Everybody Ben-Hurts: Wherein I answer all your questions about the new (fourth) big-screen adaption of the 19th century novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ except "Why?"
Chris Klimek
Jack Huston, who is descended from showbiz royalty but in no way related to Keanu Reeves, and Toby Kebbell in the fourth movie version of Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur.
Here's is the sort of sterling-quality joke that got whittled from what started out as a straight-up review of the new, Timur Bekmambetov-directed adaptation of Ben-Hur, but quickly turned into this.
EDITOR: Agreed. So they got an actor of Middle Eastern descent?
KLIMEK: They got a guy from Memphis.
EDITOR: You mean Memphis, Egypt?
KLIMEK: I do not. His name is Morgan Freeman.
EDITOR: I have heard of him.
KLIMEK: He has been in some other movies.
You can't blame me for digging in to the little differences between new and old, especially in light of the fact that Ben-Hur '59 is a venerable classic that I first saw when I was whatever age I was last Saturday night.