New DVD releases: 'Rome' and 'Darwin's Darkest Hour'

Both Rome: The Complete Series DVD featuring Kevin McKidd and Darwin's Darkest Hour with Henry Ian Cusick debut on DVD today.

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Henry Ian Cusick talks about being Darwin

The official Darwin's Darkest Hour website has been newly updated, and includes an interview with star Henry Ian Cusick. Here are excerpts from the site:

Q: So you knew something about the era before taking this new role. Did you know much about Darwin?

Cusick: No, I didn't. And he's been sort of misinterpreted, I think. It's going to be really interesting for any creationists—if they tune in, which I don't know if they will—to see what a family man he was, what a religious man he was in the beginning, and how he sat on this information for such a long time. Because his dilemma was: Do I publish or do I not?

Q: In the film, the death of Darwin's two children, particularly his daughter Annie, is very pivotal. Did having kids yourself help you prepare for those scenes?

Cusick: I think any parent, at some time or other, has thoughts of their child dying. That's probably one of the worst things that could ever happen to a parent. So yes, it certainly made it easier for me to play, having children of my own.

Q: Were you surprised by anything you learned about Darwin or his theory through the course of doing this project?

Cusick: Yes. You know, for all the creationists out there, Darwin's just an atheist. But he was actually agnostic. There's a passage in the film in which he says that he doesn't know where the initial spark of life came from, you know? He thought that that spark of life came to Earth, and then from that one spark all these other things were created. And I think that's a very honest and open view. I don't see how anyone can say he's anti-Bible, anti-God. He's saying he just doesn't know. He doesn't know where the first spark came from.

The passage in the script, from Darwin's own writing, goes: "I think there's beauty—and grandeur—in a view of life having been originally breathed into perhaps a single form, and that from so simple a beginning, endless forms, most beautiful and wonderful, have been and are being evolved."

Be sure to go here for the entire interview and be sure to check out the new website.

Don't forget that the the two-hour drama premieres Tuesday, October 6th at 8PM ET/PT on PBS.

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Another clip from Darwin's Darkest Hour

The two-hour drama starring Henry Ian Cusick premieres Tuesday, October 6th at 8PM ET/PT on PBS:



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Darwin's Darkest Hour website launch

I got an e-mail from a NOVA representative about the upcoming film, so I'll pass on the information to you.

The Darwin's Darkest Hour companion website will launch tomorrow, Tuesday, September 22 and will include an interview with Henry Ian Cusick.

Here's what you'll find on the companion website:

A NOVA Drama
In this Q&A, Paula Apsell, Senior Executive Producer of NOVA explains why she wanted to bring Darwin to life through a scripted drama, and the importance of keeping the topic of evolution in the spotlight.

Explore the Galapagos
Of all places on Earth, this island chain may be the most important to our understanding of evolution. On this interactive map, tour the Galapagos and get a sense of their signature wildlife species and geology through video, audio, and panoramic images. Also, learn how visiting the islands inspired Darwin's thinking.

Parallel Lives
In this article, Sean Carroll, one of the luminaries of evolutionary science today, reflects on the parallel discoveries Darwin and Wallace made on each man's road to understanding evolution's primary mechanism, natural selection.

The Scriptwriter's Story: Capturing Darwin's Dilemma
In this interview, scriptwriter John Goldsmith discusses how the dialogue, characters, and events of the drama relate to the historical record, and the extraordinary research he did to get the details right.

The Actor's Story: Being Charles Darwin
Henry Ian Cusick, widely known as Desmond Hume in the hit series "Lost," relished his chance to take on the role of a very different character. He knew little about Darwin at the outset of the project, and stepping into Darwin's shoes changed Cusick's views about the man and evolution in general.

Watch the Program
Beginning the day after "Darwin's Darkest Hour" premieres on television, you can view the entire program online at anytime.

