Closed For Storm: The Abandoned Six Flags Theme Park

Factual America

21 Jul

Written By

What is it about old abandoned buildings that can be so compelling and alluring? We find out today as we welcome filmmakers Jake Williams and John Shaw to the podcast. Their film Closed For Storm is about a theme park left for ruin in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina 15 years ago.

Closed For Storm shows Six Flags New Orleans in its glory days and current state of abject dereliction.

Along the way, the film also captures the broken dreams and fleeting aspirations of a community still looking for hope.

We find Jake and John in the eye of a different kind of storm in the summer of 2020, as they join us from their homes in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

They tell us how they got legal access to the property, and why so many of us share a fascination with abandoned buildings.

We also talk about how the virus has affected the film industry and what the release of the documentary will look like as film festivals shut down worldwide...

“When Katrina was happening nobody's minds were on how the theme park was doing. But once the helicopter images came out of the park underwater, it was staggering. They took whatever was valuable, left and abandoned the property.” - Jake Williams

Time Stamps:

04:17 - Introducing the filmmakers and how things are for both of them at the moment.
06:06 - When and how the film will be released during the pandemic.
08:05 - What the film is about.
10:03 - John's connection with the area Jazzland/Six Flags New Orleans was in.
13:30 - Where the idea came from to build the park.
14:05 - Our first clip showing the origins of Jazzland/Six Flags.
16:22 - The independent nature of Jazzland and their fight with Six Flags.
19:02 - What it was like living through hurricane Katrina.
21:55 - What happened to the park after Katrina.
23:46 - Our second clip showing what the park is like today.
26:36 - How they gained access to the park.
29:30 - Our third clip showing the East of New Orleans and how the park affected that area.
34:10 - What the underlying message of the film is.
37:20 - What makes abandoned buildings so interesting and how Jake got involved with the ‘abandoned scene’.
42:53 - Where Jake sees his future heading.
44:27 - How John got involved with Closed For Storm.
46:37 - The biggest challenges involved with making the film.
48:26 - How they set up their sound team for the film.
50:05 - What Jake and John are both looking at doing after this.
53:20 - What the future of film festivals looks like.
55:26 - The future of online streaming services.
1:04:21 - The ways disinformation is so easily spread these days.
1:07:05 - What the situation is like in the U.K.
1:11:36 - What it’s like living in America during the pandemic.

Resources:

Bright Sun Films
Follow Bright Sun Films on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube
Closed For Storm
Alamo Pictures
18 Best Movies to Watch on Netflix in 2022

Connect with John Shaw:

Transcript for Factual America Episode 23 - Closed For Storm: The Abandoned Six Flags Theme Park

0:00
Hi, my name is Jake. I'm the creator of Bright Sun Films. I've been doing it for quite a while now. And this is my new documentary called Closed For Storm. It's my theatrical, I guess not theatrical, but it's my directorial debut. And I'm looking forward to, looking forward to talking to you about it.

0:17
Hey, what's up? My name is John Shaw. I'm the producer of Closed For Storm and I'm also a freelance video producer. And yeah, I'm excited to be here and talking about Closed For Storm.

0:28
3,2,1... Ladies and gentlemen, Jazzland is officially open! Let's have some fun!

0:43
If I would be in the car or with someone else and we're driving past it, I would be creasing my head around and like looking at what rides are going.

0:51
Just remembering all the fun.

0:58
I'll be back soon. Unless the Hurricane comes and destroys everything. Ha ha ha.

1:06
Hurricane Katrina is now designated a category five hurricane.

1:10
It was the feeling of like, pure terror.

1:20
Not only seeing images of the park flooding, but the neighbourhood that I live in and everywhere, like my entire life being flooded.

1:31
Physically, if you walk the park itself outside, it really didn't look that bad. It's when you went into the actual facilities that you saw the level and the extent of the damage.

1:42
Where you see Six Flags coming in and taking rides out.

1:47
When Six Flags decided just to take insurance money or whatever they did.

1:53
The magnitude of that loss and the damage that was done.

1:58
A brand new theme park would be 200 million.

2:00
It's devastating, I mean to think that the city let that park get like that over all these years.

