A Zone’s Eye View with Brian Flemming of "Nothing So Strange"
Nothing MORE Strange
A Conversation With Director Brian Flemming By Robin Fox
EZ got a chance to ask director, producer and writer Brian Flemming a few questions on his project "Nothing So Strange" formerly known as " Mac Arthur Park".
Brian is the co-writer and producer for the off Broadway hit, "Bat Boy the Musical". He also wrote, "Hang Your Dog In the Wind" and self promoted the one time film festival Slumdance another one of his brilliant brainchildren.
A couple years ago a vision was started. This is where we come in, The Zone wanted to know the how, the why, and the what, of the story of "Macarthur Park" known today as, "Nothing So Strange".
"Nothing So Strange" Synopsis:
David James (who, coincidentally enough, recently appeared in a Microsoft print ad campaign) and Laurie Pike (the former editor and publisher of Glue magazine) star as leaders of the activist group Citizens for Truth, who aim to open the files of the police investigation of the Gates assassination, which was handled by the scandal-ridden Rampart Division of the LAPD. NOTHING SO STRANGE documents the group's dreams and struggles in their David-versus-Goliath battle.
A brief peek into Brian Flemming and "Nothing So Strange"
Z: Before we begin Brian, Congratulations on the selection to Slamdance.
BF: Thank you.
Z: How was it? Did you get a good reception on the film?
BF: Yeah. The Q&A's were very lively. It's fun talking about how this
film was made. On most films, including my own previous film, the
Q&A's are boring--some yahoo asks how much the film cost to make, you
tell a story about how someone in the cast put over a practical joke
on someone else. Really boring stuff. But now I finally have
stories to tell, and so do the actors. It's not every day that you
shoot a movie at a Police Commission meeting even though the Police
Commission doesn't know it's in a movie, or that the guy screaming at
them is talking about the assassination of Bill Gates. And it's not
every day that you get permission from the LAPD to stage a protest
outside the DNC about the Gates assassination. I only wish someone
had actually been arrested, or maybe maimed. That would be a good
story, I'll bet.
As far as critical reception goes, right now we're five for
five--five reviews, all-positive. I know this won't last, so I'm
enjoying it while I can. Right now I don't have to take the whole
"reviews don't matter, critics are assholes" pose. But I will as
soon as we get a bad review.
Z: The film was originally titled Macarthur Park, how did you come up with that
title?
BF: The murder of Bill Gates took place in Macarthur Park, which is in my
neighborhood. But someone made a different movie with that title and
went to Sundance with it in 2000, so we couldn't use it.
Z: How many other titles have you come up with?
BF: Several, after we decided to abandon the first one. The Handmaiden
of Justice was my first choice. That scared the hell out of our
executive producers, Brian Clark and Tammy Kearns, so they quickly
came up with Nothing So Strange. It's really grown on me. I'm glad
we didn't go with one of the others, like Hair Trigger or Citizens
for Truth. There's a whole diary entry on the Nothing So Strange
website about the titling process.
My only concern was that maybe Nothing So Strange isn't memorable; it doesn't quite
stick in people's minds. My solution to that is to smack people
upside the head when I say the title, so as to imprint it in their
thick skulls.
Z: How and why did you come up with the conception of Bill Gates death?
BF: I was reading a lot about the assassinations that took place in the
U.S. in the 60s and 70s, and one day I started to wonder what it
would look like if we went through another period of history like
that. And it occurred to me that, with the growing gap between the
rich and poor and the class resentment that is coming out of that,
the assassination might be the first shot of a class war. Bill Gates
was the obvious target of such a murder, and I never considered
anyone else.
Z: Is this movie a slam on Bill Gates, law enforcement or the media, since
there are so many obvious cover-ups as with JFK, MLK, etc.?
BF: First--no, the movie is not at all a slam on Bill Gates. There is
nothing bad about him ever said in the movie. In fact, he's murdered
while giving away a big check at a charity ceremony. Anyone who
comes to this movie thinking they are going to see a character
assassination of Bill Gates is going to be disappointed. The
assassination is merely literal.
Z: Something So Strange--
BF: Actually, NOTHING So Strange.
Z: Oh, right, sorry.
BF: Next time I'm going to smack you upside the head.
*Editor's note: See what happens when you do an interview on lack of sleep and only a cup of coffee.
Z: Okay. The movie could be compared to similar conspiracy theories such as
with the movies "JFK," "The Thin Blue Line," and even "Conspiracy Theory."
Did any of these movies influence you at all with your writing or direction
of this documentary?
BF: JFK and The Thin Blue Line, I think, are two of the best films ever
made, and both had an influence on this project during the research
phase. However, the film doesn't ultimately have much of a
resemblance to either, especially JFK. The movie isn't about
conspiracy theories per se--it's about a group struggling to find the
truth. I think the movie Conspiracy Theory, which I found awfully
dull, shows what happens when you concentrate merely on paranoia and
conspiracy and try to make a movie out of that. It's lame. JFK is
about a district attorney trying to put together a case. The Thin
Blue Line is about an innocent man being victimized by Texas's
version of justice. Nothing So Strange is about a citizen group
trying to get the city and LAPD to admit the truth. It's not about
fashioning X-Files-like conspiracy theories at all.
