Blog Archives
The Phantom Patriot Returns: AMERICAN MADNESS doc will premiere at LA Film Festival May 20
American Madness: The Story of the Phantom Patriot and How Conspiracy Theories Hijacked American Consciousness was released during the chaos of the 2020 pandemic by Feral House. I worked on it (off and on) for ten years, from my first contact in 2010 with the book’s main subject, costumed conspiracy theorist Richard McCaslin (aka the Phantom Patriot), until the book was published in 2020. Along the way I learned a lot about conspiracy culture, crashed an ATV, spent a loooong weekend at a flat earther convention, made Les Claypool nervous, had to explain to my mom what exactly a Reptilian is, and at times questioned my own sanity. The book received some nice reviews and media hits. Sadly, it is all still very relevant today.
In 2021 I got in touch with Eric (and his wife, Kim) Hayden, who expressed interest in adapting American Madness into a documentary. In talking to Eric, I felt happy that he understood the book and why I wanted to write it and that he had a passion for the project. Eric became director with Kim as a producer, and I’m credited as a producer as well.
These things are a lot of work, I don’t think people realize how much goes into it all. Eric worked on the doc for years, trying to find a balance of time to complete it. I was concerned at times– projects fizzle out all the time for a variety of reasons, so I was quite thrilled when he told me he was wrapping things up and had a rough cut to show me. He’s done a great job translating the book, telling Richard’s story while connecting it to some of the conspiracy cases we’ve seen in the Conspiracy Apocalypse of the 2020s.
A cut of American Madness will premier in just a couple weeks at the Los Angeles Film Festival Independent Filmmakers Showcase on Wednesday, May 20 (8:30pm, Regal LA Live Cineplex 14). It’s up for an award and I didn’t want to miss being there, so I’ll be heading to sunny California for a few days to visit Eric, attend the screening and award ceremony, and check out a couple things around Los Angeles. I’ve been there a couple times, but it’s always been kinda passing through.
What’s next? Eric and Kim are going to continue to submit to other film fests around the country and hopefully it might get picked up by a distributor. The Haydens will be in Milwaukee sometime in August, so we are hoping we can set up a screening here. I’ll be posting updates here on my website/ Substack.
As I predicted, Richard’s art has developed sort of a cult following, especially among comic artists. It has rarely been seen, so I’m going to try to work on my idea of collecting Richard’s art as a free PDF. Hopefully I can get that done this summer.
I’m glad this wild adventure of a story will reach a new audience through a new medium. If you haven’t read the book, please check it out. There’s some parts of the story that didn’t make it into the film you might find interesting. Here’s a link: American Madness : Feral House
Tea’s Weird Week: TWW podcast returns, I’M YOUR HOST is now available online for your Fall viewing pleasure
One project I’m proud of is I’m Your Host (2024), a documentary on Kenosha area horror hosts that I’m a producer on. Inspired by an article I wrote for Milwaukee Magazine, Alicia Krupsky directed, Christopher Kai House was a producer and Alicia and Stephen Vincent Anderson shot the footage, mostly on location in Kenosha. Local bands with some association with the horror scene filled the soundtrack.
The project began in 2021 and the following year we were awarded a Milwaukee Film Brico Forward Fund Award, which gave some budget for expenses and some free legal advice and other services. Sadly, the Brico Award no longer exists. There were some “work-in-progress” screenings in 2023 at the Milwaukee Twisted Dreams Film Festival and at UW-Parkside in Kenosha. The film officially premiered at the Milwaukee Film Festival in 2024 and went on to be screened at the Seoul International Short Films Festival, and was screened and won awards at Port of Fear Film Fest in Kenosha, New York Tri-State International Film Fest, and the Seoul International Short Films Festival.
Official blurb:
Vampires, witches, werewolves, and ghoulies – Kenosha has the highest population of horror hosts per capita, who produce their own homemade TV shows showing cult-followed horror films. This documentary explores their relationship as a community, their triumphs, and a tragic loss that bonds them together.
