Fast Food Nation

[MacGuffin]

Participant gobbles up 'Fast Food Nation'
Source: Hollywood Reporter

CANNES -- Participant Prods., the L.A.-based entertainment company founded last year by eBay pioneer Jeff Skoll, acquired North American rights and an equity stake in Richard Linklater's upcoming film "Fast Food Nation" from international sales agent HanWay Films, said Participant Prods. president Ricky Strauss.

Directed by Linklater and written by Linklater and Eric Schlosser, "Fast Food Nation" is inspired by Schlosser's best-seller. A Recorded Picture Company production, "Nation" is produced by Jeremy Thomas and Malcolm McLaren. Skoll will be an executive producer. The film will start production in the fall.

[MacGuffin]

Want Stealth With That? The 'Fast Food Nation' Film Goes Undercover
By MICHAEL JOSEPH GROSS, NY Times

IN Austin, Tex., Richard Linklater, a filmmaker known for the whimsy of "Slacker" and "School of Rock," is planning a big-screen adaptation of "Fast Food Nation," the 2001 exposé book by Eric Schlosser. Filming began Monday in Texas and will continue at locations there, in Colorado and Mexico. The preparations have had the secrecy of a stealth mission. A recent call to the production office requesting information about the movie provoked a crackling pause on the telephone line. The hesitant voice finally said, "You mean ... 'Coyote'?"

In September, The Austin American-Statesman reported that the drama, written by Mr. Linklater and Mr. Schlosser and starring Catalina Sandino Moreno ("Maria Full of Grace"), is hiding under the sheep's clothing of a pseudonym. The false name - "Coyote" - was chosen, the newspaper said, to help the production gain access to franchise restaurants and other industry locations that might be off limits if the movie's true source material were known. (The blog Cinematical.com recently asked, "Is 'Coyote' itself a smokescreen to throw us off the scent of the real fake title?")

Ricky Strauss, president of Participant Productions, which owns North American rights and is an investor in the film, said the movie's title was "still in development."

"Sometimes filmmakers have to adjust the title so that a movie can be made without undue attention," he explained, while declining to say whether this was one such case.

Mr. Linklater was unavailable for comment, and the co-producer Ann Carli played down the film's connection to its muckraking source material. "We're just using the fast food industry as a backdrop for a multitude of characters," she said. "It's not a polemic. It's a character study, set in the world of the fast food industry. It's about how people grow up and make decisions to do they things they do. It's about what turns their lives." Whether Mr. Linklater's completed film, whatever its title, proves an effective exploration of such matters remains to be seen.

Participant's chief executive, Jeff Skoll, a co-founder of eBay, has promised to put his money behind films that make a difference. The company's corporate Web site, www.ParticipantProductions.com, explains that the company "believes in the power of media to create great social change."

"Our goal is to deliver compelling entertainment that will inspire audiences to get involved in the issues that affect us all," it continues.

In an interview, Mr. Strauss said that "Fast Food Nation" advances Participant's mission "in the sense of encouraging corporate responsibility."

The marketing plan for each Participant film includes activist outreach, especially on another company Web site, www.participate.net. Participant's first dramatic features, "Good Night, and Good Luck" and "North Country," opened this month - and the campaign for "North Country," whose plot involves issues of workplace discrimination and domestic violence, invites Web site visitors to "Sign the Women-Friendly Workplace Pledge" and "Implement a sexual harassment policy at your school." Although Mr. Strauss said Participant has had "internal discussions" about its "social action campaign" for "Fast Food Nation," the company will wait to announce its plans until the film is complete.

A producer of the movie is the Oscar-winning Jeremy Thomas ("The Last Emperor"), whose London-based HanWay Films and Recorded Picture Company are also expected to back Mr. Linklater's film. Mr. Thomas did not respond to a telephone request for an interview.

Participant's first two releases were set comfortably in the past. This film tackles issues and institutions that are very much alive (as does the forthcoming oil business-spy drama "Syriana," of which Participant is a producer), however, and so it may meet with a lot more resistance.

"I've got a bunch of people snooping around for info on this movie, and nobody can find anything," said Pete Meersman, president of the Colorado Restaurant Association, who appears briefly in Mr. Schlosser's book. Although his colleague Richie Jackson, head of the Texas Restaurant Association, did not return calls for comment, Mr. Meersman said he had been in touch with Mr. Jackson. "Richie can't find anything either," he said. "It's weird."

