The documentary An Honest Liar about James “The Amazing” Randi, shows how he has made it his mission to show how faith healers, spoon benders and others are all con men. I talked to director/producer of the movie, Tyler Measom, to learn more about this movie he made together with director Justin Weinstein
How did you come into contact with James “The Amazing” Randi and why were you interested in his story?
We came at this story from different sides. I was a former Mormon, who upon leaving the religion felt that I had been deceived most of my life. So when i discovered a person like Randi, who had spent his life fighting deception, I know that I had to be a part of that story.
Justin was a former scientist who grew frustrated when seeing individuals reject facts and embrace things that were demonstratively untrue. We approached the James Randi Educational Foundation and presented the idea of making a documentary about The Amazing Randi and after properly vetting us, he agreed let us spend the next two years telling his story.
You followed Randi for two years, with him travelling a lot. How were the reactions to him everywhere he went?
Randi is a constant fireball of energy and charisma and when he gets in front of an audience, or meets with his fans, he turns into this fun and goofy 15-year-old kid, joking around and doing tricks. After having spent his life in the public eye and on stage, he relishes the chance to meet people. He will often stick around after a screening and give every single person an autograph, or a picture or simply sit and talk with them and answer questions. His fans would absolutely love every moment with him.
Were there people challenging him?
For the most part, nobody really challenged Randi, at least not publicly. But when they did, it is something that he is accustomed to and usually responds to it properly and politely.
What were your thoughts on the people/subjects Randi talks about before you started filming him? Did he change any of your ideas?
When making a film, one tries to go into it without pre-conceived notions about any of the people or incidents. We definitely did our research on everyone involved in the film, getting our facts from all areas. Randi has his opinions and memories about certain individuals, but many times those beliefs were hazy or his based purely upon his side of the story. We hope that we showed all elements of a story, told from many angles. But over the course of the past few years, Randi has surely helped enlighten us in many topics and unquestionably convinced us of many ideas.
You have used Kickstarter in order to finish this project. What is your experience and do you think it makes it easier for a filmmaker to get projects off the ground?
Making a documentary takes a great of time and money. This particular film took three years and included equipment, travel, editing, and licensing of music and footage. In order to make the film that we wanted and to do it with complete creative control, we had to raise funds from various areas. Kickstarter was but one of the ways in which we raised capital for the production of this film. It is fortunate that Randi has such a large and ardent following of fans throughout that world that were ready to see a film of this nature be made.
The other side of Kickstarter is that people who back your project have specific expectations/demands, wanting to get their “product” as soon as possible. How do you deal with that pressure and do you consider it one of the downsides of going the Kickstarter route?
The schedule of a documentary is such that you never really know how long it will take or what incidents may arise that can slow down the production or post-production of a film. When one contributes to a documentary they hope that the film will be finished in a timely manner, and filmmakers always aspire to deliver a film on time for those folks. In our case, the making of An Honest Liar and the promotion of the film took alot longer than we expected and our Kickstarter backers were growing impatient to see the movie. And I can’t say that I blame them. However, we have been in touch with them and just delivered a bonus package that has kept them happy.
Whenever you have someone contributing to a film, whether it be a dollar or a million dollars, they have certain expectations and the filmmaker owes them something (if nothing more than gratitude). If filmmakers aren’t prepared for this, then they shouldn’t be doing a Kickstarter campaign. We love our backers and they have helped us in the creation of the film and in promotion of the film. They are a part of our movie and we are happy for that.
Besides Randi, you also talked to well-known people like Adam Savage, Alice Cooper and Penn & Teller. How did they end up appearing in the documentary?
There are a great number of folks who were very much influenced by James Randi, both directly or indirectly. Penn and Teller have said that they are a magic pair because of Randi and his teaching. Adam Savage is continuing the mission of Randi by disproving myths. Getting these people to talk about Randi was quite easy. They all have major respect for the man and what he has done.
Were there other things you learned during filming which surprised you?
While we were in the process of filming An Honest Liar, an incident occurred that spun the direction of the movie in a new and fantastic way. This was something that no one expected to happen and we were not only obliged to include it in the film, but also, quite pleased to do so as it made for a richer story. This sort of event is what I love about documentary filmmaking – you think you know how a story is going to turn out and then something will come and completely change that way of thinking and filmmaking. It’s exciting to be making a movie while staying alert.
Why should people see An Honest Liar?
Firstly, it is a very entertaining movie about a wonderful engaging human being, which was the most important element for us when making the film. Moreover, An Honest Liar teaches a valuable lesson about deception and how humans can be fooled. It will make audience members look at how they might be being deceived by others, and quite possibly by themselves.