Wednesday, June 16, 2004
Looks like I have about four months of blogging to catch up on so I’ll try to make it short. Right now I’m about 35,000 feet above the Rockies, still snow-covered on May 20th.
I’m on my way to the East Coast where I’ll be attending Rolling Thunder, the annual motorcycle rally dedicate to American POW/MIAs that were left behind. Over 200,000 motorcycles roar into DC every Memorial Day weekend, which concludes with speeches and a concert in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
I will be screening a rough-cut of the documentary at various locations on Saturday and Sunday with the help of Jeff “Mario” Smith of Task Force Omega (Kentucky) and John Holland, one of the founders of Rolling Thunder.
Now to back up to the goings on over the past few months, here are the highlights in brief:
1. I attended the regional Dept. of Defense update for families of Korean War POW MIAs where I was able to have an extended conversation with Dep. Asst. Sec. of Defense, Jerry Jennings.
2. I signed a distribution deal with Seventh Art Releasing, which is the distributor of the 2004 Academy Award nominated film, BALSEROS.
3. Ross Perot called me after viewing a two-hour rough-cut of the documentary and said, “The rough-cut is great! The finished film is going to be FANTASTIC!
4. I attended the annual national Dept. of Defense Korean War POW/MIA family update where I was able to leave a Pentagon/State Dept. policy panel speechless and the 600+ audience incredulous.
And now for the details:
At the regional DOD family update meeting I asked three questions during the Q&A. The first was concerning the North Korean defector I interviewed who claims to have seen several live POWs in a N. Korean gulag in 1996. I prefaced the question with a disclaimer I was hoping would circumvent the standard short answer: “I know the credibility of N. Korean defectors is a problem but has U.S. intelligence interviewed Lt. Col. Kim Yong?” (Kim Yong told me he wasn’t interviewed by U.S. intelligence but apparently he was interviewed by S. Korean intelligence.) According to *Dan Baughman, lead analyst for the DPMO (Defense Dept. POW/MIA Office) responded that Mr. Kim changed his story each time he was interviewed. First he said he didn’t see American POWs then he said he saw three and then changed that number to seven the last time he was interviewed. Therefore, he wasn’t considered a credible witness.
Oddly enough, no one who has claimed to of seen American POWs in N. Korea has been considered a credible witness. However, anything else they report is considered “credible.”
I had lunch with former DPMO analyst, Insung Lee, a former U.S. Army captain and native of S. Korea. He wrote an internal DOD report in 1996 that stated there was indeed credible evidence of live POWs in N. Korea. In the report he stated that he believed there were 7-11 American POWs in N. Korea. Privately he has stated there are probably over 100 POWs still there.
Insung’s report went public during the House hearings on POW/MIAs and received much press. Meanwhile the Pentagon was seething over Insung’s analysis and outspokenness of a forbidden topic: LIVE POWS.
Insung was basically blacklisted at the Pentagon POW/MIA office and finally transferred out of the department when he realized his career would stagnate if he remained there. He is now working in Homeland Security.
The last question I asked at the plenary session of the LA regional DOD meeting was, “Has any sitting U.S. president ever directly asked the president of N. Korea about live American POWs. And if not, why not?” I knew the answer to the first part was “no.” I made sure to qualify “sitting president” in case a former president had negotiated with the N. Koreans. Sure enough the Pentagon official who took the question told me afterwards that Jimmy Carter, after he left office, met with N. Korean President Kim (though I don’t remember if it was Il Sung – “The Great Leader” or his son, Jong Il who is now in power.)
The answer to the question that surprised many in the audience was, “No, a sitting American president has never directly asked the N. Korean president about live POW.” The reason is because we have never had diplomatic relations with N. Korea and that’s a State Dept. issue not one for the Defense Dept to deal with. So that was an easy out for the Pentagon since there was no representative from the State Department.