2:24
That is the trailer for the soon to be released documentary Closed For Storm. And this is Factual America.

2:33
Factual America is produced by Alamo pictures, a production company specializing in documentaries, television and shorts about the USA for an international audience. I'm your host, Matthew Sherwood, and every week we look at America through the lens of documentary filmmaking by interviewing filmmakers and experts on the American experience. Subscribe to our mailing list or follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at Alamo pictures to be the first to hear about new productions, to find out where you can see our films and to connect with our team.

3:11
What is it about old abandoned buildings that can be so compelling and alluring? We find out today as we welcome filmmakers Jake Williams and John Shaw to the podcast. Their film Closed For Storm is about a theme park left for ruin in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina 15 years ago. Closed For Storm show Six Flags New Orleans in its glory days and current state of abject dereliction. Along the way, the film also captures the broken dreams and fleeting aspirations of a community still looking for hope. We find Jake and John in the eye of a different kind of storm here in the summer of 2020, as they join us from their homes in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Jake Williams and John Shaw, welcome to Factual America. It's good to have you guys, finally get you guys on the program. Jake, you're in Canada, right?

4:09
Yeah. Just outside of the city of Toronto. Yeah.

4:12
Yeah and how are things there? Are they a little different than they are south of the border?

4:17
Arguably better than the United States currently, but that's a pretty low bar left to cross. So we're doing good.

4:25
Yeah. And John, you're in Louisiana in Baton Rouge. Is that right?

4:31
Yes, I am. Things are probably a little bit better in Canada than for us down here. You know, we're thankfully not leading the charts in cases right now, but we're not doing great. So...

4:44
But, actually I was in Texas in March. And I remember hearing things out of your way. Wasn't looking great back then. But have things settled down at all?

4:55
It wasn't looking great back then. And it's probably not much better. I mean, we relaxed our rules quite a bit in May, because people, the governor was under a lot of pressure. We live in a predominantly red state and people are, you know, very anxious to get business back to normal. And unfortunately, we're kind of facing the consequences of opening up too early. And we're kind of slowly starting to backtrack it. In fact, Vice President Pence is in Baton Rouge, like right this moment, talking to the governor and stuff, trying to you know, figure out exactly what's going on. So I don't know if that's a good sign or a bad sign.

5:36
These days, I don't know. I have no idea. It's just your guess as good as mine, I think when it comes to this sort of stuff.

5:43
Exactly.

5:43
Hey, well, we could, well, if we want we can talk about anything. But, we can talk about the Coronavirus for the next hour or so. But the reason you're here and the thing I want to talk about is your film Closed For Storm. Now, John, what's the status now? Can we see this film anywhere yet? And when is it going to be released, if it hasn't been?

6:07
No, it's currently not released. We are kind of, our plans kind of got thrown for a loop with the, you know, Coronavirus, as most people's entire 2020 plans have been. So we've finished the film back at the start of this year and you know, had an entire plan of festival release, you know, finding distribution and stuff like that. And all that kind of came to a screeching halt. And so we are exploring a lot of different routes right now. And, you know, we really want to be able to have as many people be able to see it as possible. And thankfully, we do have Jake's channel on the Bright Sun Films channel, which has a pretty big network of people. But we really, really, were hoping for a festival release. And I think, even though a lot of the festivals have been canceled, I think there is still going to be a way that we can do it. And it might not be the way we think. But we're talking to the New Orleans Film Festival about some options. And they're really interested in figuring out a way to get people to see it, you know.

7:16
Yeah, I think, I think we can probably, it would be good to discuss even more about that later. And we have a lot of filmmakers on this program. And that's...

7:25
Everybody's gone through.

7:26
Everyone's going through it. And everyone's got a different view on how it's all going to play out. Especially how the festivals will or will not fit into all this going forward. But let's focus on the film for now. And Jake, except for me, I may be the one person, probably the only person in Europe maybe who's seen this. I don't know.

7:48
Probably. Yeah.

7:50
And thank you for the screener link, I appreciate it. Jake, maybe you can give us a synopsis of the film.

