Matthew Chapman (author)
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Matthew Chapman (born 1950) is a journalist, screenwriter, and director.
His mother Clare was the daughter of the the philosophy professor and author Francis Cornford and poet Frances Cornford (nee Darwin), and through his maternal grandmother he is a great-great grandson of Charles Darwin.
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 numerous screenplays, had articles published in Harper's magazine and in Salon. He is married to the actress and documentary film producer Denise Dumont, and 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. Matthew Chapman remains its President.
Matthew Chapman currently lives in New York. He continues to write screenplays and books.
[edit] Books
- Trials of the Monkey: An Accidental Memoir (2002)
- 40 Days and 40 Nights: Darwin, Intelligent Design, God, OxyContin, and Other Oddities on Trial in Pennsylvania. (Harper Collins, April 10, 2007) ISBN 0061179450
[edit] Filmography
- Black Water Transit (2009) (screenplay)
- Runaway Jury (2003) (screenplay)
- What's the Worst That Could Happen? (2001) (screenplay)
- Color of Night (1994) (screenplay)
- Consenting Adults (1992) (written by)
- A Grande Arte (1991) (additional dialogue) (screenplay: English version)
- Heart of Midnight (1988) (screenplay, director)
- Slow Burn (1986) (screenplay, director)
- Stranger's Kiss (1983) (screenplay, director)
- Hussy (1980) (screenplay, director)
[edit] External links
Articles by Matthew Chapman:
- "What I Think About Brownback" at The Huffington Post
- God or gorilla: A Darwin descendant at the Dover monkey trial at Harper's Magazine
Articles about Matthew Chapman:
- "Darwin Descendant Reflects on Attacks on Evolution" - from NPR
- "Darwin's kin hears end of intelligent-design testimony" - article on Chapman's appearance at the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District hearing at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
