Killer at Large audio interview

I did an interview for Killer at Large.

You can listen to it by clicking this link: (audio here).

The film is picking up quite a bit of heat.

Nader in Salt Lake

Ashley Sanders who is in our forthcoming BYU 25 documentary asked me to spread the word about Ralph Nader's visit on the 31st.

Be there.

Big Shiny Robots! at Comic-Con!

For the few of you readers who are nerds like I am, you'll be greatly interested to know that Big Shiny Robot! (www.bigshinyrobot.com) is doing pretty consistent and constant comic-con coverage for the next four or five days.

I'll be following it closely, since this is the first time in a long time that I haven't been able to go.

And it makes me sad.

For all of their comic-con articles, click here.

Short Story Blog....

...has been updated.

Check it out here.

Couldn't Help Myself

I was so mega drunk when this picture was taken. But whatever. That's Harvey Fucking Dent.

Conan, ET, Viggo

Great Video

I've been watching far too much Alfred Hitchcock Presents and I thought this was one of his best intros:

Deseret News likes Killer at Large!

Despite Tad Walch's best efforts, the truth has been printed in the Deseret News.

Jeff Vice did a quick review of the film and called it "Impressive" and said "[We've] really done our research".

You can check it out here.

New Huffington Post Editorial

This one is called Politics in Comic Books.

Read it and comment.

Another Example of American Patriotism

I found this at Blame It On the Voices. It's rather old (2002), but still. WTF.

PUBLIC INVITATION for TAD WALCH

As mentioned below by Bryan, we are having another screening of Killer at Large due to public demand.

In an effort to assist Deseret News Utah County bureau chief Tad Walch's journalistic integrity, I would like to offer him a free ticket to our film screening in Orem. He's already publically said, "No thanks" to seeing Killer at Large, but I would still like to invite him to at least see it first so that he can see how silly he was to lazily dismiss such an important film.

Here's the screening info:

KILLER AT LARGE
Friday, July 25th
7:00pm
Festival Cinemas (behind University Mall in Orem)
Tad Walch gets in for free.

I'll keep you guys posted as to whether he actually comes or not. He may be too busy reading my blog.

The Deseret News Foofaraw

So, we were all surprised to see that a Deseret News article by Utah County bureau chief Tad Walch attacked one of Steve's blog posts and the integrity of This Divided State and BYU 25 and then went on to dismiss Killer at Large.

You can read his original article here.

It's pretty bad. So Steve asked for some help drafting a response and so the response blocked out below is what we came up with.

It was surprising to me to find an editorial aimed squarely at me in Saturday's Deseret News. Apparently, a musing I had posted on my blog incited such fury in Utah County bureau chief Tad Walch that he saw fit to write a scathing two-page attack both on me personally and my body of work.

I don't mind the constructive clash of ideas. The jest of my blog post was an opinion (albeit colorful and rather sarcastic) that Utah County overwhelmingly displays both distorted patriotism and blatant superficiality. The fact that the headline "Utah Has Lowest Voter Turnout in Nation" came the day after the patriotic smorgasbord called "Stadium of Fire" was particularly fascinating to me. Mr. Walch, God love him, clearly holds a different opinion. I would have no qualms discussing these differences at length with him on another day.

No, my concern for his editorial stems from a number of different issues.

Firstly, there are much more important things going on in the world that deserve a 700 word column. Mr. Walch's decision to dedicate this space to elaborate his fury against a random internet blogger seems a waste of time and a misuse of journalistic potential. Perhaps this country wouldn't be in the sort of crisis it's currently in if more "journalists" like Mr. Walch paid more attention to crucial social events rather than what the "buzz" on the internet is.

Secondly, Mr. Walch decided to write his article without contacting me, or any of my production team, for comment. Because of this error, in both his judgment and journalistic integrity, Mr. Walch printed two factual inaccuracies in his article. First, he claims that my team and I "made fun of ultra-conservatives" in our first film, This Divided State. We produced, what dozens of critics across the country called, one of "the most balanced documentaries ever made" that "let's both sides have their say". Further, he falsely claims that we "manipulatively edited some film to cast an inaccurate [sic] light on BYU President Cecil Samuelson." This libelous statement is all the more damaging to Mr. Walch since a simple phone call to us would have provided him with any raw footage he needed in order to prove that no "manipulative editing" was done to cast anyone in an "inaccurate light." Knowing that it's a very bold thing to call someone a liar in print, I'll state frankly that in this instance Mr. Walch is a liar.

