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♪♪♪
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♪♪♪
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♪♪♪
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♪♪♪
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[Insects buzz]
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Man: [Speaking French]
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Wade: It's kind of an
interesting question,
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was this film cursed?
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To take a Hollywood
film set to Haiti
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in the immediate wake
of the revolution
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was incredibly courageous.
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That world of Haiti can
be very intimidating.
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Famously people either
are repelled by Haiti
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or they become absolute
obsessives about Haiti.
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And I certainly was in
the latter category.
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I became almost to a fault
an evangelist for Voodoo.
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My name's Wade Davis,
I'm a Professor of Anthropology
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at the University
of British Columbia,
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and a writer.
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Now, this began as a kind of
serendipitous assignment.
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My great professor,
Richard Evans Schultes,
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was very interested in this
rumored existence
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of a folk poison in Haiti
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that was said to bring on
a state of apparent death
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so profound,
it could fool a physician.
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So he casually asked me
if I was interested
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in going down to the island
nation of Haiti,
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and searching for the formula
of the drug
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reputedly implicated in this
business of making zombies.
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And naturally, I said yes.
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Reporter: Zombies,
the living dead,
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have for years been
the staple ingredient
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of second-rate horror movies.
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But is there any truth behind
the Hollywood fantasies?
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A couple of years ago,
"Newsnight" took a look
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behind the cinema clich,s,
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and found that on the West
Indian island of Haiti,
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truth is indeed stranger
than fiction.
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- What drove the whole story
was the discovery
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by a man called
Lamarque Douyon,
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of the case of Clairvius
Narcisse.
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Male Reporter: This is 62 years
old Clairvius Narcisse.
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He's looking at the grave
in which he was buried
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19 years ago.
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The funeral was attended
by all his family and friends.
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- He heard everything,
when he was put in the coffin,
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when he was put in the grave.
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And he was showing you --
- A scar here.
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- A scar here, it was a nail
from his coffin.
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Wade: So these lines
of evidence led Douyon
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to go public, saying
he had found the first
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verifiable instance
of the living dead.
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And what he meant by that
is he had found an individual
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who, by all accounts,
had been pronounced dead,
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and turned back up into
the realm of the living.
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These powders, of which
I have somewhere, uh...
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this poison doesn't make
a zombie.
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The question is, can this
poison make someone appear
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to be dead?
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It's a whole plethora
of ingredients:
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Bufo marinus,
the Caribbean toad,
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with these big parotid glands
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with the cardioactive
steroids in them,
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a number of toxic plants,
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broken glass,
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also um, human remains
for magical reasons.
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And the most powerful
neurotoxin found on Earth.
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It's called tetrodotoxin.
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It comes from the viscera
and the skin of a couple
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of different genera of puffer
fish, if you will,
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which includes the legendary
fugu fish,
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which is prepared by specially
licensed chefs
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who are said in the West
to eliminate the toxin.
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One of the things that I was
completely unprepared for
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was how this would all
kind of explode
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over the American media.
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So I walked off the street
to a literary agent in London,
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and secured a-a book advance.
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And I used the book advance
to finish the research,
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but then I had to write a book.
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And that's how
"The Serpent and the Rainbow"
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was actually written.
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The book really did attempt
to take a phenomena,
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the Haitian zombie,
that had been used
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in an explicitly racist way
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to denigrate a people
and their religion,
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and it tried to make
sense out of it.
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And I think David Ladd,
the producer, really got that.
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And I think that was every
bit his intention.
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- My name is David Ladd.
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I was the producer of
"The Serpent and the Rainbow."
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What I saw as a commercial
appeal was
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the reality that zombies
actually exist.
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I mean, zombies have been
fodder
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for films for years,
and years, and years.
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But the fact that
they actually exist
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was fascinating to me.
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And the lead character
was a real life,
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honest-to-God Indiana Jones.
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He was the real deal.
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- My favorite director
at that time was Peter Weir.
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And I thought that "The Year
of Living Dangerously"
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was a really remarkable
template
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for what I had actually
experienced in Haiti.
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David L.: All of a sudden
Wes popped up and said,
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"Gee, I'd really like
to do this."
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And we couldn't resist.
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Wes was the hottest genre
director in the business.
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And you know, zombies,
Wes Craven,
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who could pass on that?
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Wade was both grateful
and horrified.
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How can you do this?
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This is a serious
piece of work.
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- No, I'm not at all
a horror film fan.
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I really have no relationship
to the genre whatsoever.
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- Well, I suppose I do now,
you know.
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Wes was very keen to move out
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of the horror genre
at the time,
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and I remember Wes saying
to me, sincerely,
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that he thought
"The Serpent and the Rainbow"
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would be his sort of
ticket out in a way.
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Jonathan: My father was like
a-kind of renaissance man.
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He didn't set out to be
a horror director.
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I think that he was excited
to...
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kind of leave horror
a little bit.
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But I think that horror
did allow him to work out
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some of his demons
from childhood.
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He basically didn't have
a father.
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His father left him when
he was very, very young,
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and died when he was five.
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His mother, Caroline,
my grandmother,
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was constantly trying to get
my father
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to stop making these terrible,
awful movies you're making.
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In "The Last House,"
"Hills have Eyes" era,
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he was a madman.
You know, that's it.
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And people thought he should
be locked up.
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I thought it was awesome that
he was making these films.
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Marianne: In those days,
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when you said you did
those kind of movies,
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00:08:04,701 --> 00:08:06,703
people would make
little comments like,
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"I never watch those."
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So he was a little bit
insecure about that.
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Well, when I first met Wes,
I had an interview with him.
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Two days before the interview,
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I watched "Nightmare on Elm
Street,"
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and it was so scary.
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And the night before, I watched
"The Last House on the Left,"
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and that was a little daunting.
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But then when I met him,
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he was so nice and charming,
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and he gave me a job as his
assistant on "Deadly Friend."
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They sent us the book
"The Serpent and the Rainbow."
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What a story! You know,
zombies and Haiti and...
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This was a big studio movie.
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David L.: Then we just
started casting.
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Bill, at the time,
did a movie for my brother
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called "Spaceballs,"
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which was how I was
introduced to him.
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And I thought, Bill looks
a lot like Wade Davis.
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- Barf!
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- And so we brought him in,
and Wes fell in love with him.
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And from that point on,
the part was his.
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Bill: That was the third movie
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that I was a part of.
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The first one, a small part,
didn't shoot very long on it.
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The second one,
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a magnum opus,
"Spaceballs,"
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which was quite exotic.
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But "The Serpent
and the Rainbow"
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took it all to another level.
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And I thought,
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Is this is what my life
is gonna be like?
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And it's only now
that I realize, no,
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that never happened again.
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Never had quite the experience
as we did
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on "The Serpent
and the Rainbow."
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Cathy: After I did
"Mona Lisa"
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in 1986,
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my agent mentioned
about this film,
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"The Serpent and the Rainbow."
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And of course the whole,
you know,
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Voodoo for a Black person,
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how Hollywood has interpreted
Voodoo in the past
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as being these savages.
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00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:07,911
So I wanted to get this right.
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Male Narrator: A blonde captain
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00:10:09,739 --> 00:10:11,785
in the darkness of Voodoo land!
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00:10:11,828 --> 00:10:14,222
[Dramatic music plays]
189
00:10:14,265 --> 00:10:16,224
- Where do we get this idea
of Voodoo being
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00:10:16,267 --> 00:10:18,313
a black magic cult?
191
00:10:19,793 --> 00:10:22,752
It largely comes from the fact
that the U.S. Marine Corps
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occupied Haiti in the 1920s
and stayed for 20 years.
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During the era of Jim Crow,
194
00:10:31,326 --> 00:10:33,328
segregation in the South,
195
00:10:33,371 --> 00:10:35,504
many of the Marines
were from the South,
196
00:10:35,547 --> 00:10:37,071
and everybody above the rank
of sergeant
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00:10:37,114 --> 00:10:38,812
got a book contract.
198
00:10:38,855 --> 00:10:41,031
And the books had names
like "Cannibal Cousins,"
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00:10:41,075 --> 00:10:42,859
and "Black Bagdad,"
200
00:10:42,903 --> 00:10:44,774
"Voodoo Fire in Haiti,"
201
00:10:44,818 --> 00:10:46,558
"A Puritan in Voodoo-Land,"
202
00:10:46,602 --> 00:10:48,212
"The Magic Island,"
203
00:10:48,256 --> 00:10:50,911
and all this pulp fiction that
gave rise to the RKO movies.
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00:10:52,173 --> 00:10:54,001
- [Gasps]
205
00:10:54,044 --> 00:10:57,308
- She's making Voodoo.
- She's making Voo do what?
206
00:10:57,352 --> 00:10:59,659
- [Laughs maniacally]
Man: Voodoo!
207
00:10:59,702 --> 00:11:02,879
- I do?
- Not "you do," Voodoo!
208
00:11:02,923 --> 00:11:05,752
- "Zombies on Broadway,"
"Zombies of the Stratosphere,"
209
00:11:05,795 --> 00:11:07,710
"The White Zombie Slave,"
210
00:11:07,754 --> 00:11:10,408
were full of children
bred for the cauldron.
211
00:11:10,452 --> 00:11:12,889
Pins and needles in Voodoo
dolls don't even exist.
212
00:11:12,933 --> 00:11:15,892
And of course, notoriously,
213
00:11:15,936 --> 00:11:18,155
zombies crawling out
of the grave to attack people.
214
00:11:20,070 --> 00:11:23,726
♪♪♪
215
00:11:23,770 --> 00:11:25,510
Roger: It's very unfashionable
these days
216
00:11:25,554 --> 00:11:27,643
to have any anti-Black images,
Man: Yes.
217
00:11:27,687 --> 00:11:28,905
- But make 'em Voodoo priests,
218
00:11:28,949 --> 00:11:31,386
because then we can absolutely
exploit them
219
00:11:31,429 --> 00:11:33,040
in any way possible,
and I thought
220
00:11:33,083 --> 00:11:35,695
there was a lot of not too far
under the surface racism
221
00:11:35,738 --> 00:11:37,914
in this movie that really
offended me.
222
00:11:39,089 --> 00:11:40,830
- My entire investigation
223
00:11:40,874 --> 00:11:42,745
was trying to take this
phenomena
224
00:11:42,789 --> 00:11:45,182
that had been used in a racist
way to denigrate a people,
225
00:11:45,226 --> 00:11:47,968
and try to make sense
out of sensation.
226
00:11:48,011 --> 00:11:50,405
David L.: Wade was very much
into the authenticity
227
00:11:50,448 --> 00:11:52,189
of what we were doing.
228
00:11:54,061 --> 00:11:57,586
No other people looked
like the Haitians
229
00:11:57,629 --> 00:12:00,328
or had the kind of culture
of the Haitians.
230
00:12:02,156 --> 00:12:04,811
That's something that lives
in that island.
231
00:12:06,813 --> 00:12:10,033
I mean, what an adventure to go
and make a film in Haiti.
232
00:12:12,296 --> 00:12:14,646
Jonathan: When I was getting
out of school I was interested
233
00:12:14,690 --> 00:12:17,171
in writing and directing,
and all that stuff.
234
00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:20,043
My father said, come on out,
235
00:12:20,087 --> 00:12:21,828
and see what it's like
to be on a real film set.
236
00:12:23,481 --> 00:12:25,309
Weirdly, when I was a really
little kid,
237
00:12:25,353 --> 00:12:27,747
I was on "The Last House"
set like, twice. [Laughs]
238
00:12:27,790 --> 00:12:29,749
On the Lower East Side
I had my balloon popped.
239
00:12:31,663 --> 00:12:33,622
That had been the sum
of my experience on a set.
240
00:12:33,665 --> 00:12:35,276
[Pops loudly]
241
00:12:35,319 --> 00:12:37,452
If you want to do this,
this is a really,
242
00:12:37,495 --> 00:12:39,367
really hard business.
243
00:12:39,410 --> 00:12:41,108
So if you're gonna work
with me,
244
00:12:41,151 --> 00:12:42,979
you're gonna work your way
up from the bottom.
245
00:12:44,459 --> 00:12:47,505
David Anderson, who was doing
makeup effects for his father,
246
00:12:47,549 --> 00:12:49,507
was somebody I hung out
with all the time.
247
00:12:51,205 --> 00:12:53,424
Marianne: David Anderson,
our makeup effects guy,
248
00:12:53,468 --> 00:12:56,079
his dad took the job and said,
oh, you can have my son,
249
00:12:56,123 --> 00:12:58,168
because Lance didn't want
to go to Haiti.
250
00:12:59,866 --> 00:13:02,085
So we didn't know that
was David's first job.
251
00:13:02,129 --> 00:13:04,044
David A.: "Serpent" was
the first feature
252
00:13:04,087 --> 00:13:06,176
that I was working
for my Dad on,
253
00:13:06,220 --> 00:13:08,483
and he tapped me to go to set.
254
00:13:08,526 --> 00:13:10,746
He said, I'm going to send
you to Tahiti.
255
00:13:10,790 --> 00:13:12,835
And I was really excited.
256
00:13:12,879 --> 00:13:15,359
And then I realized
it was to Haiti, not Tahiti.
257
00:13:16,621 --> 00:13:18,798
Although, to me at that point,
258
00:13:18,841 --> 00:13:20,234
there really wasn't a whole lot
of difference
259
00:13:20,277 --> 00:13:22,192
between Haiti and Tahiti.
260
00:13:22,236 --> 00:13:23,846
Uh, but there is now.
261
00:13:23,890 --> 00:13:26,806
♪♪♪
262
00:13:26,849 --> 00:13:28,720
While I was getting off the
plane in Port-au-Prince, Haiti,
263
00:13:28,764 --> 00:13:30,418
I kind of recognized
a couple of faces
264
00:13:30,461 --> 00:13:32,855
that had been on the other
flight,
265
00:13:32,899 --> 00:13:35,771
and soon realized that
we were on the same crew,
266
00:13:35,815 --> 00:13:37,468
and that we were heading
to the same place.
267
00:13:37,512 --> 00:13:39,731
Dawn: This was such
an amazing adventure.
268
00:13:39,775 --> 00:13:41,821
We were all similar in age,
269
00:13:41,864 --> 00:13:44,649
and we were all earlyish
in our careers.
270
00:13:45,912 --> 00:13:47,478
Marianne: Wes loved it.
He was right there
271
00:13:47,522 --> 00:13:49,045
in the middle of everything.
272
00:13:51,047 --> 00:13:53,049
Wade: David Ladd called me up
and said,
273
00:13:53,093 --> 00:13:55,008
Well, what do you wear
in Haiti? I said, I don't know,
274
00:13:55,051 --> 00:13:57,184
but there's this outfit
in San Francisco
275
00:13:57,227 --> 00:13:59,360
you've never heard of
called Banana Republic.
276
00:13:59,403 --> 00:14:01,797
They make all these great
linen and cotton clothes.
