Martin Scorsese is still in the early stages of his upcoming Jesus film. Like, really early.
At a press conference at the Berlin Film Festival, where he will receive the honorary Golden Bear award, Scorsese shared that he’s still figuring out how to bring Jesus’ story to the big screen. But he’s got a few ideas.
“I’m contemplating it right now,” the director said. “What kind of film I’m not quite sure, but I want to make something unique and different that could be thought-provoking, and I hope also entertaining. I’m not quite sure yet how to go about it.”
Scorsese announced last year that he was working on a film about the life of Jesus after meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican in May. Last month, the director revealed the story will be based on the book A Life of Jesus by Shūsaku Endō — who also wrote Silence, which Scorsese adapted in 2016 — and focus on Jesus’ core teachings in a way that “explores the principles but doesn’t proselytize.”
“I’m trying to find a new way to make it more accessible and take away the negative onus of what has been associated with organized religion,” Scorsese said.
Apparently it takes a while to figure out exactly how to do that.
