Matthew Chapman (author)
Encyclopedia
Matthew Chapman is an English journalist, screenwriter, and director. His latest film, The Ledge
, which he wrote and directed, stars Charlie Hunnam
, Liv Tyler
, Terrence Howard
, and Patrick Wilson
. It was shot in Louisiana in spring 2010 and was accepted into the main (U.S. Dramatic) competition at Sundance 2011. Bought by IFC, it will have its theatrical release in the U.S. in early summer. The film deals with an intellectual, personal, and ultimately fatal feud between an atheist and an evangelical Christian.
Matthew Chapman's mother Clare was the daughter of the philosophy professor and author Francis Cornford and poet Frances Cornford
(née Darwin), and through his maternal grandmother he is a great-great grandson of Charles Darwin
. His father, Cecil Chapman, was the son of the noted physicist and astronomer, Sydney Chapman, responsible for early research on the nature of the ozone layer.
Chapman has written widely on the creation-evolution controversy
in the US
, particularly the case of Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District
, in which 11 parents successfully sued the school district to prevent them from reading a required statement aloud in ninth-grade science classes whenever evolution was taught.
He has written and directed six films, written numerous screenplays, had articles published in Harper's magazine, and is the author of two books, "Trials Of The Monkey - An Accidental Memoir" and "40 Days and 40 Nights - Darwin, Intelligent Design, God, OxyContin, and Other Oddities on Trial in Pennsylvania" He is married to documentary film producer, Denise Dummont, with whom he has a daughter, Anna Bella Charles Darwin Teixeira Chapman, and a stepson, Diogo Marzo.
Matthew Chapman founded Science Debate 2008
(now simply Science Debate). His co-founders were fellow screenwriter Shawn Lawrence Otto
, CEO of the organization, science writer Chris Mooney, marine biologist and science blogger Sheril Kirshenbaum, noted physicist Lawrence Krauss, and philosopher Austin Dacey
. The organization was formed to pressure the presidential candidates to hold a debate on science and technology issues. Almost 40,000 people signed onto the website ScienceDebate2008.com in support of the idea, including many Nobel laureates, hundreds of universities, university presidents, dozens of science publications, business leaders and innovators, and practically every major science organization in America. Although the candidates did not agree to the two televised debates proposed by Science Debate 2008
, both Obama and McCain did participate in an online written version, providing detailed responses to the "14 Top Science Questions Facing America," a list suggested by the organization's members. Several of the earliest supporters of Science Debate are now in the Obama administration, including Energy Secretary Steven Chu
, NOAA Director Jane Lubchenco
, and Presidential Science Advisor John Holdren
. The organization continues to advocate for more discussion of science in public life, is expanding into education, and intends to hold debates in the mid-terms and in 2012 while developing a greater international profile. Debates modeled on the Science Debate initiative either have or will take place in Italy, Germany, and Sweden. Matthew Chapman remains its President.
Matthew Chapman currently lives in New York.
Articles by Matthew Chapman:
Articles about Matthew Chapman:
The Ledge (film)
The Ledge is a 2011 thriller film written and directed by Matthew Chapman, starring Charlie Hunnam, Terrence Howard, Liv Tyler and Patrick Wilson. The film premiered in the U.S...
, which he wrote and directed, stars Charlie Hunnam
Charlie Hunnam
Charles Matthew "Charlie" Hunnam is an English actor. He is perhaps best known to UK audiences as Pete Dunham in Green Street Hooligans and as Nathan Maloney in the Channel 4 hit drama Queer as Folk and to US audiences as Vice President of Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original Jackson...
, Liv Tyler
Liv Tyler
Liv Rundgren Tyler is an American actress and model. She is the daughter of Aerosmith's lead singer, Steven Tyler, and Bebe Buell, model and singer. Tyler began a career in modeling at the age of 14, but after less than a year she decided to focus on acting. She made her film debut in the 1994...
, Terrence Howard
Terrence Howard
Terrence Dashon Howard is an American actor. Having his first major role in the 1995 film Mr. Holland's Opus, which subsequently led to a number of roles in films and high visibility among African American audiences. Howard broke into the mainstream with a succession of well-reviewed television...
, and Patrick Wilson
Patrick Wilson (actor)
Patrick Joseph Wilson is an American actor and singer. Wilson has spent years singing lead roles in major Broadway musicals, beginning in 1996. In 2003, he appeared in the HBO mini-series Angels in America...
