Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Don Everly and guests

I met Don Everly once in my career playing pianos in nightclubs around the planet.  The amazing sax player Craig Cole, a member of our band "Imminent Disaster" and I were playing a gig at Les Deux Cafe. It was just me and Craig and as I began singing "Knocking on Heaven's Door" there was the sound of someone singing harmony in my ear. As I recount in this episode, I didn't know who it was, but I recognized the voice immediately; Don Everly.  So I thought it would be a good chance that we might be able to connect with him. The session begins with a visit with James Dean. As noted in the podcast, we didn't invite him - but Jennifer and I had a conversation with him last week via someone who has had a lifetime of visitations from him.  So it wasn't odd for us that he would show up and having something extra to add.  It's always mind bending when someone shows up - like at the end of the podcast when Jennifer says "Janis Joplin is here and she wants to say something to you."  It took us awhile to unpack what she wanted to say - and it was about this book that I'm doing, that she will be a chapter in. It's about music and the afterlife, or music back "home" as they call it.   But I invited Don to our class, and he does show up. For those who are eager to hear proof of the afterlife, it's not what we're doing - Jennifer and I have been doing this weekly for six years. There's tons of evidentiary sessions - online ("Paul Allen, Junior Seau and Dave Duerson") where it's clear she's talking to someone on the flipside that has new information. The film "Talking to Bill Paxton" has three mediums ask my old pal the same questions. The film "Hacking the Afterlife" on Amazon Prime is chock full of experiences that cannot be ascribed to cryptomnesia - so I don't spend time in these podcasts trying to prove something. I'm more interested in process, what "Harmony" means - and if people have journeys they planned in advance. I know that Phil and Don were estranged, and his description of "hearing his brother" before he saw him is priceless. Having been doing this for six years I always hear something new and fascinating when I ask "So what was it like when you crossed over?" I also took the time to ask his brother Phil some questions, also to ask Craig Cole some questions (I'd interviewed Craig years ago, but he's not in the books "Backstage Pass to the Flipside") - his description of having a "concert in his honor" makes total sense to me. I played with Craig at the House of Blues, he had a huge following in Los Angeles, was a monster sax player, and if anyone wants to hear him play, search "Point of Betrayal Theme" as he came in and recorded that for me, as well as played on the soundtrack for "Cannes Man." (Hope his wife Mariella sees this.) But for all those folks listening in for the first time - it's not about talking to "famous people" or "celebrities." There is no celebrity on the flipside. There is only love. Only the people we loved, who carry the frequency of our love. Who know that we grieve for them, who want to let us know that life goes on. Interesting discussion about that as well - as Don points out "inundating people with information that shows life continues can inspire some people to wallow on grief and not move on" - and that by "not talking to them" allows them to grieve and move on. It's an unusual point of view - in light of how much work we've done to show people that their loved ones are not gone, they're just not here. But it's what he's saying - and I'm happy to share what he had to say.  Believe in an afterlife, don't believe in an afterlife - that's a choice - but allow for the possibility that it exists, or that life as we know it does not end.  Based on the research we are "fully aware" prior to coming to the planet that we've chosen to be here, when we are here, we are semiconscious of that fact (some bypass filters to experience the flipside or their higher selves via an NDE, OBE, with LSD, meditation or hypnotherapy).  But this is yet one more example of a conversation with someone no longer on the planet, but fully aware of what he's talking about, even though he passed less than a week ago. Note: Don's mom is alive and well in Nashville. We bring a portion of our conscious energy to a lifetime and the rest stays home. So we all can be greeted by our mom, even if they're still here on the plane; it's reported often. Jennifer reports what she's getting verbatim, but thanks to my pal Cis for pointing this out. Here's to having a mom who's a 101! Also - Phil said he was greeted by his first wife - or what seemed like his first wife - and she is a songwriter, Jacqueline Alice Ertel, who is on the planet. Since I didn't know that detail, I couldn't dig further into it. But again - Jennifer is reporting as best she can.

