Hey there, kids, welcome to the Phile for a Wednesday. How are you? The bowling alley was robbed? They can't pin that on me. It looks like the Terminator is in quite a bit of trouble. During a virtual commencement speech for the class of 2020 graduating amid the COVID-19 pandemic, actor Arnold Schwarzenegger took a slight jab at President Donald Trump. The 72-year-old actor appeared in a video in which he spoke to the students in an effort to soften the blow of an in-person ceremony being canceled across the country. The actor discussed the importance of overcoming life obstacles, noting that commencement is a time to celebrate not just earning one’s degree, but the hours they took to get there. He noted, “you’re celebrating that journey today. Not just a piece of paper that you hang on a wall.” That being said, the former California Governor held up an honorary doctorate he received from Trump University. The university was Trump’s “failed 2004 venture” which was eventually shut down for allegations of fraud. “This is nothing,” Schwarzenegger noted while holding the framed degree. “I mean we all have these pieces of paper, but let’s be honest. This celebration, by the way, is not the end. Yes, it is the end of this particular chapter, but it is the beginning of your next climb. It is time to celebrate now, be in the moment, go all out, yes of course. But tomorrow, when this is all over, it’s time to start developing your vision and it’s time to start climbing toward your vision.” He also told students in his commencement speech about the importance of overcoming any obstacle by focusing on the story of his unexpected heart surgery which occurred two years ago. The Hollywood actor was scheduled for non-invasive heart surgery to replace a valve in 2018 when doctors then discovered a complication they were forced to do the emergency open-heart surgery. Luckily, the operation was successful and the actor woke up sixteen hours after the unplanned procedure. Apparently doctors had broken through the heart wall and it was internal bleeding, meaning the actor could have died if they had an open his sternum and did the open-heart surgery in the first place. He told the graduation students how during his recovery, he visualized his goal of being back on the set of Terminator: Dark Fate. As to why he was telling the graduating class this, he stated the reason was that he believed that no matter how successful you are, life will always throw obstacles in our path. Meaning we always had to fight to achieve what we want in life. The actor then finished his speech on a very comedic note, stepping up from behind the podium to reveal that he was actually not wearing any pants, just a suit jacket the entire time he was speaking. I can’t wait to see how President Trump and the White House react to this one.
A 28-year-old Missouri woman has been charged with first-degree murder after she gave birth in a bathroom at the meatpacking plant where she worked and then let the baby drown in the toilet. Kirksville, Missouri resident Makuya Stephanie Kambamba gave birth over a toilet at the Smithfield Foods meatpacking plant at which she was employed and then sat down to deal with pains from further contractions as her newborn baby boy lay face down in the toilet. According to Kambamba, she did not check on the boy again for 30 minutes but, when the child first dropped into the toilet, it was still moving. An autopsy performed on the deceased newborn confirmed that it died from drowning. Along with first-degree murder charges, Kambamba also faces involuntary manslaughter charges and felony abuse or neglect of a child. The Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control released the following statement on the incident. "The Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control announces the arrest of Makuya Stephanie Kambamba, 28, for first degree murder. The arrest was the result of an investigation by the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control and the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office. On May 6th, 2020, the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office requested the Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control to assist with a child death investigation. During the investigation, it was determined Kambamba gave birth to a live infant in a restroom toilet located inside a private business in Sullivan County. The infant was later located deceased. An autopsy was performed the following day at the Boone County Medical Examiner’s Office in Columbia, Missouri. On May 15th, 2020, the Sullivan County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office formally charged Kambamba with first degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, and felony abuse or neglect of a child. She was taken into custody by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, who was assisted by the Kirksville Police Department. She was transported to the Sullivan County Jail. Kambamba was issued no bond, and will be transported to the Daviess/DeKalb Regional Jail, in Pattonsburg, Missouri. The above charges are mere accusations and are not evidence of guilt. Evidence in support of these charges must be presented before a court of competent jurisdiction whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence." Kambamba was taken into custody at the Daviess/DeKalb Regional Jail and is being held without bond. At this time it is unclear if she has hired or been assigned an attorney.
