8-1-24

This past weekend, we won the 1st year's Best Film Award at The Whistleblowers Film Festival in Washington DC!! A great deal of that success goes to Co-Founder Andrew Kreig, on my right in the photo, for his enormous enormous enthusiasms for our entering it. I was less enthusiastic because 5 years ago when I spent a fortune entering 'The American Media & The 2nd Assassination' in over 30 Film Festivals around the world without a single acceptance, and with only Moscow sending a 'So Sorry' note.

Anther reason for this film's winning is the genius editing of Len Osanic, Host of Black Op radio. His talent lifted it from just being a 90 minute radio show, to a beyond riveting riveting moving work of great journalistic human storytelling.

Andrew is the biggest teddy bear of a man I ever met. The same size as JIM GARRISON. He has to be that big to hold that huge heart, huge talent and huge lust for Justice.
On the other side of the film's poster outside the screening room at American University is Donald Jeffries. Donald is one of America's greatest writer-journalists and talk show Hosts. And greater friend! That wee lad in the middle is me, making it a perfect ham sandwich!!!

If you've enjoyed reading this far, I'll go a bit further and print below the short speech I gave to introduce the film. After that, I will proudly and thankfully repost a link to the film. Thank you all. And enjoy. - John

William Shakespeare said said brevity is the soul of wit.

So, I will try to keep what I have to say under 5 minutes, so you can hear what Wm Pepper has to say about America today, that you'll never hear even in this hallowed place, or any other institute of higher unlearning in America.

Ordinarily, at these events, or most YouTube rants, I wear a Superman sweater. However, in honored memory of John Kennedy, America's only Super peace President in 100 years, and who gave his last great speech right here...shortly before the CIA, publicly and purposely, blew his brains out all over Dealey Plaza, some of which Jackie picked up off the back of the limo ... In his memory, I wear a black suit. I ' m still in mourning about the dead democracy in America.

What brought me as an abandoned child to America???

American history, Thomas Jefferson, The Constitution, and The Bill Of Rights...all dead now. Thomas Payne, America's 1st whistleblower. And Frank Capra movies like 'Mr..Smith Goes To Washington' with Jimmy Stewart.  
I was born in the Salvation Army Charity ward in Toronto in 1939 to dysfunctional parents...long before it was popular. M y father joined the Canadian Army because he thought it was easier to fight Germans than fight my mother who ran off with a series of drunken uncles I did not know I had.

So, at 17, with $600 from gambling and stealing, with only a blue suit, I made my way to Las Vegas and then Hollywood...where, after a year, the FBI caught me and deported me. But I could not give up on living my American dream and came back again. Three years later, the FBI said, 'You look familiar' and kicked me out, again. In 1977, I was handed my treasured citizenship by senator John Tunney of California. As often happens in life, I was unemployed and unemployable in Hollywood (at 46) because of my often-quoted critiques as the movie critic for LA Magazine and KNBC in LA.
Then. as sometimes happens in America, when I was 47, I created the most-watched, original show in TV history...'Real People'.

One story I did in it played a major role in getting the unwanted Viet Nam Memorial Wall built right here in DC. This accidental Canadian rags-to-American-riches story is in my autobiography with the title inspired by Jim Garrison, the maligned DA of New Orleans who, on his deathbed, chose me over Oliver Stone to be his Boswell and tell the story of his solving the JFK assassination in two definitive documentaries. The book's title is 'Your Mother's Not A Virgin!'...a tough truth which got a lot of people.

With the enormous success of 'Real People' as a platform, I taped and tried to tell Mr. Garrison's astonishing story on the show. For my efforts, I was promptly fired on Sept. 5, 1982. I was fired...from a job paying me $30,000 an hour. Was I disheartened? Not in the least. In fact, I felt richer. My partial re-payment to American history for giving me a great life, a great family and a great career.

With my wife Sarita's, and son Christopher's help, (he's now an Executive Producer-writer on 'Criminal Minds ' ) we sold our house in Toluca lake, moved to a less expensive one in Las Vegas, and made the two films on Garrison ' s brilliant work.  
The first one, in 1992, was called 'The Garrison Tapes. ' Mr. Garrison loved it. It won the San Sebastian Film Festival award...the day Jim Garrison died. Just before Jim died, I asked him why he, as a major Whistleblower and law enforcement officer, thought he could take on the Federal Government. He said, 'John, I guess I thought I was still living in the country I was born in!'

I know that I am no longer living in the country I became a citizen of. If you're under 30, you've never known a country with a free press...thanks to America's worst president...Bill Clinton...who put ALL the US Media into the hands of 6 unregulated Corporations. You also have never heard of 'Fair Play' or the 'Equal Time Doctrine' in the media...thanks to Ronald Reagan.
What we have now is politically, culturally and artistically an American riches-to-rags story!

And more and more, we need these loner, courageous whistleblowers. John Kennedy and Thomas Jefferson, his hero, would both tell you whistleblowers are more important than even a President because they are the living embodiment of a free press. And Free Speech. The tragedy is most all brave truth-tellers have to fight to be heard. Ralph Nader was a major whistleblower. In 1970, he sat next to me, on my morning show on ABC LA while live, in front of Congress, the President of General Motors was forced to apologize to Ralph for trying to trap and blackmail him with hookers because of his bestselling book, 'Unsafe At Any Speed!' Jesus was a whistleblower throwing the money changers out of the temple. Karl Marx was a whistleblower for exposing.the corruption and child labour inhumanity of industrial Capitalism. Julian Assange is a whistleblower exposing our war crimes.

My film is entered into The Whistleblowers Film Festival. But...
I am not a Whistleblower. I am only a simple story teller. Like with Jim Garrison, I and Len Osanic, William F. Pepper' s best friend and Host of Black Ops Radio, had to start making our tribute to him while William, too, was on his deathbed.

William even did Garrison one better. Not only did he solve Dr. King's murder, as you will see, he actually lunched with the shooter, a Memphis cop. And Dr King did not die from a gunshot to the chin! Mr. Pepper got to see what you're about to see...2 days before he died. His widow called Len to thank him for letting her husband die with a smile on his face.
In my dotage at 91, I have become more stay-at-home and private...except for Wednesday golf.

I am out like this for the first time in 5 years because of my enormous admiration for Andrew Kreig and Richard for establishing a forum and home for whistleblowers.
Listening to some great speeches yesterday at The Rayburn Building, there was only one thing I would disagree on.

A few said Whistleblowers should try not to be cruel.
Bullshit! Crush the Crooks, Bash the Bastards...throw them out of the temple of establishment and straight into prison.

Finally, the other reason I am here is because it was 115 degrees in Las Vegas. It was so hot, Jehovah Witnesses were sending emails. If my house caught fire, I'd be safer inside.
5 years ago, I screened my 2nd Garrison film, 'The American Media & The 2nd Assassination Of President John F. Kennedy' right here!! I believe in serendipity!
On the drive in from Dulles, I had forgotten how beautiful DC is ...with that tunnel of forest and trees lining the road. Then made even more beautiful by Congress going on vacation today...and e mptying the streets of politicians.

But sadly for us, they go on their real paid vacation when they get back in their seats, sit on their asses...and watch America's once blazing torch of Democracy flicker out.
Thank you from the bottom of my happy heart for having me here.
Good luck ... and love the film.
You can watch it anytime, right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=eXG_EK3e7bc