Here's a prologue for you to watch:

PBS promos: Henry Ian Cusick in Darwin's Darkest Hour and David Tennant hosts Masterpiece Contemporary

PBS unveiled a promo a few days ago for Darwin's Darkest Hour starring Henry Ian Cusick. The two-hour film will air on NOVA on PBS in the US on October 6.



PBS also has a preview for the fall 2009 season of Masterpiece Contemporary featuring David Tennant. The season will include a showing of Collision starring Scottish actor Douglas Henshall which will air on Sundays November 15 and 22.



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Darwin's Darkest Hour: Early screening and Blu-ray release

The premiere screening of Darwin's Darkest Hour, starring Henry Ian Cusick will take place on October 5 at 7pm in Washington D.C. After the two-hour screening director John Bradshaw, screenwriter John Goldsmith, and executive producer John Bredar, and senior executive producer Paula Apsell will have a discussion about the film. Ticket prices for members are $8, while the price is $10 for the general public. National Geographic lists the following as the address for the event:

1600 M Street, NW
Washington, D.C., US
20036

Telephone: +1 202 857 7700

The website also features directions to the event for anyone who is interested.

National Geographic and Warner have announced that Darwin's Darkest Hour will be released on Blu-ray on November 17. The Blu-ray disc will include a behind-the-scenes featurette and The Galapagos Islands.

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Photos of Henry Ian Cusick as Charles Darwin

Got these photos from Henry Ian Daily from Darwin's Darkest Hour which will air on PBS on October 6. Whoa, Charles Darwin is dreamy.



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Henry Ian Cusick's Darwin project to premier in October

Henry Ian Cusick's movie about Charles Darwin is set to air on PBS on October 6, 2009. The project had originally been titled I, Darwin, but it will now be titled Darwin's Darkest Hour.

The film is set to mark the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species. Darwin's Darkest Hour focuses on two weeks in the summer of 1858 just before the publication of The Origin of Species. It is National Geographic's Television's first scripted film and will air on the PBS series NOVA.

Thanks so much to Kathy for keeping us up to date on this project.

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Henry Ian Cusick talks about Darwin

After an 18-day shooting schedule, I, Darwin starring Henry Ian Cusick has just wrapped shooting. The made-for TV film is set in 1858, and Charles Darwin's voyage on the Beagle will be shown in flashbacks. Henry Ian Cusick discussed what it was like to play Darwin as a young man:

For Cusick, assuming the mantle of a man who changed the way we look at life on this planet is a much different task from running through the jungle and tripping through time on Lost, although he previously held the role of Darwin’s prede­cessor, pioneering 19th century palaeontologist Gideon Mantell, in National Geographic’s docu­mentary The Dinosaur Hunters. His portrayal is a far cry from the common image of an aged Darwin, bald and heavily beard­ed, and confined to his home in Kent by a series of illnesses.

“We never think of Darwin as a young man, but imagine him do­ing the Beagle voyage around South America for five years; you’d have to be fit, strong, brave and adventurous to go to all of these places," says Cusick, look­ing pretty fit himself under star­chy layers of Victorian finery. “It’s not like travelling now; you’d arrive in some remote place and not know how you would be greeted by the natives. You really had to have your wits about you, and when we think about Darwin, we don’t think of the adventurer or the brave man, we think of the intellectual.

“But he was a crack shot, a fan­tastic horseman, although when he came back to England he de­veloped these illnesses. He might have picked up a parasite on his journeys, or perhaps it was stress-related because he had this answer to something that he really didn’t want to give to the world, until Wallace’s pa­per forced his hand." [TheChronicleHerald.ca]

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Henry Ian Cusick working on new film

Lost star Henry Ian Cusick is currently shooting a new movie for PBS about Charles Darwin. The film, titled I, Darwin is shooting in Nova Scotia and centers around the time just before Darwin published his book. Henry Ian Cusick plays Charles Darwin, while Australian actress Frances O'Connor plays his wife, Emma.

Darwin’s 200th birthday was in February, and this year also marks the 150th anniversary of On the Origin of Species.

Thanks so much to Kathy for sending along this information to me.

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