Students School Kirk Cameron on Darwin

New video is a blast from the past

(NEWSER) - Evie from Out of This World and Wesley T. Owens from Mr. Belvedere have a message for Kirk Cameron: Cool it with the anti-gay stuff . Evie (aka Maureen Flannigan) and Wesley (aka Brice Beckham) are two of the former child stars who appear in Funny or Die's new video , Child Celebrities Opposing Kirk Cameron. The video, which also features stars from Adventures in Babysitting, The Parent 'Hood, Step By Step, The Hogan Family, and Charles in Charge, ends with Beckham noting, "I'm a CCOKC. And Kirk, you're just a dick." More»

Says he's been 'slandered' unfairly

(NEWSER) - Kirk Cameron, predictably, responded today to the controversy over his recent comments on the "destructiveness" of homosexuality , but he's not backing down. When he appeared on Piers Morgan Tonight Friday, "I spoke as honestly as I could, but some people believe my responses were not loving toward those in the gay community," says Cameron in an email statement to ABC News . "That is not true. I can assuredly say that it’s my life’s mission to love all people." More»

Biologists take the opportunity to show kids science is 'cool'

(NEWSER) - How to celebrate "Darwin Day" in rural America? Very carefully, the New York Times reports: When evolutionary biologists set out on a road trip this weekend to Virginia, Nebraska, Montana, and Iowa to promote science in honor of Charles Darwin's 202nd birthday, one high school principal made sure to send out permission slips (two parents opted out). A museum vice president only publicized the event to teachers, not the community at large. Even so, the intended audience—students—seemed to deem the events a success: One 10th-grader blogged that the scientists "told it like it is." More»

Critics agree Paul Bettany shines, but premise falls mostly flat

(NEWSER) - Critics agree that on paper, Creation has a lot going for it. But they don't think the flick delivers the thrill of Charles Darwin's groundbreaking work:

• "Director Jon Amiel has reduced a crucial moment in science to a Lifetime weepie about a workaholic who needs personal tragedy to wake him up to his wife's virtues," Peter Travers writes in Rolling Stone . The fact that stars Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly are married in real life "adds surprisingly little zest."

Brits 'can't imagine religion in America': Jeremy Thomas

(NEWSER) - The producer of a new film about Charles Darwin says he hasn't landed a US distribution deal because Americans can't stand the theory of evolution, the Daily Mail reports. Creation, the story of Darwin's struggle between reason and faith as he wrote The Origin of Species, has opened the Toronto Film Festival and sold to several other countries. "It is unbelievable to us that this is still a really hot potato in America," says Oscar-winning producer Jeremy Thomas. More»