277
00:14:01,841 --> 00:14:04,756
David: At the time,
Banana Republic was a store
278
00:14:04,800 --> 00:14:07,237
where you bought your stuff
to go on safari,
279
00:14:07,281 --> 00:14:10,153
you know, become adventurers
like Indiana Jones.
280
00:14:10,197 --> 00:14:13,026
I mean, they had the hats,
and I mean,
281
00:14:13,069 --> 00:14:15,680
it was, you know,
you had a whole look.
282
00:14:15,724 --> 00:14:17,769
Wade: When I got down
to the set,
283
00:14:17,813 --> 00:14:19,815
the whole goddamn production
from grip to the director
284
00:14:19,859 --> 00:14:21,991
was dressed head-to-toe
in Banana Republic.
285
00:14:23,340 --> 00:14:25,473
- It didn't really seem
the kind of stuff
286
00:14:25,516 --> 00:14:28,432
that Wade would wear,
but David really said,
287
00:14:28,476 --> 00:14:30,870
oh, wait 'til you meet him.
He dresses like this.
288
00:14:30,913 --> 00:14:32,697
Yeah, this is how he dresses.
289
00:14:34,177 --> 00:14:36,484
And um, David had begun
to dress like this.
290
00:14:36,527 --> 00:14:38,312
And basically it was
Banana Republic stuff.
291
00:14:40,836 --> 00:14:42,359
David L.: The pants with the
pockets on the side, and the...
292
00:14:44,144 --> 00:14:45,972
it was great. [Laughs]
293
00:14:48,322 --> 00:14:50,585
At the time when we first
went down there,
294
00:14:50,628 --> 00:14:52,195
Baby Doc had fallen
295
00:14:53,370 --> 00:14:55,024
as the dictator of Haiti.
296
00:14:56,373 --> 00:14:58,375
- The president for life
they called Baby Doc
297
00:14:58,419 --> 00:15:00,247
flew away from Haiti today,
to France.
298
00:15:01,465 --> 00:15:03,206
- A few hours before
dawn today,
299
00:15:03,250 --> 00:15:05,382
an American military transport
plane
300
00:15:05,426 --> 00:15:07,515
took off from Haiti's
capital of Port-au-Prince,
301
00:15:07,558 --> 00:15:10,126
carrying President
Jean-Claude Duvalier,
302
00:15:10,170 --> 00:15:12,955
members of his family,
and several staff people,
303
00:15:12,999 --> 00:15:14,957
and security guards.
304
00:15:15,001 --> 00:15:17,090
It brought to an end one
of the longest-running
305
00:15:17,133 --> 00:15:20,049
and most brutal dictatorships
in the Caribbean.
306
00:15:20,093 --> 00:15:22,530
As soon as the Haitian people
heard the news this morning,
307
00:15:22,573 --> 00:15:24,358
there was dancing
in the streets,
308
00:15:24,401 --> 00:15:27,056
along with numerous reports
of violence
309
00:15:27,100 --> 00:15:29,232
against members of the dreaded
militia
310
00:15:29,276 --> 00:15:31,626
associated with Baby Doc.
311
00:15:32,888 --> 00:15:34,585
David L.: That was
the Tonton Macoute,
312
00:15:34,629 --> 00:15:37,545
which was the kind of secret
police of the Duvaliers
313
00:15:37,588 --> 00:15:39,634
and their reign in Haiti.
314
00:15:41,070 --> 00:15:43,290
It was a wild time down there.
315
00:15:44,726 --> 00:15:47,729
And unfortunately, I mean,
Haiti has struggled ever since,
316
00:15:47,772 --> 00:15:49,818
and-and before, long before.
317
00:15:51,472 --> 00:15:59,480
♪♪♪
318
00:16:00,916 --> 00:16:03,353
- These are all from Haiti.
319
00:16:03,397 --> 00:16:05,703
I was taught to take more
pictures than you need.
320
00:16:07,444 --> 00:16:09,794
These are just continuity
from the script.
321
00:16:09,838 --> 00:16:11,796
So this was obviously Bill,
322
00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:13,494
and he just got hit
with the powder.
323
00:16:13,537 --> 00:16:15,365
- [Blows]
- Aah!
324
00:16:15,409 --> 00:16:18,542
♪♪♪
325
00:16:18,586 --> 00:16:21,154
- And this was from a scene
that David Ladd,
326
00:16:21,197 --> 00:16:24,200
I believe, shot, the second
unit director scene.
327
00:16:24,244 --> 00:16:26,159
That's where I learned
the term "magic hour."
328
00:16:26,202 --> 00:16:28,683
It's "magic hour!"
What the fuck is "magic hour?"
329
00:16:28,726 --> 00:16:30,641
[Laughs]
330
00:16:32,339 --> 00:16:34,515
Before we started filming,
we were all invited
331
00:16:34,558 --> 00:16:36,996
to a Voodoo ceremony where
we were all gonna be blessed.
332
00:16:38,432 --> 00:16:41,000
It was like, okay, you guys
are here in Haiti.
333
00:16:41,043 --> 00:16:42,610
Well, guess what, you're
gonna come into the jungle,
334
00:16:42,653 --> 00:16:45,004
you're gonna get hammered
on alcohol,
335
00:16:45,047 --> 00:16:47,484
and then we're gonna show
you some shit.
336
00:16:47,528 --> 00:16:50,009
And that's exactly
what happened.
337
00:16:50,052 --> 00:16:51,532
- I don't know what the
producers were thinking.
338
00:16:51,575 --> 00:16:53,664
We went out at night
339
00:16:53,708 --> 00:16:56,363
into the heart of
the countryside
340
00:16:56,406 --> 00:16:58,321
to a Voodoo ceremony.
341
00:16:59,801 --> 00:17:02,195
- Women and men would come out
and do these dances,
342
00:17:02,238 --> 00:17:05,154
and then allow themselves
to become possessed.
343
00:17:05,198 --> 00:17:08,244
- You'd see that moment
of possession.
344
00:17:09,506 --> 00:17:12,292
Now this person is being
ridden by a God.
345
00:17:12,335 --> 00:17:15,121
- It was all real
at that moment.
346
00:17:15,164 --> 00:17:17,384
These people believed it.
347
00:17:17,427 --> 00:17:20,343
And after that evening,
so did we.
348
00:17:21,910 --> 00:17:23,955
What it did is it turned
this group of strangers
349
00:17:23,999 --> 00:17:25,696
into a family.
350
00:17:27,046 --> 00:17:29,091
It was a ceremony to bless us,
351
00:17:29,135 --> 00:17:32,051
and take away all the evil
spirits to protect us,
352
00:17:33,661 --> 00:17:37,360
so that we could successfully
make this film in Haiti.
353
00:17:37,404 --> 00:17:39,928
[People chatter, rumbling]
354
00:17:41,582 --> 00:17:44,846
Jonathan: It felt to me that
every day was 16 or 18 hours.
355
00:17:47,022 --> 00:17:50,286
It was an insanely ambitious
amount of material,
356
00:17:51,766 --> 00:17:53,637
and not a lot of control.
357
00:17:54,943 --> 00:17:56,510
Everything was shot
on location,
358
00:17:56,553 --> 00:17:58,599
so you're always in a village,
359
00:17:58,642 --> 00:18:01,297
many which had never seen
a film crew before.
360
00:18:02,951 --> 00:18:04,605
There were tons of extras
around,
361
00:18:04,648 --> 00:18:07,434
and people that didn't know
not to look into camera,
362
00:18:09,088 --> 00:18:12,091
and it was definitely not
a normal film set experience.