. It was shot in Louisiana in spring 2010 and was accepted into the main (U.S. Dramatic) competition at Sundance 2011. Bought by IFC, it will have its theatrical release in the U.S. in early summer. The film deals with an intellectual, personal, and ultimately fatal feud between an atheist and an evangelical Christian.
Matthew Chapman's mother Clare was the daughter of the philosophy professor and author Francis Cornford and poet Frances Cornford
Frances Cornford
Frances Crofts Cornford was an English poet.She was the daughter of the botanist Francis Darwin and Ellen Crofts, born into the Darwin — Wedgwood family. She was a granddaughter of the British naturalist Charles Darwin. Her elder half-brother was the golf writer Bernard Darwin...
(née Darwin), and through his maternal grandmother he is a great-great grandson of Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
. His father, Cecil Chapman, was the son of the noted physicist and astronomer, Sydney Chapman, responsible for early research on the nature of the ozone layer.
Chapman has written widely on the creation-evolution controversy
Creation-evolution controversy
The creation–evolution controversy is a recurring cultural, political, and theological dispute about the origins of the Earth, humanity, life, and the universe....
in the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, particularly the case of Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District
Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District
Tammy Kitzmiller, et al. v. Dover Area School District, et al. was the first direct challenge brought in the United States federal courts testing a public school district policy that required the teaching of intelligent design...
, in which 11 parents successfully sued the school district to prevent them from reading a required statement aloud in ninth-grade science classes whenever evolution was taught.
He has written and directed six films, written numerous screenplays, had articles published in Harper's magazine, and is the author of two books, "Trials Of The Monkey - An Accidental Memoir" and "40 Days and 40 Nights - Darwin, Intelligent Design, God, OxyContin, and Other Oddities on Trial in Pennsylvania" He is married to documentary film producer, Denise Dummont, with whom he has a daughter, Anna Bella Charles Darwin Teixeira Chapman, and a stepson, Diogo Marzo.
Matthew Chapman founded Science Debate 2008
Science Debate 2008
Science Debate 2008 was a grassroots campaign to call for a public debate in which the candidates for the 2008 U.S. presidential election discuss issues relating to the environment, health and medicine, and science and technology policy. The effort was co-chaired by U.S. House representatives...
(now simply Science Debate). His co-founders were fellow screenwriter Shawn Lawrence Otto
Shawn Lawrence Otto
Shawn Lawrence Otto is an author, filmmaker, political strategist, speaker, science advocate, and screenwriter and co-producer of the movie House of Sand and Fog.-Bio:...
, CEO of the organization, science writer Chris Mooney, marine biologist and science blogger Sheril Kirshenbaum, noted physicist Lawrence Krauss, and philosopher Austin Dacey
Austin Dacey
Austin Dacey is an American philosopher, writer, and human rights activist whose work concerns secularism, religion, freedom of expression, and freedom of conscience...
. The organization was formed to pressure the presidential candidates to hold a debate on science and technology issues. Almost 40,000 people signed onto the website ScienceDebate2008.com in support of the idea, including many Nobel laureates, hundreds of universities, university presidents, dozens of science publications, business leaders and innovators, and practically every major science organization in America. Although the candidates did not agree to the two televised debates proposed by Science Debate 2008
Science Debate 2008
Science Debate 2008 was a grassroots campaign to call for a public debate in which the candidates for the 2008 U.S. presidential election discuss issues relating to the environment, health and medicine, and science and technology policy. The effort was co-chaired by U.S. House representatives...
, both Obama and McCain did participate in an online written version, providing detailed responses to the "14 Top Science Questions Facing America," a list suggested by the organization's members. Several of the earliest supporters of Science Debate are now in the Obama administration, including Energy Secretary Steven Chu
Steven Chu
Steven Chu is an American physicist and the 12th United States Secretary of Energy. Chu is known for his research at Bell Labs in cooling and trapping of atoms with laser light, which won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1997, along with his scientific colleagues Claude Cohen-Tannoudji and...
, NOAA Director Jane Lubchenco
Jane Lubchenco
Dr. Jane Lubchenco is a Ukrainian-American environmental scientist and marine ecologist. On March 19, 2009, she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the first woman to serve as the administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration .While performing duties as head of NOAA, Dr...
, and Presidential Science Advisor John Holdren
John Holdren
John Paul Holdren is advisor to President Barack Obama for Science and Technology, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Co-Chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology...
. The organization continues to advocate for more discussion of science in public life, is expanding into education, and intends to hold debates in the mid-terms and in 2012 while developing a greater international profile. Debates modeled on the Science Debate initiative either have or will take place in Italy, Germany, and Sweden. Matthew Chapman remains its President.
