Ben-Hur news round-up: Is the new film a "Trojan horse"?

Another week, another round-up of Ben-Hur news items, plus a few new TV spots.

First, Christian Today has a few quotes from Roma Downey, who calls the film “the most riveting opportunity of our [i.e. hers and Mark Burnett’s] careers”:

“It’s a feast, a beautiful re-imagining of this epic story. I think that the movie in many ways is a Trojan horse, because it’s an action/adventure movie and it delivers on that, and viewers won’t be disappointed with that. It’s epic. But…it’s a story of redemption, a story of reconciliation, a story about forgiveness,” she says about the film.

Second, the gospel duo Mary Mary indicated in an Instagram post that they are recording a new song for Ben-Hur. It is not clear whether this would be for the film’s official soundtrack or for a “music inspired by the film” album of some sort.

Third, Motive Entertainment is inviting churches and other potential sponsors to buy out entire theatres on August 18 for a “National Premiere” event that will feature “Special exclusive content before and after the movie featuring cast & crew”.

Finally, Paramount has released four TV spots to promote the film:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nMERe25pYI?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHQR_Lc_8a8?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0RtymILgcE?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rbUoZ5nAyc?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

Ben-Hur officially comes to theatres August 19, or one month from tomorrow.

Check out earlier trailers and other videos here: