Republican National Committee Still Silent On Outreach Plans To Urban Areas & Minority Communities

SHAMROCK STINE PRODUCTIONS LLC

FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN

 NEWS

 

January 11, 2013                  
Contact: Tamara Williams                                                                                                                                  
IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                             

republican national committee still silent on outreach plans to urban areas and minority communities
Diversity Issues in GOP & Two-Party Political System Not Being Addressed

Trenton, NJ – The Republican National Committee has yet to respond to the Outreach Challenge issued by Filmmakers Kevin J. Williams and Tamara E. Williams.  The FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN documentary filmmakers recently challenged the current Republican National Committee leadership to announce its plans for Party outreach in Urban and Minority communities before its Winter Meeting in Charlotte, NC in two weeks.  The filmmakers also challenged the Republican National Committee to require all Chairman or Co-Chairman candidates to publicly present their plans with stated goals for Republican Party outreach to Minority and Urban voters.   As of today, there has been no response from the Republican National Committee, its voting Members or Staff.   

The FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN filmmakers stated, “We have found out since issuing our Outreach Challenge last week that many other Republicans and Conservatives are as disappointed as we are in the Republican National Committee’s lack of response to our concerns about Urban and Minority outreach efforts.  In two weeks, our Party will be selecting or re-electing a national Chairman after its second Presidential Election loss and now Congressional losses.  Given the state of the economy and the future demographic challenges facing America, this upcoming RNC Chairman Election will be the most important election in the Republican Party’s history.”

In the most recent Presidential Election for example, President Obama received 81% of the vote in New York City and this is the largest vote share of any Presidential candidate in more than 100 years according to Bloomberg News and AM-New York.  The last Republican Presidential candidate to win New York City was Calvin Coolidge in 1924.  Three-thousand miles away in LosAngeles County, CA (mostly made up of the City of Los Angeles), President Obama received nearly 69% of votes versus Mitt Romney’s 29% according to the Los Angeles Times. 

 Filmmaker Kevin J. Williams stood firm in calling on the Republican National Committee to reveal its plans.  Williams said, “Each Presidential Election, the Republican Party starts out minus 127 Electoral Votes since the Party concedes the East and West Coasts every time.  With New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington State, Oregon and California automatically going the Democrats way every four years, Republicans around the country must force their Party to change its ways and reach out to new voters.  Without Urban and Minority voters coming on-board, the Republican Party’s future looks very grim.”

To learn more about the filmmakers or view the film’s trailers, please go to www.fearofablackrepublican.com.  For interviews or stories, please contact the documentary film’s Producer - Tamara Williams via e-mail at producer@fearofablackrepublican.com.  The filmmakers are also on Twitter (#FearOfABlackRep) and Facebook (Fear Of A Black Republican).

 

Film Distribution Information & Synopsis:

 FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN has been seen by thousands of Americans and has screened before diverse audiences in Atlanta, GA; Charlotte & Greensboro, NC; Wilmington, DE; Kansas City, MO; Buffalo & Rochester, NY; Trenton, NJ; Portland, OR; Washington, DC; Philadelphia, PA; Montgomery, AL; Jackson, MS; Dallas & Waco, TX; Tucson, AZ; Albuquerque, NM; Salina KS and Chicago, IL.  Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele attended both the New Jersey and Washington, DC Premieres and participated in Q&A sessions with audiences lasting over ninety minutes each.  More screenings of the controversial documentary feature film are expected nationwide in 2013.  The trailers for FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN can be viewed on the film’s own website www.fearofablackrepublican.com, as well as the YouTube, Apple iTunes and Vimeo websites. 

Synopsis:  Filmed and edited over a six year period, FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN examines why there are so few Black Republicans (and by extension, other Minorities) and how this affects the U.S. political system.  The film begins with a simple question… Does the Republican Party really want more African Americans? To get an answer, independent filmmaker Kevin J. Williams takes a non-partisan journey over two Presidential Elections to find out why there are so few Black Republicans and what that means for the future of the Two-Party Political System in America.

From the Civil War to the Great Depression, the GOP was the Party for many African-Americans, but today, barely 10% of African Americans consider themselves to be Republican and Urban areas are no longer considered competitive parts of America’s Election map. Beginning in his hometown, Williams speaks with BOTH Democrats and Republicans as he takes a personal and humorous look at his own Republican Party’s efforts in urban areas versus the suburbs, the Democratic Party's success in retaining the African American vote, the seeming phenomenon of Black Republicans and what this all means for America. FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN gives audiences of all Demographics and Political Persuasions a ground-breaking and moving view of American Politics.

 

During the film’s journey, Williams speaks with scholars such as Professors Cornel West and Howard Taylor; and newsmakers such as Michael Steele, former Chairman of the Republican National Committee; Presidential candidates Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and John McCain; former Governor Christine Todd Whitman; Commentators Tavis Smiley and Michelle Malkin; political leaders, including past RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman, Congressman Peter King and Governors Jim Gilmore and Sonny Perdue; Conservative thinkers such as Newt Gingrich, Grover Norquist and Ann Coulter; and the first and last Black Republican Senator popularly elected since Reconstruction, former Senator Edward Brooke of Massachusetts, amongst others. Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Senator and President-Elect Barack Obama, President George W. Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney also appear in the film, along with very rarely seen archival footage of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., Vice-President Richard M. Nixon and the great baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson. The film also examines the History of the Republican Party since its founding. 

FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN is available on DVD at its own website and Amazon.com and also on VOD streaming via its own website and Apple iTunes.  It is also available for Education use and has screened or is currently being used on college campuses such as Northwestern University, Portland State University, Tuskegee University, Loyola Marymount University, Jackson State University and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

The film has received Print, TV and Radio coverage from the Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, Current TV's THE WAR ROOM WITH JENNIFER GRANHOLM, HUFFINGTON POST LIVE, Christian Broadcasting Network's The Brody Files, Al Jazeera's INSIDE STORY, the Mark Davis Radio Show, Steve Deace Show, Michael Eric Dyson Show, Chris Stigall Show, Victoria Taft Show, The Voice of Russia and many others.

 

 

# # #

Filmmakers Call For More GOP Action in Urban Areas & Supporting Tim Scott

SHAMROCK STINE PRODUCTIONS LLC

FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN

NEWS

 

December 27, 2012 
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE                                                                                                                                                                                                    

FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN filmmakers call for
more gop action in urban areas &
support of new senator tim scott

Documentary Examines Issues GOP and Scott Will Face in 2013 And Beyond

Trenton, NJ – Director Kevin J. Williams and Producer Tamara E. Williams are challenging the current Republican National Committee leadership to learn from the 2012 Presidential Election and change its ways.  The FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN filmmakers stated, “Our experiences as Republicans in an Urban area inspired us to make our film and try to help make the GOP better.  While we captured the life experiences of Black Republicans, Urban Republicans and others struggling within our political system… we found that many people of all political stripes and demographics are being ignored by both political Parties.  This situation must change and change now.”

Director Kevin J. Williams continued, “South Carolina’s Governor Nikki Haley appointing Representative Tim Scott as that state’s junior Senator is a great start and we call on the GOP to support his re-election with all the money and resources it can muster.  More importantly though, the Republican Party at the national, state and local levels must stop being afraid to take the ball and run with it.  If the Republican Party does not begin to work now to improve its standing with Minority voters and Urban voters, we are afraid that our Party will lose in 2014 and 2016.  Then it will be just a matter of time until it goes out of existence and joins the Whig Party on the ash heap of history.”

FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN has been seen by thousands of Americans and has screened before diverse audiences in Atlanta, GA; Charlotte & Greensboro, NC; Wilmington, DE; Kansas City, MO; Buffalo & Rochester, NY; Trenton, NJ; Portland, OR; Washington, DC; Philadelphia, PA; Montgomery, AL; Jackson, MS; Dallas & Waco, TX; Tucson, AZ; Albuquerque, NM; Salina KS and Chicago, IL.  Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele attended both the New Jersey and Washington, DC Premieres and participated in Q&A sessions with audiences lasting over ninety minutes each.  More screenings of the controversial documentary feature film are expected nationwide in 2013.  The trailers for FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN can be viewed on the film’s own website, as well as the YouTube, Apple iTunes and Vimeo websites. 


Synopsis:  Filmed and edited over a six year period, FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN examines why there are so few Black Republicans (and by extension, other Minorities) and how this affects the U.S. political system.  The film begins with a simple question… Does the Republican Party really want more African Americans? To get an answer, independent filmmaker Kevin J. Williams takes a non-partisan journey over two Presidential Elections to find out why there are so few Black Republicans and what that means for the future of the Two-Party Political System in America.

From the Civil War to the Great Depression, the GOP was the Party for many African-Americans, but today, barely 10% of African Americans consider themselves to be Republican and Urban areas are no longer considered competitive parts of America’s Election map. Beginning in his hometown, Williams speaks with BOTH Democrats and Republicans as he takes a personal and humorous look at his own Republican Party’s efforts in urban areas versus the suburbs, the Democratic Party's success in retaining the African American vote, the seeming phenomenon of Black Republicans and what this all means for America. FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN gives audiences of all Demographics and Political Persuasions a ground-breaking and moving view of American Politics.

During the film’s journey, Williams speaks with scholars such as Professors Cornel West and Howard Taylor; and newsmakers such as Michael Steele, former Chairman of the Republican National Committee; Presidential candidates Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and John McCain; former Governor Christine Todd Whitman; Commentators Tavis Smiley and Michelle Malkin; political leaders, including past RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman, Congressman Peter King and Governors Jim Gilmore and Sonny Perdue; Conservative thinkers such as Newt Gingrich, Grover Norquist and Ann Coulter; and the first and last Black Republican Senator popularly elected since Reconstruction, former Senator Edward Brooke of Massachusetts, amongst others. Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Senator and President-Elect Barack Obama, President George W. Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney also appear in the film, along with very rarely seen archival footage of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., Vice-President Richard M. Nixon and the great baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson. The film also examines the History of the Republican Party since its founding. 

FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN is available on DVD at its own website and Amazon.com and also on VOD streaming via its own website and Apple iTunes.

The film has received Print, TV and Radio coverage from the Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, Current TV's THE WAR ROOM WITH JENNIFER GRANHOLM, HUFFINGTON POST LIVE, Christian Broadcasting Network's The Brody Files, Al Jazeera's INSIDE STORY, the Mark Davis Radio Show, Steve Deace Show, Michael Eric Dyson Show, Chris Stigall Show, Victoria Taft Show, The Voice of Russia and many others.

 To learn more about the film or view the film’s trailers, please go to www.fearofablackrepublican.com.

 

APPROX. 111 MINS               Printed in U.S.A.    4:3 aspect ratio

THIS FILM HAS NOT BEEN RATED

 

# # #

Why All Americans Should Worry About One Little Filmmaker With Baggage

A few weeks ago, we all learned about the terrible attacks upon our Embassy in Cairo, Egypt and our Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.  Our Ambassador Christopher Stevens, a good man by all accounts, and Sean Smith, Tyrone S. Woods and Glen A. Doherty were murdered in Benghazi by Islamist extremists led by an Al Qaeda member released from Gitmo (Prisoner #557).  As bad as these events were, what was almost as bad was and is the Obama Administration’s lack of focus on the real threat involved.  Instead, they responded to these incidents by blaming them on an obscure, poorly-made film called The Innocence of Muslims.  Actually, it was just a fourteen-minute film trailer, but that isn’t the point. 

The INNOCENCE OF MUSLIMS Filmmaker

From jump, the scape-goating of this YouTube film trailer and its filmmaker for the murder of our Ambassador and his staff (as well as nearly twenty other riots in Europe and the Middle East) doesn’t pass the “scratch and sniff” test.  As a matter of fact, it doesn’t pass the “Remember the Maine” or “Gulf of Tonkin” tests either.  It has become obvious that Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, President Barack Obama, U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice and their many surrogates and spokesmen needed and spun a cover story and reason for Benghazi, et al.  I’d bet that most Americans didn’t expect our current Administration to trade away our very “American” concept called Freedom of Speech in exchange for some political and election year “C.Y.A.”

Freedom of Speech is protected in the First Amendment to our U.S. Constitution (ratified December 15, 1791):  Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The above words guarantee that short of endangering others by shouting “fire” in a theater… we can and should say what we want to as best we can.  It is why every American is able to say what the heck we want to, either verbally, written or through an art medium without repercussion by law enforcement officials or any suppressor.  Even though the decades-long war on Free Speech by many on the Left has succeeded on many levels due to the Mainstream Media’s enforcement ability, we as a people still have the right to say what we feel or think at any moment.  Little movies like Innocence of Muslims have a right to be made and be seen, just as much bigger films in the past like Citizen Kane (1941), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), and Last Tango of Paris (1972) faced censorship and banning issues.  These films were still seen by the People and their respective filmmakers, Orson Welles, Martin Scorsese and Bernardo Bertolucci all went on to make more films and had fruitful careers and lives. 

Lives.  An important word to remember, because our Federal Government went out of its way to vilify the filmmaker, Nakoula Basseley, and put him at risk just like the late Theo Van Gogh who made a ten-minute film about violence against women in some Islamic societies called SUBMISSION (2004).  In November 2004, Mr. Van Gogh was riding a bicycle when he was stopped and murdered by a jihadist named Mohammed Bouyeri.  Mr. Bouyeri shot him eight times before stabbing him with a five-page note affixed to a dagger in case anyone was confused.  The note credited the murder to Theo Van Gogh's film and his views regarding the Islamic religion. 

WikiMiniAtlasTheo Van Gogh, Filmmaker of SUBMISSION

Some in our Mainstream Media camped out at the INNOCENCE OF MUSLIMS filmmaker’s house, publicizing his name and address and in doing so, they put this man’s family and neighbors at jeopardy.  Was this responsible journalism? Of course not.  Was it responsible government to make this film such an international and possibly deadly issue? Definitely not.  Our Federal Government eventually asked YouTube and other on-line websites to remove the film from public view.  These requests were denied.

The way that our Secretary of State, President and other Administration members tried to spin the actions of thousands of foreign militant and paid protesters should be frightening to any champion of civil liberties for all.  The pressure exerted by our Federal Government to shut down this obscure, six-month old film after building it up to the infamy of TRIUMPH OF THE WILL (Leni Riefenstahl, 1935) was schizophrenic, self-serving and dangerous.  No matter what the message or quality of this little film  or the filmmaker’s shady past, he has an artistic freedom, a voice and the American right to Free Speech and Freedom of Expression on his side.  Unfortunately, our current national leaders chose not to respect all the above, but to use this man to shield themselves from any blame in the deaths that came in Benghazi. 