I’m glad to say that the film is now available to watch online. You can rent or buy I’m Your Host and bonus– it comes with a download of a sheet of horror host trading cards and the posters Alicia designed as a bonus: https://artforanti-villains.vhx.tv/
And all this is discussed on the newly rebooted Tea’s Weird Week podcast. Me and my co-host Heidi Erickson talk with Alicia about the project, plus weird news on radioactive shrimp, a barefoot LEGO running champ, Pazuzu, and more. Jenny Sanchez tells us about her trip to Wall Drug In our new “Long Days Travel” segment. It’s time to get weird! Audio engineering by FlatlineAudio138. Listen here: https://teasweirdweek.podbean.com/e/teas-weird-week-episode-001-im-your-host/
Please Clap Dept.: QWERTYFEST MKE is happening Oct. 3-5. We’re going to discuss it on next week’s TWW podcast. Meanwhile, see more here: www.qwertyfest.com
TWW: The Late, Great Hannibal Lecter
Political Monsters Week Continues
One of the many bizarre things to come out of this election cycle is the Trump campaign’s racist fearmongering and spreading of false internet stories about immigrants eating the dogs, the cats, the geese, everything in sight– maybe even you. Trump says the countries south of the border are not only sending criminals, but highly intelligent forensic psychiatrist/ cannibal serial killers like “the late, great” Dr. Hannibal Lecter, the character who originated in novels by Thomas Harris and was adapted to various TV shows and movies, most famously The Silence of the Lambs (1991), played by Anthony Hopkins, who won an Academy Award for his portrayal.
Rolling Stone’s Miles Klee outlines the history of Trump referencing the killer in an article titled “Why is Trump So Obsessed With Hannibal Lecter?: A Complete Timeline.” Klee pinpoints the first reference at a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania on July 29, 2023, where Trump claims immigrants are “pouring” out of “mental institutions, from insane asylums,” adding “that’s like Silence of the Lambs stuff.” Trump continued to work on the bit, like a comedian refining a joke, over the months and by May 11, 2024 he referred to the character as “the late, great Hannibal Lecter” for the first time. As Rolling Stone notes, this is a strange reference as there’s no Hannibal Lecter related book or movie that depicts him as dying off.
Rolling Stone points out that perhaps Trump “initially conflated the term ‘insane asylums’ with ‘asylum seekers'” or maybe identified more with Lecter than the FBI agents who locked him up. I think that latter idea is the key here– Trump is a fan of the character. Much like he fawns over dictators like Putin, Jong Un, and Orbán, he admires Lecter.
In fact, I’m going to use Trump’s playbook of fearmongering lies here– the Trump family isn’t sending their best. They’re eating the public, they’re eating the people! They’re shooting people on 5th Avenue, then eating their livers with some fava beans and a nice chianti and the crooked Supreme Court is granting them total immunity. Horrible!
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See yesterday’s post for more on the Political Monsters project. Tomorrow I’ll give a monster forecast: “4 More Years: Vampires or Evil Clowns?”
You can get a copy of Political Monsters…
In person: Saturday, Oct. 19: Milwaukee Paranormal Conference, I’ll be on the vendor floor 10am-5pm at the Irish Cultural & Heritage Center. Register for a free ticket here: milwaukeeparacon.com
Sunday, Oct. 20: Political Monsters Party at Lion’s Tooth, 3-5pm. Admission is free. I’ll talk briefly about the project, we’ll do a round of horror trivia, and if you dress like a zombie, vampire, or killer clown, you get a free copy of the Political Monsters zine!
You can also buy copies at Lion’s Tooth here in Milwaukee and Quimby’s in Chicago. You can order a print copy via the QWERTYFEST MKE Etsy page: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1778576030/political-monsters-how-presidents
And an e-book version is available through Kindle/KU: https://www.amazon.com/Political-Monsters-Presidents-Influence-Horror-ebook/dp/B0DFJ7DZKQ/ref=sr_1_1
teakrulos.com 