Carlos Santana speaking about why we are on the planet

 

 Carlos Santana speaking about why we're on the planet.

Recently, Carlos Santana was interviewed by Anderson Cooper during the “Homecoming Concert” in August, 2021.  Anderson asked Carlos about performing live, coming out of the pandemic and his new album, “Miracles and Blessings.”

Carlos: It’s wonderful to be able to connect with people’s hearts (again). The message is that we can transmogrify (transform in a surprising and magical manner) fear and darkness, we can coexist with unity and harmony, accept our own totality, accept our own light and create miracles and blessings.

People are thirsty; we’re bringing living water to people with a sound resonance vibration. We are at the right time and right place to present to them another frequency, different than fear darkness and separation – which is what we’ve been dealing with for years.

Most people have crystallized their intentions during this period – and the questions is, “Can you prioritize why am I on this planet?” There’s an opportunity for a lot more equilibrium, balance and competence.

From my point of view, time is an illusion. From where I am, I discard time and gravity. You just have to spend more time with your heart and less time up here (points to his hat).

Because that’s what’s happening with everybody. We’ve been bamboozled – we were imbued before we came out of the womb with heavenly powers which means we can create miracles and blessing. The program we’ve been given is for us to believe we’re a wretched sinner unworthy of our own life. (Laughs) I don’t think so – “Keep those beliefs to yourself, man.”

I believe I am made of the same essence that God is – look it up in the Bible – we’re “In god’s image.” God is only good – anything that’s less than that…  there’s a lot of Godzilla energy in the Bible – with jealousy, if he doesn’t like something, he would flood it.

That’s not God. God is love. Just like you update your phone and your laptop – we need to update the Bible and the Constitution.

Gratitude is very powerful, when you say the word, even before you say it… We’re at the place where we can program your whole molecular structure to say “Today I’m only going to only contemplate and entertain thoughts that are inspiring and elevating – anything else I’m going to say “No, that’s going to put me in a misery ditch. I’ll be sad, lonely, depressed – that’s boring. I don’t want to be boring. I want to be effulgent. (Shining forth brilliantly; radiant.)

I love to see people cry and laugh and dance at the same time – my metaphor is like when we see a wet shaggy dog shake off the water, he creates a rainbow next to the sun. That water he shakes off, we can ward off fear, we ward off lack of self-worth.

I love all the things that I’ve learned from people I love from John Coltrane, Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Dolores Huerta, Harry Belafonte – I love who I’m becoming. I’m learning from those who have impeccable integrity on a very high level. It’s fun to be Carlos now. What I focus on, is for the highest good for all people, impeccable integrity – if you’re not with that, catch the next train, because this one’s leaving.”  

Carlos Santana.

 

Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer and Janis Joplin

Another mind bending podcast. In this case, someone in the "Hacking the Afterlife" forum on Quora suggested we interview "more women." I replied because I wasn't in charge of the guest list, I had no say over who "elbows their way to the front of the line" in our class. But because a friend of mine is doing a film about her, I thought perhaps an interview with Janis would be interesting, as she popped up in the Clive Davis documentary on cable.  

(Apologies to Clive Davis! I saw that I called him Clive Barnes on the video! What was my brain scrambling? It was Clive Davis, not Clive Barnes.)

I had no idea if she would show, and didn't tell Jennifer about that possibility. Clearly, she hears me say "I want to speak with Janice" - in this interview. And "Janice" comes forward - and we interview her. Jennifer recognizes that she's a musician, that she's from the Mama's and Papa's era - other details.  I confirm that Luana saw them all together at Monterey Pop in 1967. 

(A sequence in the documentary "Hacking the Afterlife." Janis is never mentioned in the film, but Luana was there with Fred Roos and Harry Dean Stanton and Harry reminded us of that fact on camera, a week after his passing.)  I did a little precursory digging prior to the podcast in case she showed up. The on camera moment when Jennifer realizes who she's "speaking to" is fun. 

