Exclusive CS Video: Creation Director Jon Amiel

The story behind the writing of Charles Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species” might not sound like the most exciting basis for a movie, but in the hands of Jon Amiel, the director of such diverse movies as Entrapment and Sommersby, that story is told in a clever visual way in the new movie Creation, starring Paul Bettany as Darwin and Jennifer Connelly as his loving wife Emma.

Loosely based on the novel “Annie’s Box” by Darwin’s great-great grandson Randall Keynes, Creation covers the many years Darwin spent researching and writing his most famous work while also dealing with the death of 10-year-old daughter Annie to a disease that seems to be afflicting him as well. At the same time, he finds himself in conflict with his religious wife who refuses to accept theories that disprove the stories of creation that had been the basis for most of the world’s religions. Besides being a strong dramatic film due to the performances from Bettany and Connelly, it also explores the connections between man and animal in a number of interesting ways without losing sight of Darwin as a family man.

ComingSoon.net had a chance to talk about the film with director Jon Amiel last week, and some of the things we discussed in the exclusive video interview below include:

* The basics of how Amiel wanted to approach the material

* The genesis of the project

* How he wanted to tell the story visually

* How much access he had to Darwin’s archives and letters

* Talking about the time-lapse dream sequences

* Working with animals and children

* Concerns about working with a married couple as your leads

* And more!

Creation opens in New York and L.A. on Friday, January 22. Look for our interview with Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly very soon.

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