Film in Mac Parker fraud case 'creatively complete'
The man who took over an unfinished film at the center of a $28 million fundraising fraud case says the project is "creatively complete" and nearly ready for distribution.
The creator of the film, Malcolm "Mac" Parker of Addison, and his business partner, Louis Soteriou of Middlebury, Connecticut, are both in federal prison. They were sentenced in August 2013 for their roles in what federal authorities described as a Ponzi scheme.
May 2014:Court to turn over Parker movie assets to film editor
April 2016:Film connected to Vt. fraud nearly complete
Parker, a well-known Vermont storyteller, raised $28 million from 690 investors for a meditative film titled "Birth of Innocence" that cost about $1 million to make. His silent partner, Soteriou, received $4 million to finance a spiritual quest that was supposed to benefit the film. Parker used between $750,000 and $1 million of the money he raised for personal living expenses.
The two men have been ordered to pay $7.4 million in restitution to 395 of their investors, many of them Vermonters.
"Birth of Innocence" is now being finished by film editor Horace Williams in hopes of bringing in money to repay some of what the defrauded investors are owed.
Williams told investors that the film was "creatively complete" as of July 20, according to a status update filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Rutland as part of an involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding against Parker.
"Though creative completion has taken us longer than we expected, we are now poised at the threshold of distribution, and the same hope for creditors exists now as it did in summer of 2014," Williams wrote.
Williams and his collaborator, Martin Guigui, completed much of the work using their own money or by calling in personal favors, according to the court filing.
More:'Birth of Innocence' timeline
The filmmakers attempted to find an A-list celebrity who would record a role in the film known as "Voice of Stillness Within Us."
According to the update filed in court, the part was pitched to Liv Tyler, Kate Beckinsale, Amanda Seyfried, Julia Garner, Jackie Evancho, Renee Zellweger, Alexis Bledell, Anne Hathaway, Emma Watson, Arianda Grande, Oprah Winfrey, Rachel McAdams and Whoopi Goldberg.
"We had some close calls — Liv Tyler first agreed, then declined due to being eight months pregnant, and Kate Beckinsale agreed but had only a three week window for the session," Williams wrote. "We were unable to make Kate's window due to lack of funds. The others all passed either because of scheduling conflicts and/or discomfort with the film's association with the Parker fraud."
The filmmakers ultimately chose Vanya Vermani to record the part. The spiritual teacher and author don Miguel Ruiz is also featured in the film.
A Los Angeles company is completing the final touches on the film.
"We are now on the threshold of distribution," Williams wrote. He added that Guigui had been in touch with Netflix and other distribution companies.
Williams and Guigui are also in discussions with Cineplex Canada about a possible nationwide screening where audiences could participate in a discussion about "where we all come from, the possibility of stillness being fundamental, etc."
In a federal court hearing on July 28, Bankruptcy Judge Colleen Brown agreed to keep the Parker bankruptcy case open until at least January.
“In the meantime, with any luck, there’ll be some cash flow generated by the film," Brown said, according to a recording of the court hearing.
Contact April McCullum at 802-660-1863 or amccullum@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @April_McCullum.
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