Ben-Hur (1959 film) scope and grand spectacle, "Ben-Hur" still ranks among Hollywood's finest examples of pure entertainment." "Ben-Hur" was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and won an unprecedented 11. , only "Titanic" in 1998 and "" in 2004 have matched the film's wins. The lone category where "Ben-Hur" did not win was for Best Adapted Screenplay (losing to "Room at the Top"), and most observers attributed this to the controversy over the writing credit. MGM and Panavision shared a special technical Oscar in March 1960 for developing the Camera 65 photographic process. "Ben-Hur" also won three Golden Globe Awards – Best Motion Picture
Ben-Hur (2016 film) Jack Huston was later cast instead. On September 11, Morgan Freeman was added to the cast to play Sheik Ilderim, the man who teaches Ben-Hur to become a champion chariot racer. On September 18, sources confirmed that Toby Kebbell was in early talks to play the villain, Messala. On October 15, Gal Gadot was in talks to join the film as Esther, the slave with whom Ben-Hur is in love. Pedro Pascal from the TV series "Game of Thrones" was in talks to play Pontius Pilate. On October 30, TheWrap confirmed that Gadot's negotiations with Paramount and MGM had ended,