Z: Is there maybe an underlying hope that people will believe this is not
fiction?
BF: No. That's virtually impossible. Part of the appeal of making this
movie was the challenge the concept proposed--how do you keep the
audience interested when they know the event the entire film is
predicated upon never happened? But, if you think about it, how many
films do you see in which the events did actually happen? Hardly
any, except documentaries. And the audience has long been accustomed to
fictional films made in the documentary style.
Z: Are you surprised when people actually do believe the reports and the
websites claiming that Gates really is dead?
BF: I'm not sure there's a confirmed legitimate case of that ever
happening. There's a lot of play-acting going on the Bill Gates
Is Dead.com message board.
That's part of the fun of the Web universe, which is an entire
separate thing from the movie. They're both constructs from the same
mythology. But the Web is about the participants actively creating
the experience. They write essays about the assassination, post
pictures and cartoons; argue over details in the message boards. But
I don't really believe it when some newcomer posts, "He's really
dead? I had no idea." I mean, the murder is dated Dec. 2, 1999.
What person surfing the Web has actually failed to see some news
story about Gates in the last 2 years? He was on the cover of
Newsweek recently, for cry-eye.
Fooling people Blair Witch-style has never been a goal. It's more
about people willfully fooling themselves, because they want to know
what happens next. That's what every fictional film does.
Z: There also seems to be a hidden agenda with Bill Gates, and several have
already taken a stab at him for this. Take for instance "Antitrust" the
movie, as it appears to be an obvious attack on Gates as a monopolist. Any
opinions on this?
BF: I don't think Gates is remarkably evil, certainly not any more so
than other heads of giant corporations. He plays hardball, to be
sure, but that's just the business world. Not too many gentle souls
in the upper levels of that world. The Darwinian nature of business
won't allow for it. And I see both sides of the monopoly
issue--sure, Microsoft is a monopoly, but they did get there by
playing the game. They're shooting for 100% market share. Of course
they are. What else would be the target? I'm sure Steve Jobs would
be happy if Apple had 100% of the market instead of 5% or so. (And,
to be honest, so would I.)
Plus, I'm very impressed with Gates' recent philanthropy. The guy
was oblivious to the rest of the world for a long time (when he
finally looked into it, he was surprised to find out that the poor in
other countries actually lack medical care), but to his credit, even
if it was pressure from Ted Turner doing it, he's now the biggest
philanthropist in the world. And he's using his business skills,
too. He forces the governments of other countries to match his
spending if they want his money. He has a long-term vision that
wisely starts with health care. At some conference, I forget which
one, when other pie-in-the-sky technologists on a panel were talking
about how computers were going to save the Third World, Gates called
bullshit on that--he said," these people don't need laptops, they need
vaccines". A lot of capitalists try to make their charity work simply
a mask for their greed (Microsoft has done this, too, with
outrageously over-valued "gifts" of Microsoft software that cost the
company almost nothing and help to spread its monopoly). But Gates
seemed to have learned, at the least, that this can mean bad P.R.,
and most of what his foundation does benefits Microsoft not at all.
Plus, the guy recently appeared at the World Economic Forum and said
the word "rich." This is extremely rare among rich people. Even
John Kennedy preferred to contrast the poor and the "more affluent."
And the context for Gates' use of the word was criticizing rich
countries for not doing their fair share for poor countries. He sat
next to Bono and argued for debt relief. And I think he means it, I
don't think it's just P.R.
So, yeah, the guy is a vicious capitalist who is responsible for the
dominance of inferior software on everybody's desktop. But as those
sorts of people go, he's not so bad.
Anyway, the movie has nothing to do with any of the above. Gates
gets killed at the start of the movie, and then it truly isn't about
him anymore. It's just about that killing, and the real truth behind
it.
Z: With this film there is site after site that plays into the whole scheme of
things. Who's idea was it to go into the web and create this world of almost
life like reality?
BF: Brian Clark and GMD Studios are the masterminds behind the whole Web
universe. The film is my side; the Web is Brian Clark's. I
contribute a lot of text, and so did David James, especially on the
Citizens for Truth site. But the vision and design is all GMD.
Z: When you began this, did you expect this type of response and media
attention?
BF: I didn't know it would be so much so soon. I never anticipated doing
a live interview on CNN Headline News from Park City. But I did hope
for this kind of media storm. I thought, I wonder if we submit our
press release to Matt Drudge, if he'll put up a story on his site
that will then be read by all the editors and producers out there,
and we'll start a frenzy of sorts? Well, I e-mailed our release,
cold, to Drudge, offering him a one-day "exclusive" on the story, and
in forty minutes that release was up on his site verbatim, with, of
course, Drudge's own sensational headline and lead sentence on top of
it. And then the calls from reporters and editors flooded in.
