Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Paramount is moving closer to signing on for Noah, the big-ticket re-telling of the Noah’s Ark story that will be the next film from Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky. Deadline told you early this month that CAA was shopping the picture. Bidding came down to 20th Century Fox and Paramount, both of which were vying to partner with New Regency, which has been involved all the way through the process. Aronofsky wrote a script that is being rewritten by Gladiator scribe John Logan. Noah might only have gotten got a few pages in the Bible, but Aronofsky has turned it into a sprawling fantasy epic that will cost north of $100 million. Aronofsky dropped out of The Wolverine after his long-gestating Black Swan finally came together and grossed $315 million worldwide on a $12 million budget. What a time to mount a dream project, when you’ve just generated one of the most profitable movies in recent memory. This will take a few days to crystallize, but I’m convinced that Paramount will emerge as the partner on the picture. New Regency is closely aligned with Fox, but I believe the company will still play a role in the funding of the picture. More to come on this one.