In September of 2001, my dream was finally realized. “King Midas” had its premiere at the Woodstock Film Festival to a packed and enthusiastic audience. During the Q&A after the screening, Steve Bloom, one of the editors form High Times, started asking me questions about the guys in the movie and I got a great response from him and the audience when I told the ugly truth about the cast members drug-dealing careers and jail time. After that night, I realized that was how I needed to promote the film. If I were a high-school kid going to rent “King Midas” at Blockbusters, I’d want to know about all the behind-the-scenes stuff that the movie was made from. And there are plenty of behind-the-scenes stories to go around. Besides Jimmy and Micky, who were arrested and jailed during the production of the film, several other actors have drug and weapons-related histories. Gary Linsky, who plays “The Moose” in King Midas was rounded up in a DEA sting and did a few years federal time for cocaine conspiracy. Tyrone (“Ty Grizzly”) Johnson was a member of the notorious “20 Love” gang and was arrested after a high-speed chase for pointing a gun at a cop. Doug Baldwin, who plays a hip-hop artist in the film, just got out of jail before we started filming and went back in just before the premiere. And we’re still waiting for arrests to be made from the results of the home raids on August 1st.
Aside from all the bullshit with the cops, I feel pretty good that I’ve got my first feature film behind me and I’m ready to make the second one. I’ve been writing a script called “Conspiracy to Distribute” with Jimmy (who will be incarcerated until the fall of 2002), based on his experiences as a coke and ecstasy dealer. In that movie, we want to include some of the “King Midas” stuff from the drug dealer’s point of view. When I start shooting that film, I’ll probably use a few more actors and a few less drug dealers in the cast. Besides, everyone that was in “King Midas” might be in jail by then.
For more info about the film and the arrests, go to the official King Midas web site.
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