It should be obvious to most anyone that this film was plucked from Los Angeles, California (and the internet) and transported to the Mediterranean Sea.  If our Government would do this to a Filmmaker of Faith with little, observed talent… what would or could this same Government do to a Left-wing Filmmaker of no Faith and plenty of talent?  Or a filmmaker who tries to make a film that is just Pro-American or simply holds themes not in vogue with individuals living in the White House or controlling Capitol Hill. 

Just recently, some pro-Israel signs in the New York City Subway system were defaced by private citizens.  But after being defaced, these signs were then targeted for removal by the same Government agency which sold the signs’ Sponsor its advertising space for them in the first place.  Rather than go after the “Defacers,” the Government agency decided to ban what it called “divisive speech that may incite violence.”  First, a movie and its filmmaker gets attacked and fileted by our Federal Government. Now, a pro-Israel group gets attacked by an Egyptian activist and her comrades and then undercut by a local Government.  Free Speech loses, political correctness and political expediency wins.

I am reminded of the famous Martin Niemoller quote, “First they came for the socialists, but I wasn’t a socialist… Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me.”  No melodrama here, but the silence in our National Media and especially in Hollywood has been deafening.  My gut tells me that a lot of folks are more concerned than they are letting on, but they have a donkey in the current election and they want to win in the short-term more than protect their own Free Speech in the long-term.  Sadly, like in the famous quote, it will be too late for their Free Speech to survive unless they think more like an American and less like a political partisan.   

The INNOCENCE OF MUSLIMS filmmaker is now in jail and looking at a two to three-year prison sentence for violating parole because he used a computer in the making of his film.  While he shouldn’t have violated parole, isn’t it unseemly and cowardly to pick up the guy for questioning and then imprisoning  him… for making a crummy film trailer about Islam.  Our Administration blames this filmmaker for inciting riots half-way across the world, when there is no evidence whatsoever to prove this.  Some honest members of the Press, like Fox News’ Kirstin Powers (a Democrat) and the Administration’s Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta (another Democrat), saw this effort for what it was - a cover story and bad one at that.  They called the Libyan events what they were… terrorism. 

Libyan President Mohamed Yousef el-Magariaf said that this was a pre-planned attack by Al Qaeda and an act of terrorism, but the Administration sticks to its story.  For some reason, “terrorism” seems a word that our President will not mention regarding this incident.  “Terrorism” also seems to be a word that much of our Mainstream Media is afraid to ask about in their coverage of Ambassador Steven’s assassination while they help assail a small filmmaker and his right of Free Speech.  While these Media Members “go along to get along,” they are not seeing that their future and their right of Freedom of Speech have been attacked also. 

Will these Media Members figure this out before their own heavy-handed Government and the foreign terrorists who want to take away their right to free speech put them out of business?

What Clint Eastwood Did Last Night...

As a Filmmaker who happens to be Republican, I want to share a few thoughts about Clint Eastwood's speaking at the Republican National Convention last night.  Clint is an artist and if you don't know, one who changed the Hollywood system when he became one of the first Actors to become a Director with PLAY MISTY FOR ME (1971).  Working in the film industry myself, I feel a great kinship with Clint as a fellow filmmaker and as someone who is politically active on a local level.  And like millions of other Americans, I was very curious and being a Republican and a Filmmaker - very pumped to hear what he would say about this current Election.

Needless to say, Clint exceeded my expectations in ways I didn't consider before I turned on my TV last night.  I expected him a take on his now infamous Super Bowl Car Commercial from this past February.  Wrong!  Clint would just trot out, give an enhanced Oscar speech with a few great lines punched up with a Dirty Harry reference or mention that being the Mayor of Carmel, CA was more Executive experience than our President had. Wrong!  I thought he would take back his "It's Halftime" line from said Super Bowl commercial and say something like "Now this here in Tampa... this is Halftime" in his great, gravelly voice.  Wrong!  Finally, I thought "well, he has TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE coming out next month and won't do anything to hurt his movie or his chances for one last Best Actor Nomination (lots of buzz on this).  Wrong Again!

What Clint did last night was nothing less than extraordinary and a great, self-less sacrifice for his Country and his fellow Americans.  By taking the stage last night and employing the empty-chair prop, Clint did what no other Republican or Mitt Romney could ever do... make it okay to make fun of the President and humanize him for his decisions, his choice of focus and most importantly, his choice of who he represents.  Clint humanized the President and brought him down from the self-created (and self-restricting) lofty heights of the "untouchable" to the human level of "touchable."  In my opinion, the President's Media and Campaign Guard have built an artificial castle wall around the President to his detriment.  If President Obama and his Party play it smart and humble, we may find that Clint's empty chair may help Obama 2012 because of such humanization.  However, that isn't likely and I think Clint probably took this possibility into account before last night.

Clint knew well before he flew to Tampa, got into a car and arrived at the Convention that he was going to get drilled for what he was about to say and do.  He knew that the National and International Media would try to take out him, his persona, his incredible record as a filmmaker and his beliefs in right and wrong.  He also knew that his chances of being invited to the Academy Awards one last time as a Nominee would be done as soon as the lights came up.

