Rarely are things as simple as they appear on the surface. 
Posted on 04/08/2005 4:21:11 PM PDT by nickcarraway
CAIRO (AFP) - A Hollywood flick on an alleged love affair between pharaonic Queen Nefertiti and the Biblical Prophet Moses is soon to begin shooting in Egypt, renowned British producer John Heyman has revealed to AFP.
"Nefertiti married perhaps one of the first monotheists in history and the film will tell their story, which logically enough should be set in Egypt" said Heyman on a brief visit to Cairo.
"One can find in the Old Testament that Moses and Nefertiti had a relationship," he added.
The movie will also deal "with the return to the worship of the sun god," said Heyman.
He was referring to Aten -- the radiant disk of the sun -- whose cult was briefly re-introduced by Pharaoh Akhenaten, the 10th king of the 18th Dynasty also known as the "heretic king" for breaking with traditional religion in the 1350s BC.
The cult of Aten is considered by some experts to be a predecessor of modern monotheism.
Scholars generally agree that Nefertiti, often referred to in history as the "most beautiful woman in the world", was Akhenaten's wife.
But few have argued that Akhenaten and Moses may have been the same man, although there is no consensus on their respective dates of birth and death.
Others contend that Ramses II, the third ruler of the 19th dynasty, was in fact Moses while Jews believe the pharaoh king is responsible for their exodus from Egypt.
And founding father of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud ventured his belief in "Moses and Monotheism", published in 1939, that Moses was in fact an Egyptian follower of Aten that brought the monotheistic doctrine out of Egypt as Judaism when he led the Israelites away from slavery to freedom some 3,300 years ago.
Ahmed Osman, on whose 1990 book "Moses and Akhenaten: The Secret History of Egypt at the Time of the Exodus" the script of Heyman's next film is based, admitted that "my argument is controversial and not widespread among many Egyptologists."
"But I have collected evidence proving that Akhenaten and Moses are the same person, which so far nobody has been able to contest," said Egypt-born Osman who has lived in London for the past 20 years where he studied Egypt's ancient history.
"Egypt's history is greatly ignored by the film industry besides 'Cleopatra' and 'The Ten Commandments' and that's it," said Heyman, referring to the two epic Hollywood blockbusters released more than 40 years ago.
The shoot "will not start before 2006 and locations will be between studios and along the Nile in Upper Egypt," he added.
Although he said it was too early to talk about the cast, Heyman said he had met "several Egyptian actors who are very good and charming, warm and kind".
British director Hugh Hudson, the acclaimed director of "Chariots of Fire," will direct the movie.
Heyman, who produced or co-financed major films such as "Chinatown", "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and "Marathon Man", is also known for creating the Genesis project -- a scholarly endeavor to put all the Hebrew and Christian scriptures on film.
He also produced "Jesus," filmed on location in Israel in Biblical settings and subsequently translated in more than 850 languages.
A lot.
Apparently he's been readin the gospel of "Cecil B. Demille".
Looking at that mummy, I see that she has quite a long graceful neck like the Nefertiti bust. Also it looks as though she has quite a similar jawline.
I don't care that it won 25 years ago, it was a pretty damn boring movie. Even the producer said the music saved it. I usually disagree with the Oscars anyway--although I've agreed with them the last two years.
Hudson is a boring director. You'd think they'd get someone with some visual panache to make this.
Dunno about the beginning of time, but right now - about 6,800 full fledged languages (not counting the dialects and pidgins)
Dream cast for "Moses and Nefertiti"
Moses/Akhenaten William Shatner
Nefertiti Whoopi Goldberg
Aaron Will Smith
Tut Gary Coleman [alternate if Gary
not available: Steve Martin]
Tzippora Aretha Franklin
Narrator Dan Aykroyd
Music Allanah Miles "Black Velvet"
Led Zeppelin "Kashmir"
Rolling Stones "Brown Sugar"
Labelle "Voulez Vous Couchet Avec Moi?"
Music-credits roll Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliot "Voulez Vous Couchet Avec Moi?"
Steve Martin "King Tut"
Bangles "Walk Like an Egyptian"
Queen "We Are the Champions"
Linda Ronstadt "Somewhere Out There"
;-)
Mmm, this *could* work, but I'm starting to have second thoughts about Whoopi's dramatic range...
Anyone got Paris Hilton's cell number? I think I could broker this if it's handled right...
;-)
Heyman, who produced or co-financed major films such as "Chinatown", "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and "Marathon Man", is also known for creating the Genesis project -- a scholarly endeavor to put all the Hebrew and Christian scriptures on film.
"Scholarly?" I wonder if he, or anyone involved in the project, ever bothered checking into the source... The bible? Nahhhh... Why should they have to check that old thing?
Mark
If this is an example of the Left's new focus on religion, the Republicans can afford to relax.
****************
Now you sound like my husband. Mr. Trisham-is that you? :)
I personally thought it was the best movie I ever saw.
Rarely are things as simple as they appear on the surface.
You that right!
Ethiopian? Ethiopia? Isn't that a suburb of Utica??
I once did a paper on Ethiopia and what the ancient people referred to as Ethiopia is not the same as the modern country although it might include the Northern part. It also includes part of Modern Yemen.
The ancient Greeks referred to all North Africans other than Egyptians as Ethiopians. They also called them Black although they were not Negroes.
I might mention that Winston Churchill noticed while visiting his troops in North Africa, that they were all as dark as the natives from being in the intense sun.
No, thats not me. This is Scott
My wife is going to be awfully disappointed when she meets Moses if he doesn't look a whole lot like Charlton Heston. And there's no doubt that Yul Brynner could have given "pharaoh lessons" to Ramses!
LOLLOFLHHO
little ole lady laying the floor laughing her hiney off
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