Matthew Chapman currently lives in New York.
Books
- Trials of the Monkey: An Accidental Memoir (Picador, July 5, 2002) ISBN 0312300786
- 40 Days and 40 Nights: Darwin, Intelligent Design, God, OxyContin, and Other Oddities on Trial in Pennsylvania40 Days and 40 Nights (book)40 Days and 40 Nights: Darwin, Intelligent Design, God, OxyContin, and Other Oddities on Trial in Pennsylvania is a 2007 non fiction book about the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District trial of 2005. Author Matthew Chapman, a journalist, screenwriter and director reported on the trial for...
. (Harper Collins, April 10, 2007) ISBN 0061179450
Filmography
- Hussy (1980) (screenplay, director)
- Strangers KissStrangers KissStrangers Kiss is a 1983 drama directed by Matthew Chapman and starring Peter Coyote, Victoria Tennant, Dan Shor and Blaine Novak. The film about which this film portrays the making, is Killer's Kiss.-Plot:...
(1983) (screenplay, director) - Slow BurnSlow Burn (1986 film)Slow Burn is a 1986 American television drama film noir presented by Joel Schumacher and directed by Matthew Chapman. Chapman also adapted screenplay from the novel of Arthur Lyons named Castles Burning. Film stars include Eric Roberts, Beverly D'Angelo, Dennis Lipscomb, Raymond J...
(1986) (screenplay, director) - Heart of MidnightHeart of Midnight (film)Heart of Midnight is a 1988 American thriller film written and directed by Matthew Chapman and starring Jennifer Jason Leigh. The story follows a young woman with a troubled past who has a hard time dealing with the reality of her new surroundings...
(1988) (screenplay, director) - A Grande ArteA Grande ArteA Grande Arte , is a 1991 Brazilian movie directed by Walter Salles Jr. and starring Peter Coyote. Loosely based on the book A Grande Arte written by Brazilian Rubem Fonseca, it is one of the first works of Salles Jr...
(1991) (additional dialogue) (screenplay: English version) - Consenting Adults (1992) (screenplay)
- Color of NightColor of NightColor of Night is a 1994 American erotic mystery thriller film produced by Cinergi Pictures and released in the United States by Hollywood Pictures. Directed by Richard Rush, the film stars Bruce Willis, Jane March, Ruben Blades, Lesley Ann Warren, and Scott Bakula...
(1994) (screenplay) - What's the Worst That Could Happen?What's the Worst That Could Happen?What's the Worst That Could Happen? is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Sam Weisman and starring Martin Lawrence and Danny DeVito. Loosely based on the book of the same name by Donald Westlake, the film's supporting cast includes John Leguizamo, Bernie Mac, Larry Miller, Nora Dunn, GQ, and...
(2001) (screenplay) - Runaway JuryRunaway JuryRunaway Jury is a 2003 American drama/thriller film directed by Gary Fleder and starring John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, and Rachel Weisz...
(2003) (screenplay) - Black Water TransitBlack Water TransitBlack Water Transit is a 2009 crime drama film based on the novel of the same name by Carsten Stroud. It is directed by Tony Kaye and stars an ensemble cast including Laurence Fishburne and Karl Urban...
(2009) (screenplay) - The LedgeThe Ledge (film)The Ledge is a 2011 thriller film written and directed by Matthew Chapman, starring Charlie Hunnam, Terrence Howard, Liv Tyler and Patrick Wilson. The film premiered in the U.S...
(2011) (screenplay, director)
External links
Articles by Matthew Chapman:
- "What I Think About Brownback" at The Huffington PostThe Huffington PostThe Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
- God or gorilla: A Darwin descendant at the Dover monkey trial at Harper's MagazineHarper's MagazineHarper's Magazine is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts, with a generally left-wing perspective. It is the second-oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. . The current editor is Ellen Rosenbush, who replaced Roger Hodge in January 2010...
- God or gorilla: A Darwin descendant at the Dover monkey trial at www.wesjones.com
Articles about Matthew Chapman:
- "Darwin Descendant Reflects on Attacks on Evolution" - from NPRNPRNPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
- "Darwin's kin hears end of intelligent-design testimony" - article on Chapman's appearance at the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School DistrictKitzmiller v. Dover Area School DistrictTammy Kitzmiller, et al. v. Dover Area School District, et al. was the first direct challenge brought in the United States federal courts testing a public school district policy that required the teaching of intelligent design...
hearing at the Pittsburgh Post-GazettePittsburgh Post-GazetteThe Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, also known simply as the "PG," is the largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.-Early history:...