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Creation: The True Story of Charles Darwin PDF Print E-mail
Swift
Written by Jeff Wagg   
Wednesday, 13 January 2010 15:44

creationTo quote Eugenie Scott of the National Center for Science Education, the new movie Creation is a "thoughtful, well-made film that will change many views of Darwin held by the public—for the better." (Click the image for a preview.)

In this movie, we see Darwin as a young man, struggling with his faith as it conflicts with the evidence before him. His devout wife, less fond of beetles than Darwin, urges him to destroy Origin of Species before it's printed, and important men of the day urge him to abandon his heresy.

But as we know Darwin did not follow this advice, and the world changed forever.

There are some special opportunities here, and Robert Luhn of the NCSE has asked me to share them with you:

The movie is based on "Annie's Box" ("Creation: Darwin, His Daughter & Human Evolution" in the U.S.), written by Randal Keynes, Darwin's great-great-grandson. As you can imagine, creationists are already starting to huff and puff about the film.

Author Randal Keynes sums up his great-great-grandfather: "[Darwin's] love for his wife; his observations of his children; his friendships with gardeners, schoolteachers and pigeon fanciers; his fears about death, revolution, bankruptcy, inbreeding...all these things found their way into his theory. He was the most inclusive of thinkers."

The "Creation" national run begins on January 22 in these markets:

New York City:
Landmark's Sunshine Cinema
Clearview's 1st & 62nd

Los Angeles:
The Landmark

San Francisco Bay Area:
Landmark's Embarcadero Center Cinema (SF)
Landmark's Shattuck (Berkeley)

Washington, DC
Landmark's E Street Cinema

Boston/Cambridge
Landmark's Kendall Square

Group rates may be available--readers should contact the theater in question.

Want to meet the author, the filmmaker, and/or evolution experts?

For those in the Bay Area, the Embarcadero Center Cinema (in San Francisco) will host a Q&A panel after the 7:30pm screening on the 22nd featuring the film's director Jon Amiel, Dr. Eugenie Scott of the NCSE, and Dr. Kevin Padian, Professor of Integrative Biology and Curator in the University of California Museum of Paleontology, Berkeley.

For those in Los Angeles, there's still time to slip into an **advance** 7:30pm screening at UCLA on January 19. The Q&A panel will feature author Randal Keynes, Director Jon Amiel, and UCLA professors Soraya De Chadarevian (history) and Anthony Friscia (ecology and evolutionary biology). The screening if free, but you must RSVP at www.eeb.ucla.edu/creation_movie.

For those in the Boston area, there's an **advance** screening on January 14, 7pm, at the Kendall Square Cinema in Cambridge. The Q&A panel includes author Randal Keynes, and professors Thomas Glick and Jon Roberts of Boston University. RSVP at CreationBoston@43kix.com

For more info about the movie, trailers, schedules, etc., check:

The official site
www.creationthemovie.com

The Facebook page
www.facebook.com/pages/CREATION-The-Movie/39212784860

The Twitter feed
http://twitter.com/Creation_Movie

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Comments (16)Add Comment
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written by Willy K, January 13, 2010
I guess that is Darwin on the right.... is that a creationist on the left? smilies/wink.gif

