Atheist writer-director Matthew Chapman’s “The Ledge” opened July 8 in Los Angeles and New York City. It was nominated for Best U.S. Drama at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.
“The Ledge” has an A-list cast (Charlie Hunnam, Liv Tyler, Terence Howard and Patrick Wilson) and an openly atheist hero. Chapman’s website summarizes it: “A thriller in which a battle of philosophies between a fundamentalist Christian and an atheist escalates into a lethal battle of wills. Ultimately, as a test of faith, or lack of it, the believer forces the nonbeliever onto the ledge of a tall building. He then has one hour to make a choice between his own life and someone else’s. Without faith in an afterlife, will he be capable of such a sacrifice?”
Chapman, who is Charles Darwin’s great-great grandson, was a 2008 guest on Freethought Radio. Chapman has written widely on the creation-evolution controversy, particularly the case of Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, in which 11 parents successfully sued the school district to prevent a required statement in science classes whenever evolution was taught.
He’s also written 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.
“The Ledge” is available now through Video on Demand (your cable service), the iTunes Store and at SundanceNow.com/.
