Creation, starring Paul Bettany, details Darwin's "struggle between faith and reason" as he wrote On The Origin of Species. It depicts him as a man who loses faith in God following the death of his beloved 10-year-old daughter, Annie.
The film was chosen to open the Toronto Film Festival and has its British premiere on Sunday. It has been sold in almost every territory around the world, from Australia to Scandinavia.
However, US distributors have resolutely passed on a film which will prove hugely divisive in a country where, according to a Gallup poll conducted in February, only 39 per cent of Americans believe in the theory of evolution.
Here we are supposedly the most evolved and progressive nation on earth (at least technologically), and yet we are too superstitious and ignorant to allow a film about Charles Darwin, perhaps one of the most important scientists in history, to be distributed to our theaters. Why?
Sure it is a financial risk. But any film that does not feature Meghan Fox's naked heaving breasts, or giant explosions and car crashes is ALWAYS a financial risk.
There is no doubt that many members of fundamentalist churches would save their popcorn money for a the next Kirk Cameron film instead (except don't those usually go straight to DVD?). Though it is conceivable that they may chose to spend a sunny Saturday afternoon carrying signs claiming that "Charles Darwin is the Anti-Christ". But most of those people do not attend that many films anyhow. (They think that Hollywood is the home of the devil and that he is trying to take over their minds. Well SOMEBODY should, since they are not using them.)
But there MUST be enough inquisitive intelligent movies goers to help it bring in some profit. I mean the movie is already made, so getting it the widest distribution possible would be the goal at this point. Even a relatively small American release would bring in some serious money.
So why wouldn't a distributor take the risk?
Because they know that the small yet very vocal minority of anti-intellectual fundamentalists would make their lives hell that is why.
They would threaten boycotts and protests, and throw an enormous hissy fit that would probably receive quite a lot of publicity.
FREE publicity.
And it would obviously garner a lot of criticism by people who had never seen the film.
Which of course would pique the interest of people who would then want to watch the movie.
Are you with me so far? What I am saying is that I want to watch the movie. The subject of Darwin's struggle with his faith sounds absolutely fascinating to me. Why can't I get a chance to see the movie?
The close minded acolytes of the Christian fascists will do most of the promotion for the film for no money whatsoever, so just imagine how much could be saved in promotional costs?
And how is that the least open minded and intelligent of us get to determine what kind of information is made available to the public at large? If somebody wants to stop me from watching a movie, can somebody please lock me in my house the next time that Vin Diesel makes a film? (I know they will be bad, but I simply can't resist!)
Come on American movie distributors, take a risk! Show some backbone. After all you spent billions of years evolving that backbone, may as well use it.
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