It’s a sad day for Pier 1 Import fans after the company has announced they want to close its stores for good. Yes, say goodbye to the over-expensive lawn chairs, and delightful flashlights and table sets, people. According to the company, just three months after filing for bankruptcy, it is on the verge of completely shutting down. The store is asking the bankruptcy court to seize its retail operation, “as soon as reasonably possible.” It blames temporary store closure caused by the coronavirus pandemic and failing to find a buyer for the decision they have made. The company, which is 58-years-old, stated it analyzed alternative ways to remain in business, but decided that liquidation was the best option. Through a press release, the company stated "Ultimately, due to the combination of a challenging retail environment and the new reality and uncertainty of a post-COVID world, the company and its advisers determined that an orderly wind-down is the best way to maximize the value of Pier 1’s assets.” The company did note they are planning to sell its remaining inventory, website, and intellectual property. Luckily for you fans, orders placed on its website will continue to be fulfilled and run regularly. Its lenders have agreed to let the company overdraw its lending facility by a whopping 40 million dollars to help it fund the liquidation process. The popular store sales have slumped in recent years because of growing online competition, and different consumer habits. According to reports, the Home Goods retail section has been hit hard by the rise of Wayfair, Amazon, and other online competitions. Several bix-box changes and nationwide favorites, such as Walmart and Target have also straightened their home offerings. Last year, Pier 1 Imports Inc. cut its stores in half. It announced back in February that it was closing around 450 stores, including all locations in Canada. The company currently has more than 500 stores, which went down from 1,000 last year. Unfortunately, this isn’t the only store filing for bankruptcy. Neiman Marcus, J.Crew, and JC Penney have all filed in recent weeks, blaming COVID-19 and shifting behaviors as well.
Do you make lots of stinky no-nos? Is your love of smoked and cured meats, spicy food, beer, and coffee haunting you? Kind of literally? As if a smelly ghost is following you all day? There’s an underwear pad for that now. Strap on one of these air diapers and never worry about one of your toxic mushroom clouds clearing out a room or making your coworkers look at you like you’re a disgusting, farting animal.
This Flatulence Deodorizer from Flat D Innovations is charcoal based and purports to turn every taco banshee that slips out of your undies into an odorless, Casper the Friendly Fart. In fact, Flat D Innovations claims to be “the global leader in flatulence deodorizer products” and, frankly, there’s really no need to question that assertion. It seems absolutely true. This is fun to have a chuckle at and all, but if I was letting out foul howlers all day with little or no way to control it because of some medical issue like irritable bowel syndrome or simple genetic bad luck, I’d have already bought twenty of these flatulence filtering underwear pads. Can you imagine the hell of constantly smelling like a hot pile of shit? Not being able to go to the movies again with your kids because a cloud that smells like sulfur and roadkill is emanating from you at all times? Flat D has products for women and men that come in various sizes and for various uses, so pretty much anyone who has a bad fart problem can take advantage of the product. And for those of you Americans who, like me, enjoy punishing their digestive systems with egregiously spicy hot sauces and trash fast food and no longer want to pay the well-deserved price of giving off toxic radiation, then here’s a solution for that too.
President Trump announced on Monday that he was taking the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19, a treatment that hasn't been proven effective and for a disease he does not have. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said in an interview with CNN that "it's not a good idea," not only because it hasn't been approved by scientists, but also because Trump is "morbidly obese." "As far as the president is concerned, he's our president and I would rather he not be taking something that has not been approved by the scientists," she explained. "Especially in his age group and in his, shall we say, weight group, morbidly obese, they say."
So, "Baby Yoda" fans, or the Child fans, I have an exclusive pic from the next season of "The Mandalorian." Check it out...
