Russell Crowe Lobbies Pope Francis to See 'Noah'

The Vatican has yet to respond with whether the pontiff will watch Darren Aronofsky's controversial biblical drama.

ROME – Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe has been lobbying to get Pope Francis to agree to watch his new biblical adventure story Noah. But there is little sign that the spiritual leader of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics will comply.

Religious audiences have been split in their views on the mega-budget Darren Aronofsky production, which will hit cinemas in the U.S. March 28 and come to Italy two weeks later. Paramount Pictures says that more than 4 out of 5 religious moviegoers say they are interested in seeing the film, but some Christian groups say it strays too far from the biblical story to make it more palatable for the big screen.
Crowe used social media in his lobby effort, tweeting to the pope that the film’s message is "powerful, fascinating, resonant" and, in another message, calling on his 1.37 million Twitter followers to use their own tweets in an effort to cajole Francis into watching the film.