1) Why remake The Ten Commandments?

I am not redoing Cecil B. DeMille’s masterpiece. I am doing my interpretation of Exodus.  The great thing about the Bible is that it’s interpreted every day in a different way.  Also, since we now know much more of the historical details of this story since DeMille’s production was made, I feel that this is the time to do it for television.

2) What can we expect that is different in this version?

Well for starters, we didn’t want to do the traditional Hollywood glitzy movie. We went through great lengths to research how people dressed, what the dwellings looked like, and what the atmosphere was like at the time.  We all knew how the Egyptians dressed, but then we looked into how all of the different tribes dressed. Every piece of clothing, jewelry, pottery, and the statues were made on location as a result of the research we did. It’s a remarkable production on every level.  I will say that all versions of the story that have been done entertain you in different ways, so I know that our version will leave the viewer with a totally new interpretation of who Moses was and the importance of the Commandments themselves.

3) How did you come up with the cast for this miniseries?

I wanted to do something special with the casting of The Ten Commandments so as a result, we have actors from all over the globe—Argentina, France, Lebanon, Scotland, and Hungary just to name a few.  Including the crew, we have 28 nationalities involved in this picture.  The actors all fit their characters perfectly though.  Omar Sharif, who I’ve had the pleasure of working with before, is natural in the dessert as a wise man.  Dougray Scott, who starred in my Arabian Nights, is a brilliant actor.  He brings out a performance that represents the troubles Moses went through.  Mia Maestro is completely believable as Omar’s daughter and has great chemistry on screen with Dougray. 

4) Why did you choose to shoot in Morocco?

It wasn’t for convenience, that’s for sure. Between the hot weather and the task of actually getting to the se, Morocco has presented a few challenges as a location.  The payoff, however, is that this location gives us a realistic setting—the way it might have looked like in the time of Moses.  We are not using studios, so we can bring in huge sets and utilize the desert as our backdrop.  The atmosphere is already here.  In addition, we were able to have local artisans create costumes and jewelry using the same methods employed thousands of years ago. In a way, you could say that spiritually, Morocco is the right space for this miniseries.

5) What about the attention to historical accuracy?

This will be the most biblically accurate telling of the story to date.  I insisted on accuracy.  Even before the cameras started to roll there was a great deal of research put into the writing of the screenplay. We utilized the expertise of learned scholars from both the Christian and Jewish faiths, and we incorporated newly uncovered facts, both archeological and biblical, into the storytelling. These biblical experts also lent their expertise to the recreation of Egypt, the wilderness, and provided detailed descriptions of wardrobe and religious paraphernalia.  The accuracy continues into the way we have designed the film.  The era of Ramses II was one of the riches times in Egypt’s history, so the sets have to be built huge.  You can’t cheat on these elements. Some films recently rely on CGI for the crowd scenes.  In our production, we have approximately 20,000 extras, all dressed in detailed costumes.