A new British movie about Charles Darwin may bomb in the US as it may be too controversial for religious Americans.
The film - which marks 200 years since Darwin's birth - is set at the time that Darwin wrote his book On The Origin of Species, which was published in 1859.
But US distributors have turned down the film that could cause uproar in a country that, even in the 21st Century, dismisses scientific theories of the way we evolved.
Incredibly, Christian film review website Movieguide.org described Darwin as 'a racist, a bigot and a 1800s naturalist whose legacy is mass murder.'
New Charles Darwin film is 'too controversial' for religious American audiences
By Daily Mail Reporter
13th September 2009
Daily Mail
A new British film about Charles Darwin has failed to land a distribution deal in the States because his theories on human evolution are too controversial for religious American audiences, according to the film's producer.
Creation follows the British naturalist's 'struggle between faith and reason' as he wrote his 1859 book, On The Origin Of The Species.
The film, directed by Jon Amielm was chosen to open the Toronto Film Festival and has now been sold to almost every territory in the world.
Enlarge
Dynasty: Martha West, daughter of The Wire star Dominic, will star alongside Paul Bettany as Charles Darwin in Creation
Enlarge
Well received: But new film Creation is deemed too controversial for American audiences and has failed to land a distribution deal in the States
But US distributors have turned down the film that could cause uproar in a country that, on the whole, dismisses scientific theories of the way we evolved.
Christian film review website Movieguide.org described Darwin as 'a racist, a bigot and a 1800s naturalist whose legacy is mass murder.'
The site also stated that his 'half-baked theory' influenced Adolf Hitler and led to 'atrocities, crimes against humanity, cloning and generic engineering.'
Jeremy Thomas, the Oscar-winning producer of Creation, said he was astonished that such attitudes exist 150 years after On The Origin of Species was published.
'That's what we're up against. In 2009. It's amazing,' he said.
'The film has no distributor in America. It has got a deal everywhere else in the world but in the US, and it's because of what the film is about. People have been saying this is the best film they've seen all year, yet nobody in the US has picked it up.
The real Charles Darwin, in 1854
'It is unbelievable to us that this is still a really hot potato in America. There's still a great belief that He made the world in six days.
'It's quite difficult for we in the UK to imagine religion in America. We live in a country which is no longer so religious. But in the US, outside of New York and LA, religion rules.
'Charles Darwin is, I suppose, the hero of the film. But we tried to make the film in a very even-handed way. Darwin wasn't saying "kill all religion", he never said such a thing, but he is a totem for people.'
Earlier this week it was revealed how the daughter of The Wire star Dominic West will have her own taste of stardom thanks to the film.
Martha West, 10, will join co-stars Paul Bettany and his wife Jennifer Connelly at the British premiere of Creation, a film about Charles Darwin.
Making her film debut, Martha plays Darwin's daughter Annie, whose death pushed him towards writing about natural selection in The Origin Of Species.
She won the role after attending open auditions at the suggestion of her father's agent - despite the British actor's initial misgivings.
West, who plays Detective Jimmy McNulty in the cult American crime series, said: 'It's not something I'd instantly want my children to do, but she's always wanted to act.
'I took her to the audition so she could see what a nightmare it is and she blew the doors off.
The film's director, Jon Amiel, said: 'I only found out after I cast her that she was Dominic West's daughter.
'It tends to indicate that talent for acting could possibly be genetic - something I'm sure Mr Darwin would have something to say about.'
Martha is West's child with his former partner, Polly Astor. They split when she was a toddler but will both accompany her to the West End premiere at the Curzon Mayfair.
Here are some strange facts about Darwin:
Stinky feet — At age 12, Darwin confessed in a letter that he only washed his feet once a month at school, due to a lack of anything with which to wash.
Tough dad — Darwin's father Robert thought Charles was a failure as a young man at times, prior to the Beagle voyage. The elder Darwin, himself a physician, sent Charles to Edinburgh University to study medicine, but Charles later showed no interest in becoming a doctor. The elder Darwin exploded: "You care for nothing but shooting, dogs and rat-catching, and you will be a disgrace to yourself and all your family."
Seasick — Darwin was sick to his stomach most of the time on the Beagle, which is one of the main reasons he spent as much time as possible on land and not on the ship. That illness probably helped him collect more data than he might have.