Oops, my sincere apologies to the Orangutans of the world. smilies/cheesy.gif
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Jennifer Connelly is Pretty
written by Jim Shaver, January 13, 2010
The other night, I caught David Letterman's interview with Jennifer Connelly, who plays Charles Darwin's wife in the movie. The way she portrayed the woman's religious convictions and her resulting conflict toward her husband was very intense. Strangely, Connelly cursed like a sailor during the interview, and they had to bleep her several times. Also strangely, that behavior made me more attracted to her. smilies/wink.gif
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newmarketfilms plays in both teams
written by TF, January 13, 2010
I am a bit confused since the same company (newmarketfilms) brought to us Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ. Could "Darwin" just be a very good disguise for promoting religious beliefs in the end?
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written by bigjohn756, January 13, 2010
When do we in the real world get to see this movie?smilies/grin.gif If only I lived in the real world.smilies/sad.gif I live in East Texas. I expect that I will have to drive about six hours to even have a chance to watch this movie. Thank you God.smilies/tongue.gif
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@ Willy K
written by GusGus, January 13, 2010
That's a chimpanzee! The human looks kinda-sorta like Mac King!
.
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Oops!!!
written by GusGus, January 13, 2010
My comment was written before I played the trailer. Sorry, Willy K, that IS an orangutan. Obviously, the human is the actor playing Darwin - but he does look like Mac King in profile...
.
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written by KS_SKEPTIC, January 13, 2010
I have the book "Annie's Box"("Darwin, His Daughter & Human Evolution")by Randal Keynes.
Its focus is Charles Darwin's first daughter, Annie, and her death in 1851, when she was just 10.
Annie's box is the writing box in which Emma(her mother) stowed a few relics of Annie's and kept it for the rest of her life, and of which Keynes, her great-great-grandson, found by chance.
This book shows a side of Darwin that few people know.
He was patient, reasonable, freethinking, only angered by cruelty.
His boundless intellectual curiosity was combined with a relentless honesty.
But above all Darwin loved his family!
It's a great read!!!
Looking forward in seeing the movie!!! smilies/smiley.gif
I only hope they show it in Kansas!!!
As you may have heard, there is no Evolution going on in Kansas!!!
Or so the Kansas State Department of Education had said back in 1999 & 2005. smilies/cry.gif
And YES that is a creationist on the left? smilies/grin.gif
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written by ClareZ, January 13, 2010
Dang. It looks like the UCLA showing is sold out.
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Saw it. Don't need to see it again...
written by SheldonHelms, January 13, 2010
Saw this film in Los Angeles two weeks ago (the day before it ended its short run). It won't be a blockbuster hit, that's for sure.

I found a few things interesting. One was the strong influence that Darwin's daughter's death (at age 10) and his subsequent depression had on his psyche, and perhaps even his years-long hesitation in publishing his ideas. It was also interesting to see how Darwin was a strong believer in HydroTherapy (a pseudoscientific health procedure). Darwin's wife's religious convictions were portrayed well by Jennifer Connelly (a little bored by all the sex-related comments people keep making about her...give the perversion a rest...SHEESH!), but it got a little old. But not nearly as old as Darwin's mopey, depressed, whiny persona in the film. My friends and I all commented that we wanted to slap him in the face and say, "Snap out of it!"

I predict a mild to modest reaction, and then a quick DVD release.
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Go see the film, please!
written by Kajabla61, January 13, 2010
From what I have read about the film it is too serious for US audiences. Unless a movie has whiz-bang special effects and lots of action (improbable or impossible), the overwhelmingly ignorant masses in the US won't part with their money to see it.

Blockbuster? No. Good to excellent in the eyes of the intelligent and caring people of this world? Almost certainly.

I rarely see movies, but I will go see this one.
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written by Squid, January 13, 2010
Wow... the nearest place I can see this movie is about 700 miles away... and I'm in a major market. Looks like a rental for me. And I see David is still harassing the blog. *sigh*

Squid
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written by vino, January 13, 2010
I'm not sure the phrase "and the world changed forever" is accurate. While the views and ideas of mankind may have been changed by Darwin's work, the physical world was unaffected.
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Controversial for Sure
written by William1965, January 14, 2010
Now, whenever a controversial (to the moral right) film comes out, the best reaction the conservatives can have is to watch it and discuss it in their religious setting.

I WELCOME that in this case!

William
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written by paiute, January 14, 2010
Hey Baghdad Bob kingoffright,

Good to see you got another gig.

Keep up the good work.

I'll be burning in my tank if you need anything.

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@kingoffright
written by TF, January 14, 2010
Could you please stop and make Depeche Mode look like total douchebags? I like the band, you know. They have nothing to do with your, um, douchebagness!
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written by DrMatt, January 14, 2010
Oh, look, it's Dennis Markuze. Isn't that cute.
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 13 January 2010 16:00