Ridley Scott‘s Exodus: Gods and Kings has been described by Fox Filmed Entertainment chairman and CEO Jim Gianopolus as a kind of classically-produced, cast-of-thousands Biblical epic that William Wyler or Cecil B. DeMille would recognize and respect. The quote, which appeared in a Pete Hammond Deadline story that popped last night, reads as follows: “You don’t see movies on this scale anymore. You don’t see movies using these numbers of people in these massive scenes unless they are computer generated. Ridley did the real thing — and in only 80 days.”

How can you call a movie that uses 1500 CG shots “real”? It’s apparent that most of the shots/scenes in the just-released Exodus trailer use CG to some extent, and that some scenes use a great deal of CG. Yes, Scott and his team gathered a lot of people and animals together for various scenes but I’d be willing to bet — I’m fairly certain, in fact — that very little of Exodus is “the real thing.” (Outside of close-ups, I mean.) I’m sure that it’s all a mixture of real footage and CG. Nobody makes big Bible films the DeMille or Wyler way any more. Not necessary, way too expensive.

It’s a relief, by the way, that Scott is apparently no longer a fan of the herky-jerky action photography that he used in Gladiator.