Torches at High Noon: A Fog Machine, Power Lines, An Angry Extra and Brigham Young’s Electric Boogaloo

[malkie]

Today’s confession by denial from Interpreter’s head freeloader goes like this…

Peterson's big ego ("How I became a movie star") is a lifelong habit of dropping names in order to boost his own image and help make himself feel more important. That's his game and he does it to increase the value of his own persona. Perhaps he's also thinking along the lines that mentioning big movie producer names on his webpage will help increase web traffic which in turn may produce more donations for his silly religious films.

I'd love to see him make a film of Joseph and Fanny-baby (teenage slave) behind the barn making out and tearing their clothes off in the heat of passion. Or how about a show depicting the Nephite army defending the horizontal axis line of the narrow neck of land that separates the two lands, north and south? It would be amazing if Dan could walk the entire span in a single day as was the Nephite standard. Just one (1) day, no more. And then he can ride north to Cumorah where the gold plates were said to be buried and the final wars were fought.

I wonder if he knows about Delmarva.

[Shulem]

I wonder if he knows about Delmarva.

Movie maker Fat-Dan Blimpy and the lying FARMS cronies duped their fellow Mormons about the nature and size of the narrow neck of land that separates the south from the north. Those guys are freaking dopes and misread the texts! And the Heartlanders are retarded idiots who are still in grade school, 1st grade. At least Peterson made it to junior high, 7th grade! They have been reading the text with rose colored glasses by trying to make it fit within the expectations of a landmass in which the Book of Mormon geography plays no part. Mesoamerica is NOT what Smith envisioned while narrating the story. He had his eyes on Delmarva and used it as a template to keep track of the geography and that greatly aided in keeping track of a tight chronology.

I apologize, Everybody Wang Chung, if this post is a derail and do not intend to go on about it.

For those who are interested, please see my thread up in the Celestial forum:

Book of Mormon Geography

thank you

[Doctor Scratch]

To be clear: I'm not saying that I think there is anything whatsoever that is "illegal" about what is or is not going on at Interpreter. Getting reimbursed for travel and food expenses is, of course, standard operating procedure in the professional world. But there is also something that is *extremely* disingenuous about claiming over and over that you don't get any payment and that, in fact, you and your wife are *donors* to Interpreter and then getting all your travel, lodging, dining, etc. expenses reimbursed by the same organization. (What is the balance, I wonder? Did he and Mrs. Afore kick in $1500, only to charge ~$15,000 in travel expenses?) But in a sense, it's similar to what the Church itself does: claiming to care about "charity" and so forth while sitting on a massive, Scrooge McDuck-esque hoard of gold.

Outrageous! 98$ for one day's food? Good thing they've found relatively low paid actors.

But yeah, I don't think a hundred a day for the top dogs but the guys struggling to do the "podcast" can't even make a donut run is fair.

Hard to disagree with this. Then again, there has been a lot of verbiage boasting about how the whole operation is 100% reliant on volunteers. So, would that claim be rendered false if they were to allow Martin Tanner & Co. to get reimbursed for donuts?

[Tom]

A few comments on the production:

1. As Everybody Wang Chung notes, a power line is clearly visible at 00:00:32. The line is gone in a similar shot at 00:00:52. The production team should have caught the inconsistency.

2. There are some distracting shadows in several shots. They seem to be the shadows of a camera/camera operator. See 00:02:15, 00:02:22, and, especially, 00:02:58 (notice the movement).

3. It’s unclear why the film team opted to use footage from American Prophet: Joseph Smith (2017) rather than Six Days.

4. The footage at 00:03:06-00:03:07 is a bit puzzling. John Wilson seems to say, “That seems farfetched,” but his lips move less than a ventriloquist’s.

Tom, I’m not a professional film maker. I’m under the impression that you are not a professional film maker. Everybody Wang Chung is not, to the best of my knowledge, a professional film maker. But I’m of the opinion that the professional film makers who made, processed, and edited this series of films, and who were paid to do so, should have spotted these very basic errors before putting it out for consumption. Or am I being unreasonable?

Your take is perfectly reasonable. The film makers have worked on multiple Interpreter Foundation projects during the last five-plus years. It’s unknown how much they’ve been paid for their work. But it’s clear that they’re not paying sufficient attention to quality control.

While speaking with the Relief Society Sister in Parowan last night about these problems, I suggested that the Interpreter Foundation cut ties with Redbrick and begin working with Sunn Classic Pictures. Sunn Classic Pictures, of course, has produced or distributed classic films and documentaries such as “The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams,” “The Outer Space Connection,” “Cujo,” “In Search of Noah’s Ark,” “The Lincoln Conspiracy,” “In Search of Historic Jesus,” and, of course, the iconic documentary “Bigfoot: The Mysterious Monster.” Soon-to-be-released films include “The Devil’s Amigos,” “The Beast and the Slayers’ Blood,” “Grizzly Adams: The New Adventure Begins,” “Pinocchio in the Hood,” and “Surviving the Jaws of War: Ramree Massacre.”