When told that the film could have a pseudonym, Mr. Meersman said, "If people are willing to lie about what they're doing, they can probably talk their way into most anywhere, and that could be a problem."

Susan P. Kezios, president of the American Franchisee Association, a trade group for franchise holders, pointed out that fast food giants are capable of fighting back. "If corporations got wind that this is happening, they could issue an order overnight to all franchisees that says, 'In order to be in compliance with your franchise contract, do not let any filmmakers in,' " she said.

But Robert Zarco, a Miami lawyer and franchise law specialist, thinks corporations would have a hard time slowing the "Fast Food Nation" movie down. He said that a franchisee's contractual obligations must be balanced with First Amendment rights. So long as the filming does not disclose confidential and proprietary franchise system information, Mr. Zarco said, "I believe that a franchisor will have an extremely high hurdle to leap to default and then terminate a franchisee for having permitted the filming of its business location."

Despite any obstacles, Mr. Linklater's associates believe he'll get access to the locations he needs. His friend Erwin Stoff (who is also a producer of Mr. Linklater's forthcoming "Through a Scanner Darkly") said the director has "the most Zen persuasive powers."

"I've never met anybody who sells less - and in the process, ends up selling you more," he said.

For Mr. Skoll, a greater problem than grabbing shots on hostile turf may be the need to reconcile seeming contradictions within his own growing empire.

In recent years, the Skoll Foundation, which shares Participant's commitment to social change (though it has no direct ties to the film company), has had its own encounters with the fast food industry - as an investor. According to its tax statement for the year ending Nov. 30, 2003, the foundation's $161 million in assets included $1.3 million worth of shares in fast food companies and their suppliers. Holdings included Yum! Brands (which claims to be the world's largest fast food restaurant company and includes Pizza Hut, KFC, Taco Bell and other chains), Kraft Foods, Cadbury-Schweppes, Coca-Cola, Pepsi Bottling Group, and Aramark, a vending machine company.

Mr. Skoll, who is the foundation's chairman as well as the founder and chief executive of Participant, said, "I don't see a conflict between these investments and our intent with 'Fast Food Nation.'" The film, he said, is "intended to educate consumers about industry-wide practices, not pick on the practices of any specific company."

The foundation's president and chief executive, Sally Osberg, defended the foundation's investment strategy. "It's only inconsistent on the surface," she said. "Our investment managers vet the companies. We vet the managers. Those managers will drop those companies if they don't evolve to meet the demands of an enlightened and informed consumer." Ms. Osberg also pointed out that these investments amounted to only a small fraction of the foundation's stock portfolio.

And, Mr. Skoll noted, this will not be the last time that a Participant film will cause him to question his investments. "We're doing a film on global warming, and I'm going to have to ask, 'Do I personally or does the foundation have investments in car companies or other things?' " he said. "When you start thinking about all the potential cross-pollinations, you have to ask, 'Where do you draw the line?' "

This is especially difficult in a field with as wide a reach as fast food. Morgan Spurlock, who directed and starred in "Super Size Me," the 2004 documentary, said that he had seen a version of the "Fast Food Nation" script, and in an interview he praised the film's comprehensive look at this huge industry.

"You see how deep the tentacles run," Mr. Spurlock said. "You see how big the web is."

[Ravi]

Good thing their secret was published in a paper nobody will ever read.

[modage]

Lou Pucci Delivers A Taste Of Mysterious 'Fast Food Nation'
Source: MTV

Its ingredients are guarded more closely than the Colonel's secret recipe. The people behind the scenes continue to confuse reporters with statements only slightly less specific than the mumbles that come out of the Hamburgler's mouth. And like a finger in a bowl of Wendy's chili, nobody knows whether it will become the most controversial topic of its time or a big noisy hoax.

But now at least we have a clue. While promoting yet another project in his suddenly red-hot career, indie film sensation Lou Pucci ("Thumbsucker," "The Chumbscrubber") has confirmed his participation in an upcoming film whose title is (for a change) not a long word ending in "er": It's the top-secret movie adaptation of the book "Fast Food Nation."

"I definitely think it'll be controversial," offered the 20-year-old actor, who also stars in Green Day's epic video for "Jesus of Suburbia" (see "Green Day Shoot 14-Minute Short Film For 'Jesus Of Suburbia' ").