7:56
Yeah, I mean, basically there is an abandoned, pretty mainstream American theme park, smack dab in the middle of New Orleans. And it's always been a point of interest for many people, a lot of people who enjoy going to abandoned places, that's like their bucket list place to go. And it's become this kind of weird cultural icon and sort of a lasting monument of Katrina, if you will. So we set out to sort of tell the story of that property, from the beginning, middle, and then to the very tumultuous, rather unknown future of the property. I think we do a pretty good job exploring that throughout the entire film.

8:41
And this is, it was first called Jazzland and it became Six Flags New Orleans, at a relatively short life didn't it?

8:50
Yeah. Correct me if I'm wrong, John, I believe it opened in the year 2000, right? So, from 2000 to 2005, only open for five years, more or less, and it closed every season. So it wasn't open for very long.

9:07
And really the 2005 season, it had just opened, because Katrina was in August of 2005. And so it didn't just open for their August season. You know, they started like, kind of in the summer and so like they were just kicking off their August season. And so, I think it was really only like four and a half years. And only, I think two and a half under Six Flags brand.

Sounds about right. Yep.

9:32
Okay, so, your film is very, hour long, great footage that you've got.

9:41
Thank you. Yeah.

9:43
I mean, you have the ubiquitous drone shots, but they're used extremely well. And I think some amazing archival stuff that made me feel old. Because I didn't think 2000 would look so dated, but it looks pretty, pretty old. But, John I mean, so are you from, are you from the area originally?

10:04
Yeah, I grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana my entire life. And it's a relatively small city. And so New Orleans is kind of the big city. And so, you know, I grew up between both cities my entire life.

10:19
So what did, so Jazzland, Six Flags opens up in 2000. What did it mean for New Orleans and the region?

10:26
Yeah, when it opened, I mean, I was relatively young. But I still remember there being the excitement of there being a theme park. Because I think at some point in the film, we show a map of the radius of every theme park in the United States and there was this massive gaping hole in the deep south, where if you lived in Louisiana, it was either you drove, you know, 8 or 10 hours to Disney, or you drove 6 hours to Texas. And so I just remember being so excited that we would finally have a theme park that we could go to. And you know, there was relatively small, little, you know, fairs and stuff, but it was really exciting. And I even remember, I was six when the park actually opened the first time. And I just remember, I still remember to this day the excitement of seeing all the commercials and you know, all that.

11:22
I mean, you're right about that map and I was noting that I have been to just about all those theme parks. But New Orleans didn't have one when I was, when I was there.

11:31
Exactly. Yeah, it was a great, great spot.

11:35
So I think this would be, if it's okay, you've shared some clips with us. And I want to share those with our listeners. And for those who are on YouTube, you get to see it as well. The first clip I think would be good is, it's all about the opening. And then we get a little bit of how quickly, even before the big event happens, the theme park was running into a little trouble. Do you want to set that up?

12:01
Yeah. So the first clip we had a, you know, wide variety of archival stuff. But, you know, pretty quickly we jumped into, you know, things started off really, really well. And things were really exciting and there was a lot of hope for the park. But ultimately, pretty much immediately it was financially unsuccessful. And so that..

12:26
Let me chime into, John. One of the things that a lot of people don't understand - we don't really touch upon in the film, just because there's a lot of moving parts in the corporations. But Ogden entertainment, which was the corporation that was made specifically to run, to spearhead their new park division with the new Jazzland Park. They were putting a lot on this. Jazzland was a costly endeavour by a local businessman and Ogden entertainment, a brand new corporation made just for this, was created just so they can operate this park. So, not only was it launching a new local major theme park, it was launching a brand new corporation that was supposed to be the next big Universal Studios and Disney and Six Flags. So, there was a lot of, there was a lot riding on this park and there was a lot of enthusiasm with these executives.

13:16
It was a big gamble, too. It was a very big gamble, you know, trying to start essentially this new theme park - empire is what their, I guess, their plan was.

13:27
And they were local businessmen, right, who had this vision for the next Universal studios?

Yeah, a local businessman who had done a lot of development in New Orleans and it was his idea to build a massive theme park somewhere in New Orleans. Because that was an original business plan, as John was saying, the map of, the gaping hole of no theme parks in the Louisiana area.

Also literally a gap analysis showing that there was this gap in the market. Well, let's watch that clip or listen to it, and we'll be right back after that.

