Did Pope Francis Cancel Meeting with Russell Crowe? - East Idaho News
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Did Pope Francis Cancel Meeting with Russell Crowe?

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GETTY 31814 PopeFrancis?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1395135680509neneos/iStock Editorial/Thinkstock(LOS ANGELES) — The studio behind the upcoming biblical drama Noah is denying a report that Pope Francis cancelled a tentatively-planned meeting with the film’s star, Russell Crowe, and director, Darren Aronofsky.

Variety reported that a meeting had been tentatively scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Wednesday in Vatican City. The publication said the Vatican cancelled the meeting because it was concerned it would cause a “spectacle,” as Variety labeled it, once Crowe and Aronofsky arrived in Rome.

A spokesman for Paramount Pictures insists to The Hollywood Reporter a meeting was never scheduled, though the studio did contact the Vatican regarding a potential get-together during Wednesday’s papal audience in St. Peter’s Square. Paramount said the Vatican nixed the idea because it felt an appearance by Crowe in St. Peter’s Square might cause a commotion.

Crowe has reached out to the pope on Twitter a number of times, encouraging him to see Noah, which premieres in Italy on Tuesday.

The film, which also stars Emma Watson, Jennifer Connelly and Anthony Hopkins, opens in the U.S. on March 28.

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