Policy

OK, So We Can All Agree The Movie Sucks, But is it a Fireable Offense?

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That's the trailer for a new, super-low-budget flick called O.B.A.M. Nude or, "Occidental Births a Monster." (Btw, the flick doesn't seem to have any nudity and, judging from the cast, thank god for small favors.) At the same time that the project clearly is awful, it seems pretty funny too.

Here's the synopsis of the plot (or lack thereof):

At Occidental College in 1981, a loner snorts cocaine and smokes marijuana, secretly hoping to one day become someone important. His dream—and much more—comes true when Satan appears, promising the world. There is one caveat, though, as a deal with the Devil requires consideration. In this case, not just the delivery of the young man's soul, but millions more… With an agreement procured, Satan and his new protégé plot, plan and scheme a long term agenda that ultimately ends with the United States presidency, transforming the Earth's greatest democracy into a communist fiefdom, ruled by a ruthless dictator.

What's makes this interesting is not the film was a headliner at the Hoboken (I'm dyinnng!) Film Festival, but that its auteur is a New Jersey municipal judge named Kenneth Del Vecchio who was forced from the bench for creating such cinematic triumphs.

A state judicial panel declared that his two jobs created an ethical conflict. Mr. Del Vecchio calls the decision dead wrong, and legal experts say he may have a point. But rather than fight, he gave up his part-time job as the municipal judge of this small suburban town. What gives this case an added twist is that Mr. Del Vecchio, a hard-to-pigeonhole libertarian, makes highly political films that are liable to infuriate a lot of people. His last release, an anti-Obama satire, depicts a man reaching the presidency with the help of Satan, and his next picture is a defense of gay marriage.

He asks whether a maker of less controversial fare would have run into the same trouble.

More here.

Del Vecchio's next production reportedly is a defense of gay marriage.