus: Gods and Kings, out in cinemas in the US this Friday, has come under fire from some critical voices due to the casting of the movie, where Egyptians are being portrayed by an all-white cast.
In the past Scott has openly defended the decision saying, “I can’t mount a film of this budget, where I have to rely on tax rebates in Spain, and say that my lead actor is Mohammad so-and-so from such-and-such. I’m just not going to get it financed.”
SEE ALSO – Protests at the Exodus: Gods and Kings world premiere over Ridley Scott’s all-white cast
Now, at the New York Premiere of the movie, Christian Bale has also defended the movie against its critics:
“No doubt it would have been a melting pot between Europe and the Middle East and North Africa,” Bale said when asked what people would have looked like in Egypt and Canaan during the time of Moses, adding that Ridley Scott had been “incredibly honest in getting a large, big-budget film like this made”.
“I don’t think fingers should be pointed, but we should all look at ourselves and say, ‘are we supporting wonderful actors in films by north African and Middle Eastern film-makers and actors?’, because there are some fantastic actors out there,” he continues. “If people start supporting those films more and more, then financiers in the market will follow. The audience has to show financiers that they will be there, and [then] they could make a large-budget film. To me, that would be a day of celebration. For the actors, it would be wonderful. It would be a wonderful day for humanity, but also for films and for storytelling in general.”
What do you make of Christian Bale’s comments? Let us know in the comments section below.
Exodus: Gods and Kings is set for release on December 12th in the States and on Boxing Day in the UK. Featuring in the cast that also includes Christian Bale (American Hustle), Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), John Turturro (Transformers: Dark of the Moon), Sigourney Weaver (Avatar), Emun Elliott (Prometheus), María Valverde (Cracks), Golshifteh Farahani (Body of Lies), and Indira Varma (Game of Thrones). Listen to Joel Edgerton, Ben Kinglsey and Andrew Tarbet talking about the movie on the Flickering Myth Podcast using the player below:
Originally published December 9, 2014. Updated July 3, 2023.
