 His comments in the mainstream press, and the publicity surrounding the Toronto premiere, provoked flame wars across religious, atheist, science, and film communities on the Internet.Posts on related blogs such as film critic Roger Ebert's, a noted admirer of Darwin, stretched into the hundreds.On 24 September 2009, "Variety" reported that Newmarket Films had acquired the rights to the film, which was then released on 22 January in the US.