<p>An alumni adventure of biblical proportions</p>
<p>A new screen version chronicling the Hebrews’ exodus from Egypt arrives in theaters Dec. 12.</p>
<p>Exodus: Gods and Kings is the latest epic by director Ridley Scott, whose historical drama Gladiator (2000) won the Academy Award for Best Picture of the Year.</p>
<p>Critics praised Gladiator for its spectacular battle scenes on the field and in the Colosseum. The film’s special effects team, supervised by U-M alumnus John Nelson, ’76, took home an Oscar in that category.</p>
<p>Scott’s latest creation arrives in theaters with more U-M connections, this time in the screenwriting team of Bill Collage, AB ’92, and Adam Cooper, AB ’93. Collage and Cooper pitched the storyline that would become Exodus: Gods and Kings.</p>
<p>The full story may be found at the below link:</p>
<p>Thanks for sharing blue85. That is awesome. Arguably one of the best screenplay writer ever is also a Wolverine. He wrote the screenplay for movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Accidental Tourist, Body Heat, The Big Chill, and now the new Star Wars Trilogy. I am referring to Lawrence Kasdan of course. </p>
<p>Glad you enjoyed it. Another UM alum (Ross B-School), Robert Shaye, founded New Line cinema and was one of the key drivers of several movie franchises including The Lord of the Rings. </p>
<p>From his Wikipedia article: "It was while working at the Museum of Modern Art that Shaye first began to explore the world of distribution. In 1967, he formed New Line Cinema in his Greenwich Village apartment. Starting with a package of feature films and shorts rented to colleges and building on early re-releases such as Reefer Madness and first-run domestic distribution of foreign films, New Line broke out commercially with such popular franchises as the Street Fighter series, The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, and A Nightmare on Elm Street series. Those successful franchises set the stage for a string of New Line hits including Rush Hour, Austin Powers, Mask, Dumb & Dumber, The Wedding Singer, Seven, Boogie Nights, and Blade.</p>
<p>In 1998, when writer/director Peter Jackson brought his 25-minute pitch reel for a big screen epic of J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic The Lord of the Rings to New Line, hoping to turn the three volumes into two films. Shaye suggested Jackson make three films and greenlit an unprecedented simultaneous production for all three installments. Combined, The Lord of the Rings trilogy was nominated for 30 Oscars, winning 17, including a clean sweep of 11 awards for The Return of the King, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. At the box office, all three films are among the top 10 grossing films of all time, earning a combined total of nearly $3 billion worldwide.</p>