Can We Handle the Truth?
Most people in America are busy with the details of achieving their goals and making their own place in the world. They have little time for themselves and don't want to spend it on some lost cause that most people don't care about. So it is with the injustice of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Even though most don't believe James Earl Ray killed Martin Luther King Jr. or at least not by him-self, they also don't have the time to try to figure it out. Some would say they just don't care; so what's the use of making a movie of the story of my investigation of Martin Luther King Jr's assassination?
What good will it do to have a full-length feature movie presented throughout the nations theaters that explores this matter when nobody has the time to care about it in today's environment? This is a question that I have asked myself for years; and continue to ask. Many believe very strongly that the story needs to be told and it needs to be told in just such a motion picture. Some believe that it is a story that has historical importance and is best served by being written in conjunction with a treatment of the civil rights movement and presented in a non-fiction literary work. Still others tell me that it should be a TV movie done in the tight commercial presentation that is best suited for today's contemporary television audience. Some would like to see it as a documentary or docu-drama. There are also those that just don't care about anything related to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and would rather everyone just quit talking about it.
If it is to be done in a film there
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are those that believe it can only succeed if it is a big budget, major studio production with the top producers, writers, and stars directed by the hottest new director. Others believe it can only be done independently with lesser-known talent and production entities.
There are also those who believe that the music is the key to the success of the film. The song I wrote in 1977, "They Slew the Dreamer" is now published by Sony Music. Sony has an opportunity to bring a successful music project to bear via the marketing of the movie. It's a little like which came first the chicken or the egg, and so the question; which should come first the music or the movie? The truth is, the music came first.
Of course to many, none of this should matter at all, a good cover-up deserves to stay covered. Real conspiracies are never to be known about; only conspiracies that cover up other conspiracies have a right to reach the light of day. What the people don't know can't hurt them, right? Only time will tell whether or not the story of my investigation of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. is ever told. If it isn't then maybe it's because it is too much of the truth and we just can't 'handle the truth'.
About the Author
Born, June 29, 1949, in Florala, Alabama, United States of America. Wrote songs and taught him-self guitar, formed Rock 'n Roll band at 15. Graduated High School in June 1967, Holmes County High School, Bonifay, Florida, USA. Served in U.S. Navy, 1967-1969 during Vietnam War Era. Story of his MLK Assassination Investigation optioned by Producer-Director-Writer William Sachs.
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