Missing the boat — Darwin almost missed the boat (OK, the ship) that took him to the Galapagos Islands and beyond, where he discovered evidence for evolution and started to realize its mechanism — natural selection. First, he wasn't Captain Robert FitzRoy's first choice when seeking a science companion for the survey of the South American coastline. Then, when the 22-year-old Darwin was invited, his father rejected the offer. Luckily, Darwin's uncle persuaded Robert Darwin to relent. Meanwhile, FitzRoy promised the job to a friend, but he turned the job down just five minutes before Darwin showed up to interview. The two spent a week together until they judged each other agreeable, and the ship set sail before the year’s end.
Iffy on marriage — As a young man, Darwin made a list of marriage's pros and cons. Cons included loss of time and no reading in the evening. Pros included companionship ("better than a dog anyhow") and children. In the end, he concluded: "Marry — Marry. Marry Q.E.D." Q.E.D. stands for the Latin phrase "quod erat demonstrandum," which is used at the end of mathematical proofs to indicate that the proof is complete.
Foot-dragger — Darwin delayed the publication of On the Origin of Species for more than two decades after he was convinced of his theory, because he was nervous about how it would be received.
Almost scooped — In the late 1850s, it became clear to Darwin that British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace also had come up with a similar theory of evolution. This sparked Darwin into high gear to finish On the Origin of Species. Scientists with the Linnean Society of London resolved the "who was first" question by presenting both men's work jointly in July 1858. Darwin later got most of the credit for evolutionary theory, because he had worked out the theory in greater detail.
Ho-hum reaction — The publication of Darwin's and Wallace's work was a non-event at first. The president of the Linnean Society said in May 1859 that there had been no big discoveries in the past year.
Family losses — Darwin and his wife had 10 children, but three of them died at young ages — two as infants and one at age 10. Darwin was known to be quite devoted to his children.
Christian, then agnostic — Darwin was a conventional Christian for much of his life. He studied at the University of Cambridge to become an Anglican clergyman, just prior to the Beagle voyage. Later in life, he described himself as agnostic, not atheist.
Sickly life — Darwin was incapacitated by various illnesses of unknown origin for much of his adult life, once he settled down with his family in a rural area outside of London. Some suggest it was the result of the stress from fathering the theory of evolution and its social impact.
dailymail.co.uk
livescience.com
The film - which marks 200 years since Darwin's birth - is set at the time that Darwin wrote his book On The Origin of Species, which was published in 1859.
But US distributors have turned down the film that could cause uproar in a country that, even in the 21st Century, dismisses scientific theories of the way we evolved.
Incredibly, Christian film review website Movieguide.org described Darwin as 'a racist, a bigot and a 1800s naturalist whose legacy is mass murder.'
New Charles Darwin film is 'too controversial' for religious American audiences
By Daily Mail Reporter
13th September 2009
Daily Mail
A new British film about Charles Darwin has failed to land a distribution deal in the States because his theories on human evolution are too controversial for religious American audiences, according to the film's producer.
Creation follows the British naturalist's 'struggle between faith and reason' as he wrote his 1859 book, On The Origin Of The Species.
The film, directed by Jon Amielm was chosen to open the Toronto Film Festival and has now been sold to almost every territory in the world.
Enlarge
Dynasty: Martha West, daughter of The Wire star Dominic, will star alongside Paul Bettany as Charles Darwin in CreationEnlarge
Well received: But new film Creation is deemed too controversial for American audiences and has failed to land a distribution deal in the States
But US distributors have turned down the film that could cause uproar in a country that, on the whole, dismisses scientific theories of the way we evolved.
Christian film review website Movieguide.org described Darwin as 'a racist, a bigot and a 1800s naturalist whose legacy is mass murder.'
The site also stated that his 'half-baked theory' influenced Adolf Hitler and led to 'atrocities, crimes against humanity, cloning and generic engineering.'
Jeremy Thomas, the Oscar-winning producer of Creation, said he was astonished that such attitudes exist 150 years after On The Origin of Species was published.
'That's what we're up against. In 2009. It's amazing,' he said.
'The film has no distributor in America. It has got a deal everywhere else in the world but in the US, and it's because of what the film is about. People have been saying this is the best film they've seen all year, yet nobody in the US has picked it up.
The real Charles Darwin, in 1854
'It is unbelievable to us that this is still a really hot potato in America. There's still a great belief that He made the world in six days.
