The Writer with No Hands
The Writer with No Hands | |
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Directed by | William Westaway |
Starring | Claudia Christian John Irvin Haskell Wexler |
Music by | Lorenzo Tomio |
Production company | Drum Roll Films |
Release date |
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Running time | 71 minutes; 55 minutes (TV) |
The Writer with No Hands is a 2017 British documentary feature film, which follows academic Matthew Alford as he tries to establish that the accidental death of Hollywood screenwriter Gary Devore was actually an assassination by the US government.
The finished film was screened at independent venues worldwide on 27 June 2017 to mark the twentieth anniversary of Devore’s fate and a 2018 television edit subsequently sold to Norway's VGTV and New Zealand's Rialto Channel. An alternative 86 minute fine cut feature had premiered at Hot Docs as early as 2014 but was pulled from the festival circuit at the end of that year, heavily re-worked, and never distributed.[1]
Background
On Friday 27 June 1997, Gary Devore had been driving home after completing a new film script. He was last seen at a Denny's diner in the Mojave Desert around 1:00 on the morning of the 28th. The subsequent manhunt remained unsuccessful until July 1998 when an amateur detective located fragments of Devore’s car next to the California Aqueduct near Palmdale.
The California Highway Patrol’s investigation concluded that Devore must have driven against oncoming traffic along the highway, crashed into the water and drowned in his vehicle.[2]
The project's title refers to reports that Devore’s hands were detached from the body and had initially been left undiscovered in his car.[3]
Production
In an eponymous book and audiobook, Alford characterised the filmmaking process as highly erratic. Although he produced the 2014 version of the documentary he was not similarly accredited on the final cut.[4] In 2012, Devore's publicist Michael Sands, who had been participating in the documentary, died after choking on a meat sample in a supermarket. [5] Alford and Westaway’s differing reactions to Sands’ death fueled their disagreements over the direction of the project.
In 2016, director William Westaway raised £4,769 through a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund completion of technical aspects to the production. [6]
Reception
Critical Response
The 2014 fine cut received criticism over ethical concerns. Cinestyle called the documentary "riveting" but added "I wouldn’t want to be Westaway’s friend - or enemy".[7] It was also dubbed a "sour" and "dubious" product that "borders on unethical".[8]
Awards and Nominations
- In 2017-18, the film won Best Documentary at the Vienna Independent Film Festival and the Creation International Film Festival and was runner-up in the same category at the Beloit International Film Festival[9][10][11]. It received nominations at the Wayward Film Festival, the San Mauro International Film Festival, [12], and Fabrique Du Cinema [13].
- The 2014 cut premiered in the Future Cult Classics strand at Hot Docs and won the Tablet of Honor, signifying second place, at the Ammar Popular Film Festival.[14] It was also nominated that year at Dallas International Film Festival, Tacoma Film Festival and Light House International Film Festival.
References
- ^ https://www.hotdocs.ca/archive/films/writer-with-no-hands
- ^ http://articles.latimes.com/1998/oct/10/local/me-31044 Scott Glover, CHP Pieces Together Writer's Final Hours, Los Angeles Times, 10 October 1998
- ^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2905392/Hollywood-screenwriter-mysteriously-killed-20-years-ago-working-CIA-hands-sent-autopsy-200-years-old.html Daily Mail, Exclusive, 2014
- ^ http://standingstonesblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/the-writer-with-no-hands-interview-with.html
- ^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2129744/Michael-Sands-death-deli-meat-sample-Hollywood-publicist-claimed-CIA-chokes.html
- ^ https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/242588498/follywood-a-conspiracy-documentary-like-no-other
- ^ Review: Cinestyle http://www.cineinstyle.com/?tag=gary-devore
- ^ Brown, Phil (21 April 2014). "Hot Docs 2014: The Writer with No Hands Review". Dork Shelf. Archived from the original on 27 April 2014.
- ^ https://beloitfilmfest.org/biff-event/biffy-award-night-2018/
- ^ VIFF http://www.vienna-film-festival.com/winners-2017.html
- ^ https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=482753405426737&id=212036895831724
- ^ https://www.facebook.com/stiffmovies
- ^ http://www.fabriqueducinema.com/evento/fabrique-awards-15-la-cerimonia-premiazione/
- ^ Ammar Film Festival http://ammarpopularff.com/festival/aipff-2015/