‘The Unbelievers’ follows renowned scientists Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss across the globe as they speak publicly about the importance of science and reason in the modern world – encouraging others to cast off antiquated religious and politically motivated approaches toward important current issues.
The film includes interviews with celebrities and other influential people who support the work of these controversial speakers, including Ricky Gervais, Woody Allen, Cameron Diaz, Stephen Hawking, Sarah Silverman, Werner Herzog, Bill Maher, Stephen Colbert, Eddie Izzard and many more.
How did the celebrity appearances come about? Some are well known atheists, but I must admit a couple surprised me?
Gus Holwerda: Some are well known, some aren’t. Not everyone that appears is an atheist. Cameron Diaz, she is definitely not an atheist, she is a little more…
Luke Holwerda: I describe her as having kind of “Einstein’s God”…
Gus Holwerda: I mean she would definitely say she believes in God, where Einstein did’t, but her view of God is very kinda broad and universal.
Luke Holwerda: Spiritual …
Gus Holwerda: Cormac McCarthy is kinda undecided, Sarah Silverman considers herself an agnostic. The rest of them are mostly quite outspoken, Ricky Gervais and Woody Allen are known for their positions.
Luke Holwerda: The biggest connection between these celebrities is that they are fans of the authors or fans of science and popularizing fact over fiction. That is why they wanted to be part of this.
Gus Holwerda: It was more important to just show that people that might be looked up to by others are willing to embrace what these guys are talking about. It doesn’t mean they all agree with what they say, but they are willing to embrace it. The way it came about was really that we shot the whole film and we only had the ones that appear on the film as clips ( like Stephen Colbert) that is until Woody Allen agreed to do an interview with us and then a lot more wanted to be part of it.
Luke Holwerda: The way we used them in the movie is more like a preface to a book. They are setting up what this movie is going to be about “These guys are important, we look up to them, you should too”. Then you watch the movie you see them and what they are doing and at the end of the movie they start this conversation and what we hope that this will be open ended enough that whoever watches the film will continue the conversation with their friends.
Full Interview: Alternavox.com
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Stephen Colbert Featured in 'The Unbelievers'
(Thank you to StephenSmile64 for the Tip!)