Creationists take their fight to the really big screen

[CottonBear]

Creationists take their fight to the really big screen

US row forces southern Imax cinemas to shun films on evolution

Robin McKie, science editor
Sunday March 20, 2005
The Observer

They are the epitome of safe family entertainment, renowned for lavish animations, exquisitely filmed scenes of natural grandeur and utterly tame scripts. But Imax films have suddenly found themselves catapulted into controversy, thanks to their occasional use of the dreaded E-word: evolution.

In several US states, Imax cinemas - including some at science museums - are refusing to show movies that mention the subject or suggest that Earth's origins do not conform with biblical descriptions.

...snip...

In most southern states, theatre officials found recent test screenings of several of these films triggered accusations from viewers that the films were blasphemous.

...snip...

'It is going to be hard for our film-makers to continue to make unfettered documentaries when they know that 10 per cent of the market will reject them,' said Joe DeAmicis, vice-president of the California Science Centre in Los Angeles.

This point was emphasised by Bayley Silleck, who wrote and directed Cosmic Voyage. Many institutions across America were coming under pressure about issues relating to natural selection. 'They have to be extremely careful as to how they present anything relating to evolution,' he said.

more...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1441980,00.html

WTF are these backward fundies doing? They had to pay to see these films. No one forced them to go to the IMAX theater.
I am beyond words.

[atommom]

1. This is really getting ridiculous. People have got to start

standing up to these ignorant bullies. If they're watching a film about science and nature, they can't cry foul when actual science is presented!

:argh:

[CottonBear]

3. Exactly: we must stand up to these ignorant bullies.

I would never in a million years think of going to a film about science and then complaining about science. I am so mad. What is happening? Everything is suddenly spinning out of control and back to the dark ages.

[mcscajun]

2. Damn these ignoramuses!

more from the article:
"Superficially, the decision affects only a dozen or so cinemas. But it could have a profound knock-on effect across the world because of the high cost of producing Imax films.

They require special cameras and expensive projectors. The economics of Imax film-making are therefore very tight, and the actions of these southern Imax cinemas will only exacerbate the problem. It is expected that producers will be far less likely to make films that could offend fundamentalists, as the loss of venues in the southern states could be enough to turn profit to loss."

"...10 percent of the market will reject them."

It was bad enough to have Texas influencing what went into the schoolbooks, but now science centers (SCIENCE. CENTERS!) are going to be turning away Imax films that tell the scientfic truth!?!?! And the result will be changes to science-based documentary films?

I'm gonna start digging the hole to crawl into, and pull the sod back in over me. We're fuckin' doomed. There's no hope for us.

[Shadowen]

4. Worse than those idiots, IMHO...

...are the people at the theaters. They seem to have no concept of marketing.

" 'If it is not going to draw a crowd and it is going to create controversy, from a marketing point of view, I cannot make a recommendation,' Murray told the New York Times yesterday."

If it's going to create a controversy, it will draw a crowd, believe me. Except in politics, no publicity is bad publicity.