The new biblical epic from director Ridley Scott, "Exodus: Gods and Kings," has a race problem.

We've known since the moment the full cast was announced: nearly every major role in the movie is played by a white actor.

What makes it worse for many observers is that, on the flip side, virtually every black actor in the movie is playing a part called "Egyptian thief" or "assassin" or "royal servant" or "Egyptian lower class civilian."

In the weeks before "Exodus" opens, on December 12, a number of people, from African-American activists to Jewish journalists, have called for a boycott of the potential blockbuster.

"As much as I love a good Bible movie, I'm going to go ahead and boycott this one," wrote Sigal Samuel in the Jewish Daily Forward. "And I invite my fellow Jews to join me."