Clint also spoke out on behalf the thousands of us in the film and entertainment industry who cannot speak because we must fear loss of jobs, loss of opportunity or if you are an independent filmmaker... any consideration of your talent before your political or religious beliefs.  Yes, Clint is an A-Lister quite familiar with success and having every actor in Hollywood wanting to work for him.  His position in the film industry is safe (for now), but that could change as he tries to make his last few films.  Clint, like any artist, is always looking for the next great story and inspiration and hoping he can try and make a masterpiece better than his last one.  After an almost 60-year career, Clint still needs to get financing from someone and that number of someones might be shrinking right now.  As a film-lover and fan of Clint's directing style, I hope he doesn't face retribution for last night's empty chair moment.  This man of good humor and grace has too much to offer us.

If you have not seen the great film GRAN TORINO (2008), you should.   Like this weekend.  For you will see Clint at his best as an Actor/Director and you will see what I feel was the inspiration for Clint's trying to help his Country turns things around last night.  At the end of GRAN TORINO, an older self-made gentleman named Walt Kowalski sacrifices himself in order to save his neighborhood and the good, defenseless people living in it.  These folks didn't look like or talk like Walt.  They may not have shared all his beliefs.  But what Walt does at the end of the film (I won't tell you what he does), gives these good people a chance to change their destiny and be the best that they can be.  That is what one Clint Eastwood bravely did last night.  He told the American People that they are the best and he gave them a chance to be the best that they can be.  Hopefully, like Walt's Hmong immigrant neighbors in GRAN TORINO, we will make the most of it.

Kevin Williams
Director/Co-Producer,
FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN
www.fearofablackrepublican.com

Our Movie's Big Year & What We Learned...

We have learned a lot in this past year of trying and struggling to get our documentary film, FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN out into the world and before audiences.  We have had some great Screenings in different parts of the country and even had former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele graciously give us a hand at our New Jersey Premiere (in our hometown) and our Washington D.C. Premiere (Michael's hometown).  Michael was awesome as expected and we had another 90+ minute Q&A discussion after the film.  Very inspiring to say the least!

This past June, we had an amazing Philadelphia Premiere with Philly’s #1 Conservative Talk Show Host, Chris Stigall, serving as our Q&A Moderator and Deputy Chairman of the Pennsylvania Republican Party, Renee Amoore, serving as our Special Q&A Panelist.  Both Renee and Chris were outstanding and made the whole event one we (and the Audience) won't ever forget.

Renee Amoore, Deputy Chairman of PA GOP Makes A Great Point

Director Kevin Williams, an Audience Member, WPHT's Chris Stigall
and Renee Amoore After the Philly Premiere Q&A

That the event went so well… was a HUGE relief after my Alma mater, La Salle University, DENIED us a rental of the on-campus theater to screen FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN.  What they were afraid of?  A race riot?  Thousands of well-dressed Republicans clogging the streets of the Gernantown Section?  An actual unbiased discussion about Politics, Race and Urban Areas?

Redacted Email which we received from La Salle University denying our rental application.  Disappointing.

We still do not have a reason why La Salle denied us after repeated requests for an explanation. Needless to say, screening our film across the street from Bill Cosby’s Temple University was a much better choice in the end.

Most recently, Tamara (our film’s Producer and my lovely wife) and I completed a nearly four-week South and West Screening Tour of the United States.  Having traveled with our kids in a mini-van (without a DVD player) and seeing the South, Midwest and Southwest as we screened FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN for audiences, we have been constantly reminded of the goodness, decency and intelligence that exists here in America.  We felt this trip would be a great challenge and opportunity to see if our little film and our work as filmmakers could play with audiences not as familiar with the material or storylines.  Particularly in the Southwest, Latinos are way more numerous than African Americans.  Even so, the many issues in our film are practically interchangeable and we’ve received requests to make a sequel called FEAR OF A LATINO REPUBLICAN.  We’ve also received other requests for sequels about Jewish Republicans, Asian Republicans, Irish Republicans and others along the way.

Dallas' Inwood Theatre, home of our
TEXAS PREMIERE on July 26/27, 2012

Inside of The Inwood Theatre (Landmark Cinemas)

We traveled from the wilds of Trenton NJ (where our current Mayor is currently under FBI investigation) to Charlotte NC, Montgomery AL, Jackson MS, Dallas TX, Waco TX, Tucson AZ, Albuquerque NM and Salina KS.  In each city, we were greeted by enthusiastic audiences made up of folks from across the political, racial and economic spectrums.  Something that we found consistently before and after each screening is that there are a lot of people searching for a new political identity in our current Two-Party political system.  And these people come in all sizes, shapes and colors. 

That being said, each city was quite different.  In Montgomery AL, we got more Republican turnout than Democrat and for the first time, had a good number of GOP officials (local and State) in attendance.  In Jackson MS, we screened at a Historically Black College and University called Jackson State University and had a moving and thoughtful academic discussion with Professors, Faculty, Students and the local community.  In Dallas TX, thanks to Talk Show Host Mark Davis, we received the ONLY pre-Texas Premiere coverage of the film (unless you count the Dallas Morning News’ Film Critic ripping us on the newspaper’s blog for being White Filmmakers).  