14:05
Jazzland was already being publicized as America's newest major theme park. And in many respects, it was. The park had several theme sections, all originating from a central Main Street made to look like the famous French Quarter. Circling around a main lake in the middle would be Cajun country, Mardi Gras, Kids Carnival and most popular - a land themed off a vintage amusement park in New Orleans, Pontchartrain beach. These lands were comprised of many different flat rides, flume rides, a simulator, two launch towers, an eye catching sky coaster, and four rollercoasters. The main attraction though, was undoubtably the Mega Zeph. A wooden coaster built on a steel frame, one which was inspired by the Zephyr from New Orleans very own Pontchartrain beach.

14:55
It was the Mega Zeph was the signature, a wooden coaster that we had at the facility. I believe, if memory serves, it was a 110 feet tall at the, at the peak of the ride. And it was just, it was a great experience.

15:07
I think everybody reacted very positively. First of all, they couldn't believe that we had an amusement park out there. I think families were thrilled with it. And as I said, the size of the park was great. Kids could play, you could walk around. It wasn't a big Disney that you were worn out at the end of the day. It was, I think it was very well received by the, by the community and especially by families.

15:34
If a guest did not necessarily go looking for the stories in the newspaper or on television or radio, that the park was in bankruptcy, they probably would not have necessarily known that we were. After the second year, really beginning in the 2002 season, Jazzland did indeed have some financial troubles and it declared bankruptcy at the end of that season.

15:58
So yeah, I think that's a great, great clip there with the, got some of the archival footage and all the hopes that Greater New Orleans had about this opening of the theme park. Jake, I mean, what happened next? I mean, there's an allusion there to the bankruptcy or financial problems, but things were starting to look up, weren't they?

16:22
Yeah, it's kind of sad because Jazzland was this, sort of, home built theme park, if you want to say. It wasn't owned by a Six Flags or Disney or anything like that, so it was sort of an independent Park. But the facts were it just, it wasn't working out. They weren't seeing the attendance and they were millions of dollars in liabilities. And they had to declare bankruptcy at one point or another. And their only lifeline really was Six Flags who stepped in and bought the park and turned it into something that they wanted to do. So, really Jazzland only lasted for a couple of years. And it was quickly turned into what many thought was the corporate theme park, or the corporate side of everything that sort of stepped in and swayed all the local politicians and sort of made it to what they wanted.

17:19
I mean, just because a lot of our listeners may not know, I do just because I grew up in Texas, but Six Flags is a big corporate, or was at least, I don't know where they, if they still exist even. Jake, but they're a big chain of massive, big large theme parks.

17:37
Yeah. Six Flags, if I'm not mistaken, is the second largest theme park operator, potentially in the world, definitely in the United States. And they've operated theme parks in the United States for a long time. They have theme parks all across the states. And even now they're expanding in China. And I believe they had a European division at one point, prior to the bankruptcy they went through later on after Katrina. So they were a big company, they had a lot of capital and when they bought Jazzland, they were going through one of their expansions when they were just buying up all these parks across the country and world and making, and branding them into a Six Flags Park.

18:22
Okay. So things are starting to look up. Six Flags is on the case, investing, putting new, some new rollercoasters. Everyone keeps talking, I think this gets brought up several times in the film, the waterpark is coming. We shall get the waterpark, everything's fine.

18:39
It's hot in Louisiana. Yeah, it is very hot.

18:44
But John, and since you live there locally, then we had Hurricane Katrina.

18:50
Yes, we did.

18:51
It's almost 15 years to the day. We're about a month away from the anniversary. What was it like to live through that? What do you remember?

