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Your Mommy Kills Animals (film)
Encyclopedia
Your Mommy Kills Animals is an American 2007
documentary film
written and directed by Curt Johnson. Filmed in several locations across the United States, the film is about the animal liberation movement
and takes its name from a 2003 PETA
comic book
of the same name. The film was picked up for distribution by HALO 8 Entertainment
after successful festival response.
Among those interviewed for the documentary were Jessica Biel
, James Cromwell
, Kaley Cuoco
, Bo Derek
, Jorja Fox
, Leo Grillo
, Tippi Hedren
, Katherine Heigl
, Margot Kidder
, Jennifer Lee, Joe Mantegna
, Mark McGrath
, Esai Morales
, Shelley Morrison
, Alexandra Paul
, Ben Stein
, and Betty White
, as well as individuals involved with animal rights movements.
Filming began in January 2006, covering 17 states in 90 days, and was in editing by April of that year.
, taking a critical view of the group's actions. In 2005, in return for a $60,000 return on his investment and exclusive right to promote it, corporate lobbyist Richard Berman
invested $300,000 toward production of the film. However, in 2006, disagreements arose regarding the film's treatment
, with Johnson disregarding creative input from Berman. As director, Johnson chose to focus on the trials and convictions of members of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty
(SHAC), rather than focus on a critique of PETA. As this was contrary to the 2005 agreement, Flynn, Berman, and their associates filed a suit claiming that Flynn was a joint author of the film as originally, and requesting also that damages be awarded to Berman for Johnson's alleged breach of their contract. A jury trial granted both requests, and awarding Berman $360,000 in damages. However, as the court's decision did not include a declaration affirming Berman exclusive promotion and distribution rights to the film, and as Flynn had begun promoting the film through interviews and press releases in contradiction to the 2005 agreement, Berman appealed that part of the decision. The appeals court affirmed that earlier decision, in that granting Berman exclusive distribution after he had been made whole would constitute a double recovery, wherein Berman lost his appeal.
.
Variety
reviewer John Anderson called the documentary "A miraculously evenhanded treatment of a snarlingly divisive debate," adding "There are no good guys or bad guys in this propulsive film, but there's enough in the way of odd characters and bad behavior to amuse and inform auds who only marginally care about the content."
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
film critic Barry Paris reported that the film focused on the legal case of Josh Harper and Kevin Kjonaas after their having been arrested for eco-terrorism
in the federal government'd enforcing of the 2006 Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act
. He made note of the numerous celebrities interviewed, offering "There's not an objective one in the lot. I love 'em all."
Eye Weekly
reviewer Jason Anderson wrote of the title, "It’s just one example of the extreme rhetoric and inflammatory tactics (sometimes literally so) that exist within the animal-rights movement, a broad category that actually includes an array of groups with differing philosophies and strategies when it comes to defending critters." He made note that the film dealt with subjects ranging from "the practices of the Animal Liberation Front
to PETA
’s courting of celebrities to the rescue of animals after hurricane Katrina," but stressed that the director focused on the 2006 trial of six Americans arrested for their involvement in the "Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty" campaign which had targeted a British corporation that does animal testing. He called the documentary smart and comprehensive in its dealing with the federal government's declaration that "animal rights extremists comprised America’s primary domestic threat."
Slant Magazine
reviewer Sara Schieron wrote that although the film presented a portrait of the Animal Liberation Front, the organization does not include organizations such as PETA
or The Humane Society of the United States. She noted that both these organizations declined to be interviewed by the filmmakers, and that the film concentrated on the grass-roots level as a "documentary for thinkers that offers dense and comprehensive representation of animal rights as movement, ethic, culture, and law."
Peter Martin of Cinematical wrote that the director explored the animal rights movement as inspired by "a post-9/11 FBI alert identifying animal rights activists as the number one domestic terror threat," and that he interviewed both activists and detractors alike in order to gain "as many points of view as possible."
Brian Dorf of eFilm Critic observed that Curt Johnson showed "a stance of directorial bravery that is seldom showcased," and appeared to not be "taking a side towards either extreme." He offered that the film "holds its ground impressively trying to tenderly extract points from both sides of the argument." In his review summary, he wrote that the film "is a difficult movie to watch, but an important one to consider."