Hahahaha. If you live in Florida and don't know what staying six feet apart means, then this will help you.
Hmmmm... I love Publix subs. What I don't like is those protestors and their stupid signs...
Movie theaters have been getting very creative with their marquee signs I have to say...
So, kids are starting to graduate and again getting really creative with their yearbook quotes...
Haha. If I had a TARDIS I would probably end up seeing a disabled First World War veteran begging on the streets of Berlin in 1923.
To contextualize things a bit, it’s important to at least note that during this time Germany’s economy was in the pit of hell. German society was struggling to cope with treating anybody well. Nowadays the German veterans (even WWII veterans) are paid much better. Now from the home office in Port Jefferson, here is...
Top Phive Things Overheard From People About Nancy Pelosi Calling Trump "Morbidly Obese"
5. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Pelosi expressing meds concern because Trump is morbidly obese. He is. So was Taft. It's like saying "there is something really fucked up with his hair." It's a statement of fact. Unlike Trumps ratings, which are just juvenile name calling.
4. American people: Speaker Pelisi, can you please pass a stimulus bill that helps out of work Americans instead of big corporations? Pelosi: Trump is fat. LOL!
3. I don't think I'll be wiping the smile of my face for a few days after Pelosi called Trump "morbidly obese." Hahahahahahaha. The man who glorifies himself on social media as somewhere between Sylvester Stallone and Bill Pullman, just got served a truth sandwich!
2. Nancy Pelosi fat-shamed the President in that dry, brutal way that white woman usually reserve for their own daughters.
And the number one thing overheard by someone about Nancy Pelosi calling Trump "morbidly obese" was...
1. Nobody is happier than Trump today that Pelosi called him "morbidly obese." Now he can riff freely on her overuse of botox without fear of blowback.
If you spot the Mindphuck let me know. Man, I barely spotted it. Family relationships are complicated enough when we're not in quarantine... If you have an unconventional career you might face a certain amount of judgment from those closest to you. While sometimes people think they're helping you by inflicting their opinions and lifestyle choices onto you and your path, hateful comments should never be tolerated. While we're in quarantine, we can't brush off a spat with our partner's family by going out with friends and venting... unless it's on Zoom. When an adult performer specializing in fetishes had a moral dilemma about her behavior toward her partner's aunt, she emailed me asking for advice.
"Am I wrong for telling my fiancé's aunt... and a good portion of his family... that I waxed my armpits for porn? I'm an adult performer who found her niche in fetish productions due to my 'natural body hair'... I stopped shaving quite a number of years ago because I'm prone to really gross looking razor burn and suddenly, my 'career' took off. I make a decent living doing mostly solo work, more than enough to live on and build up a savings. I'm open about my body hair but not my 'career,' so I tend to just tell people that it's a societal statement or something similar. My fiancé's family all knows that I'm pretty proud of my body hair. I don't think it detracts from my looks or femininity at all. Recently, though, I was hired to do a 'bimbofication' series that paid very well, and they paid me extra on top of the usual base salary to completely remove all of my body hair on camera. They sent a whole damn waxing setup and I made the videos and I got paid. I posted a couple of selfies with my arms in the air to Facebook with the caption of, 'look what I did! Quarantine boredom is getting to me!' and didn't think much of it until Sunday, during a Zoom call with my ffiancé's aunt and a couple of female cousins for some wedding flowers I was bullied into getting from the aunt because she's a florist. The aunt brought up my body hair transformation immediately and was like, 'oh, I bet you did it for the wedding!' I tried to deflect and say it was really just quarantine boredom, but she kept on keeping on. 