363
00:18:14,963 --> 00:18:17,139
Cathy: Thinking back on it,
I just think,
364
00:18:17,183 --> 00:18:19,837
who was protecting us
as a film crew,
365
00:18:19,881 --> 00:18:24,190
Because we did not come across
the Tonton Macoute,
366
00:18:24,233 --> 00:18:26,148
but they were there.
367
00:18:26,192 --> 00:18:28,150
[Flames roar]
368
00:18:28,194 --> 00:18:30,021
Dawn: I think the producers
really underestimated
369
00:18:30,065 --> 00:18:32,285
the danger of Haiti.
370
00:18:33,851 --> 00:18:35,462
I just kinda had a sense
that this isn't gonna be
371
00:18:35,505 --> 00:18:37,116
as easy as you think.
372
00:18:38,552 --> 00:18:40,162
David A.: I wasn't qualified
to be there at all.
373
00:18:41,729 --> 00:18:43,383
You know, whether I was
a seasoned filmmaker or not,
374
00:18:43,426 --> 00:18:46,212
nobody had an advantage
over me,
375
00:18:47,909 --> 00:18:49,606
because it was all new.
376
00:18:51,869 --> 00:18:53,958
Bill: We were wanting to honor
their traditions,
377
00:18:54,002 --> 00:18:56,004
and particularly
their religion.
378
00:18:57,223 --> 00:18:59,138
Part of it was I think
everybody knew
379
00:18:59,181 --> 00:19:01,879
we needed to have them
favor us.
380
00:19:03,229 --> 00:19:05,579
And that if we didn't get
their favor,
381
00:19:05,622 --> 00:19:07,624
we would have a hard
time shooting.
382
00:19:09,104 --> 00:19:11,106
Things could turn bad.
383
00:19:11,150 --> 00:19:13,369
- No! [Screaming]
384
00:19:14,936 --> 00:19:22,248
♪♪♪
385
00:19:22,291 --> 00:19:27,601
♪♪♪
386
00:19:27,644 --> 00:19:29,994
[Drum thumps]
387
00:19:30,038 --> 00:19:31,474
Marianne: I had done
some travelling.
388
00:19:31,518 --> 00:19:33,346
But you still get culture shock
389
00:19:33,389 --> 00:19:35,217
when you're somewhere
like that.
390
00:19:36,436 --> 00:19:38,220
And everyone had culture shock,
391
00:19:38,264 --> 00:19:40,091
especially a lot of the actors
had culture shock.
392
00:19:40,135 --> 00:19:42,006
Um... many people,
393
00:19:42,050 --> 00:19:43,791
a few people had nervous
breakdowns over there.
394
00:19:46,185 --> 00:19:48,448
David L.: We had a writer,
Richard Maxwell,
395
00:19:48,491 --> 00:19:51,277
who literally was possessed
at a certain point.
396
00:19:53,627 --> 00:19:57,935
That was one of the most odd
experiences of the film,
397
00:19:57,979 --> 00:19:59,676
and of the making of it.
398
00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:02,592
Richard was down there,
and of course, uh,
399
00:20:02,636 --> 00:20:04,246
he wanted to be exposed
400
00:20:05,726 --> 00:20:09,295
to as many of the authentic
characters and places
401
00:20:09,338 --> 00:20:11,732
as he could possibly be,
402
00:20:11,775 --> 00:20:14,735
as he was doing a kind of
final rewrite with Wes.
403
00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:17,607
And I don't remember
the specifics of it,
404
00:20:17,651 --> 00:20:20,915
but Richard got involved
with a Voodoo practitioner
405
00:20:20,958 --> 00:20:23,396
who he thought had put
a curse on him.
406
00:20:23,439 --> 00:20:25,615
- Richard was a nice guy.
407
00:20:25,659 --> 00:20:27,356
But--and he was very sincere
about Voodoo,
408
00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:29,489
but he got so shaken
by the experience
409
00:20:29,532 --> 00:20:31,752
he had a nervous breakdown
on the set.
410
00:20:31,795 --> 00:20:34,233
Marianne: I think they sent
Jill Simpson to his room
411
00:20:36,235 --> 00:20:38,193
to see how he was doing,
412
00:20:38,237 --> 00:20:40,239
and he was only in a t-shirt.
413
00:20:40,282 --> 00:20:42,502
And as I recall, it like,
had a bullseye on it,
414
00:20:42,545 --> 00:20:44,199
and that was it.
Nothing else.
415
00:20:44,243 --> 00:20:45,853
- You know, it was-it was...
416
00:20:47,550 --> 00:20:49,335
- So obviously, she came back,
she said, oh my God,
417
00:20:49,378 --> 00:20:51,511
we're in trouble.
418
00:20:51,554 --> 00:20:53,556
Bill: I'd see him at dinner
or something, and...
419
00:20:53,600 --> 00:20:56,037
"how are the rewrites goin'?"
420
00:20:56,080 --> 00:20:57,647
But it was the moment
when he said, yeah,
421
00:20:57,691 --> 00:20:59,301
I really got a lot done.
422
00:21:00,650 --> 00:21:02,435
I, you know, there was...
423
00:21:02,478 --> 00:21:05,742
trouble with the original
name for my character,
424
00:21:05,786 --> 00:21:07,657
and uh, it had--
425
00:21:07,701 --> 00:21:10,660
eventually the lawyers
426
00:21:10,704 --> 00:21:13,010
decided that "Dennis"
427
00:21:13,054 --> 00:21:15,491
would be a good first name,
and I hated that name.
428
00:21:15,535 --> 00:21:18,015
I just never liked Dennis.
429
00:21:18,059 --> 00:21:19,974
But that's what he had to do.
430
00:21:20,017 --> 00:21:22,150
And I remember he said,
uh, I got a lot done.
431
00:21:22,193 --> 00:21:24,935
I've changed all the names.
432
00:21:24,979 --> 00:21:27,764
So every one of 'em
says "Dennis."
433
00:21:29,679 --> 00:21:31,812
And then I realized,
oh, that's like, a click,
434
00:21:31,855 --> 00:21:33,466
with software.
435
00:21:34,684 --> 00:21:36,904
- This one morning,
we, we found him
436
00:21:36,947 --> 00:21:40,342
standing outside Wes's door
completely naked.
437
00:21:42,213 --> 00:21:43,519
And around him were
438
00:21:44,694 --> 00:21:47,044
25 cigarette butts.
439
00:21:48,959 --> 00:21:50,700
- Wes opened the door
and there he was,
440
00:21:50,744 --> 00:21:53,224
and he's just like, I'm sorry,
man, I can't do it.
441
00:21:53,268 --> 00:21:54,835
- And he just stood there
and smoked
442
00:21:54,878 --> 00:21:57,054
until Wes got up.
443
00:21:57,098 --> 00:21:58,795
And Wes came and got me.
444
00:22:00,667 --> 00:22:03,844
I got on a plane with him
and got him to Miami,
445
00:22:03,887 --> 00:22:07,064
handed him off to his wife,
and he was flown home.
446
00:22:07,108 --> 00:22:10,677
But he-he was completely
under some kind of a--
447
00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:14,071
what he thought
was a Voodoo spell.
448
00:22:14,115 --> 00:22:16,073
Marianne: Other people
had nervous breakdowns.
449
00:22:16,117 --> 00:22:17,553
Jay: Who else had a nervous
breakdown?
450
00:22:17,597 --> 00:22:19,860
- I don't know if I can
tell you.
451
00:22:19,903 --> 00:22:21,644
It might have been one
of the actors.
452
00:22:23,559 --> 00:22:26,127
And I think they had...
a nightmare or a vision.