Janis has a sweet message for her old mentor Clive Davis - another figure Jennifer knows little about (except many of his clients are in our class).  I confirmed a tidbit from a previous podcast, where a friend of Paul Simon's told him to "not worry about his last song, because his last song is not his last song." 

I got a note from Paul saying "(His) words have an absolute connection to what I am doing. Rather astounding if true! Thank you."  We don't believe our loved ones still exist.. And yet, with hypnotherapy, mediumship or meditation we can learn new information from them. As we do in this podcast, #72 with Janis.

Hacking the Afterlife film on Gaia via Amazon Prime

In the podcast, "Hacking the Afterlife" that's on itunes and other places, we talk about process. About accessing people no longer on the planet.

On the webpage MartiniZone.com, there are videos of all of our podcasts, as well as clips from book talks, documentaries on the topic, and other raw footage of filming people talking to loved ones on the flipside.

Your reasonable narrator

This documentary is a culmination of the past ten years of filming people accessing the afterlife via hypnotherapy, mediumship or meditation.

I call it meditation as there's no word for it really - me grilling people with questions when they're accessing a vivid dream, a memory, of asking them to revisit their near death experience.  People might suggest it's leading - it is leading. That's the idea. I'm leading them back into a memory of an event. I'm familiar with the architecture of the afterlife, so I know when I'm leading them back into that memory what we're going to find there.

Michael Newton is featured in the film

A guide, perhaps more than one. Classmates, teachers, councils and council members. All are available, all possible to access.  We have this illusion that we cannot access the flipside.

It's not my opinion, theory or belief that people say the same things about the journey - with or without hypnosis - it's on film. It's footage. And this film is the best example of what I'm referring to with regard to "Hacking the Afterlife."

It's not a typical documentary - I know - I'm a Director's Guild Member, Writer's Guild Member - but you wouldn't suspect that from looking at the craftmanship. Filmed in noisy cafes, restaurants, on podcasts, zoom, skype - wherever people felt comfortable accessing the information.

I know it's possible to go into a sound stage, to put on makeup, do proper lighting, rehearse, put the microphones properly in place, have someone yell "quiet on the set!" I've done that my entire career - either me sitting in that director's chair, or me standing by the director and telling others to do the same. I've been doing it since I worked on "Personal Best" in 1980, and have spent 41 years learning the craft.

I know what a C 47 is - and most do not.

I know what a Best Boy is, and for those who want to find a Best Boy at Best Buy cannot.

The late great friend Howard Schultz accessing the flipside

But I also know when lightning is in a bottle, I know when someone is not acting, is recounting, remembering, accessing new information that wasn't scripted or is doing so for camera. 

I can spot an actor acting a mile away - and I know it's next to impossible to get them to have their cheeks turn red, their breath disappear and tears to fall down their cheeks as they remember a powerful event from a previous lifetime. Not something most actors can do - many try - but there's a difference when it happens in front of someone.

So I present this documentary - with all its flaws - technically anyway - as evidence that life goes on.

I have 100s of hours of other footage, other examples, and this original edit for this film was in the six to eight hour range... so what's seen is a glimpse, an example of what I've been filming for over ten years.

Recently someone asked me "Well, how can you quote someone who isn't on the planet?"

And I had to point out - I'm not.

Phillip Noyce, Australian director and pal introduced me one day as "this is Richard Martini, he thinks he can talk to the dead."  To which I replied, "No. I don't think I can speak to anyone. I film those who can speak to those no longer on the planet."  I don't talk to the dead, but I film people who do. And by the way, they can't be dead if they reply, or give new information, can they?

It's not my opinion, theory or belief that people claim the same things over and over. It's not my theory, opinion or belief that they say the same things about the afterlife that thousands of clinical case studies from Dr. Wambach, Dr. Weiss or Michael Newton and the Newton Institute reported. It's footage. It's on film. 