'Oh, you probably feel more feminine! I bet you feel prettier! Don't you smell better? You want to keep it gone forever now, don't you? Welcome to the ranks of real women!' I deflected no less than a dozen ridiculous statements from the aunt tying together my femininity with bald armpits, and I finally snapped and said, 'no, you're right, I didn't do it because I was bored, I did it for porn that your NEPHEW recorded and I'll do it again once the shit grows back.' Then I hung up the call. My fiancé isn't terribly pissed, but he's getting calls to end the wedding from his extended family. He's mostly annoyed that his phone hasn't stopped ringing since yesterday afternoon. Thankfully, his parents aren't interested in this drama, probably because we're the picture of a mundane family. Overlooking this detail, obviously. The aunt is no longer doing the flowers which is an unnecessary bill I don't have to pay, but I'm wondering. Am I wrong for telling my fiancé's aunt that I waxed my armpits for spank bank material?" She later sent me another email with some more information. "Since people are asking. I went to college for library sciences. Now I'm in porn. Sometimes, that's life, folks. I have a part time job as a writer for a super small local magazine, and that's where we told people my income was generated. We have gotten lots of skepticism from that explanation, though, mostly because it's pretty unbelievable. The magazine is a nonprofit. Honestly, everyone had to know that we generate income elsewhere, they just didn't know where." How you make a perfectly legal living only has to be kept private if you want it to be. If you didn’t want to out yourself the other option would have been to agree that hair is far too masculine and declare you are going to shave your head to achieve pure femininity. What kind of person says "welcome to the ranks of real women!"? I actually feel both parties were at fault here... I don’t blame her for going off on the aunt but I feel if she had gone more down the path of attacking the aunt for the ideas of body hair and femininity would have been more productive. Saying she did it for porn is going kick the beehive and I’d imagine a massive shit storm is brewing. The aunt was definitely more wrong to pass judgement tying her worth as a woman to whether or not her armpits were hairy. While she shouldn't have snapped and put her partner's relationship with his aunt in jeopardy, sometimes you have to to defend yourself. If you have a problem or need advice then email me at thepeverettphile@gmail.com.
"Parks and Recreation" knew that hell for parents was being stuck with their children.
Okay, let's take a live look at Port Jeff, shall we?
Hmmmm... there's a mysterious van parked there. Let me try to zoom in and see what it is...
I can't tell. Hahaha. Oh, well. That was exciting, right?
President Donald Trump said Monday that he is taking a malaria drug to protect against the coronavirus, despite warnings from his own government that it should only be administered for COVID-19 in a hospital or research setting due to potentially fatal side effects. Trump told reporters he has been taking the drug, hydroxychloroquine, and a zinc supplement daily “for about a week and a half now.” Trump spent weeks pushing the drug as a potential cure or prophylaxis for COVID-19 against the cautionary advice of many of his administration’s top medical professionals. The drug has the potential to cause significant side effects in some patients and has not been shown to combat the new coronavirus. Trump said his doctor did not recommend the drug to him, but he requested it from the White House physician. “I started taking it, because I think it’s good,” Trump said. “I’ve heard a lot of good stories.” The White House physician, Dr. Sean Conley, said in a statement released through the White House press office that, after “numerous discussions” with Trump about the evidence for and against using hydroxychloroquine, “we concluded the potential benefit from treatment outweighed the relative risks.” The Food and Drug Administration warned health professionals last month that the drug should not be used to treat COVID-19 outside of hospital or research settings, due to sometimes fatal side effects. Regulators issued the alert for the drug, which can also be used to treat lupus and arthritis, after receiving reports of heart rhythm problems, including deaths, from poison control centers and other health providers. Trump dismissed reports of side effects, saying, “All I can tell you is, so far I seem to be okay.” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told CNN, “He’s our president, and I would rather he not be taking something that has not been approved by the scientists, especially in his age group and his, shall we say, weight group… morbidly obese, they say.” Trump is 73. At his last full checkup in February 2019 he passed the official threshold for being considered obese, with a Body Mass Index of 30.4. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a BMI of 40 or above is considered “severe” obesity, which some also call “morbid” obesity. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer called Trump’s remarks “dangerous.” “Maybe he’s really not taking it because the president lies about things characteristically,” Schumer said on MSNBC. He added, “I don’t know whether he is taking it or not. I know him saying he is taking it, whether he is or not, is reckless, reckless, reckless.” At least two White House staffers tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month, sparking concerns about the steps taken by the administration to protect the president and sending Vice President Mike Pence and other officials into varying forms of self-isolation. The White House has since mandated that those in the West Wing wear face coverings and has introduced daily testing for the virus for the president, vice president and those they come in close contact with. Trump says he continues to test negative for the coronavirus. Trump last underwent an “interim” checkup in a November visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center that was not noted on his public schedule. His last complete physical took place in February 2019. Several prominent doctors said they worried that people would infer from Trump’s example that the drug works or is safe. “There is no evidence that hydroxychloroquine is effective for the treatment or the prevention of COVID-19,” said Dr. Patrice Harris, president of the American Medical Association. “The results to date are not promising.” People should not infer from Trump’s example “that it’s an approved approach or proven,” because it’s not, said Dr. David Aronoff, infectious diseases chief at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. Hydroxychloroquine can cause potentially serious heart rhythm problems even in healthy people, but “it’s hard to infer” that Trump’s artery plaque, revealed in tests from his 2018 physical, makes the drug especially dangerous for him, Aronoff said. White House officials did not say whether any other administration officials were also taking the drug. Trump said he took hydroxychloroquine with an “original dose” of the antibiotic azithromycin. The president has repeatedly pushed the use of the drug with or without the azithromycin, but no large, rigorous studies have found them safe or effective for preventing or treating COVID-19. Two large observational studies, each involving around 1,400 patients in New York, recently found no benefit from hydroxychloroquine. Two new ones published Thursday in the medical journal BMJ reached the same conclusion. One, by French researchers, gave 84 hospitalized patients the drug and 97 others the usual care. There were no differences in the odds of death, need for intensive care or developing severe illness. The other study from China was a stricter test: 150 adults hospitalized with mild or moderate illness were randomly assigned to get hydroxychloroquine or usual care. The drug made no difference in rates of clearing the virus or time to relief of symptoms, and they brought more side effects. In April, the National Institutes of Health launched a study testing hydroxychloroquine versus a placebo drug in 500 hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Last week, NIH announced another study to see if hydroxychloroquine plus azithromycin can prevent hospitalization or death in people with mild to moderate illness. About 2,000 U.S. adults with confirmed coronavirus infections and symptoms such as fever, cough or shortness of breath will get the drugs or placebo pills. U.S. prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine surged roughly 80% in March to more than 830,000 compared with same period in the prior year, according to data tracking firm IQVIA. That jump in prescribing came before the federal government accepted nearly 30 million doses of the drug donated to the strategic national stockpile by foreign drugmakers. Since then, millions of those tablets have been shipped to U.S. hospitals nationwide for use treating patients with COVID-19.
The 125th to be pheatured in the Phile's Book Club is...
Phile Alum John Oates will be on the Phile this Friday.
A guy was in a cave, looking for treasure. He found an old lamp, rubbed it, and a genie came out. The genie said, "I will grant you three wishes, but your ex-wife will get double." The man agreed, and said, "I wish I had a mansion." The genie granted it, and his ex-wife got two mansions. The man said "I would like a million dollars." The genie again granted it and his ex-wife got two million dollars. Then the man said, "Scare me half to death."
Today's guest is an American filmmaker. He wrote and directed the documentary Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened about the Fyre Festival fraud which you can see now on Netflix. Please welcome to the Phile... Chris Smith.
Me: Hey, Chris, welcome to the Phile. How are you?
Chris: Very well, Jason. How are you?
Me: I'm good. So, for my readers who aren't familiar with this Fyre Festival thing, they should be because I'm pretty sure I talked about it here on the Phile, can you say what it was.