In Waco, where we had an older African American couple (who traveled over an hour to see our film) cry in the back row because as Conservatives – they related so much to our film’s story.  In Tucson AZ, there were White Liberals filing complaints about what we didn’t include in our film (but should have, in the version THEY wanted us to make).  In Albuquerque NM, we had a “spirited” post-Q&A discussion with a different older African American couple about the Auto Bailout, NAFTA, Bill Clinton not really being a Democrat (as opposed to President Obama), “dark-skinned” political candidates versus “light-skinned” candidates and its apparent importance, as well as their charge that our film was a “recruiting tool” for the Republican Party.  Finally in Salina KS, where we had a tough crowd of hard-core, mainly White Democrats come out of our film amazed that it was as informative, moving and balanced as it was.  We learned a lot from screening our film in so many places and before so many different audiences.

 
We also found out that when it comes to Media, be prepared for unforeseen opportunities.  Opportunities can come from Media sources that you would never expect to be interested in your subject matter.  This occurred previously when I was interviewed on the Christian Broadcasting Network’s THE BRODY FILES (expected); then later the same day - I was on a Panel about our film on Al Jazeera English’s INSIDE STORY (unexpected).  While on our Screening Tour, we caught the eye of one of cable news’ most interesting shows… THE WAR ROOM WITH JENNIFER GRANHOLM on Current TV (Al Gore’s Network).  I kid you not, dear readers.   

Governor Jennifer Granholm is the former Democratic Governor of Michigan and I am pretty sure she will not be voting for Mitt Romney this fall.  But, she and her Staff were very interested in our film – especially after seeing it.  Well, on Friday night July 6^th, I was interviewed by the Governor about FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN and several clips from it were shown to their viewers during the piece.   Admittedly, I am not a regular viewer of Current TV, but I had seen this Show before and while Governor Granholm has a focused point-of-view – she was completely professional, kind and positive about our film and our message with it.  From her Producers we worked with via e-mail/phone calls to the Production Staff talking in my ear while I sat in a satellite studio in Tucson while they were in San Francisco to the Governor herself , it was a great experience.  I would encourage any other Republicans or Conservatives to go on her Show and put forth their thoughts and beliefs.  MSNBC on steroids, this Show was not!

This Current TV interview was by far the biggest TV Media piece we have ever done and was a good momentum builder for what we hope to achieve in the coming months before the Presidential Election.  We are working to bring get to FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN to New York City (Manhattan) for a Screening/Q&A and really get our film out into the world.  As far as we know, no independent film that positively portrays Republicans (without propaganda), let alone Black Republicans has ever screened in New York City.  As NYC is the home of American independent film and especially documentary, FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN would be the first independent film to do so.  

We do realize that even though we are “Mom and Pop Shop” kind of filmmakers, our film could attract some controversy.  Having no idea if Reverend Sharpton will show up with a bullhorn to protest us or if some group will picket the theatre, we go into this with open eyes and full hearts.  We feel pretty confident that not all the Big Media can or will ignore us.  If we get to New York City, maybe our little film can help get a real, honest discussion on Race and Politics going this fall instead of just the “race-baiting” junk that will likely go on. 

Tamara, our Producer, and I are Republicans ourselves and as much as some of our Friends on the Left don’t want to admit it – our Party is not racist and never has been.  Unfortunately, our own GOP has let the other Party get away with the “racist” charge for decades and Urban America and African Americans specifically have been the collateral damage resulting from this.  We think it is time to reset the clock on the whole discussion and that the best way we can do that is to keep screening our film and to now do it in New York City. 

As independent filmmakers, we can assure you that any help in bringing FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN to the Media Capital called New York City will be greatly appreciated.  Please consider purchasing a Pre-Release DVD or Movie Poster from our website, www.fearofablackrepublican.com, to help us make it all happen.  If we are able to achieve our goal, we hope to make you proud.

HAND-WRINGING ABOUT HOLLYWOOD VS. SUPPORTING CONSERVATIVE FILMMAKERS

Something has been bugging me in the past few months as we got closer, then past the 10th Anniversary of September 11th, 2001.  What has been bugging me was reading a number of on-line articles on some Conservative websites concerning Hollywood’s and the Media’s treatment of the September 11^th attacks in the years since they occurred.  

In particular, there have been some interesting and provocative articles about the historical treatment of the attacks and the movies created so far.  Previous to my reading these articles, I read another article questioning the quality of “Conservative” films and why/if they should be supported by the Conservative community.  As if most artists on our side of the aisle shouldn’t be supported… without a lot of deep thought and question.

While I definitely respect all these points of view, I have to question why many of us are questioning Hollywood instead of questioning ourselves.  And what we should be questioning ourselves on is why so many of us are complaining so much about Hollywood’s output and at the same time, not supporting the burgeoning artists, musicians, writers and filmmakers in our own community?  For full disclosure (if you don't know anything about me and my documentary film):  yes, we are Conservative, yes, we are registered Republicans and yes, we are filmmakers trying to get my art out to the greater world. 