So if you have questions about the flipside, and want to ask me them via Quora (where we have a forum with 45K subscribers talking about the afterlife, with over 22 million views) I recommend taking a look at this film first.  It's free if one signs up for a trial run with Gaia.

There are three of my films on here, "Flipside" "Talking to Bill Paxton" and "Hacking the Afterlife" - but I'd say the most recent one has the most information. Apologies for all the subtitles, there's a lot of information to convey - and I recommend watching it a few times to get the most out of it. Trailer: Hacking the Afterlife

Enjoy.

https://www.gaia.com/video/hacking-the-afterlife

Available at Gaia.com or via Amazon Prime. Search for "Hacking the Afterlife."

Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Anthony Bourdain, Robin Williams and Robert Downey Sr.

Another unusual podcast. 

Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Anthony Bourdain, Robin Williams and Robert Downey Sr.

As we've noted in the past, it's rare that people show up to insist on being interviewed.  In this case, it was someone we'd interviewed in the past, in fact a year ago, July 17th, 2020 Anthony Bourdain and Robin Williams stopped by on a podcast named "Exiting Early." (Anthony and Robin appear in the books "Backstage Pass to the Flipside," both interviewed extensively.)

But in this case, Anthony wanted to weigh in on the film about his life, called "Roadrunner." 

He says he was disappointed in it, that the filmmaker "didn't have a clue" as to what happened to him - how he himself didn't have a plan to exit early, and it had nothing whatsoever to do with his relationship with Asia Argento.

He pointed out that he thought the AI of his voice sounded "robotic" (neither I nor Jennifer have seen the film) and the ending, having an artist deface a mural on camera for the film was "shitty."  Again - I haven't seen it, but I took the time to ask him about it. He also called the filmmaker "amateur" but gave the film a "five" out of ten because at the very least, it had footage that he'd shot in it.

I'm a filmmaker myself, member of the DGA/WGA. I was so stung by Ebert's "thumbs way down" review of my film "Limit Up" at the time, when Luana Anders was still on the planet (cowriter of the script) when I asked her to read the review, but to edit out the negativity... over the phone she read "Richard Martini... directed Limit Up."  Took me a year to read the negative review.

So it gives me no pleasure to tee off on this filmmaker - even though I was a music critic at Variety for years, I always tended to give people the benefit of the musical doubt.  If I doubted they're rehearsed, I noted it. In this case, Anthony came forward to tee off on this filmmaker. Wasn't my idea. 

I tried to ask him cogent questions - and to fill in the blanks. "Why no note left behind?" He answers that eloquently. He talks about how to meditate to help set aside negativity. He talks about finding beauty in gratitude.

As I note in the podcast, if you're going to make a film about someone, take the time to see if it's possible to communicate with them. Ask their loved ones if they've had dreams, find three different mediums and ask the same questions (as I do in "Talking to Bill Paxton" on Gaia) take the time and effort to allow the possibility that they might have an opinion on their own story.

I can only report. The only editing in this podcast is done for time if there's a long space between me asking a question and Jennifer getting an answer. . Apologies for having to end it early - Charles Grodin, Prince and Robert Downey Sr. ("Greaser's Palace") all make appearances and report things I've never considered or could have heard of.

I asked about Robert senior because Luana knew him, he directed her in the film "Greaser's Palace" which is on cable, and ran this week in Santa Monica.

Robert Sr. says that his son is already "speaking to him" and the father says he's learning from his son, as well as being proud of him.  Prince reminds us that strings tuned too tightly tend to break, a metaphor about finding a "middle way" between not listening to loved ones, and finding a way to "tighten up the string" to allow them to communicate to us by tuning into them.

The film cited in this podcast is "Hacking the Afterlife" - it's available on Amazon Prime through Gaia. If you have Amazon Prime it's a small five dollar charge to watch it.  It represents ten years of research, and notes the science behind the flipside.

Again - I didn't ask for Anthony to come forward, Jennifer did not either, and he had a mouthful to say about his opinion about this film Roadrunner about his life.  I don't think he's saying "don't watch it" but he is saying "don't buy the conclusions about who he was, as this filmmaker didn't have a clue."

