Kelo Decision Coming to Big Screen in Little Pink House
Producer Courtney Balaker talks about new movie that will tell story of eminent domain abuse.
"Part of the issue with things like this is people defining value for people that aren't them," says Courtney Balaker, a producer who is bringing the case of Susette Kelo's fight against eminent domain abuse to the big screen in Little Pink House.
The movie'"which is produced by Balaker and her husband Ted (a former Reason TV producer)'"is scheduled to begin filming in the fall. Balakler describes it as a classic David and Goliath story that focuses on Kelo, a single mother who had her Connecticut house seized by the city of New London and turned over to private developers.
Kelo's fight against eminent domain abuse resulted in the landmark Kelo v. City of New London decision that was handed down by the Supreme Court in 2005. Even though Kelo had lost, the decision brought attention to eminent domain abuse around the country. (Read Reason's archive on the Kelo case.)
"The silver lining is that it was such an outrageous decision that everyone was talking about it," says Balaker. "I don't think people would be talking about eminent domain abuse had she won."
Nick Gillespie sat down with Balaker at Freedom Fest in Las Vegas to talk about the film's production and what Balaker hopes to achieve by telling Suzette Kelo's story to a broader audience.
About 8:30 minutes.
Produced by Meredith Bragg. Edited by Alexis Garcia. Camera by Bragg, Paul Detrick, and Zach Weissmueller. Music by Jingle Punks.
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