LES LIBRE-PENSEURS BRITANNIQUES

(JPPS À "SPEAKERS' CORNER" - SUR LA PLATE-FORME DES LIBRE-PENSEURS BRITANNIQUES - NATIONAL SECULAR SOCIETY)

Despite creationists’ objections Darwin film will open in US

After weeks of being unable to find an American distribution company, the creators of a forthcoming biopic on the life and work of Charles Darwin hit pay dirt and announced that — yes — the film will be shown in the U.S.

Indie movie distributor Newmarket announced today that it has closed a deal to handle Jon Amiel’s film (opening in Britain today) which has already generated controversy over its sensitive material, namely, the theory of evolution.

Creation, which stars Paul Bettany as Charles Darwin, and Jennifer Connelly as his wife, explores the personal agony of the famous naturalist who struggles with doubt and grief following the death of his daughter. Darwin's magisterial opus, On the Origin of Species, provided a scientific account of how life developed on earth, and served to undermine traditional accounts of human origins as depicted in the bible. While some religious believers reconciled scripture and evolution, others — including modern-day creationists — defend the notion that a deity fashioned all life including human beings.

According to Hollywood Reporter, U.S. audiences will have to wait until December to see Creation. Interestingly, Newmarket also distributed Mel Gibson’s bloody Passion of the Christ.

Chris Ball of Newmarket released a statement saying: “We at Newmarket pride ourselves in getting behind important films that help open the door for discussion and conversation, as is the case with Creation. While Darwin's name has come to symbolise one side in a debate between the scientific and the theological, Creation personifies the debate, with both sides contending, sometimes violently, within the man. In that sense, we believe that the film will appeal to both people of faith and people of science.”

(Acknowledgment: American Atheist newsletter)

National Secular Society

Fri, 25 Sep 2009

(www.secularism.org.uk) ******************************************************