Ask Anthony on one's own. If you knew him, you love him, or even liked him - set the stage for a meditation where he sits across from you and answers questions. An obvious first question would be "So Anthony,  how accurate was this podcast I just heard?"  Enjoy.

Not trying to sell anyone on changing their world view - but this is verbatim, as recorded, live a couple of hours ago with Jennifer Shaffer, a medium who works with law enforcement agencies nationwide on missing person cases.  I can't do anything else but report. Apologies to all this podcast might offend. 

My two cents

Talking to Pets on the Flipside

 I met Wendy Both some years ago. I had read that she was a "pet whisperer" and I was curious what that entailed.  I had coffee with her to ask her about her abilities, and she described how and when it started for her - aside from being a successful business woman, she had this "other gift" of "hearing or understanding" the issues a pet might have.

Animal whisperer Wendy Both

She has a thriving business in that field, helps people with all kinds of animals, horses, etc.

Wendy was the first person I met who "spoke telepathically" to animals, and as I try to do in this research, I stayed open to the results as well as the possibility there is a form of communication we don't yet understand.

Couple of years ago, doing a session with Jennifer and my old boss Robert Towne (yes, the Oscar winning screenwriter), we were doing a "proof of concept" session. I asked Robert if he wanted to chat with any of his pals on the flipside, I knew his mom and dad, and he was open to the idea.

Afterwards, as Robert put it "My whole life I was convinced there wasn't an afterlife and now I'm convinced there is one. What happened?"

Robert, Eddie Taylor and their pal Jack in the day

It happened slowly.  

In the film "Hacking the Afterlife" there's a clip from his session where we spoke directly to his dog Hira.

Jennifer didn't know who "Hira" was - and I phrased it as a question "I wonder if we can speak to Hira?"  Jennifer saw a giant white shag rug in her mind's eye... "Why am I seeing a rug?"  As it turns out, Hira was a Hungarian sheepdog.  Not just any Komondor, but someone with a personality that was beyond measure.

I should know, I walked him for three years at Warner Brothers during the making of Personal Best. 

My dog walking days included a cameo in 
Personal Best. DP Caleb Deschanel below, 
writer director Robert Towne to my right.

I drove him on errands. I knew that Robert flew him to Catalina where he would slip off to write.  Robert credited Hira with two classic movies - "Chinatown" - because he'd watch him sniff the Catalina air, and it reminded him of what LA was like in the 1940's... and that's where the idea of a trilogy sprang, of what happened to the air, water and earth of LA due to commerce.

Then he wrote the film "Greystoke" as a result of realizing how sentient Hira was. The movie got tangled up in a lawsuit when Robert was forced to "give it away" to finish "Personal Best" and as a result, gave his dog Hira "P. H. Vizak" the credit for the film.

The only dog ever nominated for screenwriting.  Look it up.

Not Hira. But a typical Komondor

But in this session, Robert and Jennifer had spoken to Ed Taylor, someone I knew and loved when working for Robert, his best pal from college, his Rhodes Scholar pal who helped him with all of his scripts (but NEVER WROTE A WORD despite allegations to the contrary.)  I know that because I had possession of Robert's typewriter - the only one he used to work on. Eddie would give him advice, listen to him act out scenes, and would give advice by saying nothing - but never, ever sat in front of that Selectra and put in his thoughts. Ever.

Jennifer Shaffer and I on our podcast
Hacking the Afterlife 

After speaking directly to Eddie on a couple of occasions I had the idea to ask "Can we talk to Hira?" And suddenly Jennifer began responding. "He's here."  And because of telepathy, he answered the questions I gave him. He proved beyond any reasonable doubt he still exists (talked about the layout of Robert's new home, which I had not seen, where his office was, how he sometimes slept in the bed with him, and Robert could hear him, etc.)

Wikipedia of a Komondor

I took that opportunity to ask him direct questions about process - how does it work? 

