When reports came out a few days ago blaming Creationist fervor in America for the failure of Darwin bio-pic Creation to get a US distributor, I was skeptical of the claim; further, I was sure it wouldn’t be long before a distribution deal was announced. If America loves anything, it’s controversy.
So, imagine my (un)surprise to hear that Creation (which stars real-life husband-and-wife actors Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly as Charles and Emma Darwin, and opened in the United Kingdom this weekend) has been picked up by Newmarket Films, and is expected to hit theaters before the end of the year.
What is surprising, and a bit disconcerting, is that Newmarket is the same company that distributed Mel Gibson’s blockbuster Christian sado-porno The Passion of The Christ. Creation will certainly not pull in the bucks that Passion did, but despite their past transgressions we owe kudos to Newmarket for giving Creation a fair hearing (or rather, viewing) in the US.
Meanwhile, you can visit the Creation official website, CreationtheMovie.com.
I think your skepticism was well-founded. From what I hear, the reluctance to pick up the film in the U.S. wasn’t really due to controversy — it was because a lot of studio executives think the film just isn’t very good. The buzz I’ve heard indicates that it doesn’t have enough substance to be an awards contender and it’s not gripping enough to be interesting on its own. I haven’t seen it, so I have no idea if the people who reported back on it being rather dull are reliable. But it does make more sense to me that studios would be slow to pick up a film they think isn’t going to do very well rather than one that’s too “controversial.”