19:00
So I was going into sixth grade when it happened. And I remember, you know, I was still pretty young. And so, when you're at that age, you don't exactly know what's going on. But it's still such a traumatic memory and such a vivid memory that I, you know, remember it. And so, you know, I just remember the big, you know, small things. To start, you know, we were used to hurricanes here. And, essentially, for us in Baton Rouge, it felt like another hurricane. Like it just felt like a bad hurricane. We have one every two or three years. There's some trees down, flooding, power's out, you know. So, we went through that, and it was kind of like, alright, let's start picking up the pieces. And my dad had a solar generator at the time. And so we had all, my whole family kind of gathered in the living room, and with my grandparents who lived in New Orleans at the time, and a couple other people that were coming to stay at our house. Which is kind of like a usual thing when a hurricane hits. Everyone kind of piles into the person's house who has a generator and air conditioning and stuff. And so I just remember turning on, we turn on the TV for like an hour or two every night because that's all the generator power we had. And we were all sitting around this TV and started, because initially, you know, there was no social media, there was very rough internet coverage, and there wasn't a lot of information coming out. And then I just remember slowly, things started to turn and it was like, okay, wait, you know, New Orleans is taking a lot of water. And then I just remember, you know, the whole mood shifted, especially with my parents and I didn't quite, you know, grasp the severity of the situation, but I just remember watching the news every night and you know, thinking how like, I just remember this thought of like, there's just no way the city like, you know, everyone will just gonna have to move out and they'll have to bulldoze the whole city. Because those images and seeing that, it's just like there's no way anyone could come back from this. And it was just that feeling for days and days.

21:11
Yeah, I mean, those images will, I don't think any of us will forget any of those images coming out. But the thing, the one image I don't recall seeing, which you've got a lot of in the film, Jake, is certainly the park under, well, not literally underwater, but it's certainly standing in water. And then that takes us to where we are today, I think, Jake. I mean, what, so what's happened? Maybe you can bring us up to, so we're kind of showing the timeline here just for a traditional narrative, but Hurricane Katrina happens and then that's pretty much it for the park. And that brings us to the current day, doesn't it?

21:51
Yeah. When Katrina was happening, nobody, except the park employees, their minds weren't really on what the theme park was doing during that time. They had bigger fish to fry obviously. So once the helicopter images started coming out of the theme park underwater, it was, it was staggering. And obviously without much salt water standing still about seven feet surrounding the park for weeks on and slowly draining, it's going to cause serious damage. And the rides. There's a whole scandal through the whole thing, we sort of touched on that in the movie. But, to cut it short, Six Flags had inevitably decided that they didn't want to own the park anymore. They were going through their own financial difficulties, so they just said, you know what, fine, we'll take whatever is valuable and leave. And that's what exactly, what they did. They grabbed some rollercoasters, literally and left. And they just abandoned the property. The city bought it off them, sort of, and now it's the city's problem and it's been like that since 2005. So now we have this abandoned theme park with most of the stuff still inside the waterline still from Katrina, present everywhere inside the park, that's just stuck in time. And like I mentioned earlier, a monument of Katrina, one of the lasting scars of New Orleans. Really.

23:24
I think that takes us to a second clip, because what it is, is a little teaser for listeners and those who watch, gives a little view of what the park kind of looks like today. And there's a woman who plays a relatively prominent role in this film who leads us through and who she is, maybe you can setup this clip for us, Jake?

23:46
Yeah, that's Patricia. And she owns a local laser tag facility. And because she had a laser tag facility, she had plenty of younger employees. So she would always get group discounts going to Six Flags and she would always take them out on the weekends and every once in a while. So she, she was a big, she was already in themed entertainment, if you will. So she was already quite interested in Jazzland when it came through, so she frequented the park a lot. You know, they all had annual passes and such. So, I think she was especially devastated, particularly in the clip that you're about to see, when she's actually walking inside the park for the first time since Katrina. So it's quite an emotional moment for her I think.

24:36
All right, well, without further ado, let's go see that clip.

24:44
This was the Main Street. All the gift shops were along here and were air conditioned, which was very nice in the summer. This is heartbreaking to see. As the graffiti says this could have been beautiful and it was very beautiful. Very sad now. We would come several times a year, had many many good times out here. So here we are in Mega Zeph, obviously. The riders waited in here for Mega Zeph to come around this way and pull up here. It is obviously very overgrown and pitiful. Jacko used to live up on the top of the building. He was this big jester guy who would laugh at you and squirt water on you. This is where you lined up the cue line here.

26:11
One thing that's, well many things that are striking about the film, but how did you gain access to the park? Are you allowed to say? I mean, you've this day scenes, a few days scenes, but you've also got quite a night scene and someone's with you. Were you, you know, when people finally see this, but how did you gain that access? You've got urban explorers in there as well. Was that a challenge?