He told us that animals know how incarnation works and humans do not. He told us how he had been a horse in a previous lifetime with Robert, gave me the location, name of the house and town which I found in Scotland, where he said it was. Robert was not "on board" with any of this - remained an "open minded skeptic" until he spoke to his nanny.

His nanny was a Chinese woman who was deported to Manzanar during WWII. But for four or five years of his life, she kept an eye on him in San Pedro. And Jennifer connected him to her, and she said "I was always worried about Robert climbing the tree behind his house."

No one could know about that tree. I didn't know about it. Robert forgot about it. But she was reminding him of it. Something Jennifer could not have known as there are no accounts of this person anywhere in existence. He never saw her again. And yet here she was "in Jennifer's office" reminding him of a detail he had forgotten. 

Hacking the Afterlife on Gaia or Amazon Prime

https://www.gaia.com/video/hacking-the-afterlife

Proof of the afterlife is reflexive. People who have the experience of it - know what they know. People who have not had the experience justifiably doubt other people's accounts.  "That proves nothing."  Of course it doesn't - it won't prove a thing to anyone else except those who recall the memory.

It's new information.

The tree in the backyard.

So the other day, we filmed another conversation with Hira, and he spoke some more about process. How things work. 

Then, after Hira sprang forward, we've had others come and speak to us as well. In the book "ARCHITECTURE OF THE AFTERLIFE" there are interviews with a Panther, my old dog Sam (via Steph Arnold's council member) as well as other animals that came forward to speak to us.

In the podcasts at MartiniZone.com there's an interview with a dolphin who talks about all the things that we are unaware of when it comes to animal communication.

But, I'm just reporting last night's podcast conversation.

Here it is:

https://youtu.be/uf3bvoYeQEg

Hacking the Afterlife Documentary

 Here it is, live on Gaia:

https://www.gaia.com/video/hacking-the-afterlife

Hacking the Afterlife Documentary

Interviews with Michael Newton, Brian Weiss, Scott De Tamble in action, video of people speaking about the afterlife while under hypnosis, and then interviews with people speaking about the afterlife without any hypnosis. Steph Arnold, Dr. Drew, Josh Davidow, Robert Towne. Footage of mediums speaking directly to pals on the flipside, Jennifer Shaffer, James Van Praagh (via the Charles Grodin show I worked on) Kimberly Ray.  Harry Dean Stanton, Bill Paxton, Howard Schultz, Merv Griffin. Not gone. Just not here.  If you aren't already speaking to loved ones, take a few minutes out of your day and learn how. There are laughs in this doc as well - not religious, anti science, scary, creepy or frightening in any way. There are laughs on the flipside as well!

In this sequel to the documentary Flipside, best selling author Richard Martini explores three different methods of "Hacking" or accessing the afterlife. One is via hypnotherapy, interviews with Michael Newton, Dr. Brian Weiss, Scott De Tamble, Dr. Wambach and footage from various hypnotherapy sessions. The second method is via mediumship, with interviews featuring Jennifer Shaffer, Kimberly Ray and James Van Praagh via a segment that Richard Martini produced for the Charles Grodin show. The third is through guided meditation with someone who has had an NDE or a consciousness altered event being asked simple questions about a memory they have. NDE experiencers Steph Arnold, Josh Davidow, David Bennett, guided meditation with Dr. Drew Pinsky and others are featured. These are three methodologies combined offer proof not only that an "afterlife" exists; but is accessible to anyone who takes the time to explore these modalities.

Featuring: Michael Newton, Scott De Tamble, Jennifer Shaffer, Kimberly Ray, Howard Schultz

CANNES MAN FILM DIRECTOR'S CUT

While promoting my film "Point of Betrayal" in Cannes I ran across the crew that shot that film in Palm Beach filming an improvised comedy. The original writer Beverly Camhe had written an outline, Susan Shapiro who was the UPM on our film, had been let go on the first day of filming. The crew and cast asked me to assist - which I did playing a small part, then helping them with the casting of Rebecca Broussard (star of my film, plays Seymour Cassel's ex), and then participated in some of the scenes ("Tell her you like her shoes Francesco. It's a good way to duck a conversation."). 