, Montreal, Canada; Melbourne International Film Festival
, Melbourne, Australia; San Francisco International Film Festival
, San Francisco, California
; Boise Film Festival, Boise, Idaho
; Argus Fest
, Denver, Colorado
; Burning Man
, Nevada
; Swedan Vegan Film Festival, Sweden
; and International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film
, Leipzig, Germany.
2007 in film
This is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007...
documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
written and directed by Curt Johnson. Filmed in several locations across the United States, the film is about the animal liberation movement
Animal liberation movement
The animal-liberation movement, sometimes called the animal-rights movement, animal personhood, or animal-advocacy movement, is a social movement which seeks an end to the rigid moral and legal distinction drawn between human and non-human animals, an end to the status of animals as property, and...
and takes its name from a 2003 PETA
Peta
Peta can refer to:* peta-, an SI prefix denoting a factor of 1015* Peta, Greece, a town in Greece* Peta, the Pāli word for a Preta, or hungry ghost in Buddhism* Peta Wilson, an Australian actress and model* Peta Todd, English glamour model...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
of the same name. The film was picked up for distribution by HALO 8 Entertainment
HALO 8 Entertainment
HALO-8 Entertainment is a transmedia entertainment company specializing in cinema, genre graphic novels, midnight movies, music-driven lifestyle videos, and animation...
after successful festival response.
Among those interviewed for the documentary were Jessica Biel
Jessica Biel
Jessica Claire Biel is an American actress, model, and occasional singer. Biel is known for her television role as Mary Camden in the long-running family-drama series 7th Heaven...
, James Cromwell
James Cromwell
James Oliver Cromwell is an American film and television actor. Some of his more notable roles are in Babe , for which he earned Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, Star Trek: First Contact , L.A...
, Kaley Cuoco
Kaley Cuoco
Kaley Christine Cuoco is an American film and television actress. She first came to attention for her role as Bridget Hennessy on the Emmy Award-winning sitcom 8 Simple Rules. She later starred as Billie Jenkins on the final season of the supernatural drama series Charmed...
, Bo Derek
Bo Derek
Mary Cathleen Collins , better known as Bo Derek, is an American film and television actress, model, and sex symbol, known for her role as Jenny Hanley in the 1979 comedy film 10. However, Derek's film career soon faltered; her later films, including, Bolero and Ghosts Can't Do It , were poorly...
, Jorja Fox
Jorja Fox
Jorja-An Fox , is an American actress, musician and songwriter. She first came to prominence as a guest star on the television drama ER, portraying the recurring role of Dr. Maggie Doyle from 1996 to 1999. This was followed by another critical success in the recurring role of Secret Service Agent...
, Leo Grillo
Leo Grillo
Leo Francis Grillo, Jr. is an American film actor, producer and animal welfare activist. He is best known for founding Dedication and Everlasting Love to Animals Rescue , an animal welfare organization based in Acton, California. The not-for-profit organization was incorporated in 1981...
, Tippi Hedren
Tippi Hedren
Nathalie Kay "Tippi" Hedren is an American actress and former fashion model with a career spanning six decades. She is primarily known for her roles in two Alfred Hitchcock films, The Birds and Marnie, and her extensive efforts in animal rescue at Shambala Preserve, an wildlife habitat which she...
, Katherine Heigl
Katherine Heigl
Katherine Marie Heigl is an American actress and producer. She is possibly best known for her role as Dr. Izzie Stevens on ABC's Grey's Anatomy from 2005 to 2010, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Drama Series in 2007...
, Margot Kidder
Margot Kidder
Margaret Ruth "Margot" Kidder is a Canadian-born American actress. She is perhaps best known for playing Lois Lane in the four Superman movies opposite Christopher Reeve, a role that brought her to widespread recognition....
, Jennifer Lee, Joe Mantegna
Joe Mantegna
Joseph Anthony "Joe" Mantegna, Jr. is an American actor, producer, writer,director, and voice actor. He is best known for his roles in box office hits such as Three Amigos , The Godfather Part III , Forget Paris , and Up Close & Personal...
, Mark McGrath
Mark McGrath
Mark Sayers McGrath is an American singer of the rock band Sugar Ray. McGrath is also known for his work as a co-host of Extra, and he was the host of Don't Forget the Lyrics! in 2010...
, Esai Morales
Esai Morales
Esai Manuel Morales is an American actor. He is well known for his role as Bob Morales in the 1987 biopic La Bamba. He also appeared in the PBS drama American Family and in the Showtime series Resurrection Blvd.. However, he is best known for his roles as Lt...
