The 411 Dumpster Fire of the Week: Fathom Events

The 411mania Dumpster Fire of the Week

Hello, everyone, and welcome to The 411 Dumpster Fire of the Week. I’m Bryan Kristopowitz.

So I, once again, don’t have much of an intro for this edition of Dumpster Fire of the Week. Considering this week’s “winner” and the circumstances surrounding it, the whole story is depressing as fuck. And awful. Just awful, awful, awful. The “honorable mentions” are awful, too, but awful in their own distinct ways. So I’m just going to dispense with the usual intro this week, get on with the column, and try to find something fun to end things with. Maybe. We’ll see.

And now onto this week’s Dumpster Fire of the Week.

This week, the 411 Dumpster Fire of the Week goes to Fathom Events, for its baffling upcoming one night event for Jeepers Creepers 3 . Jeepers Creepers 3, written and directed by convicted pedophile Victor Salva, came out in 2017 under a massive cloud of controversy, as legions of people were outraged that Salva made yet another Jeepers Creepers movie and, in general, was allowed to continue working in Hollywood at all. Now, it’s true that Salva, who was convicted in 1988 and sentenced to three years in California state prison where he then served 15 months and completed his parole obligations in 1992, started working again in the movie business in 1995 with the release of both The Nature of the Beats and Powder, but people really didn’t have a handle on what it was Salva was convicted of went to prison for. The full story really didn’t come out until several years later, when the internet basically put the full story out there for all to see (I don’t have exact dates for any of these things, but when Jeepers Creepers came out in 2001 there wasn’t much in depth discussion on who Salva. All anyone wanted to talk about was how much money Jeepers Creepers made, which was a lot).

So what did Salva do? Basically, he molested a 12 year old boy who was starring in Salva’s big screen debut, the horror movie Clownhouse. Salva also videotaped one of the molestation encounters. When the police were brought in they found the recording plus a trove of “commercially available child pornography.”

Back in 2017, when Jeepers Creepers 3 was ramping up for a special one night release via Fathom Events before it was released to home video, there was, as I said, tons of controversy regarding the release and the fact that the movie was made at all. There were also reports from advanced screenings that there were jokes about child molestation in the movie, which apparently didn’t appear in the final version released to the public. And before all of that, the movie had originally been slated to be made in Canada, but because of Salva’s criminal past the movie’s production was shifted to New Orleans. That should have told everyone involved in this movie that it shouldn’t have been made.

So the movie was made and released. I have no idea how much money it made via its original Fathom Events release (it was actually shown over two nights), but it was available just about everywhere one could buy movies (Walmart, Amazon, etc.) and, from what I’ve been told, those one night only releases are really just advertising for the eventual home video release. I saw it on the shelves at multiple places for quite a long time, so, I’m just going to venture a guess that it made money, not a lot but enough.

Okay, so the controversial release happened, the movie was released on home video, and no one was sued for a breach of contractual obligations (I have no way to prove it but I’ve always suspected that is why part 3 got its theatrical release. Lawyers decided it made more sense to just release the movie than to get sued for not releasing it). That was two years ago. So why is Fathom Events doing another one night release of a movie that, even if it made a little money, isn’t that popular and is still seriously controversial?

I don’t get it. Out of all of the movies that could get a “one night release” via Fathom Events, either new movies or classic ones, Jeepers Creepers 3 gets another fucking theatrical release? This whole story makes no sense at all. And yet here is the Fathom Events page where the event is advertised and advanced tickets can eventually be purchased. So what the fuck is going on here?

Who at Fathom Events thought this was a good idea? Who signed off on it? And when is the show business world going to stop Victor Salva?

Yes, it’s true that Salva has paid his legal debt to society and he has a right to make a living, but that doesn’t mean he has a right to be gainfully employed in Hollywood or the movie business in general. It’s high time that Salva, and people like Salva, are drummed out of the business. Why was he ever given a second chance in the first place, considering what he did and it’s super likely that pedophiles and child molesters can’t be cured/can’t really change? None of this makes no sense.

Hopefully, Fathom Events cancels this release. Jeepers Creepers 3 doesn’t deserve any more pop culture attention, nor does Salva. Both should just go away.

Please, Fathom Events, do the right thing.

**

And now for this week’s honorable mentions…

-Texas state representative Briscoe Cain, for for his recent death threat against 2020 Democratic Presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke. I know that O’Rourke’s proclamation that he would confiscate people’s assault weapons if he became president was incendiary to lots of people, but making a death threat (and, yes, it was a death threat. What else could “My AR is ready for you Robert Francis” possibly mean?) is just wrong. You want to disagree with O’Rourke’s stance? Go ahead. You want to use O’Rourke’s statement against him in a political campaign? Go ahead. But threaten him with death? That’s just bullshit. And, Jesus Christ, when you’re a public figure making a death threat on social media, you’re not only a horrible person, you’re also a fucking moron. What the hell is wrong with people?

-Right wing personality Tomi Lahren, for her recent “Americans may have to shoot immigrants” comments. While appearing on Stuart Varney’s Fox Business Channel show Varney & Co., Lahren claimed that Americans “living in the middle of the country” may have to protect themselves from immigrants (“who knows who’s coming in?”) via their Second Amendment rights because the government can’t always protect people and the Democrats “want open borders.” Yes, this is the batshit insanity that’s out there right now in our actual, real life public discourse. Americans may have to shoot mysterious, potentially evil immigrants (“who knows who’s coming in?”) because of the Democrats and the government’s inability to do anything. I’ll ask again, what the hell is wrong with people?

-Actor Stuart Townsend, for his recent arrest for domestic violence. According to TMZ, Townsend was arrested after police were called to his Santa Monica home after neighbors heard loud yelling and called 911. You can read the article for the specific details, but the allegations don’t sound good (he wouldn’t allow his wife to leave the home, she claimed to have pain in her arms, etc.). Of course, Townsend was also spotted holding hands with his wife soon after the arrest, claiming that everything was okay, so there’s that to consider, too. Still, these kinds of stories are always awful. Hopefully, this story doesn’t have a sequel where things escalate and Townsend gets whatever help he needs.

-Former Obama cabinet member, mayor of San Antonio, Texas, and soon-to-be former 2020 Democratic Presidential candidate Julian Castro, for his recent attack on Joe Biden at the ABC News Democratic debate. Castro claimed that Biden was changing the parameters of his health care plan, a health care plan that he just explained, and that it was an example of how the former Vice President was old, out of touch, and not ready for the 2020 campaign against President Trump. Unfortunately for Castro, Biden hadn’t changed the parameters of his health care plan within the span of “two minutes” and it was Castro who didn’t know what the hell he was talking about, which was pointed out multiple times after the debate. I know that Castro wants to be seen as the young, hopeful candidate and “the future,” but, shit, if you’re going to attack the front runner your attack better be on point and exactly right (or at least mostly right). That didn’t happen. Castro is done.

**

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