But, for the life of us, we have never understood monetarily and spiritually supporting artists, studios and media companies while simultaneously berating them for what they offer us.  Particularly, people who can't stand George Clooney and Matt Damon - but still go see their films, buy their DVDs, etc.  Why the heck do people on my side of the aisle do this?  If someone delivers crummy pizza that smells weird, tastes worse and gets me sick – would you still call the same pizza place every time?  No.  So, why do the same when making entertainment or artistic purchase choices?

In film, you don’t get to shoot on 35 mm with “big-name” actors, with the best script material, with the best D.P.’s and with someone else’s budget unless you have a track record and make money. To become a great artist, to become a great filmmaker… you need time to develop and hone your craft.  You need to be able to make a living as an artist to justify being one and to gain that 24/7 time needed to create and edit better and better material.  Having an audience makes that happen.  But, when you are starting out as an artist, you need to build an audience before you can grow one and then convert one.  Not all “Conservative” films or shows will be great and not all will be good.  But, all should be supported by the people most pre-disposed to enjoy the material… fellow Conservatives.  But it seems to me, that the expectations are placed too high when the art comes from “one of their own.”

It is like being the guy or gal who struggles to make it in their own hometown.  The hometown crowd is much tougher on you and their expectations of success are so high that the bar they have set for just saying, “You know, it’s alright” is almost impossible to leap over.  Are “Conservative” audiences really saying that until you start winning Oscars, Emmys, Tonys, Grammys and Liberals – you haven’t achieved that much?  It seems like it is for both new artists as well as some of the more established ones.  How many Conservatives do you know of who announced their political orientation at the start of their careers?   Did any of them get to make a second or third album, movie, etc.? 

This also can hold true for established artists.  We paid money to see AMERICAN CAROL in a theater.  ATLAS SHRUGGED, too.  They weren’t films that met the unbelievably high expectations of their audiences.  But so what, they were not bad films.  Hello?  Pick any Rob Schneider film or just try to watch the glacial, yet beautiful THE AMERICAN.  AMERICAN CAROL and ATLAS SHRUGGED were films trying to do a helluva lot with a limited budget and the expectations that come with being the first “Conservative” films in their genres.  Almost no film could have met the expectations those two had to deal with.

How do you expect to see more artists, musicians, filmmakers, etc. who think like you do… if you aren’t willing to support the ones you already have?  Can you really expect those who are successful and established to risk all in making the brave decision to “come out of the closet” politically?  God bless Gary Sinise, Patricia Heaton, Jon Voight, Angie Harmon and the other stars who have come out, gotten involved and led from the front.  They are an inspiration.

If you don’t support Conservative artists’ material, especially when they are putting their livelihoods, careers and more on the line… then don’t pine for “better” films, shows, etc.  And don’t condemn them for not outnumbering the artists you can’t stand or agree with.  Because at the end of the day, you’re part of Hollywood too… with you time and hard-earned dinero.

Kansas City, Here We Come!

Today, we are just over two weeks out from our first screening at a film festival.  We are fortunate to have been invited to screen our film at the Kansas City Urban Film Festival (KCUFF) in Kansas City, MO.  This growing festival (in its 3rd year) takes pride in showing films made “by any means necessary.”  Given our history in making our film on our own dime and time, its sounds like the perfect place for us.  KCUFF… here we come!  

After our series of small screenings in the last month or so, it feels good to be able to get our film to another part of the country and to get more feedback.  We are incredibly happy with the response to our little documentary epic so far.

Not too many have people seen our film yet, but those that have seen FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN have been moved by what they have seen and experienced.  When about 90% or better of the audience stays after your film for your Q&A (and all the audiences have been made up of various demographics and political persuasions), you know you probably have something special.  And we do.  The questions and discussions have been tough and have ranged from the film itself to current events to personal testimonies backing up much of what we show on-screen.  And those are just the things that are said in public.  Privately, the conversations we have had with some members of the audience have been quite moving and inspirational.

For example, after one of our Wilmington screenings, we met a White Republican City Council candidate who busted his @## campaigning in the Black community (on his own, without Party support – he was  first-timer).  He lost by only 300 votes in a City of 70,000 people.  Just imagine what he could have done if he had some real Party support!  In Greensboro NC, we met a large man who otherwise could be the twin brother of NFL All-Pro Wide Receiver & “Dancing With The Stars” Winner, Hines Ward.  After the movie, I asked him if he liked it.  He promptly told me that he didn’t, primarily because we didn’t interview… RON PAUL???  Where’d that come from?  Wow.  Well, I explained that we never even got in physical proximity to Ron Paul (let alone, I’m not sure Congressman Paul would have much to say on the subject of our film anyway).  We did have an interesting discussion about the two-party system and the media with this man.  Not sure if he ended up a fan of the movie or of us, but we gave him a copy of our movie poster anyway.