, Shelley Morrison
Shelley Morrison
Shelley Morrison is an American actress. Early in her career, she was sometimes credited as Rachel Domínguez. Morrison has been a theater and television actress since the early 1960s, predominantly as a character actress in ethnic roles...
, Alexandra Paul
Alexandra Paul
Alexandra Elizabeth Paul is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Lt. Stephanie Holden in the television series Baywatch from 1992–97. She has starred in over 60 movies and television programs.-Personal life:...
, Ben Stein
Ben Stein
Benjamin Jeremy "Ben" Stein is an American actor, writer, lawyer, and commentator on political and economic issues. He attained early success as a speechwriter for American presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford...
, and Betty White
Betty White
Betty White Ludden , better known as Betty White, is an American actress, comedienne, singer, author, and former game show personality. With a career spanning seven decades since 1939, she is best known to modern audiences for her television roles as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and...
, as well as individuals involved with animal rights movements.
Filming began in January 2006, covering 17 states in 90 days, and was in editing by April of that year.
Lawsuits
Maura Flynn and Curt Johnson agreed to make a documentary film which would focus on PETAPeta
Peta can refer to:* peta-, an SI prefix denoting a factor of 1015* Peta, Greece, a town in Greece* Peta, the Pāli word for a Preta, or hungry ghost in Buddhism* Peta Wilson, an Australian actress and model* Peta Todd, English glamour model...
, taking a critical view of the group's actions. In 2005, in return for a $60,000 return on his investment and exclusive right to promote it, corporate lobbyist Richard Berman
Richard Berman
Richard Berman is a Washington, D.C.-based lawyer, public relations executive, and lobbyist. Through his public affairs firm Berman and Company, Berman runs several industry-funded non-profit organizations such as the Center for Consumer Freedom and the Center for Union Facts...
invested $300,000 toward production of the film. However, in 2006, disagreements arose regarding the film's treatment
Film treatment
A film treatment is a piece of prose, typically the step between scene cards and the first draft of a screenplay for a motion picture, television program, or radio play. It is generally longer and more detailed than an outline , and it may include details of directorial style that an outline omits...
, with Johnson disregarding creative input from Berman. As director, Johnson chose to focus on the trials and convictions of members of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty
Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty
Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty is an international animal rights campaign to close down Huntingdon Life Sciences , Europe's largest contract animal-testing laboratory. HLS tests medical and non-medical substances on around 75,000 animals every year, from rats to primates...
(SHAC), rather than focus on a critique of PETA. As this was contrary to the 2005 agreement, Flynn, Berman, and their associates filed a suit claiming that Flynn was a joint author of the film as originally, and requesting also that damages be awarded to Berman for Johnson's alleged breach of their contract. A jury trial granted both requests, and awarding Berman $360,000 in damages. However, as the court's decision did not include a declaration affirming Berman exclusive promotion and distribution rights to the film, and as Flynn had begun promoting the film through interviews and press releases in contradiction to the 2005 agreement, Berman appealed that part of the decision. The appeals court affirmed that earlier decision, in that granting Berman exclusive distribution after he had been made whole would constitute a double recovery, wherein Berman lost his appeal.
Synopsis
The film reports on controversies concerning and within the animal rights movement. These include external conflicts between animal rights advocates and medical researchers and restaurant operators, and internal disagreements within the animal rights movement between the animal shelter operators and the confrontationalists who demonstrate outside homes of corporate opponents. The film also discusses the comparison between animal liberation activists and political terrorists, including the FBI's ranking of animal-rights activists as the nation's No. 1 domestic terrorism threat.Recognition
Your Mommy Kills Animals has an overall approval rating of 91% on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
.
Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
reviewer John Anderson called the documentary "A miraculously evenhanded treatment of a snarlingly divisive debate," adding "There are no good guys or bad guys in this propulsive film, but there's enough in the way of odd characters and bad behavior to amuse and inform auds who only marginally care about the content."
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, also known simply as the "PG," is the largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.-Early history:...
film critic Barry Paris reported that the film focused on the legal case of Josh Harper and Kevin Kjonaas after their having been arrested for eco-terrorism
Eco-terrorism
Eco-terrorism usually refers to acts of violence or sabotage committed in support of ecological, environmental, or animal rights causes against persons or their property....
in the federal government'd enforcing of the 2006 Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act
Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act
The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act is a United States federal law that prohibits any person from engaging in certain conduct "for the purpose of damaging or interfering with the operations of an animal enterprise." The statute covers any act that either "damages or causes the loss of any real or...