Sunn Classic is in a good position to take the Interpreter Foundation to the next level. Future projects might include “Bill and Dan’s Excellent Adventure in Anti-Mormon Zombie
Hell,” “Lou & Matt Go to Utah Lighthouse Ministry” (a buddy comedy starring Louis Midgley and Matt Roper), “Korihor’s Back: The Signature Books Saga” (narrated by Professor Midgley), and “In Search of Historic Richard Nygren” (narrated by Mike Parker and Robert Boylan).

[Shulem]

To be clear: I'm not saying that I think there is anything whatsoever that is "illegal" about what is or is not going on at Interpreter. Getting reimbursed for travel and food expenses is, of course, standard operating procedure in the professional world. But there is also something that is *extremely* disingenuous about claiming over and over that you don't get any payment and that, in fact, you and your wife are *donors* to Interpreter and then getting all your travel, lodging, dining, etc. expenses reimbursed by the same organization. (What is the balance, I wonder? Did he and Mrs. Afore kick in $1500, only to charge ~$15,000 in travel expenses?) But in a sense, it's similar to what the Church itself does: claiming to care about "charity" and so forth while sitting on a massive, Scrooge McDuck-esque hoard of gold.

He claims to donate "significant sums" to support the work but how much compensation in perks does he get in return?

Which is larger?

Perks − Donations = Total Received

or

Donations − Perks = Total Given

[Shulem]

To be clear: I'm not saying that I think there is anything whatsoever that is "illegal" about what is or is not going on at Interpreter.

You've been quite clear, Doctor Scratch. What's not clear is whether Peterson is receiving more in benefits (perks) than what he pays into the system via actual donations.

I won't bet but I can easily imagine he is milking it for all he can get and laughs about it behind your back.

So much for transparency!

[Shulem]

- The Afore looks very disheveled, as though he rolled out of bed, put in a solid shift at a local dive bar, and then accidentally wandered onto the set while looking for a sandwich.

I hesitate to say it, but he looks quite unhealthy and that can be concerning. I would think that careful investors should be cautious in thinking a long term relation with him is probable.



I'm just saying.

Should we do a magic card reading to find out?

[Doctor Scratch]

To be clear: I'm not saying that I think there is anything whatsoever that is "illegal" about what is or is not going on at Interpreter. Getting reimbursed for travel and food expenses is, of course, standard operating procedure in the professional world. But there is also something that is *extremely* disingenuous about claiming over and over that you don't get any payment and that, in fact, you and your wife are *donors* to Interpreter and then getting all your travel, lodging, dining, etc. expenses reimbursed by the same organization. (What is the balance, I wonder? Did he and Mrs. Afore kick in $1500, only to charge ~$15,000 in travel expenses?) But in a sense, it's similar to what the Church itself does: claiming to care about "charity" and so forth while sitting on a massive, Scrooge McDuck-esque hoard of gold.

He claims to donate "significant sums" to support the work but how much compensation in perks does he get in return?

Which is larger?

Perks − Donations = Total Received

or

Donations − Perks = Total Given

Indeed. And I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt: he's said before that he's a complete imbecile when it comes to tax forms and financial issues. So maybe he was just going about his "business" (ahem--as it were) and it never occurred to him that all the expenses he was reimbursing where eclipsing the amount that he'd donated to Interpreter? It could be that it was just an oversight like that. Meanwhile, I seriously doubt that any of Intepreter's donors would care in the slightest to learn that he was spending $10,000+ on travel expenses. They are expecting Mopologetics, and by golly, if he has to rack up a massing travel/food/lodging bill in order to deliver the goods, then so be it! I doubt any of the donors would bat an eye over the fact that he's repeatedly boasted about being a "donor" while also quietly getting reimbursed to the tune of $10-15,000 (or whatever the amount actually is).

[Shulem]

I doubt any of the donors would bat an eye over the fact that he's repeatedly boasted about being a "donor" while also quietly getting reimbursed to the tune of $10-15,000 (or whatever the amount actually is).

Let's ask him:

Dan, which is the greater number, perks or donations?

Some of your donors might like to know.

Thanks.

[drumdude]

I doubt any of the donors would bat an eye over the fact that he's repeatedly boasted about being a "donor" while also quietly getting reimbursed to the tune of $10-15,000 (or whatever the amount actually is).

Let's ask him:

Dan, which is the greater number, perks or donations?

Some of your donors might like to know.

Thanks.

He wants to follow The Brethren and be as financially opaque as possible. It’s what Jesus would want.