Dover on the big screen
I was waiting for something like this, and now it appears it will happen. The Intelligent Design controversy in Dover, Pa., and the trial in 2005 in U.S. District Court in Harrisburg, Pa., that demolished the concept, is coming to the big screen. No date has been set even to begin filming, but it is for real.
The "untitled Dover project" will have a script by Ron Nyswaner, who has a distinguished scriptwriting pedigree that includes the Oscar-winning "Philadelphia" in 1993. Nyswaner is a native of Clarksville, Pa., a small town midway between Uniontown and Washington, Pa., in the southwestern corner of the state. His most recent script was for "The Painted Veil," which played recently at the Midtown Theatre in Harrisburg. The Dover film will be produced by Lynda Obst, who has an equally long production pedigree ranging from "Adventures in Babysitting" in 1987 to "Sleepless in Seattle." Her most recent film was Kate Hudson's "How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days." No word yet on a director.
U.S. District Judge John Jones III, who ruled that Intelligent Design was not science and could not be taught as science in public schools, said in jest afterward--in the glow of positive attention he received for the decision--that he wanted to be played by actor George Clooney. He bears a passing resemblance to Clooney, but a judge doesn't seem a George Clooney type of role. I suspect the meaty parts will be those of the school board members who forced Intelligent Design on the Dover schools, and the ACLU lawyers who litigated the case.
The Dover film is unlikely to be friendly to the proponents of Intelligent Design, especially the school board members, but I hope it will show restraint and be fair to the Dover residents who were misled by their clergy and other evolution opponents into believing that Intelligent Design was real science. They paid a price in humiliation, in some cases shattered belief, and real cash--the legal fees incurred by the school board will take years to pay off in taxes. The story is loaded with drama, perhaps as much as that other film/play about evolution, "Inherit the Wind," which is being revived on Broadway this spring.
Judge Jones has said his one regret in the case is rejecting a petition from Court TV to televise the trial so people could see the evidence for themselves. If Nyswaner's film is a good one, and there is no reason to think it won't be, perhaps the public will get a second chance.