The third issue is his lazy dismissal of the newest film my team and I have worked for the last two years on. Claiming my blogpost was a desperate bid for attention for my new film, he called on his reading public to say, "No, thanks," to "Killer at Large."

Killer at Large is a film about the American obesity epidemic that, according to former Surgeon General Richard Carmona, is a "greater threat to our country than 9/11 or any terrorist threat you can point out to me". To dismiss an issue of this magnitude (and to call all of his readers to ignore it as well) is, at best, a sign of ignorance and, at worst, a damaging action to our entire community.

You see, Killer at Large is a non-partisan examination of the surprising causes of obesity, why it's costing American tax-payers more than the war in Iraq, why it's the single largest health crisis affecting our country and our community and more importantly what we can do about it. In it's short life (public screenings started a mere three weeks ago), the film has won three international awards and has been called "entertaining cinematic advocacy journalism" on " the right side of the issue" by critics.

Since Mr. Walch is the bureau chief of Utah County, we're having a screening of Killer at Large on Friday, July 25th at 7:00pm at the Festival Cinemas behind University Mall. We'd like to extend Mr. Walch a V.I.P invitation to the movie. Perhaps afterwards we can have a discussion that's both constructive and worth talking about, unlike his recent musings about internet blogging.

But they didn't print it like this. This is what ended up getting printed.

They cut off the last two paragraphs, which was our challenge to Mr. Walch to come see the film and base his opinions more on fact than the conceit of his own arrogance which he seems so close to choking on.

Perhaps the Deseret News didn't want to call out Mr. Walch any further. Perhaps they didn't want him to know about the invitation. But, I know he reads this blog, so we're reprinting it right here.

We're doing a panel discussion after the film and would love to have a lively debate with Mr. Walch about the film after he sees it.

Somehow, I get the feeling he won't show up...

WHY SO SERIOUS?

Just a reminder (like you needed one) that The Dark Knight arrives tomorrow night at 11:59pm. I got my tickets a week ago and the show was already almost sold out. I don't think I've been more excited for a film's release than this. The only other movies I've gone apeshit over are Return of the King and Revenge of the Sith, the latter of which I dressed up like a Sith lord complete with lightsaber. Anyways, prediction? Knight will make over $130 million at the box office during opening weekend. If I turn out to be wrong, then I'm sure the Deseret News will write a huge article pointing that out.

DAILY LINKS Tue, July 15th

Protest Like a Man

Utah County is Still Batshit

Phil Gramm: McCain Supporter and Pornographer

Newest Democratic Pussy: John Conyers

Refresh Yourself on the Milgram Experiment (and then kinda apply it to today's world)

Most Bizarre Film Trailer Ever

This is from a really bizarre looking propaganda film from the fifties.



This would never fly these days, but I thought I'd share it since it was just so fascinating.

Note:

We will be commenting on the inaccuracies in the Deseret News editorial by Tad Walch that appeared in today's paper shortly.

Watch this space.

Radio West

Killer at Large is on Radio West right now.

Listen Live at Kuer.org

DELETED SCENE From Killer at Large

This was a scene cut from the second act of the film that illustrates the Sugar Industry's influence on the American Government to the detriment of the world over.





For more deleted scenes, click here.

"Killer at Large on "The Home Team"

This morning Steve, Elias and I appeared on the K-Jazz morning show "Home Team" to talk about the film and the obesity epidemic.

Part 1:










www.killeratlarge.com

The First Review of Killer at Large

Scott Renshaw with the Salt Lake City Weekly was the first to review "Killer at Large" and had this to say about it. (Read the original here.)

Director Steven Greenstreet captured a fascinating moment in local history with his documentary This Divided State, which chronicled the furor over Michael Moore’s appearance at (then) Utah Valley State College prior to the 2004 presidential election. For his next film, he has turned his attention beyond the Utah microcosm to a bigger picture—much, much bigger.

Killer at Large explores America’s obesity epidemic in a way that moves beyond the alarming statistics—two-thirds of the country is overweight or obese; 9 million children rank among that number—to offer a complex, comprehensive picture. While such expected villains as fast-food industry advertising and increasingly sedentary lifestyles make their appearance, Greenstreet also finds other, less obvious pieces of the puzzle. Our bodies’ evolutionary chemical response to stress—eat more and store it as fat—makes it harder to reduce the issue to platitudes like “eat less and exercise more.” And governmental policies come in for a sound thrashing, whether it’s farm subsidies that make processed food too cheap and easily accessible, or political neutering of the Surgeon General, or school lunch programs that actually discourage serving healthy meals. Don’t even ask what happens when two Murray High School teachers try to rally their students against omnipresent vending machines.