453
00:22:29,565 --> 00:22:31,306
- Uh...
454
00:22:32,699 --> 00:22:34,831
really, I always have a hard
time talking about this,
455
00:22:37,181 --> 00:22:39,183
because I don't know
the audience.
456
00:22:40,750 --> 00:22:43,623
You know, I don't know
people's openness.
457
00:22:46,539 --> 00:22:48,802
I went through this ceremony,
458
00:22:48,845 --> 00:22:51,152
and um, just a really--
459
00:22:51,195 --> 00:22:53,937
some-some unsettling
things happened
460
00:22:53,981 --> 00:22:57,941
in that-in terms of things
that I perceived about myself,
461
00:22:57,985 --> 00:23:00,291
and different environments
and everything, and so--
462
00:23:00,335 --> 00:23:02,642
the-right away, Wes says,
like, what'd you take?
463
00:23:02,685 --> 00:23:04,426
What'd you drink?
Did you smoke anything?
464
00:23:04,470 --> 00:23:07,255
You know. [Laughs]
465
00:23:09,518 --> 00:23:11,564
Some of it is pretty much um...
466
00:23:13,653 --> 00:23:16,525
some things that people
probably have experienced
467
00:23:16,569 --> 00:23:19,354
in different times
with clairvoyance
468
00:23:19,398 --> 00:23:22,792
or a sense of past lives
or something.
469
00:23:26,013 --> 00:23:27,797
[Birds chirp]
470
00:23:29,233 --> 00:23:30,539
I had a lot of uh,
471
00:23:31,888 --> 00:23:34,587
sequences to do with travelling
really quickly
472
00:23:34,630 --> 00:23:37,241
over the surface of Africa.
473
00:23:39,505 --> 00:23:42,508
And moving towards a gathering
of people
474
00:23:42,551 --> 00:23:45,249
out in the middle of nowhere.
475
00:23:45,293 --> 00:23:47,426
And I realized that it was
a convocation of people
476
00:23:47,469 --> 00:23:50,472
of all skin tones and colors.
477
00:23:50,516 --> 00:23:53,257
And that there was this--
steps with an oration.
478
00:23:54,998 --> 00:23:58,088
That was an experience
where I was so disturbed,
479
00:23:58,132 --> 00:24:01,265
I cancelled the rehearsals
the next day.
480
00:24:02,919 --> 00:24:04,660
They said, what's the matter
with you?
481
00:24:04,704 --> 00:24:06,575
And I didn't want to talk
about it, you know.
482
00:24:06,619 --> 00:24:09,012
I just, but Wes was
really like,
483
00:24:09,056 --> 00:24:10,449
this is why we came here.
484
00:24:14,365 --> 00:24:16,455
Davud A.: We shot a scene
in a cemetery at night.
485
00:24:18,718 --> 00:24:22,330
And I actually had to get
into an open grave
486
00:24:22,373 --> 00:24:24,550
that one of our skeletons
had to go in,
487
00:24:24,593 --> 00:24:27,335
that I had to get in and dress.
488
00:24:27,378 --> 00:24:28,945
That's just one of those
moments where you just go,
489
00:24:28,989 --> 00:24:30,599
what the fuck am I doing here?
490
00:24:31,774 --> 00:24:33,384
Getting into the hole,
491
00:24:33,428 --> 00:24:35,474
I'll never forget looking
and seeing the rocks
492
00:24:35,517 --> 00:24:38,215
around the wall of the hole
that they had dug for me,
493
00:24:38,259 --> 00:24:40,217
and coming to the realization
494
00:24:40,261 --> 00:24:42,568
that those were not rocks,
that those were bones.
495
00:24:42,611 --> 00:24:44,787
And they were at all levels.
496
00:24:44,831 --> 00:24:46,833
There were bones, people
piled on top of people.
497
00:24:46,876 --> 00:24:48,965
- Oh shit! Oh sh--
- Are you okay?
498
00:24:49,009 --> 00:24:50,793
David A.: And we just dug...
499
00:24:52,229 --> 00:24:54,710
this horrible hole right
in the middle of it all,
500
00:24:54,754 --> 00:24:57,713
And excavated all these
body parts, and bodies,
501
00:24:57,757 --> 00:25:00,455
and put 'em aside, and put
our fake skeleton in there,
502
00:25:00,499 --> 00:25:02,196
and shot the scene.
503
00:25:02,239 --> 00:25:03,980
And uh...
504
00:25:04,024 --> 00:25:06,026
for that I'm probably
goin' to Hell.
505
00:25:07,549 --> 00:25:09,203
Jonathan: There's all these
scenes with piles of skulls
506
00:25:09,246 --> 00:25:11,248
and piles of bones everywhere,
right?
507
00:25:11,292 --> 00:25:13,381
The set dressing
was three or four
508
00:25:13,424 --> 00:25:16,210
enormous gunny sacks
of human bones.
509
00:25:16,253 --> 00:25:18,386
And I never asked where
they got 'em.
510
00:25:18,429 --> 00:25:19,909
I didn't want to know.
511
00:25:21,215 --> 00:25:22,782
Should I even be talking
about this?
512
00:25:22,825 --> 00:25:25,219
Like, I-I don't even know
that this is cool, you know.
513
00:25:25,262 --> 00:25:27,177
This is not cool.
Like-- [Laughs]
514
00:25:28,744 --> 00:25:31,225
Dawn: We had several members
of local crew.
515
00:25:31,268 --> 00:25:33,053
And this one woman
in particular
516
00:25:33,096 --> 00:25:35,577
was going to help us wrangle
some bones for an altar
517
00:25:35,621 --> 00:25:37,797
that we were creating.
518
00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:40,539
And um, when she delivered
the bones,
519
00:25:40,582 --> 00:25:42,541
we realized they were real
human bones.
520
00:25:42,584 --> 00:25:45,544
And she had uh, robbed a grave.
[Laughs]
521
00:25:47,023 --> 00:25:48,982
- Ah! There's a lot of stories
522
00:25:49,025 --> 00:25:50,592
I don't know if I want to tell,
523
00:25:50,636 --> 00:25:52,551
I don't even know if I
should've told the bone story,
524
00:25:52,594 --> 00:25:54,422
but um...
Jay: Too late.
525
00:25:54,465 --> 00:25:55,989
- Yeah! [Laughs]
526
00:25:57,643 --> 00:26:00,167
When they go to make the Voodoo
potion in the cemetery,
527
00:26:01,385 --> 00:26:03,083
there's a shot where the camera
528
00:26:03,126 --> 00:26:05,346
kinda dollies through
the gravestones.
529
00:26:05,389 --> 00:26:07,740
And I don't want to accuse
anybody of this,
530
00:26:07,783 --> 00:26:09,916
somebody told me like,
we're gonna put
531
00:26:09,959 --> 00:26:11,787
a dolly track down here,
532
00:26:11,831 --> 00:26:14,137
so those two headstones
have to move, and...
533
00:26:15,748 --> 00:26:18,446
and you-you know,
clear the path.
534
00:26:18,489 --> 00:26:20,230
Like, make a level path.
535
00:26:20,274 --> 00:26:23,103
And um, the graves
were not deep.
536
00:26:23,146 --> 00:26:25,671
And the bodies didn't seem
to be in coffins.
537
00:26:27,194 --> 00:26:29,762
So there was sort of
some moving of bones,
538
00:26:29,805 --> 00:26:31,764
and you'd kind of move
a headst-- you know,
539
00:26:31,807 --> 00:26:33,809
take a picture of the
headstones, and move it,
540
00:26:33,853 --> 00:26:36,507
and put it back later.