Chris: A person paid tens of thousands of dollars to go to this music festival, they get off the plane, they step onto the island and are expecting yachts and supermodels and huge headline acts but that's not what they see.
Me: What do they see?
Chris: Well, it was different for everyone but the ones that made it, there was supposed to be 3,000 each weekend but only about 400 people made it there. They were greeted by yellow school busses. Some were taken to a beach bar, some were taken to the festival site. But it was an unfinished site with disaster relief tents. It was just a mess.
Me: What kind of food were they promised?
Chris: They were promised high end catering.
Me: There was a pic that went viral of a cheese sandwich and in your film you said that took down the whole thing. Can you explain that?
Chris: Yeah, it was a festival born on social media and so ultimately taken down by the same thing.
Me: What was your initial reaction when you saw the Fyre Festival unfold over social media when it was happening?
Chris: It was very easy for people to consume and there were these influencers and rich kids that were flown to an island and got stuck in this "Lord of the Flies" sort of environment. I think the headline was something people were attracted to. The Festival was built on people who wanted to be there and people who felt they were missing out. I think when they saw it all implode it was very enjoyable for the people that didn't go.
Me: In your film you show late night clips of people like Conan making fun. What made you decide there was a movie to be made here?
Chris: It was a couple of months later and it was something that just seemed interesting. I was interested to see something more human behind the headline, if there was something relatable by talking to the people that were on the front lines of this while experience. That included the people that worked for Fyre Media. I think one of the things that people don't know was it actually was a technology company, there was a talent booking company called Fyre. The festival was just supposed to be something to promote the app.
Me: Ja Rule was the rapper behind the Fyre Festival but you focus highly on some guy named Billy McFarland. Here's a pic of them both...
Me: What was McFarland's role?
Chris: He was kind of the mastermind behind the whole thing.
Me: So, who the hell is he?
Chris: He's a fascinating character. He's quite young, I think he was 25 when this was going on. He ended up dropping out of college and I think this was his third company. He had done a lot of small things in high school and then he had a company called Spling which I think he sold, he had a company called Magnises which was like a black card for millennials. They had a club house in New York City and were expanding to different cities. From there for an event for Magnises he booked Ja Rule for a party and doing that they discovered that that process was pretty arduous in terms of there was no type of system set up. So they collectively decided there was a great opportunity to create a talent booking platform so they created Fyre and from there the Fyre Festival was born.
Me: Where did you get a bunch of the footage for the film, Chris?
Chris: I got access to all the behind the scenes footage produced by Fyre, by their marketing company documenting every step of the festival logistics. Also the early stages of making the promo video for the Fyre Festival which ends up becoming the Fyre Festival itself, all the models on the beach.
Me: When you sat down and started looking at the raw footage of the creation of this festival what struck you?
Chris: It was fascinating. The whole project was like an archeological endeavor just in the sense I was uncovering it. I came in late, I came in six months after this thing had blown up. I was aware of the news story of what had been written but a lot of the insiders hadn't spoken. There wasn't a lot of coverage of that actually went down so I was curious too uncover and unpack the real story. So in doing that it was trying to get to the core of what had happened from people that were there. So that prosiness started with some of the event producers. Through this whole year it was just building trust with different people and then getting introductions. From that everybody had pieces of the footage or pieces of the story and so it was just putting all that together.
Me: Was it hard to get them to open up to you? I have a feeling there's a great shame around this festival.
Chris: Yeah, it was actually. That was probably the hardest part of the project was getting people to talk. I think there was kind of a stigma with Fyre and I think this is something that the people wanted to forget or put behind them. One of the things I was interested was to out a new light on it and show that there were a lot of really hardworking, conscientious, thoughtful people that were behind the actual festival that were sort of brought into this mess and did the best that they could in a bad situation.
Me: People warned Billy McFarland about this whole mess, right? What did they say?