Perhaps the most compelling bits of Killer at Large, in light of skyrocketing fuel prices, deal with the impact of our diet on energy consumption. Ever wonder how much of our national petroleum purchases end up in agri-business uses? Or how much gasoline could be saved if our transportation wasn’t hauling around so much fat? Greenstreet has, and the answers are eye-opening.

The film covers a lot of ground, and inevitably loses some momentum and focus. What’s impressive is how consistently Greenstreet’s filmmaking keeps the simple dissemination of information engaging. It’s the kind of movie that isn’t worth seeing just because it’s on the right side of an issue; it’s entertaining cinematic advocacy journalism.

Join Greenstreet and other members of the Killer at Large creative team at the Tower Theatre on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. for a premiere screening. Proceeds from ticket sales will go to supporting Wasatch Community Garden. That’s a food decision we can all live with.

For more information, be sure to visit www.killeratlarge.com

Steve and I in the Media This Week

The filmmakers of "Killer at Large" will be appearing on various media programs in advance of their Salt Lake City Screening on July 9th. (More information about that can be found here.)

• Monday, July 7 - Director Steven Greenstreet and Producer Dr. Shawn Talbott will be in studio at KRCL (FM 90.9) from 6:00 - 7:00 pm on the Radioactive show to discuss the film and the issue of obesity. Internet users can listen live by visiting www.krcl.org.


• Tuesday, July 8 - Director Steven Greenstreet and Producers Bryan Young and Elias Pate will be appearing at 9:00 am on the KJZZ (Channel 13 in Utah) morning show "Home Team" at 9:00 am. For more information about Home Team, please visit their webpage.


• Wednesday, July 9 - Director Steven Greenstreet and Producers Bryan Young and Dr. Shawn Talbott will be appearing on NPR's daily interview program Radio West, which is aired on KUER FM 90.1 throughout the state of Utah from 11:00 am - Noon. Internet users can listen live by visiting www.kuer.org.

Be sure to keep checking the Killer at Large press site for more updates.

Utah County is America's Rectum

It was the 4th of July yesterday. A day that celebrates the founding of our nation, with all its hopes and dreams for a civilized society and inalienable rights given to all humanity.

But, from what I saw, no one spent the day mourning the death of said nation. No one spent the day yearning for its resurrection. No, most spent the day drinking beer, blowing shit up, and, in Utah County, booing U.S. Soldiers.

Before talking about reddest county in the universe, let me talk to you about this article.

It's entitled, "A Not So Glorious Fourth" by the Philadelphia Inquirer's Chris Satullo. The subtitle was "U.S. Artocities Are Unworthy of Our Heritage". That about says it all, but I encourage you to read it.

They've given us so many detractions these days, (Gas prices, a failing economy, job cut-backs, Madonna's marriage, etc) that we just assumed that America was still the shiny beacon of hope and justice it was at its founding. You might guess that it's not our fault if we didn't notice the great sins committed in the last 8 years. But you would have guessed wrong. We've noticed.

Unfortunately in this country, crimes against humanity and unConstitutional acts of treachery often comes with a stamp of "Patriotism" on them. Patriotism, like religion, has become a bastardized mutant of its original meaning and purpose. Many in this country have fallen folly to this deceiving guise. I don't want to call these people ignorant fools or mentally retarded clowns, but those are the only definitions my brain can come up with right now.

So, that takes us to Utah County, a virtual cornucopia of said patriots. Folks there give President Bush his current highest approval ratings nationwide. When Bush came to Utah last month, they threw millions of dollars his way. They loved, repeat loved, Mitt Romney with his promise to "double Guantanamo". Dick Cheney came and spoke at Brigham Young University's graduation last year to a cheering crowd of 50,000. And they laughed at all his jokes. And American flags? Not only are there hundreds of them flying about, but they even have their own American Flag factory.