When the national meeting came around in Washington this past April it was a different story. There were over six hundred people at the plenary session of the conference and I somehow got the last question even though the previous question was supposed to be the last.
On the dais was a panel comprised of officials from the State Dept. and Defense Dept. From the State Dept. was David Straub, Director of the Office of Korean Affairs and Amy Archibald, Desk Officer, Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs. So I asked the question again and directed it to State Dept. Reps. They had no idea how to respond. They turned to the Pentagon people and they all quietly talked it over. This little conference went on for an extended period of time and the audience was becoming very unsettled. Finally someone on the Pentagon side of the panel said, "We don't know what your question is." The audience was stunned with that response so I yelled out the question again since the microphone guy was now gone. Again the panel went into their private discussion that again went on for an uncomfortably long time. Now the audience was becoming confused and upset. I think a lot of them assumed that somewhere along the way this Presidential diplomacy must have occurred.
Finally, David Straub said that in the last few years the N. Koreans haven't made any offers to negotiate for live POWs (what about the 50 years before that?) At that point the president of the National Alliance of Families, who was sitting next to me, jumped up and said she personally received an offer by the N. Korean ambassadors to the U.N. to negotiate with the White House for the release of seven American POWs in 1996. At that time she called the National Security Office and was told they would not negotiate because the offer didn't come through official channels. Mr. Straub only said that they don't trust offers that come from the N. Koreans, etc.
When we broke for lunch I was able to talk more with Mr. Straub and Ms. Archibald. Currently Dolores Alfond has been talking with Mr. Straub about new information she has obtained about live American POW/MIAs in Vietnam.
CONVERSATION WITH DEP. SEC. OF DEFENSE, JERRY JENNINGS.
I spoke with Mr. Jennings after the plenary session and I asked him about a reported breakthrough he recently had with the N. Koreans concerning live American POWs.
Mr. Jennings described the process of dealing with his N. Korean counterparts. In the last negotiation session Mr. Jennings asked point blank if the DPRK (N. Korea) was holding American POWs. The DPRK negotiator said, “Do you really think we’d still be holding your POWs?” Mr. Jennings held steadfast with his inquiry and finally the DPRK negotiator said he would agree to holding a session to deal with this question.
This meeting is to take place sometime this summer.
I asked Mr. Jennings if these low-level negotiations show up on President Bush’s radar. He said that the information works its way up the chain of command in the Pentagon and does get to the President’s office. He believes this is an important issue for the President.
(Which brings me back to my question – for which there apparently no answer – If it’s such an important issue to the President why doesn’t he just ask President Kim Jong Il about our POWs. That direct communication is what the DPRK has asked for. I don’t think it’s asking too much. As Sen. Bob Smith told me, “If I were president and N. Korea said they had live Americans, I would talk to them.)
On the other hand, Ross Perot told me that George W. Bush wouldn’t do anything about the abandoned POWs because his father had a direct hand in keeping them abandoned.
Mr. Jennings has told me on two occasions he would do an interview on camera for the documentary but that has always been contingent upon DPMO’s public relations director finding time Mr. Jenning’s schedule to do the interview. On more than three occasions that time was never found. I do wonder if this is a good cop/bad cop scenario.
DISTRIBUTION DEAL
Udy Epstein, who owns Seventh Art Releasing which is a small but very reputable distribution company of mostly documentary films has been screening cuts of the film since I finished the first half hour rough cut. He would give me advise but couldn’t offer much in the way of encouragement for finding distribution for this kind of film.
When he saw the two-hour cut (which was reduced from a version that weighed in at over four hours) he became much more interested in the film. He said it had to get cut down to about 80 minutes.
My editor, Jason Stelzel and I delved into the daunting task of cutting 40 minutes from the film. When Jason came on board to cut the film (he had previously edited the 6 minute trailer which continues to receive high praise) I had cut it down from over four hours to two hours and 45 minutes and I was stuck there. Jason is much more ruthless and usually wins the heated debates we have when I try to save shots.