Still, I do wish the coverage were less sensational and had a bit
more depth. But that's the media. I suppose I shouldn't complain.
If the media had any standards, we never would have been on the
Drudge Report to start with. Hell, if the media had any standards,
there wouldn't BE a Drudge Report.
Z: Are there any other plans to run the Film Festival Circuit?
BF: Yes. Our next festival is in Texas. I don't know if I'm allowed to
say which one. But to get there from Toronto you would go "South by
Southwest".
Z: Are there talks of distribution?
BF: Yeah, but I can't get into it too much. We're being seen, we're
being talked about. We haven't gotten very many outright "No's". We
shall see.
Z: How long did it take to shoot the film? Were there rehearsals?
BF: We shot over a period of two years, on and off. There were no
rehearsals. There was no script, even. I worked from a story
outline, and the actors improvised just about every scene.
Z: You shot on DV, for the non-technical film fan what is DV?
BF: DV is digital video. A cheap way to get a high-quality image. The
recent DV revolution has made films like this one possible. If we'd
shot on film, it would have cost a fortune--way too much to do
independently.
Z: I have also read that you have plans in the future to direct another film.
Is there any chance of a little talk about it now?
BF: Right now I'm busy co-writing a movie for VH-1. It's an update of
Beach Blanket Bingo. I won't be directing it. The next film I plan
to make myself is a survival film, but I don't know when that will
be. I'm still researching it.
Z: I'd also like to take a little look see into the mind of you. So, what drives
Brian Flemming to do what he does? Writing, directing, producing, did you go
to school for this and where?
BF: I didn't go to film school. I studied English in college. It's easy
to teach yourself how to make a film--the mechanics are dirt simple,
anyone can do it. And you can learn more from watching videos and
listening to commentary tracks on DVD's than any film school will
teach you. I'm surprised those institutions still exist.
As far as what drives me, I do not know. As far as what I drive,
it's a Honda. As far as its transmission, it's a five-speed.
Z: What are your hopes and aspirations for yourself and your films?
BF: As Rainier Wolfcastle, says," to sleep on a big pile of money with many
beautiful women". That's what I hope for my films. As far as myself,
I suppose I could use a new mouse pad.
Thanks for the chat.
Z: Thank you Brian for a very fun and enlightening experience.
The Zone asked and we received exactly what we thought, a brilliant mind. Brian is a delight to converse with. Watch for this gentleman in the future, we believe this young lad will definitely make a difference in the Hollywood scene.
For more information check out Brian's site for his film Nothing So Strange.
Security forces leap to action just moments after the shooting of Bill Gates in NOTHING SO STRANGE.
David James stars as the firey activist of the same name in the faux-documentary NOTHING SO STRANGE.
Laurie Pike stars as Debra Meagher, the President of grassroots organization Citizens for Truth, in the feature film NOTHING SO STRANGE.
Bill Gates (Steve Sires) steps from his limousine in MacArthur Park just moments before being murdered in NOTHING SO STRANGE.
The feature film NOTHING SO STRANGE uses digital video to mix fiction with reality, as in this scene where David James is escorted from a Los Angeles public meeting on the Rampart scandals by uniformed police officers.
David James, one of the leaders of Citizen for Truth, points to the position of the gunman using his scale replica of MacArthur Park.
Director Brian Flemming (Hang Your Dog In the Wind, Bat Boy: The Musical) sets the scene for the Bill Gates assassination sequence in NOTHING SO STRANGE.
Bill Gates (Steve Sires) crosses the stage to present an oversized prop check seconds before the assassination in NOTHING SO STRANGE.
Gates' bodyguard points in the direction the assassin's shots were fired from.
An over-head view of the Park Plaza Hotel roof and the band shell at MacArthur Park, two of the crime scenes in the assassination of Bill Gates in the feature film NOTHING SO STRANGE.
David James and other Citizens for Truth members protest at the Democratic National Convention in the faux-documentary NOTHING SO STRANGE.
Police officers in riot gear mobilize to keep protests under control at the Democratic National Convention.
David James speaks at a Los Angeles public meeting on the Rampart scandals in the feature film NOTHING SO STRANGE.
Debra Meagher (Laurie Pike) sets goals for the organization Citizens for Truth in NOTHING SO STRANGE.
Members of Citizens for Truth answer questions at a press conference in NOTHING SO STRANGE.
David James answers a reporter's questions at the Citizens for Truth conference in NOTHING SO STRANGE.
Excitement erupts around Citizens for Truth leader David James at the annual conference in NOTHING SO STRANGE.
Director Brian Flemming and Steve Sires prepare the character of Bill Gates for NOTHING SO STRANGE.
Steve Sires' resemblance to Bill Gates is polished and made ready for the camera on the set of the feature film NOTHING SO STRANGE.
