http://www.cardcarryingliberal.org en 2008-08-28T07:31:44+01:00 http://www.cardcarryingliberal.org/var/style/logo.jpg http://www.cardcarryingliberal.org 144 137 tag:www.cardcarryingliberal.org,2008:rss-1015688 Fri, 23 May 2008 16:25:00 +0100 en WINTER MILLER It turns out that the wrestler guy from "Vision Quest" has a vision and is on a quest. Thesp Matthew Modine wants to rescue the American identity from bumbling politicos and reinstate the proper meaning of a liberal. To that end, he's helmed a couple of shorts and started a website inviting "card-carrying liberals" to mobilize.


 To lens "To Kill an American," Modine set up a portable studio and digital camera by Gotham's Washington Square Park and asked a broad demographic of passersby about what makes an American.


" 'We the people' may have not been inclusive when it was first written. But that's what it says and means today: You, me, we," says Modine. " 'Kill' reminds us Americans come from all over the world and they came here because of the freedoms we enjoy and those three words, 'We the people.' "


Modine, most recently part of the "Weeds" cast on Showtime, also wrote and directed "I Think I Thought," a short that just preemed at Tribeca about a man (Modine) who thinks so much he goes to Thinkers Anonymous. "Kill" will have an Academy qualifying run in L.A. at the end of May, with an iTunes release following.


And in April, Modine launched www.cardcarryingliberal.org, a recruiting spot for self-identifying liberals to hob-nob.


"Liber means free," says Modine. " 'Liberal' is not Democrat or Republican. ... If you still want to call someone a liberal, you might want to not live in the USA. The people calling people 'liberals' are destroying the country."


Modine's placing a third, non-political, short titled "Cowboy" on AtomFilms.


Modine figures he's unlikely to make bank on these shorts online, but he's eager to get the films seen and to compare the distribution models of iTunes, where filmmakers get a cut of sales, and Atom, where they earn a percentage of ad revenues if their film's a draw.


"Kill" is also on YouTube with Modine's blessing, figuring that more people will see it there and they might want to see a better copy or buy it on iTunes.


"I felt about 'Inconvenient Truth,' if the message is so important, why don't they give that movie away for free on YouTube?' says Modine.



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