'It's quite difficult for we in the UK to imagine religion in America. We live in a country which is no longer so religious. But in the US, outside of New York and LA, religion rules.
'Charles Darwin is, I suppose, the hero of the film. But we tried to make the film in a very even-handed way. Darwin wasn't saying "kill all religion", he never said such a thing, but he is a totem for people.'
Earlier this week it was revealed how the daughter of The Wire star Dominic West will have her own taste of stardom thanks to the film.
Martha West, 10, will join co-stars Paul Bettany and his wife Jennifer Connelly at the British premiere of Creation, a film about Charles Darwin.
Making her film debut, Martha plays Darwin's daughter Annie, whose death pushed him towards writing about natural selection in The Origin Of Species.
She won the role after attending open auditions at the suggestion of her father's agent - despite the British actor's initial misgivings.
West, who plays Detective Jimmy McNulty in the cult American crime series, said: 'It's not something I'd instantly want my children to do, but she's always wanted to act.
'I took her to the audition so she could see what a nightmare it is and she blew the doors off.
The film's director, Jon Amiel, said: 'I only found out after I cast her that she was Dominic West's daughter.
'It tends to indicate that talent for acting could possibly be genetic - something I'm sure Mr Darwin would have something to say about.'
Martha is West's child with his former partner, Polly Astor. They split when she was a toddler but will both accompany her to the West End premiere at the Curzon Mayfair.
Here are some strange facts about Darwin:
Stinky feet — At age 12, Darwin confessed in a letter that he only washed his feet once a month at school, due to a lack of anything with which to wash.
Tough dad — Darwin's father Robert thought Charles was a failure as a young man at times, prior to the Beagle voyage. The elder Darwin, himself a physician, sent Charles to Edinburgh University to study medicine, but Charles later showed no interest in becoming a doctor. The elder Darwin exploded: "You care for nothing but shooting, dogs and rat-catching, and you will be a disgrace to yourself and all your family."
Seasick — Darwin was sick to his stomach most of the time on the Beagle, which is one of the main reasons he spent as much time as possible on land and not on the ship. That illness probably helped him collect more data than he might have.
Missing the boat — Darwin almost missed the boat (OK, the ship) that took him to the Galapagos Islands and beyond, where he discovered evidence for evolution and started to realize its mechanism — natural selection. First, he wasn't Captain Robert FitzRoy's first choice when seeking a science companion for the survey of the South American coastline. Then, when the 22-year-old Darwin was invited, his father rejected the offer. Luckily, Darwin's uncle persuaded Robert Darwin to relent. Meanwhile, FitzRoy promised the job to a friend, but he turned the job down just five minutes before Darwin showed up to interview. The two spent a week together until they judged each other agreeable, and the ship set sail before the year’s end.
Iffy on marriage — As a young man, Darwin made a list of marriage's pros and cons. Cons included loss of time and no reading in the evening. Pros included companionship ("better than a dog anyhow") and children. In the end, he concluded: "Marry — Marry. Marry Q.E.D." Q.E.D. stands for the Latin phrase "quod erat demonstrandum," which is used at the end of mathematical proofs to indicate that the proof is complete.
Foot-dragger — Darwin delayed the publication of On the Origin of Species for more than two decades after he was convinced of his theory, because he was nervous about how it would be received.
Almost scooped — In the late 1850s, it became clear to Darwin that British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace also had come up with a similar theory of evolution. This sparked Darwin into high gear to finish On the Origin of Species. Scientists with the Linnean Society of London resolved the "who was first" question by presenting both men's work jointly in July 1858. Darwin later got most of the credit for evolutionary theory, because he had worked out the theory in greater detail.
Ho-hum reaction — The publication of Darwin's and Wallace's work was a non-event at first. The president of the Linnean Society said in May 1859 that there had been no big discoveries in the past year.
Family losses — Darwin and his wife had 10 children, but three of them died at young ages — two as infants and one at age 10. Darwin was known to be quite devoted to his children.
Christian, then agnostic — Darwin was a conventional Christian for much of his life. He studied at the University of Cambridge to become an Anglican clergyman, just prior to the Beagle voyage. Later in life, he described himself as agnostic, not atheist.
Sickly life — Darwin was incapacitated by various illnesses of unknown origin for much of his adult life, once he settled down with his family in a rural area outside of London. Some suggest it was the result of the stress from fathering the theory of evolution and its social impact.
dailymail.co.uk
livescience.com