541
00:26:36,551 --> 00:26:38,074
I think we may have...
desecrated some stuff.
542
00:26:38,118 --> 00:26:39,946
I'm not sure.
But I don't remember.
543
00:26:39,989 --> 00:26:41,730
I could-it could all be
a hallucination.
544
00:26:41,774 --> 00:26:43,906
Please don't hold me
to any of this.
545
00:26:43,950 --> 00:26:46,474
Dawn: To me, when a bunch
of Americans
546
00:26:46,517 --> 00:26:48,128
try to recreate something
that's happening
547
00:26:48,171 --> 00:26:50,086
in Haitian culture,
that's enough to be
548
00:26:50,130 --> 00:26:52,306
a little nerve-wracking
right there.
549
00:26:52,349 --> 00:26:55,657
If we had disrupted something
there by doing something wrong,
550
00:26:55,701 --> 00:26:58,181
would we have called in a God
that was angry at us?
551
00:26:59,705 --> 00:27:01,445
I don't know.
552
00:27:03,447 --> 00:27:04,666
[Beep]
553
00:27:04,710 --> 00:27:06,581
[Birds chirp]
554
00:27:06,625 --> 00:27:07,843
David L.: At this point
we'd been there
555
00:27:07,887 --> 00:27:09,453
for a number of weeks.
556
00:27:12,108 --> 00:27:14,415
But nobody had really dealt
557
00:27:14,458 --> 00:27:16,635
with the desperation
of the people.
558
00:27:18,506 --> 00:27:22,075
So it was kind of a little
bit shocking,
559
00:27:22,118 --> 00:27:24,033
and a little bit frightening
560
00:27:24,077 --> 00:27:26,079
to see this all of a sudden
change
561
00:27:26,122 --> 00:27:27,994
in the way that it had.
562
00:27:31,562 --> 00:27:32,738
David A.: We were shooting
the giant procession.
563
00:27:35,001 --> 00:27:36,872
So we had our main characters,
564
00:27:36,916 --> 00:27:40,615
and literally thousands
of Haitian extras.
565
00:27:40,659 --> 00:27:42,269
I think there were 2,000.
566
00:27:45,315 --> 00:27:47,666
Wade: They hired like,
1,500 extras,
567
00:27:49,319 --> 00:27:51,365
but of course it quickly grew
to 3,000 or 4,000 in Haiti.
568
00:27:54,368 --> 00:27:56,196
Then they had the naivete
to think
569
00:27:56,239 --> 00:27:58,111
that the assistant director
could go, "cut!"
570
00:27:59,765 --> 00:28:01,592
Well, you don't let loose
4,000 Haitians,
571
00:28:01,636 --> 00:28:04,508
drums, night, torches,
and music,
572
00:28:04,552 --> 00:28:06,989
and song, and chant,
and go, "cut!"
573
00:28:07,033 --> 00:28:10,253
I mean, this was a full-on
ceremony at this point.
574
00:28:10,297 --> 00:28:12,038
[Crowd shouts]
575
00:28:14,910 --> 00:28:17,434
[Overlapping shouting]
576
00:28:19,436 --> 00:28:20,742
And rumor went out
that everybody
577
00:28:20,786 --> 00:28:22,701
wasn't gonna get paid.
578
00:28:22,744 --> 00:28:24,267
- Some of the extras found out
that other people
579
00:28:24,311 --> 00:28:25,965
were getting more money.
580
00:28:26,008 --> 00:28:28,445
And so they all were demanding
to be paid
581
00:28:28,489 --> 00:28:30,012
the greater amount of money.
582
00:28:30,056 --> 00:28:31,971
And it may have been the
difference of a dollar
583
00:28:32,014 --> 00:28:33,886
to ten dollars, which, it--
584
00:28:33,929 --> 00:28:35,975
you know, that many years ago,
in Haiti,
585
00:28:36,018 --> 00:28:38,020
was an, an incredible
amount of money.
586
00:28:38,064 --> 00:28:40,153
Bill: There was a lot
of people.
587
00:28:40,196 --> 00:28:42,329
Even before we came down there,
that said,
588
00:28:42,372 --> 00:28:44,418
you're gonna come into Haiti,
589
00:28:44,461 --> 00:28:47,116
and you have an insane
amount of money
590
00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:49,379
for this conditions that these
people live in here.
591
00:28:51,251 --> 00:28:54,689
The average pay a day
is a dollar
592
00:28:54,733 --> 00:28:56,430
for cuttin' sugar cane,
593
00:28:56,473 --> 00:28:58,649
one of the worst jobs you could
ever have in this life.
594
00:28:59,955 --> 00:29:02,218
And I think production
was trying to get--
595
00:29:02,262 --> 00:29:04,177
well, we'll give 'em
three dollars a day.
596
00:29:05,918 --> 00:29:07,876
- They felt that we were
underpaying them,
597
00:29:07,920 --> 00:29:09,704
and I think we probably were.
598
00:29:09,748 --> 00:29:11,140
And they wanted more money.
599
00:29:11,184 --> 00:29:13,490
[Crowd shouts]
600
00:29:15,623 --> 00:29:18,191
Bill: You know, suddenly
I began to get a feeling
601
00:29:18,234 --> 00:29:20,062
that people were getting
anxious.
602
00:29:20,106 --> 00:29:22,673
And I was hearing from ADs
that there was uh,
603
00:29:22,717 --> 00:29:24,501
talk of a strike,
604
00:29:24,545 --> 00:29:26,590
that the extras
were gonna strike.
605
00:29:28,418 --> 00:29:32,683
And then, you know, that kinda
became louder and louder,
606
00:29:32,727 --> 00:29:36,078
and then it became more like
a little bit of an unrest.
607
00:29:38,080 --> 00:29:39,821
- And I'll never forget,
at this point,
608
00:29:39,865 --> 00:29:41,692
I thought I had a great
bond with these people.
609
00:29:41,736 --> 00:29:43,390
And I got up on top of a bus,
610
00:29:43,433 --> 00:29:45,827
and I was trying to negotiate
with them.
611
00:29:45,871 --> 00:29:48,177
- I remember him with a mic--
a megaphone,
612
00:29:48,221 --> 00:29:50,310
in his Banana Republic outfit.
613
00:29:50,353 --> 00:29:54,140
And on top of this building
with the megaphone
614
00:29:54,183 --> 00:29:56,011
and a translator,
615
00:29:56,055 --> 00:29:59,058
trying to talk everybody down.
616
00:29:59,101 --> 00:30:01,800
- And I looked down, and they
all had rocks in their hands.
617
00:30:01,843 --> 00:30:04,019
- And the negotiations
fell apart,
618
00:30:04,063 --> 00:30:07,066
and they revolted, and started
throwing rocks at us.
619
00:30:07,109 --> 00:30:09,285
- And they started
to kind of riot.
620
00:30:09,329 --> 00:30:10,983
- We had to leave our
camera equipment,
621
00:30:11,026 --> 00:30:13,289
everybody had to--
we had to run into a church,
622
00:30:13,333 --> 00:30:14,900
and lock the door.
623
00:30:14,943 --> 00:30:17,641
- We were surrounded, and...
624
00:30:18,947 --> 00:30:21,732
we...we needed to get out.
625
00:30:21,776 --> 00:30:24,257
David L.: In the meantime,
Doug had ensconced himself
626
00:30:24,300 --> 00:30:27,608
in a house,
and was paying the extras
627
00:30:27,651 --> 00:30:29,828
with what money he had.