We managed to get it down to about 90 minutes and then showed to Udy at Seventh Art. At this point he saw something he could work with and perhaps find a market for it especially with the role Sen. John Kerry plays in the POW/MIA issue as depicted in the film. This certainly gives the documentary a timely quality not to mention the N. Korean political situation in general.
Udy offered a distribution contract arrangement where he would come on board as an executive producer and guide the final editing process and post -production. Even though I wouldn’t receive an up front fee his name attached to the project would ensure active participation as opposed to putting it on the stock room shelf which often happens in distribution arrangements.
In the re-cutting, Udy’s input was hugely helpful. We spent several hours reviewing the subsequent cuts and Udy new just what footage was vital to the film and what wasn’t. He also said the name of the film needed to change to make it more sellable. I knew this would be a difficult change for my uncle Bob since the title, “The Day the Eagle Cried” came to him in a dream many years ago and he just feels that it was meant to be.
I had already shortened the name to “The Eagle Cried” for complicated reasons I won’t go into. Even that slight variation caused Bob much emotional turmoil. I promise I’d change the title back when it was convenient to do so.
To resolve this issue, the distribution agreement allows me (not only final cut) but a provision to have a second version of the film under the title “…Eagle Cried” and to have the right to sell this version through direct marketing via tax-deductible donations to Hygienic Filmwerks. Money from Hygienic then gets funneled back to help pay the production costs of the film (costs that will include over $20,000 for the CSPAN and BBC Worldwide licensing fees for their footage that’s used in the film.
Currently, we have a one-hour version of the film and are dealing with the tedious post production tasks of color correction, graphics treatment (PhotoShop and AfterEffects for the digital minded), etc. I am also still tweaking the picture edit. Every time I watch it I find more things I want to change. And then when I screen it with Udy, he gives me several more pages of notes, which is a good thing because Udy’s attention to detail has made enormous improvements in the film.
When I get back to LA in early June I will have another screening with Udy and his people at Seventh Art so we can lock the picture cut and finish the detail work.
I’m on my way to the East Coast where I’ll be attending Rolling Thunder, the annual motorcycle rally dedicate to American POW/MIAs that were left behind. Over 200,000 motorcycles roar into DC every Memorial Day weekend, which concludes with speeches and a concert in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
I will be screening a rough-cut of the documentary at various locations on Saturday and Sunday with the help of Jeff “Mario” Smith of Task Force Omega (Kentucky) and John Holland, one of the founders of Rolling Thunder.
Now to back up to the goings on over the past few months, here are the highlights in brief:
1. I attended the regional Dept. of Defense update for families of Korean War POW MIAs where I was able to have an extended conversation with Dep. Asst. Sec. of Defense, Jerry Jennings.
2. I signed a distribution deal with Seventh Art Releasing, which is the distributor of the 2004 Academy Award nominated film, BALSEROS.
3. Ross Perot called me after viewing a two-hour rough-cut of the documentary and said, “The rough-cut is great! The finished film is going to be FANTASTIC!
4. I attended the annual national Dept. of Defense Korean War POW/MIA family update where I was able to leave a Pentagon/State Dept. policy panel speechless and the 600+ audience incredulous.
And now for the details:
At the regional DOD family update meeting I asked three questions during the Q&A. The first was concerning the North Korean defector I interviewed who claims to have seen several live POWs in a N. Korean gulag in 1996. I prefaced the question with a disclaimer I was hoping would circumvent the standard short answer: “I know the credibility of N. Korean defectors is a problem but has U.S. intelligence interviewed Lt. Col. Kim Yong?” (Kim Yong told me he wasn’t interviewed by U.S. intelligence but apparently he was interviewed by S. Korean intelligence.) According to *Dan Baughman, lead analyst for the DPMO (Defense Dept. POW/MIA Office) responded that Mr. Kim changed his story each time he was interviewed. First he said he didn’t see American POWs then he said he saw three and then changed that number to seven the last time he was interviewed. Therefore, he wasn’t considered a credible witness.
