Director/Writer: Thriller Could Visit Philly Area

Matthew Chapman is no stranger to emotionally charged issues. The author, director and screenplay writer has tackled tough subjects, including religious extremism.

But his new project, “The Ledge,” uncovers another side of the creator. 

“I’ve written a lot of thrillers for Hollywood, but none of them reflected much of who I am as a person,” Chapman said last week.

His screenplay credits include “Runaway Jury,” which starred Dustin Hoffman, Gene Hackman, John Cusack, and Rachel Weisz, “Color of Night” starring Bruce Willis, and “Consenting Adults,” starring Kevin Spacey and Kevin Kline. 

Chapman started crafting “The Ledge,” a philosophical thriller that surrounds a love triangle, after he spent time in Dover, York County, Pa., following a 2005 court case brought on by parents who challenged a public school’s attempt to teach intelligent design as alternative to evolution in its biology curriculum.

U.S. Middle District Court Judge John E. Jones III, a Pottsville native, presided over the case.

Chapman, Charles Darwin’s great-great grandson, wrote of the case in his book, "40 Days and 40 Nights - Darwin, Intelligent Design, God, OxyContin, and Other Oddities On Trial in Pennsylvania,” published by Harper/Collins.

He said he wrote “The Ledge” for himself, without a plan for it to be developed.

“I was really doing it for my own pleasure,” Chapman said. “One motivation … was the number of people I met in Pennsylvania who were fervent Christians.” 

The story features a “very flawed” atheist character, which Christians would likely describe as a good soul, Chapman said. 

The film will be shown in New York and Los Angeles on July 8, and can be viewed via the iTunes Store and online at Sundance Now.

If the movie is successful in those venues, it will likely be shown in other cities such as Philadelphia, Chapman said.

“It’s only when it gets out into the theaters in local communities … that it’s reviewed,” he said. 

The actors are “spectacular” in the film, he said.

“I love the cast I’ve got,” Chapman said, adding he hopes the movie will inspire its audience to accept people with different views.

“Be tolerant,” he said.

That message is one of the reasons Christopher Gorham appreciates “The Ledge,” he said on Monday. 

“I thought it was such a well written script,” said Gorham, who stars in the USA Network series “Covert Affairs” and played the character Henry on "Ugly Betty."

Gorham said he’s “proud and grateful” to be part of The Ledge.

“The ending … is just so powerful,” he said.

SEE MORE "LEDGE" TALK:

• Liv Tyler on Nudity

• Patrick Wilson on Emotions

• Matthew Chapman asks, "Who has the bigger closet ..."

• Terrence Howard and Chris Gorham at Sundance

• Charlie Hunnam and Terrence Howard on independent films

• Chapman on "The Ledge"