Wow! I feel so honored. A thread on MDB dedicated to ME!
Well, give me a moment for the blood to return to my heart from my flattered, flushed face and I will attempt to respond.
Bond:
This will be interesting I think (well at least I can see CK live in person).
He’ll probably steal the show. He has knock-em-dead movie-star looks.
Ok, there’s that hint of a receding hair line … but other than that, he’s a stud muffin.
So is this thing anywhere near being completed?
No. I anticipate taping interviews until early summer 2008.
Will it be posted on the Net for cheapskates like ole Bond?
Only when and if it attracts no interest from people who would actually pay to broadcast it.
Translation (via Urim and Thummim, of course): You’ve heard of “B” movies. You’ve heard of “straight-to-DVD” movies. This will probably be a “straight-to-YouTube-movie” – about a week after its finished.
Who Knows:
I'm surprised CK agreed to it.
He’s obviously starved for attention.
I don't trust the guy (schryver) as far as this endeavor goes.
Well, there’s no accounting for taste.
He's asked a number of critics to be in it, who have all declined.
True as far it goes. I’ve asked Brent Metcalfe, Michael Marquardt, and Don Bradley (so far). All declined to participate. I’ve also asked some others, whom I shall not name until after I’ve interviewed them – assuming I do. Although I would like some critics to participate, it is not essential to my purposes. I’m more interested in interviewing people for whom the Book of Abraham controversy has been a key factor in their loss of faith.
I'm sure if any of you critics wanted to be in it, he'd take volunteers.
True. Email me at
schryver@eschatos.org if you’re interested.
LoaP:
I believe Dan Vogel has met Will and they had a friendly and respectful encounter, so he can't be ALL bad ;)
I’m sure there are numerous logical fallacies at work in this statement. However, I
did meet with Dan and we
did have a friendly and respectful chat. I quite like Dan, to tell the truth. I don’t agree with him on many things. But he strikes me as a very personable agent of Satan. ;-)
Who Knows (again):
I have met Will myself, and he isn't 'ALL bad'. He was actually a very nice guy.
Don’t exaggerate.
Very nice? Hardly. Just because I didn’t slit your throat from ear to ear and bury you in Porter Rockwell’s backyard doesn’t mean I’m a nice guy. I’m actually a bloodthirsty Danite assassin who would be more than happy to dice every one of you into small pieces and feed you to my pet piranhas.
I just wouldn't trust him when it comes to making a documentary about the Book of Abraham, critics, etc. But then again, if I were a scientologist critic, I probably wouldn't trust a scientology apologist either.
Good thing I’m not making an apologetic defense of the Book of Abraham, otherwise you’d have good cause to not trust me. As it is, I’m doing a study of why some people, when faced with the facts of the controversy, lose their faith – while others continue faithful – seemingly unaffected. Consequently, (and this will undoubtedly prove to be a surprise to many on the critics’ side of the aisle) I will be presenting the critics case in all of its gory glory. It is essential to my purposes that the viewer understand what someone who chooses continued faith is up against when it comes to the Book of Abraham issue.
I've got nothing against the guy himself.
Now if only my children could say the same …
bcspace:
You don't trust him because some critics have declined to be in it? Seems like upside-down reasoning to me.
In the immortal words of Ulysses Everett McGill: “It’s fruitless to look for reason in the chambers of the human heart.”
LoaP:
That's what Custar said about Sitting Bull, man.
Um … it was
Custer and
Crazy Horse. But your point is well taken, whatever it was. ;-)
dartagnan:
Incientally, I might be in it too.
He asked me if he could interview me. He was even willing to fly out to Orlando or Atlanta to do it. But I do not know when exactly I will be back in the USA. I told him I was up for it, assuming I would be back next month.
True. But you’ve got to bring your own makeup artist. I can only do so much with filters and good post-production software. <grin>
Actually, you need to let me know when and if you do plan to repatriate so I can check out the airline schedules and fares. Vegas to Atlanta is pretty cheap most of the time. I’m not sure about Orlando.
Will said he would grant me that privilege, by the way. Meaning I would see the end product and I would have to approve of it before he could use it.
Very true. I have no interest in misrepresenting anyone. As I said, despite my marginal credentials as a mediocre apologist, I am most positively not attempting an apologetic work. It aims to be purely a human-interest piece, as it were.
Who Knows (again):
Why dude? You trust him? I wouldn't do it unless I had some control over the editing.
You
would have to give me consent to use your segments, and only
after I provided you with the final cut of your portions – with surrounding context, of course.
Again, and for emphasis,
I am not attempting to make an apologetic piece. I want critics and those who have lost faith due to this issue to be able to say
exactly what they want to say. It is the
contrast between the two reactions that I intend to highlight.
CK:
He kidnapped me, tied me to a chair, and threatened to behead me in the name of Allah. I had no choice.
And when we were done, he wanted me to start from the beginning and do it all again. I tell ya, California people are sick.
On a more serious note, Will gets ahead of himself sometimes-- well, ok, a lot of times-- …
Only until I run into something, then myself catches up with me. It’s really weird when it happens. It’s kind of a twist on the whole out-of-body experience that people talk about. Sometime I’m going to get a video camera set up to capture the whole process, then submit it to America’s Funniest Videos. I can smell $10,000 already!
… but he is quite capable of polite and reasoned interaction.
But only after myself catches up with me. Until then I can be quite unpredictable and even capable of terribly violent outbursts where I sing songs from the
The Sound of Music over and over at the top of my lungs.
I certainly don't expect him to do anything dishonest in the production of this video, so when he gave me his word that he'd let me approve the final cut of my interview before going forward with it, that was enough for me. I feel I can give the guy the benefit of the doubt.
The problem is that, in the final analysis, I doubt there will be a benefit. If you’re seeking fame and fortune, you might need to keep looking.
Still, I appreciate your (mostly) kind words. I’ve always said that you’re a good guy, even when we don’t agree. I hope things are going well back in Illinois. I’m looking forward to the day when you become the most famous Mormon critic of all. Then I’ll sell my tapes of your interview for big bucks to
Famous Mormon Critic Magazine.Runtu:
Will has asked me to be interviewed, but I have two problems:
1. The Book of Abraham was not a factor in my loss of faith in the church. It was just one of the things that, in hindsight, seemed indefensible (and still does).
2. My wife would be supremely pissed if I appeared on film renouncing Mormonism.
You would not have to “renounce” Mormonism. Unless you wanted to, of course. But I’m not going to twist anyone’s arm here. I want
willing participants.
I know, Bob. I'm a coward and a hypocrite.
You said it, not me.
But I'm still married.
That does have its advantages. Especially if you’re also interested in a
willing participant. ;-)