Page 12 - the NOISE August 2014

Filmmakers’s nOtebOOk: Orwell FOr president
On August 9-17, three crew members em- bark on an exploratory road-trip across the western US to see if the satiric film “Or-
well For President (or How I Learned to Love Doublespeak) has wings. We want to exam- ine the potential for a second party in Amer- ica, knowing that the left/right, Democratic/ Republican parties, are both owned and op- erated by the same banking cartels. Can the illusion of two choices, in a country of 308 million, be a tragic farce, or intentional? Are we complicit in this overly simple arrange- ment? We’ll explore the traditional Presi- dential election with the comedy of two PR
‘haircuts’ pretending to be in conflict, as we debate futile emotional constructs, scripted for our entertainment. Have we ever seen the grass roots election of a President from the common laborer’s point of view?
The angle: this is a “how to” film, on how to run for President of the United States and how to make a low budget feature. As a moc- kumentary for the 21st century, in a world so absurd, we’ll push the limit of ‘democracy’ and ‘free speech.’ Our hero, Kevin orwell, (Kevin Anonymous) from humble beginnings in a cave outside of Flagstaff, Arizona, rises through the ranks of homelessness, insanity, alcoholism, and recovery to the most power- ful role-playing-mask in the political world. We watch him go from caveman to President of the United States on the evolutionary fast- track. We’ll document this journey, confident the American people are tired of the faux paradigm of divide and conquer. Orwell will present the ‘second, second party,’ a Third Party that’s really an alternative to the con- trolled narrative of“left/right.”The end game: travel to the Convention in 2016, where down the street ‘Third Party’ candidates like the Green Party and the Libertarian Party share the stage. There, Orwell will deliver the keynote address for the IRONY PARTY.
The camera follows the meticulous jour- ney of a common man as he “announces” his Presidency (at the First Amendment Plaza), “files” with the FEC (Federal Elec- tion Committee,) attains “signatures” in all 50 states (hence road trip). The ‘exploratory’ nature of the August trip is to ask man-on- the-street questions in the traditional way, but also man-in-tunnel questions for the homeless living in Las Vegas under the city.
Ask man-on-the-beach questions at the ‘muscle beaches’ of Venice to see if there is a consensus about a viable second party to combat the moneyed-monolith, one-party reality. These ‘man’ on the street questions will mostly involve women, because they’re easier on the camera lens, more intelligent
and constitute 55% of Orwell’s likely voters. We plan to film as a straight documen-
tary, following the process of running for President and pose serious questions to the public about Orwell’s “Irony Party.” We’ll jazz up the story with all the accouterments of a narrative film and twist it like a pretzel to attain the satiric dimensions found by Best of Show, Dr. Strangelove and Being There. Through editing we’ll find the hidden gems of pithy truth. Sometimes ‘truth’ is more ten- able when offered as comedy, or as Kevin orwell says: “emotional issues are like finger sandwiches to Piranhas.”
The ‘script’ is a series of plot points, loca- tions on a map, with questions, political issues and quotes explored through our
‘character’ Orwell, and the public. This plot- ted interaction leads to improvisation, docu- mentary, and the hybrid that’s edited into a story. Each location allows for the possibil- ity of backdrops that add production value and irony. For instance, our first stop in Las Vegas will give us wondrous architecture that will represent large ideas to the public. We’ll ask questions about the Middle East in front of Aladdin Hotel, questions about the French Revolution in front of the Paris Ho- tel, or questions about Kings in front of the Excalibur. The irony of the background will enhance the question, issue or quote ad- dressed. Interviewing homeless people in the tunnels under the billion dollar hotels, where gamblers ‘throw away’ thousands of dollars, may offer up some insight into our 99% and 1% world? The tenets of Orwellian Newspeak, doublespeak and the use and misuse of language will be explored at every turn, through ironic questions, explored. Per- haps, ‘freedom is slavery,’ or ‘War is Peace,’ or
‘Rich is Poor?’