. He made note of the numerous celebrities interviewed, offering "There's not an objective one in the lot. I love 'em all."
Eye Weekly
Eye Weekly
Eye Weekly was a free weekly newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was owned by Torstar, the parent company of the Toronto Star, and was published by their Star Media Group until its final issue on May 5, 2011. The following week, Torstar launched a successor publication, The Grid.-...
reviewer Jason Anderson wrote of the title, "It’s just one example of the extreme rhetoric and inflammatory tactics (sometimes literally so) that exist within the animal-rights movement, a broad category that actually includes an array of groups with differing philosophies and strategies when it comes to defending critters." He made note that the film dealt with subjects ranging from "the practices of the Animal Liberation Front
Animal Liberation Front
The Animal Liberation Front is an international, underground leaderless resistance that engages in illegal direct action in pursuit of animal liberation...
to PETA
Peta
Peta can refer to:* peta-, an SI prefix denoting a factor of 1015* Peta, Greece, a town in Greece* Peta, the Pāli word for a Preta, or hungry ghost in Buddhism* Peta Wilson, an Australian actress and model* Peta Todd, English glamour model...
’s courting of celebrities to the rescue of animals after hurricane Katrina," but stressed that the director focused on the 2006 trial of six Americans arrested for their involvement in the "Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty" campaign which had targeted a British corporation that does animal testing. He called the documentary smart and comprehensive in its dealing with the federal government's declaration that "animal rights extremists comprised America’s primary domestic threat."
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
reviewer Sara Schieron wrote that although the film presented a portrait of the Animal Liberation Front, the organization does not include organizations such as PETA
Peta
Peta can refer to:* peta-, an SI prefix denoting a factor of 1015* Peta, Greece, a town in Greece* Peta, the Pāli word for a Preta, or hungry ghost in Buddhism* Peta Wilson, an Australian actress and model* Peta Todd, English glamour model...
or The Humane Society of the United States. She noted that both these organizations declined to be interviewed by the filmmakers, and that the film concentrated on the grass-roots level as a "documentary for thinkers that offers dense and comprehensive representation of animal rights as movement, ethic, culture, and law."
Peter Martin of Cinematical wrote that the director explored the animal rights movement as inspired by "a post-9/11 FBI alert identifying animal rights activists as the number one domestic terror threat," and that he interviewed both activists and detractors alike in order to gain "as many points of view as possible."
Brian Dorf of eFilm Critic observed that Curt Johnson showed "a stance of directorial bravery that is seldom showcased," and appeared to not be "taking a side towards either extreme." He offered that the film "holds its ground impressively trying to tenderly extract points from both sides of the argument." In his review summary, he wrote that the film "is a difficult movie to watch, but an important one to consider."
Screenings
Your Mommy Kills Animals has played at multiple film festivals, including Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, Toronto, Canada; Fantasia FestivalFantasia Festival
Fantasia International Film Festival is a genre film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996...
, Montreal, Canada; Melbourne International Film Festival
Melbourne International Film Festival
The Melbourne International Film Festival is an acclaimed annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1951, making it one of the oldest in the World....
, Melbourne, Australia; San Francisco International Film Festival
San Francisco International Film Festival
San Francisco International Film Festival is the oldest continuously running film festival in the Americas. Organized by the San Francisco Film Society, the International is held each spring for two weeks, presenting an average of 150 films from over 50 countries...
, San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
; Boise Film Festival, Boise, Idaho
Boise, Idaho
Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...
; Argus Fest
ARGUS (experiment)
The ARGUS experiment was a particle physics experiment that ran at the electron-positron collider ring DORIS II at DESY. It is the first experiment that observed the mixing of the B mesons ....
, Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
; Burning Man
Burning Man
Burning Man is a week-long annual event held in the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada, in the United States. The event starts on the Monday before the American Labor Day holiday, and ends on the holiday itself. It takes its name from the ritual burning of a large wooden effigy on Saturday evening...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
; Swedan Vegan Film Festival, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
; and International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film
International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film
The International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film , also known as the Leipzig DOK Festival, is a film festival that takes place annually in Leipzig, Germany. It was founded in 1955 under the name "1st All-German Leipzig Festival of Cultural and Documentary Films" and was the...
, Leipzig, Germany.