Oddly enough, no one who has claimed to of seen American POWs in N. Korea has been considered a credible witness. However, anything else they report is considered “credible.”
I had lunch with former DPMO analyst, Insung Lee, a former U.S. Army captain and native of S. Korea. He wrote an internal DOD report in 1996 that stated there was indeed credible evidence of live POWs in N. Korea. In the report he stated that he believed there were 7-11 American POWs in N. Korea. Privately he has stated there are probably over 100 POWs still there.
Insung’s report went public during the House hearings on POW/MIAs and received much press. Meanwhile the Pentagon was seething over Insung’s analysis and outspokenness of a forbidden topic: LIVE POWS.
Insung was basically blacklisted at the Pentagon POW/MIA office and finally transferred out of the department when he realized his career would stagnate if he remained there. He is now working in Homeland Security.
The last question I asked at the plenary session of the LA regional DOD meeting was, “Has any sitting U.S. president ever directly asked the president of N. Korea about live American POWs. And if not, why not?” I knew the answer to the first part was “no.” I made sure to qualify “sitting president” in case a former president had negotiated with the N. Koreans. Sure enough the Pentagon official who took the question told me afterwards that Jimmy Carter, after he left office, met with N. Korean President Kim (though I don’t remember if it was Il Sung – “The Great Leader” or his son, Jong Il who is now in power.)
The answer to the question that surprised many in the audience was, “No, a sitting American president has never directly asked the N. Korean president about live POW.” The reason is because we have never had diplomatic relations with N. Korea and that’s a State Dept. issue not one for the Defense Dept to deal with. So that was an easy out for the Pentagon since there was no representative from the State Department.
When the national meeting came around in Washington this past April it was a different story. There were over six hundred people at the plenary session of the conference and I somehow got the last question even though the previous question was supposed to be the last.
On the dais was a panel comprised of officials from the State Dept. and Defense Dept. From the State Dept. was David Straub, Director of the Office of Korean Affairs and Amy Archibald, Desk Officer, Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs. So I asked the question again and directed it to State Dept. Reps. They had no idea how to respond. They turned to the Pentagon people and they all quietly talked it over. This little conference went on for an extended period of time and the audience was becoming very unsettled. Finally someone on the Pentagon side of the panel said, "We don't know what your question is." The audience was stunned with that response so I yelled out the question again since the microphone guy was now gone. Again the panel went into their private discussion that again went on for an uncomfortably long time. Now the audience was becoming confused and upset. I think a lot of them assumed that somewhere along the way this Presidential diplomacy must have occurred.
Finally, David Straub said that in the last few years the N. Koreans haven't made any offers to negotiate for live POWs (what about the 50 years before that?) At that point the president of the National Alliance of Families, who was sitting next to me, jumped up and said she personally received an offer by the N. Korean ambassadors to the U.N. to negotiate with the White House for the release of seven American POWs in 1996. At that time she called the National Security Office and was told they would not negotiate because the offer didn't come through official channels. Mr. Straub only said that they don't trust offers that come from the N. Koreans, etc.
When we broke for lunch I was able to talk more with Mr. Straub and Ms. Archibald. Currently Dolores Alfond has been talking with Mr. Straub about new information she has obtained about live American POW/MIAs in Vietnam.
CONVERSATION WITH DEP. SEC. OF DEFENSE, JERRY JENNINGS.
I spoke with Mr. Jennings after the plenary session and I asked him about a reported breakthrough he recently had with the N. Koreans concerning live American POWs.
Mr. Jennings described the process of dealing with his N. Korean counterparts. In the last negotiation session Mr. Jennings asked point blank if the DPRK (N. Korea) was holding American POWs. The DPRK negotiator said, “Do you really think we’d still be holding your POWs?” Mr. Jennings held steadfast with his inquiry and finally the DPRK negotiator said he would agree to holding a session to deal with this question.