26:36
Yeah, we, um, the urban explorers actually were in there illegally (laugh). But we, I went through a diligent process to go through the city to get the permits. We sort of went the same route as Hollywood movies, you know, Jurassic World and Planet of the Apes were filmed inside the park. They only utilized the parking lot. So we thought, if we're going to do a documentary, we're obviously going to need permission to go inside so we can have some some time to actually film the park. So like I said, we went, we went through the Hollywood route, and we've rented out the park as if we were Hollywood, large Hollywood production. So it wasn't, it wasn't cheap, but I think it was definitely vital to tell the story. Otherwise, we'd be doing it very guerrilla style and very illegally, and it probably wouldn't, wouldn't be easy to bring cinema cameras inside the park.

27:35
Yeah, and to touch on that. There's been a few, I mean, in Louisiana there's a heavy interest in this park. And you know, through the years, countless and countless people have taken pictures, videos, and so it's almost every single one of them gets access to the park illegally. I mean, it's not hard to get into. But it's very dangerous and they have a lot of security and stuff. And so, you know, armed security and so this is really the first documentary, at least that I'm aware of, that has gained legal access and has filmed everything legally. Whereas a lot of other people, you know, take the much easier but, you know, much more illegal route of, you know, breaking and entering.

28:29
Okay. Well, I think it's, I mean, it's, well, I can imagine what people financing this project, thought when you told him you had to rent out.

28:38
That would be me. Yes.

28:41
Well, there you go. You just have to answer to yourself. So, it's 15 years on, nothing's changed. We don't want to give away any endings, maybe it's not giving away anything to say that things are still kind of, still very much up in the air. But there's talking about even demolition. And then, John, we've got this third clip that we'll share with listeners. And it starts off with discussing about New Orleans East and maybe, since you're the local boy, you can give us a little bit of a introduction what that's about. You know, maybe for those of us who are not that familiar with New Orleans, what is it about New Orleans East?

29:28
Sure, sure. New Orleans East is a very different part of New Orleans. It's a very suburban, low income part of New Orleans that is generally in a pretty big flood zone. There's a lot of different neighbourhoods that make it up. But for the most part, I'm sure everyone's heard of the Lower Ninth Ward, which, you know, received some of the worst flooding. But for the most part, it's pretty low income, it's predominantly low income area of New Orleans. And New Orleans is a very diverse city. But the part of New Orleans East where the park was built, in general, the residents were told, hey, if you buy your property out here, your value is going to go up. Because look at, you know, houses in Orlando around Disney World, it's like, that was the plan of - you buy your house here, you are going to increase in value, the park is going to turn into resort. It's going to take, I mean, there's so much land out there and it's so cheap that all these people, and so now when you go out there, it's almost, it's like a ghost town. There is the park and then there's these random little neighbourhoods where you could tell were built around the same time. And I think one of them, in the clip we're driving through one of them and we interview a resident who lives by the park. And, yeah, so for the most part it's a very different part of New Orleans than you see, you know, the French Quarter and Bourbon Street and stuff.

And that's where the park is located too. I think it's worth mentioning as well.

31:05
Yeah. And I think, I mean, take it back to the guys originally developing it. Kudos for them to try to do something like that.

31:13
Yeah, it was a great location. Yeah, absolutely.

31:18
So, well, why don't we do that. We're gonna give our listeners a bit of a break. And while they're having that break, they can listen and/or watch this clip from Closed For Storm. And we'll be back with Factual America in a couple minutes.

31:37
You're listening to Factual America. Subscribe to our mailing list or follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter at Alamo pictures to keep up to date with new releases or upcoming shows. Check out the show notes to learn more about the program, our guests and the team behind the production. Now back to Factual America.

31:56
The people in New Orleans East are not given credit for quality of life that they really do have. It's a nice neighbourhood. They're great people that live in New Orleans East. But you see comments all the time about crime or trash or something that's always so negative, from people that haven't even driven there. They don't know what's there. You know, it's a nice neighbourhood, and they're wonderful people, but they're having to fight this perception issue. City Hall employees should never be put in a position where they're making development decisions.