In Charlotte, a great moment occurred when a middle-aged lady (who “came out” as a Black Republican a few years earlier) asked the White members of the audience if they had ever been called a “racist.”  Most sheepishly nodded their head, “yes.”  This same women then looked over to four White audience members who were sitting together (she didn’t know that they were members of our family) and promptly told them that they needed to “get over being called a racist” and to “stop being afraid and start coming into the community.”  That was moving, cool and awesome (and a little funny, too).

In Atlanta, we had several people trade in their GREEN LANTERN tickets to come see our film instead after they saw our movie poster in the lobby.  That was… you name the positive adjective.  Unfortunately, these nice folks hadn’t heard about FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN because their big, local newspaper – the Atlanta Journal-Constitution – refused to cover or review our film.  And this was after their Film Critic (who was VERY interested in seeing our film) asked me to get him a copy of our film RIGHT AWAY.  So, we Fed-Exed-Overnight a DVD Review Copy to him at a cost of $52.00).  Now before you call us naive, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the “New York Times of the South” and well, you do have to hope for the best.  Getting our film reviewed or having our World Premiere covered in that paper would be HUGE for a small film like ours.

Unfortunately, the film critic’s Assignments Editor who received our package - sat on the film and ignored our press release, our phone calls and our e-mails after Fed-Ex kindly delivered our DVD to her.  After I e-mailed the Critic to find out if he got the DVD, I received an e-mail telling me to contact his Assignments Editor.  Which I did by telephone and as she didn’t pick up, I left a message.  I didn’t get a call back, but I did get an e-mail from the Assignments Editor that she would try to watch our movie that very night and if it went well – she would meet with a few reporters in the next morning.  Oh, and I should feel free to call her and check in again.  So I did. Then, I did again. And again.  I wasn’t being a pest about it as I spread my phone calls out over the next week.  I even e-mailed the Critic again but heard nothing.  I’m sure he is a nice guy who was just stuck in as a bad a situation with this as we were.   My final phone calls to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution came from a busy truck stop in Northern Georgia as we drove down from New Jersey a few days before our Premiere.  

Long-story short… the Film Critic, who is a well-known and distinguished writer, probably never even got our film.   If the Assignments Editor wanted to hurt our film (and we don’t know if this was her intention or not), she did a good job -  as did others.  Because also we sent the press release, sent e-mails, sent postcards and made phone calls to several other Atlanta Journal-Constitution employees.  No where, no where did a mention of our film make it into their paper.  Even though about 25% of our film takes place in Atlanta and the surrounding area. 

Even without their coverage, we still got the small weekly papers to cover us and they did some nice pieces on us and our film.  We still had a great “World Premiere” Screening/Q&A for those who came, including some of the Atlanta folks who appear in our film.  The crowd would have been a lot larger if the local “newspaper of record” at least mentioned our Screening as a community event listing.  I’m just sayin’.  

Well, the next day (after our World Premiere) and after all our ignored requests – we left Atlanta for our next screening in Charlotte NC, but had to make a little detour first.  Our Co-Producer Tamara, wanted to stop by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution headquarters to get our DVD back from the Assignments Editor.  Now, that our Premiere was over – they surely wouldn’t need our DVD, right?  The nice security guard that Tamara spoke with kept trying to contact said Assignments Editor, but to no avail.  For whatever reason, she fortunately decided to get a Coke or something and happened by the Security Guard booth.  The guard called out to her, then introduced her to Tamara.  After pretending she barely heard of our film before, she promised to send our DVD back.  That was eight weeks ago and we are still waiting.  Go figure.

Even though our media coverage wasn’t the best, we did get to meet a lot of great people, exchange political views with Republicans and many, many Democrats.  And we did start building “word of mouth” on our film.  Having done all this on our own, our Southern Tour was worth it in spades.  There is no feeling like showing your film in a movie theater when the lights go down.  A wide-screen TV or computer screen can’t compete.  It is simply an amazing feeling you can’t duplicate anywhere else and we recommend to any other indie filmmakers out there to do it at least once.  Just for yourself as an artist.  However, don’t count on getting coverage from the bigger media outlets even if you work super-hard to get it.  Make sure you hit the smaller outlets, just do it at least 3-4 weeks out and have plenty of production stills (that gets you extra page space and “visually” helps sell your film).  Trust me, we can’t thank these smaller publications enough.

How will we get to more movie theaters around the country?  We are working hard on that.  All we can say is that word is getting around.  Which is great because we’ve had to prove that there is a market for a film like ours.  The Kansas City Urban Film Festival will hopefully be a capstone for proving that there IS a market for our film like ours and also serve as a great kick-start for the future.  We are working hard sending postcards (200+), e-mails, press releases and this week, making phone calls in order to pack the 150-seat theatre (at the Screenland Crossroads) that we will be screening in.  Tickets will be available soon at http://www.screenland.com/crossroads#Coming

We are expecting a great Screening and Q&A in Kansas City.  If you can make it there, please join us.  If you can’t make it, hopefully you’ll get a chance to see our film in the future in a theater or on DVD.

Take care, be well and please go see an independent film as often as possible.

Slainte.