When Cannes was over,, the producer Tom Coleman got in a fight over the film, and put it on the shelf. He asked me to come in and see if I could make sense of it - I suggested reframing the piece around a funeral, so that this could be a "memory" of Cannes, and events that happened there around this producer Sy Lerner (Seymour Cassel) who was one of the many con men that grace the festival each year.  My payment was a trip back to Cannes all expenses paid. I didn't ask for screen credit, but Coleman insisted I take it.

I had seen some hilarious scenes shot, I added some of my own, and this pizza is the result.  

Tom Coleman sold it for distribution, but their deal fell apart over a point of profit. So it went on a shelf for 16 years. It came out on VHS, some fellow sold it to Netflix, which I had to call and let them know the fellow didn't own it. So it went back on the shelf.  

It's here because there is some great comedy in here, and I cannot claim any credit for the comedy - only that I was able to keep the ship afloat and bring it into a harbor. And then, life happened, it was lost in a shuffle. Susan Shapiro is credited for the scenes in Cannes that she was involved with, Seymour Cassel did most of all the wrangling of people to be in the film. 

Seymour, RIP, would literally would say "We're making a documentary about Cannes, want to be in it?" After getting them to sign away all rights (I have the contracts somewhere) then he'd say "Okay, in this scene it's an improv, I'm going to introduce you to the "next Tarantino."   Perhaps it was the late nights, the alcohol consumed, but everyone in the film signed away all their rights for no compensation.  So I insisted as part of my deal, we would not exploit them ("name above the title.")

Only one actor crossed off the part of his contract that said "we can use your name above the title" in this film.  However, we didn't sell it as a Johnny Depp film despite his being hilarious in it - and I can report that all of the distributors said "the film is too inside, audiences won't get it" - despite screening it in Moscow, India, Santa Monica and other film festivals around the world where audiences roared with laughter. Loudly. In every screening. 

A shyster is a shyster in any language, any country, and it's the 'holier than thou" which kept if off the internet.  Even Harvey appears in it, telling a story about Brando. Maybe he worked behind the scenes to kill it, I don't know. The late Robert Evans did his scenes as a favor, as did Randal Kleiser, Larry Kasanoff, Ann Cusack, Rebecca Broussard, Eha Urbasalu, Lloyd Kaufman and others, including the guy who was the doorman at Rocket pictures from Pakistan.  (He gets the biggest laughs in any screening I've been to.)

Seymour didn't like the film, refused to do reshoots because "you made me look like a shmuck!" was his retort - ("Um... but it's what's in the footage...") but Francesco Quinn, RIP did come in an do reshoots.  Johan Schotte ultimately bought the film, owns it, has put it out in some venues, but not sure why it hasn't sold it to or gotten it onto Amazon or Netflix. I stopped asking about 20 years in.. (it's been 25).  It is what it is. 

But thanks to YouTube, you can hear Luana Anders on the phone in the funeral for her last role, literally "phoned in from her hospice care bed" and other tiny funny bits that live on in film history.  This film is here for archival purposes only, all rights belong to Johan Schotte, he's a funny guy and we had many many laughs in France and on the Croisette and the Hotel Du Cap.  It's a slice of life - sorry to say the producer Holly MacKonkey died while finishing the film, Francesco left the planet not much after - but his sense of humor and wit, and charm - it was he who asks Johnny, his pal from Platoon to appear in the film. 

Over the years, I've said to people "I directed you in a film, but we've never met" including James Brolin, Johnny Depp, Chris Penn, Julian Lennon.  That led to a fun night in Monte Carlo where Julian and I rocked out a small cavern club playing "Sweet Home Chicago" and "Route 66."  If this film exists for any reason, it surely must have been for that evening.