Chris: Yeah, they told him that this is in serious trouble. They told him to pull out the entire way saying they don't have enough toilets, they have to move to a different island, people are going to be sleeping in hurricane shelters. He says stuff like, "We're a solutions company, we're not problem company."
Me: Why the fuck didn't he just shut this down? Did you gain any insight on that?
Chris: Well, I think it comes apparent in the movie he couldn't shut it down. There was a lot of money raised and there was a lot hinging on the success of the festival. If he had postponed the festival I think the house of cards could have fallen apart. The financials could have become apparent and at that point I think everything would have collapsed. This is my opinion but I believe he thought if he could just pull this off and just pull the festival off in some form an asset that had some value that could make the investors whole.
Me: Then like an act of God the rain comes down and ruins it, right?
Chris: Yeah, there were many things that were conspiring against them but that definitely did not help.
Me: The film not only talks about the "poor" kids that ended up going and not going to the festival but the local laborers who were affected as well. Tell me about that part of the story.
Chris: That was the thing where they were so many aspects of this film that I was excited to explore. One was getting to the bottom of that had happened from a front row seat with the people that were there but in doing that we went the Bahamas and talked to a lot of the locals that had been involved in the festival. That's heartbreaking, we saw people who subscribed and believed in the dream that they were selling which was this was going to be boom for this economy and that this would be going on year after year after year. So a lot of people invested in this hoping that would come to compass.
Me: The film contrasts the Instagram reality with the supermodels hanging out on the beach listening to Blink-182 to hurricane shelters and floods. Tell me about that contrast you had to get across in this film. Was it hard?
Chris: Well, I think it exists on a number of levels. They were incredibly good at marketing the festival. That was the fun part, that's what the focused on first. They created the ultimate luxury festival getaway. And it worked, people were very interested in this, people subscribed to this, it was something that provided exclusivity and access to celebrity and talent and sort of a festival experience but it was intimate. But I think they were selling to appeal to people but where it fell flat they hadn't figured out the logistics. They did everything backwards and now they were stuck in a very short period of time having tried to pull something off that proved to be impossible.
Me: Do you think there is a lesson here in what is betrayed in social media to what actually is going on?
Chris: Yeah, I think it's that definitely. That's echoed through the perception that Billy was portraying. Living in New York City in a penthouse, flying in private planes, having a Maserati with a driver... I think it was a projection of success that he thought would bring success. So that was something that we saw not only in him as a character but also in the festival.
Me: Hulu also put a documentary about the Fyre Festival as well. Does this type of thing bother you, that someone had the same idea as you?
Chris: We were just super excited to be working with Netflix, it's a global platform and the release was always scheduled and focused on a worldwide audience so it was something we were aware of. We knew this thing was coming out which again was in the U.S. only and just our focus was always on them on a global release, getting it to as many homes as possible.
Me: Well, if I were you I'd be pissed, that you worked two years on this film and this other film comes out two days before yours. Do you think they knew you were making the doc as well?
Chris: Because there were some overlap with some of the talent I think both sides were very much aware of the other project.
Me: The film ends with McFarland going to jail for six years. After that do you think he'll be back or have we heard the last from him?
Chris: Without a doubt he'll be back. He's still so young and he'll be out in his early 30s. The way you see him work in the movie you see him as an unstoppable force. We just hope that when he comes out he can be put to something productive.
Me: I don't know, man. Maybe. Well, I'll see you on the beach then.
Chris: Exactly.
Me: Chris, thanks for being on the Phile. Your film is great. Please come back when the next project comes out. Stay well.
Chris: Thanks so much.
That's about it for this entry of the Phile. The Phile will be back tomorrow with musician Corey Hart. Do you remember him? Spread the word, not the turd... or the virus. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye. Mask it or casket.
I don't want you, cook my bread, I don't want you, make my bed, I don't want your money too, I just want to make love to you. - Willie Dixon
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