32:30
That was some of the things that the developers sold us - would say oh, it's going to be just like you're living a block away from Disney World, your property value will soar. Um, but since Katrina, 2005, it's been sitting you know, dormant, empty, in ruins since that time. So how is that going to make a positive effect on your, on your home, value of your home when you've got an eyesore like this?

33:00
I would think that if this was in downtown New Orleans, it wouldn't take this long for the city to actually do something with it, you know. By being out in this neighbourhood, or whatever, you know, I guess they just take their time. You know, we're talking 2005 and now we're in 2020, and take a walk upon my deck, and you take a look over the back and what I remember seeing years ago, it was a bunch of forest and beautiful. So now you come up here and, of course, with the first 200 feet, you see the trees. But then you see a parking lot that's empty with rusted out lights, and then you see the roller coaster off in the distance that's sitting dormant. It's just sitting there, whatever, you know. We just want hope that the city would do something with it.

33:36
Welcome back to Factual America with Jake Williams, director, writer and narrator and John Shaw, producer of Closed For Storm. Jake, we've been talking about Jazzland or actually Six Flags New Orleans, the theme park, the iconic theme park that lies derelict there in New Orleans and that is the subject of this film. But I mean, like all good documentaries. What is this film really about? Beyond being a monument to Katrina's lasting?

34:09
I mean, there's a lot of issues I think we touch upon. Before the break we were just talking about, is sort of the promise of wealth and property value to the people, often the poorest communities in New Orleans East that were, that surrounded the park. Where they were promised higher property value, and now they probably likely have lower property value after everything was said and done. Which is a bit of an issue. I think we also touch upon sort of the bureaucracy in the city. We don't really take a side on anything, but we definitely talk to people who claim at least that they have the money to redevelop this property, but the city won't let them. And instead the city wants to spend taxpayer money to demolish it and put nothing there. So it's an interesting proposal that these two sides, the private developers and the city has. So it's yeah, it's a bit of an issue. And I think everyone in New Orleans and everyone at home I think would likely side with the developers. Yet it's sort of unclear as to why the city chooses to go this way. And I think that's something we pose as a question rather than an answer, I guess.

35:39
Yeah. I think it gets the point. I think you give some figures in there, 20 something million to demolish, 30 something million to get it up and running and a new one would cost 200 and something million to build. So it's, I guess it's the question of who would run it, but I don't know. But as you say, it's a question left. It's left unanswered but it is interesting because you obviously have these people who are very committed and very, you know, they do ask to bring this back.

36:10
Very much so. Very dedicated fans to bring the park back. Yeah, like I said the city is very, sort of stubborn on the whole thing. And they really would prefer just to demolish it and have nothing there, which is, it's interesting. Yeah.

36:29
So, let me ask you, because we actually had a nice phone call a few months ago, actually. It's taken a while to get you guys on. But what is so damn compelling about abandoned amusement parks and shopping malls and brands and things like that. I'm alluding obviously to Bright Sun Films. I feel like I'm with YouTube royalty here. But what is, what's drawn you to these, the subject matter? Because it's very, I find it interesting. I speak as someone who's got a, my wife's got a book at home called, photo book called Derelict London, you know. And my daughter found out about this, she goes, well, I would like to see something about an abandoned hospital. I'm like, you're in luck. You know. So maybe, fill us in Jake, how did you get to this place?

37:20
Yeah, I mean, I think for me, I've been trying to ask myself this question for a while too. It's sort of a weird cultural thing where people are fascinated on this sort of thing. And I think for me, it's the nostalgia and the idea that it's something like a mall or a theme park, which I visit obviously, every time I can. And it's something of pleasure and fun and entertainment. And then when you see the complete opposite of that or something that's sort of stuck in a different era, a different state. The vast, stark contrast between the two is just so fascinating. And for me too, it's like - how much money is being wasted on something like this? Right? You know, in the case of Six Flags New Orleans, I mean, the city owns it, but they're spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on security every year, at least. It's a fascinating part of economics as well as how these buildings all across America and the world just become abandoned. Like how does that happen? So I've sort of taken upon myself to tell the story and I think we did that with this specific film on this specific property.