628
00:30:29,871 --> 00:30:31,873
The word was out that
we are out of here.
629
00:30:31,917 --> 00:30:36,051
And I literally ran straight
from set into a bus,
630
00:30:36,095 --> 00:30:39,054
got in the bus,
and off we went.
631
00:30:39,098 --> 00:30:41,317
And I was in one of the first
buses that left,
632
00:30:41,361 --> 00:30:44,451
um, with rocks pelting the back
of the bus as we left.
633
00:30:46,714 --> 00:30:48,585
We went straight
from that location
634
00:30:48,629 --> 00:30:50,805
straight to a running plane,
635
00:30:50,849 --> 00:30:53,373
and straight to the Dominican
Republic.
636
00:30:54,635 --> 00:30:56,376
That was it for Haiti.
637
00:30:56,419 --> 00:30:58,726
Cathy: I-I do like to be
an adventurer.
638
00:31:00,249 --> 00:31:02,121
But with adventure
639
00:31:02,164 --> 00:31:04,210
comes responsibility as well.
640
00:31:07,300 --> 00:31:09,041
Marianne: No one had thought
about, you know,
641
00:31:09,084 --> 00:31:11,521
you're gonna gather a thousand
people together
642
00:31:11,565 --> 00:31:13,567
who are making three
dollars a day.
643
00:31:15,264 --> 00:31:16,875
I think it was a naive
decision.
644
00:31:19,573 --> 00:31:20,966
Wade: We all got over
to Dominican Republic,
645
00:31:21,009 --> 00:31:23,185
Santa Domingo.
646
00:31:23,229 --> 00:31:25,535
Everybody is completely
exhausted.
647
00:31:25,579 --> 00:31:27,886
And uh, the luggage
doesn't appear. [Laughs]
648
00:31:31,193 --> 00:31:33,108
Obviously there's a scam
happening,
649
00:31:33,152 --> 00:31:35,241
So I got on the luggage rack
and I crawled through the door
650
00:31:35,284 --> 00:31:37,243
and went out on the tarmac,
651
00:31:37,286 --> 00:31:39,898
and came around the side
of the luggage van
652
00:31:39,941 --> 00:31:42,335
with-filled with luggage
from the plane.
653
00:31:42,378 --> 00:31:44,424
And I saw like,
five Dominican cops
654
00:31:44,467 --> 00:31:46,339
trying on everybody's clothes.
[Laughs]
655
00:31:47,906 --> 00:31:49,820
Caught them red-handed.
656
00:31:49,864 --> 00:31:51,866
And I just said, no.
You know, I speak Spanish.
657
00:31:51,910 --> 00:31:53,563
I said, yeah, no, no.
658
00:31:53,607 --> 00:31:55,914
No es posible, hermanos,
por favor.
659
00:31:57,306 --> 00:31:58,917
[Laughs]
660
00:32:01,180 --> 00:32:03,486
David L.: When you make a film,
you become a family.
661
00:32:05,662 --> 00:32:08,143
This is a group of people
that are brought together
662
00:32:08,187 --> 00:32:11,625
anywhere from three
or four months' worth of time
663
00:32:11,668 --> 00:32:14,106
to a year's time.
664
00:32:14,149 --> 00:32:17,326
And you share your life
with them,
665
00:32:17,370 --> 00:32:19,328
and they share their lives
with you.
666
00:32:20,677 --> 00:32:22,941
David A.: And Marianne,
she and Jill,
667
00:32:22,984 --> 00:32:24,681
this is Jill Simpson here,
668
00:32:24,725 --> 00:32:27,380
were this dynamic duo.
669
00:32:27,423 --> 00:32:29,730
And without them, I don't think
Wes could have functioned.
670
00:32:31,862 --> 00:32:33,952
Marianne: "The Serpent
and the Rainbow"
671
00:32:33,995 --> 00:32:35,518
was the movie that Wes and I
decided to become partners on.
672
00:32:39,566 --> 00:32:42,003
I started working with Wes
as a producer on "Shocker."
673
00:32:44,179 --> 00:32:46,834
We did "Shocker,"
and "People Under The Stairs"
674
00:32:46,877 --> 00:32:48,749
for Universal.
675
00:32:48,792 --> 00:32:51,317
We clicked, and we were
really good friends,
676
00:32:51,360 --> 00:32:53,101
and we just had a really
good partnership.
677
00:32:55,364 --> 00:32:57,149
I just thought Wes was
gonna be here forever,
678
00:32:57,192 --> 00:32:59,760
because he was so full of life
and interested,
679
00:32:59,803 --> 00:33:01,718
and intriguing.
680
00:33:01,762 --> 00:33:03,807
And it-it just kind of doesn't
make sense that he's gone
681
00:33:03,851 --> 00:33:05,505
even to me now.
682
00:33:08,943 --> 00:33:10,858
It was family.
683
00:33:10,901 --> 00:33:12,729
Obviously for David as well.
684
00:33:12,773 --> 00:33:15,036
I mean, he met his wife through
"Serpent and the Rainbow."
685
00:33:17,386 --> 00:33:19,606
David A.: I had to ask for his
approval to marry Heather,
686
00:33:19,649 --> 00:33:21,738
basically. [Laughs]
687
00:33:23,914 --> 00:33:25,394
I didn't even ask
Heather's father.
688
00:33:25,438 --> 00:33:27,179
I had to ask Wes Craven.
689
00:33:29,485 --> 00:33:31,705
So, there you have it.
690
00:33:31,748 --> 00:33:33,011
Thank you, Wes.
691
00:33:34,621 --> 00:33:36,275
Jonathan: People loved him.
692
00:33:36,318 --> 00:33:38,538
People went through Hell
for him,
693
00:33:38,581 --> 00:33:40,670
and did it gladly.
694
00:33:40,714 --> 00:33:42,585
Like, were happy to be there.
695
00:33:44,065 --> 00:33:45,588
You know for me it could be
challenging at times
696
00:33:45,632 --> 00:33:48,200
because I was like, the film
crew is really your family.
697
00:33:49,636 --> 00:33:51,420
Everybody worked
with my father,
698
00:33:51,464 --> 00:33:53,205
and people would interface
with him and interviewed him,
699
00:33:53,248 --> 00:33:55,120
and knew him, oh my God,
he's such a great guy.
700
00:33:55,163 --> 00:33:57,383
And he was.
He was a great guy.
701
00:33:57,426 --> 00:33:59,341
He was not a great father.
702
00:34:01,604 --> 00:34:03,563
I've talked to a lot of people
about it.
703
00:34:03,606 --> 00:34:05,260
It just-it just wasn't
something that he could
704
00:34:05,304 --> 00:34:07,132
really wrap his head around.
705
00:34:07,175 --> 00:34:09,917
He wanted to, I think, but...
706
00:34:09,960 --> 00:34:12,050
he didn't want to do that more
than he wanted to be a director
707
00:34:12,093 --> 00:34:14,791
and wanted to be
who he had become.
708
00:34:16,489 --> 00:34:18,273
He tried to branch out
and do other things.
709
00:34:18,317 --> 00:34:19,927
He's-he comes back to horror.
710
00:34:19,970 --> 00:34:21,668
That's where the opportunity
is,
711
00:34:21,711 --> 00:34:23,626
and that's where he gets
to process
712
00:34:23,670 --> 00:34:25,498
whatever happened
to him as a child,
713
00:34:25,541 --> 00:34:27,630
which, I know broad strokes of.
714
00:34:27,674 --> 00:34:29,284
There's definitely
trauma there.
715
00:34:30,807 --> 00:34:32,635
I think he did what
he did really well,
716
00:34:32,679 --> 00:34:34,289
and he put everything into it.
