Martin Scorsese to direct 80-minute film about the life of Jesus

nme.com:

Martin Scorsese has revealed that he intends to shoot a new film in 2024, based on the 1973 Shūsaku Endō book A Life of Jesus.The legendary director, whose latest film Killers Of The Flower Moon is among the leading Oscars contenders this year, has said that he wants to adapt the book in a way that explores Jesus’ teachings without proselytising.In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Scorsese suggested that the film will be roughly 80 minutes in length, in stark contrast to both Killers Of The Flower Moon and his previous film The Irishman, which both clock in at well over three hours.Scorsese has previously adapted the work of Endō before, in the form of 2016’s Silence, starring Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver.Speaking about the reason for picking A Life Of Jesus, Scorsese said: “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 organised religion.”He added: “Right now, ‘religion,’ you say that word and everyone is up in arms because it’s failed in so many ways.

But that doesn’t mean necessarily that the initial impulse was wrong. Let’s get back. Let’s just think about it. You may reject it.

But it might make a difference in how you live your life – even in rejecting it. Don’t dismiss it offhand. That’s all I’m talking about.