Brian Grey Blog

Upton Sinclair must be turning over in his grave.

Last night I went to check out the documentary Food Inc., a movie that chronicles the far reaching industry that one would describe most aptly as the “food production and distribution” industry.  Now, what I learned from the movie foremost is the fact that there exist what are referred to as veggie libel laws (the laws that got Oprah in trouble for her comments about the beef industry back in 1996), so I will keep many of most sacred opinions about Food Inc. to myself.

That said, here are a few thoughts:

1.  Go see the movie now (if you can find an art house near you that will be showing it) or at least rent the movie when it shows up in Blockbuster or on Netflix (hopefully the latter two aren’t owned by Tyson or Monsanto).

The producers of Food Inc. do an admirable job laying out many of the component parts of the food industry that when taken as a whole make you really think about how the food you eat gets to your table — and once on your plate what’s really in it.

2. Find a cause somewhere in the food industry ecosystem

There seem to be so many pieces of this puzzle — from early onset diabetes to e-coli outbreaks to labor practices to questionable policy making — that everyone should feel compelled to do something that has a positive impact on the food industry.  As the movie points out quite effectively, there are parallels here to the tobacco industry, (hint, hint).

3. Act and vote locally

Ever wonder why a fast food cheeseburger costs less relative to a bunch of broccoli or a pack of organic carrots?  Well, next time you feel the sudden urge to swing in to a drive-thru, keep going until you run in to a local farmer’s market or supermarket that carries something organic (heck, as the movie highlights, this could even include your local Wal-Mart).

4.  Don’t think of this as a date movie fellas

Unless your girlfriend or wife is super liberal (e.g. Berkeley grad?), is looking for another cause to take on (e.g. African malaria cure isn’t enough), only eats organic food (e.g. she’ll be able to name the Stoneyfield CEO when he appears in the movie), and you’re not planning to go to dinner afterwards (e.g. this may be a conscious tactic on your part to save a few bucks?), find something else to see as a date-night flick.

If “Milk” – Gus Van Sant’s portrayal of the life of Harvey Milk starring Sean Penn – is playing in your town…go see it! (For those unfortunate to live in a town that likely won’t screen it, rent it when it’s available on Netflix).

My wife and I got a “date night” last evening and saw the movie here in SF. The fact that we live in Duboce Triangle across from the Castro added a bit of personal connection to the movie’s message.

Penn does a phenomenal job as Milk – and the story of Milk’s ascent from an insurance company employee hiding from the NYC police to become the “Mayor of the Castro” in essentially eight years is very moving.

Perhaps the most striking moments are the parallels between then and now. Essentially 30 years ago California battled a Proposition 6 that at it’s core was exceedingly discriminatory against gays.

Today, we have progressed not far – adding a couple digits to a new Prop 8 that is equally as affronting to civil rights as the measure Milk helped oppose in the late 70′s.

The movie is well done – and the story is worth everyone learning regardless of where you live on the political and religious spectrums.

My buddy Paco Chierici’s documentary “Speed and Angels” is being promoted on Hulu. This is very exciting because I know how much time, effort and passion Paco put in to the project. I also know that Mike Homer was a major influence in helping get this movie produced.

The reviews seem to be phenomenal — Amazon’s ratings are near a perfect 5.

Here’s the IMDB page for the movie.

Now that the movie is on Hulu, I am looking forward to getting a chance to watch it myself. Seeing Paco’s movie show up on Hulu is another example of the changing landscape of producing and distributing high-end content. A lot of attention is being paid to how examples like this portend bad things for the media business. How, they say, can all this effort and cost put in to creating a movie experience like this ever generate an acceptable ROI when the revenue streams are limited to DVD sales and Hulu ad sales?

Well, good question. First, the ease with which the film can be distributed through these channels creates opportunities for content producers that didn’t exist a couple of years ago. I would expect that at the top of the food chain, the returns for true “hits” will still be there. It’s the market for the next few layers of content that is opening up, enabling more content producers the opportunity to get in to the game, make a little money and stay in the hunt for delivering a “hit”.

Couple this with the ever declining cost of content production and you get a market that will be big and a market that for the high end — and maybe even mid-tier — will be profitable. The somewhat painful transition may be for the studios and other “middlemen” in the food chain. These are the guys who may lose out in the long run.

If somebody can create a piece of content as compelling as “Speed and Angels” on a low 5-figure budget, and can then directly pursue a grassroots distribution strategy to get it distributed and marketed digitally, why do you need agents and studio infrastructure?

Maybe you don’t.

We rented “The Savages” last night. Not exactly the pick-me-hit of the decade, but the performances of Philip Seymour Hoffman, Laura Linney and Philip Bosco were pretty spectacular.

The movie reminded me of how many people suffer from Alzheimer’s or dimentia, and how painful it is to deal with for the surrounding family members.

My grandfather suffered from dimentia and it was heartbreaking to see him in his later years unable to take care of himself, a shell of the imposing man and bigger than life character that I remembered from my childhood.

If for no other reason than to add some perspective to your life — and appreciate some stellar acting — I’d recommend renting “The Savages”.

My dad and mom were in town this weekend, so my dad and I snuck out to catch a movie. Were going to go see something obvious like Ironman or Indiana Jones, but we decided to hit one of the local art house theaters in West L.A. to see The Visitor.

Would recommend seeing it – though it gets a little slow about 2/3 of the way through, right about the time you get a strong sense of how it’s going to end. What makes it a good flick is the great acting job by Richard Jenkins. He’s one of those guys you recognize, but can’t quite remember what else he’s done. This is a great performance and definitely hits the inspirational chord in you.