For those whose pop-culture awareness is as slim as Jared from Subway, "Nation" was published in 2001 and quickly entered the New York Times bestseller list. Subtitled "The Dark Side of the All-American Meal," the nonfiction exposé detailed author Eric Schlosser's adventures exploring the food chain from top (fast-food executives) to bottom (minimum-wage slaughterhouse employees) with a lighthearted, nostalgic, yet ultimately condemning outlook.

"I haven't read the book yet," Pucci admitted. "I met the writer, who's such a nice guy, he's amazing. It's funny, because he has so many messed-up stories."

Versatile filmmaker Richard Linklater ("Dazed and Confused," "Before Sunrise," "School of Rock") has confirmed that he is shepherding "Nation" to the big screen, but that's where the rumors begin to run wild.

One story has the film currently shooting under the alias "Coyote," so that secretive scenes in real-life restaurants can occur. Another has everyone from Bruce Willis to Greg Kinnear to Catalina Sandino Moreno (last seen being nominated for an Oscar for "Maria Full of Grace") in the cast. Finally, it is rumored that the film will be inspired by the book, but that the characters themselves will be largely fictionalized.

Pucci described his character, Paco, as being more dramatic than documentary. "Paco is like, he wants to do something, he just doesn't know what the hell it is," Pucci said excitedly. "He's a kind of college revolutionary-type kid. He knows he wants to get something done, and so he has a plan."

As for the details of Paco's plan, or the presumed corporate entity he targets, Pucci remained tight-lipped. "They're going to act on it and see what happens. But I can't really go into it any more, without giving away the story."

Pressed for details on the names of his fellow castmembers, Pucci once again began to tremble like the Taco Bell Chihuahua. "I'm actually not sure ... so I don't think I should ... just because ... I really, I don't know."

And so the secrecy continues, with Pucci offering little else except an admission that he begins filming "a couple days after" his current project, a quirky drama called "The Go-Getter." And, Pucci insisted, the script is more concerned with the flavor of a country than that of a Whopper.

"I think that 'Fast Food Nation' as a movie is going to be really, really interesting to watch," he enthused. "And it's just going to say truthfully what life can be like for somebody who's not from this country, who comes here with nothing and sees what happens.

"Or," he finished, offering a McNugget of caution to eaters everywhere, "people who live in this country and have no idea what's going on behind the scenes."

[MacGuffin]

Fox Searchlight on 'Fast Food' binge

Fox Searchlight Pictures has acquired North American distribution rights to "Fast Food Nation."

Directed by Richard Linklater, the film is a dramatic character study about the fast-food industry based on Eric Schlosser's nonfiction best-seller. A 2006 release is planned.

The ensemble cast includes Patricia Arquette, Bobby Cannavale, Luis Guzman, Ethan Hawke, Ashley Johnson, Greg Kinnear, Kris Kristofferson, Avril Lavigne, Esai Morales, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Lou Taylor Pucci, Ana Claudia Talancon and Wilmer Valderrama. It was shot in Mexico, Texas and Colorado.

Linklater, who met Schlosser four years ago when the author came through Austin on a book tour, said: "The idea that came out of our meetings was that the movie would not be a documentary but a character study of the lives behind the facts and figures. I'm more interested in fiction than nonfiction. You get to the point through human storytelling."

Linklater's recent credits include "School of Rock" and "Before Sunset," for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for best original screenplay.

[Gold Trumpet]

Ana Claudia Talancon

Masturbatory happiness

......the movie also stars Wilmer Valderrama. $20 he hit on her. $20 more she turned down his pimpled ass.

[matt35mm]

That's one of the more interesting ensemble casts I've seen in a while.

[ono]

I've read bits and pieces of that book, and I don't really see how it's possible to make an interesting character study based on the material.  Linklater's stretching.

[Gamblour.]

I've read bits and pieces of that book, and I don't really see how it's possible to make an interesting character study based on the material.  Linklater's stretching.

Or maybe that description is.

[matt35mm]

My impression is that Linklater sees something in the book, and is then building his own thing around that something.

[takitani]

POTENTIAL SPOILERS!

[Just Withnail]

Dude, you better arm that pic with a spoiler warning.

I never imagined his hair being so long, this isn't looking good at all.

What could she be so agape about? Or is she just yawning a little?

[takitani]

Dude, you better arm that pic with a spoiler warning.

It was a released still from a French mag, so I figured it wasn't spoilerish. But okey-doke, I'll do it anyways.

[modage]

well, it looks like i no longer have to see THIS movie! 

[Pwaybloe]

Yeah, way to go Taki spoil i!