This meeting is to take place sometime this summer.
I asked Mr. Jennings if these low-level negotiations show up on President Bush’s radar. He said that the information works its way up the chain of command in the Pentagon and does get to the President’s office. He believes this is an important issue for the President.
(Which brings me back to my question – for which there apparently no answer – If it’s such an important issue to the President why doesn’t he just ask President Kim Jong Il about our POWs. That direct communication is what the DPRK has asked for. I don’t think it’s asking too much. As Sen. Bob Smith told me, “If I were president and N. Korea said they had live Americans, I would talk to them.)
On the other hand, Ross Perot told me that George W. Bush wouldn’t do anything about the abandoned POWs because his father had a direct hand in keeping them abandoned.
Mr. Jennings has told me on two occasions he would do an interview on camera for the documentary but that has always been contingent upon DPMO’s public relations director finding time Mr. Jenning’s schedule to do the interview. On more than three occasions that time was never found. I do wonder if this is a good cop/bad cop scenario.
DISTRIBUTION DEAL
Udy Epstein, who owns Seventh Art Releasing which is a small but very reputable distribution company of mostly documentary films has been screening cuts of the film since I finished the first half hour rough cut. He would give me advise but couldn’t offer much in the way of encouragement for finding distribution for this kind of film.
When he saw the two-hour cut (which was reduced from a version that weighed in at over four hours) he became much more interested in the film. He said it had to get cut down to about 80 minutes.
My editor, Jason Stelzel and I delved into the daunting task of cutting 40 minutes from the film. When Jason came on board to cut the film (he had previously edited the 6 minute trailer which continues to receive high praise) I had cut it down from over four hours to two hours and 45 minutes and I was stuck there. Jason is much more ruthless and usually wins the heated debates we have when I try to save shots.
We managed to get it down to about 90 minutes and then showed to Udy at Seventh Art. At this point he saw something he could work with and perhaps find a market for it especially with the role Sen. John Kerry plays in the POW/MIA issue as depicted in the film. This certainly gives the documentary a timely quality not to mention the N. Korean political situation in general.
Udy offered a distribution contract arrangement where he would come on board as an executive producer and guide the final editing process and post -production. Even though I wouldn’t receive an up front fee his name attached to the project would ensure active participation as opposed to putting it on the stock room shelf which often happens in distribution arrangements.
In the re-cutting, Udy’s input was hugely helpful. We spent several hours reviewing the subsequent cuts and Udy new just what footage was vital to the film and what wasn’t. He also said the name of the film needed to change to make it more sellable. I knew this would be a difficult change for my uncle Bob since the title, “The Day the Eagle Cried” came to him in a dream many years ago and he just feels that it was meant to be.
I had already shortened the name to “The Eagle Cried” for complicated reasons I won’t go into. Even that slight variation caused Bob much emotional turmoil. I promise I’d change the title back when it was convenient to do so.
To resolve this issue, the distribution agreement allows me (not only final cut) but a provision to have a second version of the film under the title “…Eagle Cried” and to have the right to sell this version through direct marketing via tax-deductible donations to Hygienic Filmwerks. Money from Hygienic then gets funneled back to help pay the production costs of the film (costs that will include over $20,000 for the CSPAN and BBC Worldwide licensing fees for their footage that’s used in the film.
Currently, we have a one-hour version of the film and are dealing with the tedious post production tasks of color correction, graphics treatment (PhotoShop and AfterEffects for the digital minded), etc. I am also still tweaking the picture edit. Every time I watch it I find more things I want to change. And then when I screen it with Udy, he gives me several more pages of notes, which is a good thing because Udy’s attention to detail has made enormous improvements in the film.
When I get back to LA in early June I will have another screening with Udy and his people at Seventh Art so we can lock the picture cut and finish the detail work.