717
00:34:34,333 --> 00:34:36,465
And he had a lot of compassion
for the people
718
00:34:36,509 --> 00:34:38,076
who were around him.
719
00:34:39,294 --> 00:34:40,991
I think he had a lot
of compassion for me
720
00:34:41,035 --> 00:34:42,819
and my sister.
721
00:34:42,863 --> 00:34:44,212
I think he didn't always
know how to connect.
722
00:34:45,692 --> 00:34:48,042
And uh, and that's...
that's true for a lot of people,
723
00:34:48,086 --> 00:34:49,435
a lot of fathers and sons.
724
00:34:53,874 --> 00:34:56,833
We're not gonna be like,
super cozy as father and son.
725
00:34:56,877 --> 00:34:59,706
But we were able to come
together on film sets,
726
00:34:59,749 --> 00:35:02,143
and that was a beautiful thing.
727
00:35:04,667 --> 00:35:06,147
[Low hum of chatter]
728
00:35:06,191 --> 00:35:13,154
♪♪♪
729
00:35:13,198 --> 00:35:20,205
♪♪♪
730
00:35:20,248 --> 00:35:22,337
Wade: When the film came out,
731
00:35:22,381 --> 00:35:24,165
I was disappointed.
732
00:35:25,427 --> 00:35:28,082
These gratuitous horror
elements,
733
00:35:28,126 --> 00:35:31,216
to my mind, completely
deflated the power
734
00:35:31,259 --> 00:35:33,914
of the truth of the story.
735
00:35:33,957 --> 00:35:37,874
But I also clearly recognize
that it wasn't my film.
736
00:35:37,918 --> 00:35:39,485
It was Wes Craven's film.
737
00:35:40,964 --> 00:35:44,403
In my book I had targeted
these movies
738
00:35:44,446 --> 00:35:47,319
as being the perpetrators
739
00:35:47,362 --> 00:35:49,843
of the grotesque stereotypes
about Voodoo.
740
00:35:49,886 --> 00:35:51,758
- [Gasps]
741
00:35:51,801 --> 00:35:53,977
- And then suddenly,
I'm held responsible
742
00:35:54,021 --> 00:35:56,502
for a Wes Craven movie
that by all accounts
743
00:35:56,545 --> 00:35:58,895
essentially perpetuates
that same stereotype.
744
00:36:01,289 --> 00:36:03,161
Cathy: That's when I started
to think about representation.
745
00:36:05,075 --> 00:36:07,904
And I guess, you know,
the white saviorism.
746
00:36:09,254 --> 00:36:10,951
Probably the protagonist
would be Black now.
747
00:36:13,910 --> 00:36:16,696
I felt that Bill was
the right actor, though.
748
00:36:18,219 --> 00:36:21,266
He was very sensitive
to his role,
749
00:36:21,309 --> 00:36:23,398
you know, and other people.
750
00:36:25,183 --> 00:36:28,273
I think for young Black
actresses now,
751
00:36:30,449 --> 00:36:33,800
there's a record of somebody
who worked there in 1988,
752
00:36:33,843 --> 00:36:36,542
and did the female lead.
753
00:36:36,585 --> 00:36:38,283
I'm proud of that legacy.
754
00:36:39,371 --> 00:36:42,939
♪♪♪
755
00:36:59,869 --> 00:37:01,393
David L.: I think that Wade,
you know,
756
00:37:01,436 --> 00:37:03,221
he has very mixed emotions
about it,
757
00:37:03,264 --> 00:37:05,527
because on the one hand,
you know,
758
00:37:05,571 --> 00:37:08,008
he felt that maybe we had,
to a degree,
759
00:37:08,051 --> 00:37:10,358
bastardized this serious
piece of work.
760
00:37:12,317 --> 00:37:14,319
- But on the other hand,
761
00:37:14,362 --> 00:37:17,235
it made Wade Davis, Wade Davis.
762
00:37:18,845 --> 00:37:21,413
Wade: I literally went from
being kind of the darling
763
00:37:21,456 --> 00:37:23,632
of the Haitian community,
764
00:37:23,676 --> 00:37:25,678
to being a so-called
controversial figure.
765
00:37:27,723 --> 00:37:29,943
So it was a very bittersweet
766
00:37:29,986 --> 00:37:32,250
convergence of forces
that occurred.
767
00:37:34,164 --> 00:37:36,341
That said, I totally
honored the people
768
00:37:36,384 --> 00:37:38,256
that worked so hard to make it.
769
00:37:39,996 --> 00:37:41,824
And I left it all behind me,
without bitterness
770
00:37:41,868 --> 00:37:44,914
or contempt, and only joy.
771
00:37:44,958 --> 00:37:47,308
But then I just went on with
a new phase of my life,
772
00:37:47,352 --> 00:37:49,223
and became an activist
773
00:37:49,267 --> 00:37:51,791
working on behalf
of the last nomadic people
774
00:37:51,834 --> 00:37:53,488
of the rainforest of Southeast
Asia.
775
00:37:55,098 --> 00:37:56,361
And I have not been back
to Haiti since.
776
00:38:50,066 --> 00:38:51,503
David A.: All in all,
when I look back on it,
777
00:38:53,113 --> 00:38:55,158
I believe there was a curse.
778
00:38:55,202 --> 00:38:57,204
I believe there are curses.
779
00:38:58,640 --> 00:39:00,381
I believe we were actually
blessed and protected.
780
00:39:02,601 --> 00:39:05,038
What may have happened had
we not gotten that blessing,
781
00:39:05,081 --> 00:39:06,909
you know, God only knows.
782
00:39:08,607 --> 00:39:10,696
But there was a certain
confidence that was given
783
00:39:10,739 --> 00:39:12,915
to us all that night.
784
00:39:12,959 --> 00:39:16,310
I basically learned my craft
through all of these people
785
00:39:16,354 --> 00:39:19,008
that I was now on
an island with.
786
00:39:19,052 --> 00:39:21,359
Every experience
just got soaked in,
787
00:39:21,402 --> 00:39:24,100
and filed, and became like,
the foundation.
788
00:39:25,493 --> 00:39:27,408
- David LeRoy Anderson,
for "The Nutty Professor."
789
00:39:27,452 --> 00:39:29,541
[Audience cheers]
790
00:39:29,584 --> 00:39:31,238
- And what I was able
to achieve there
791
00:39:31,281 --> 00:39:32,935
with this film crew,
792
00:39:32,979 --> 00:39:34,676
and with this film community,
793
00:39:34,720 --> 00:39:37,331
was enough to make
my Dad proud,
794
00:39:37,375 --> 00:39:39,333
and make me feel successful,
795
00:39:39,377 --> 00:39:41,596
and make me come home excited
about what I had done.
796
00:39:43,250 --> 00:39:45,165
But very,
very aware of the fact
797
00:39:45,208 --> 00:39:48,037
that I didn't do
any of it alone.
798
00:39:48,081 --> 00:39:51,476
♪♪♪
799
00:39:53,782 --> 00:40:00,746
♪♪♪
800
00:40:00,789 --> 00:40:07,753
♪♪♪
801
00:40:07,796 --> 00:40:14,760
♪♪♪
802
00:40:14,803 --> 00:40:21,767
♪♪♪
803
00:40:21,810 --> 00:40:28,774
♪♪♪
804
00:40:28,817 --> 00:40:35,781
♪♪♪
805
00:40:35,824 --> 00:40:42,788
♪♪♪
806
00:40:42,831 --> 00:40:49,577
♪♪♪
61901
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