From Vegas we’ll explore san Francisco
and the Golden Gate Bridge. Also, Alcatraz as an island metaphor of the prison-planet we sustain ourselves on and Pete’s Coffee
Shop in Mill Valley and life for the 1%. With these backdrops we’ll allow the average ‘Joe’ and ‘Jolene’ to comment on America elec- tions — now. As a sort of meta-examination of the faux political world of ‘unified oppo- sites’ Orwell will offer one answer: I HAVE NO SOLUTION. Orwell wants to disable the system, poke fun at it, expose it for what it is, offering no alternatives, not saying he knows, but that ‘Orwell DOESN’T know.’ Or as Orwell says: “Don’t take it personally, I’m just trying to figure out my own life.” By of- fering a dialogue we can all participate in, by torpedoing the ark we mock the system and its untenable simplicity, and perhaps jog our memory, when, ‘once’ we were a Republic.
Cognitive dissonance will be a theme throughout, getting people to think outside of our very limited boxes. Some of the ques- tions to ask the ‘man’-on-the-street may be: If ‘they’ are too big to fail, are you too small to exist? With 308 million people in the US is the left/right paradigm too complicated for citizens? Does 1+1 = 1 today? Does America resemble Gilligan’s Island or Lord of the Flies? Are we in a post-Constitutional America? If you had to choose between your fam- ily members and the poor family down the street, who would you hire? Why do people know the names and scores of big sport- ing events but virtually nothing about the NDAA, Citizen’s United, Obama v. Hedges, the Palestinians struggle to exist? Are you for or against the left or right and why? Is America a myth? Is Democracy a myth? Freedom? What’s ‘Manifest Destiny’ mean? Do ‘laws’ still exist, in a global sense, for Corporations or do they just pay a fine, (ones and zeros in a bank computer?) Good is Bad?
The issues to explore: Money for the mil- itary-industrial-security-complex v. the people. Voting: is it real? Mussolini said: “It doesn’t matter who votes, it matters who counts the vote.” Does that apply to how our Congress operates in the post-2008 bailout world? Zucotti Park and student loans? Occupy Wall Street? Tea Party? North American Union and the border? The Bill of Rights?
Some of the quotes to be pondered by the ‘man’-in-the-tunnel-types: Chomsky said, “The way to brainwash a society is to deliver a newspaper to their doorstep every
morning.” Jefferson said, “The tree of liberty needs to be fertilized with the blood of ty- rants every twenty years.” MLK said, “Capital- ism has outlived its usefulness.” And JFK said,
“Those who make peaceful revolution im- possible, make violent revolution inevitable.” rosanne barr said, “People like to be bob- ble-heads, challenging authority is too risky.” ed Asner: “Benefit and deny.” And finally, “We all ignore repeated criminality for the sake of political comfort.” — snowden.
By challenging the general public with questions, issues and quotes, we’ll see if Orwell’s self-critique, our inherent cognitive dissonance, allows us to pierce the veil and see the world as it is, ironically. Our filmic journey will be a satire on the absurd world we live in, done seriously, as reportage. Only time will tell if this exploratory campaign in August will lead to another road trip. We plan to go east to new York next summer, green screen Russia and the Great Wall of China and Skype the dead (for Chicago style votes). When our PAC/Kickstarter is up, we’ll canvas the masses with lies and propaganda for the real lifeblood in America — money! Nobody needs it less than us and nobody wants it more! More is Less.
Stay tuned for more of Orwell For President.
In other cinema news:
Northern Arizona University’s Classic Film series returns the last week of August with another season of thematic films. Paul Hel- ford and Paul Donnelly have chosen Award- Winning Screenwriting as their focus for the year, with Adapted Screenplays in the Fall and Original scripts in the Spring. Check: nau.edu/ CAL/Events/calevents for more information.
8/26 — After the Thin Man Directed by W.S. Van Dyke, 1936, 112 minutes, Approved Rat- ing. Starring William Powell, Myrna Loy and James Stewart. Written by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, adapted from the classic novel by Dashell Hamett and nominated for best screenplay this is another witty come- dy-mystery that’s considered as good as the first Thin Man.
| Bob Reynolds is jumping head- long into his third independent feature. film@thenoise.us
12 • AUGUST 2014 • the NOISE arts & news • thenoise.us