But all of that is child's play when it comes to the 4th of July. These people go butter nuts around this time of year. The love it so much, that the festivities begin in mid-June with the launch of the annual "America's Freedom Festival". Dozens of activities where people try to prove they love freedom the most. There's the "most patriotic baby" contest where parents dress their kids up in such costumes as a marine holding a toy gun or a fighter pilot riding around in a toy bomber plane. Most of the kids are just doused in shit loads of red, white and blue and plopped on multiple tables in front of google-eyed judges. I've attended one of these horror shows before and it's like being stuck in the middle of a National Geographic anthropological study.

To save time, I will just say that dozens and dozens of events occur over the course of an entire month so that everyone in Utah County gets to celebrate the fuck out of America.

All of it culminates into, what I've coined as, the largest masturbatorium of patriotic elitism... "The Stadium of Fire". About 50,000 people cram into BYU's football stadium every 4th of July (or 3rd if the 4th is on a Sunday cuz God doesn't want you celebrating America on His day) and the crowd is hosted by a slew of intellectual giants such as Sean Hannity, Oliver North, or, this year, Glenn Beck.

I took a camera crew to one of these fascinating events back in 2004 when Hannity was hosting. The event would have even sent Hunter S. Thompson into catatonic shock. As soon as Hannity takes the stage, he announces to the entire audience that the U.S. had "found WMD in Iraq". The crowd had a conniption. They cheered and applauded for what seemed like 5 straight minutes. After that, everyone in the crowd had been given either a red, white or blue card. When they all lifted it above their heads, it turned into a gigantic flag mosaic. Hannity opined, "I think we have created the world's biggest American flag". The crowd went wild again, some throwing their American flag cards to the ground in order to clap and whistle.

The fireworks show ended the night and, goes without saying, the crowd fucking loved that shit too. The last fireworks ignited that night were flaming signs of all the corporate sponsors. I kid you not.

Flash forward to the 2008 show. Glenn Beck, whom I've heard just totally loves freedom, hosted the show and Miley "Hannah Montana" Cyrus was the closing act. But, in the middle of the program, a surprise. Utah soldiers serving in Iraq were linked live via satellite to the giant stadium screens for their families to watch. Their families had no idea this was going to happen. Some burst into tears.

One soldier said, "I can't believe I kept the surprise. I miss you."

The crowd went crazy with supportive applause.

And then another soldier picked up a University of Utah flag (BYU's rival) and said "Go Utes!" (the name of the football team).

The crowd's cheers turned into boos and jeers.

To recap, the crowd starting booing an American soldier while he stood in the hot desert of Iraq.

They supported him serving his country. They supported the flag he wore. They supported his sacrifice. And then he said he liked a football team that they didn't like and so they told him to go fuck himself.

And thus is Utah County. And the rest of the flag-waving "Obama is Muslim Terrorist" numbskulls in the country. Patriotism, at its very core, has become nothing more than a compensation for retardation. Filling in the stupid holes of our society with its empty elitism.

I tell ya, when the line between being a patriot or a traitor depends on what football team you like, we are all seriously screwed.

THE END


Update # 1:

On July 5th, the day after Utah County showed the whole world had patriotic they were, this story hit.

Update #2:

Watch Glenn Beck cry and the ghosts of Iwo Jima spin in their graves.

Watch a wave of 50,000 flags while tanks fire and army men parachute from the sky.

4th of July LINKS

What Makes America Great: Boobs

What Makes America Great: Gluttony

Crazy Religious People Pwn Themselves

Darwin Day

(Speaking of Darwin): Bad Guys Get the Most Girls

Marty Mcfly's Nikes Hit the Market

Conan the Barbarian and Kool Aid

Killer at Large: Deleted Scene

This is a scene that was cut from the second act of “Killer at Large”. After a joint Senate/FTC meeting to discuss childhood obesity and marketing of junk food to kids, the filmmakers of Killer at Large caught up with Dick Crawford, the Corporate Vice President of McDonalds to ask him some questions and he had some very interesting things to say. Afterwards, we looked at what really happened to Supersizing after Morgan Spurlock's film, Supersize me.



For more information about Killer at Large, visit our press site.

3 Awards for Killer at Large

So, we heard back from the Indie Gathering and Killer at Large won a Star Award for this year's fest.

The film should be playing there at the beginning of August.

I sort of also forgot to mention that we won two awards earlier in the week as well.

You can read more info about those two here.

A New Short Story Blog Post

This isn't actually a short story, but it's the beginning of the novel I'm warming up to write.

So, check it out and let me know if you think it's a good opening to a book you'd read.