38:41
Yeah, I mean, just a clue, and we'll have links in the show notes, but you've got a YouTube channel, it's Bright Sun Films, and you've got a few different series - Abandoned, Bankrupt, which I've thoroughly enjoyed. I would say, I mean, if you don't mind me saying, and this is what struck me, at your heart, you're like a historian, a business professor and a bit of a sociologist all rolled in to one. With a keen eye for innovation as well as hubris and maybe arrogance. I mean, same thing, I've been in the corporate world, I've seen this. You buy an innovative company or whatever. And five years later, they're closing it down.

39:22
Right? Yeah, it's fascinating.

39:23
And why does this, I did an MBA dissertation on this, I mean. And you have it with this one. I mean, Six Flags all gung ho. I forget, I think you give us the figures. You're really good with looking at financials. As someone who's of this mindset, I really appreciate it. Or even your example on one year, you've got, you look at Target Canada. I mean, I was just struck.

39:51
I was just gonna bring that up too.

39:52
You know, why open 130 stores and then turn right around and say - no, it was a mistake in two or three years later. And you spend all that money and how that money could have been spent otherwise.

40:08
Let's give a figure to that money too. That was $5 billion. I just, I just did a whole thing on Target Canada a couple of weeks ago too. $5 billion to enter a country with supposedly a business plan. Opening, like you said, 135 stores or something like that across the country. And remember - The Target. This is a billion dollar brand in the United States, but they didn't know what they were doing. So I think it was two years later, closed everything. Got their losses, $5 billion down the drain, and they abandoned all their stores in Canada. It's insane.

40:49
It is. I mean, you think, well, maybe 10 stores and maybe the Toronto area or something. But, you know, I mean, this is not meant to be a business school class or something. But you know, but it is compelling because, I mean, it's just that, you think about - well, instead of spending that money, you know, from society resource standpoint? I mean obviously it created some jobs when they refurbished all those stores and things like that. And so bring it back to this film. I mean, it's same thing with Six Flags, but still. Yeah, okay. Katrina happened. But I think you have, one of the developers pointed out that it wasn't just Six Flags New Orleans they shut down. They shut down, I know Astroworld in Houston.

40:50
Yeah, Astroworld. And they didn't even try and sell off anything from that park. They didn't even try and sell the property. What they did was they closed Astroworld and then just demolished it. They didn't do anything with it. They thought it would be more financially viable, which it ended up not being, by the way. They thought it'd be more financially viable to the company to just shut down the theme park revenue center and just demolish it. It's just bizarre how Six Flags was in a weird bankrupt mindset in that time where they thought, let's just close the parks, demolish them, get rid of them, cut them from our balance sheet and, you know, restructure. It's just bizarre.

41:36
I mean, I think you could do a whole separate podcast just looking at this whole phenomenon. You know, which, if you're not scared away, we'd love to have you back on.

42:27
Well, you know, I'm enthusiastic about it.

42:28
Well, you and I both. Now whether how many other people in the world are there. I'm assuming John is too.

42:35
Absolutely.

42:37
So, Jake, you made reference to this, that this is your directorial debut at least from a feature length. So is this something that you're, is this where your career is heading? Or at least where Bright Sun Films is heading?

42:54
I'd like to think so. I've had an inkling to do a feature documentary for a while. And I guess YouTube has sort of been taking up all my time since then. And the idea of making a feature film on Six Flags sort of fell in my lap and then all my friends in Los Angeles, they started pushing me to make it even something bigger and better. And you know, start using these cameras and bring it to Los Angeles, we'll edit it and do sound mixing and all that. So it started out as a very small project. I thought I was just going to film it on an a7s and call it a day, but it ended up turning out to be this huge other different thing. And especially for me, I've done stuff on, for digital, I've been doing digital stuff and stuff on YouTube. It's been relatively small scale stuff. And so transition into something like this was a big step for me. But I think, I think for my first film, we did a pretty good job and I'm quite proud of it and the people who helped me especially John and Nick, our post-producer. Everyone did such a great job. And I'm really proud of it. I really am. Hopefully this marks the next step for Bright Sun Films in the future for me.

44:08
Well, I think so. I mean, you certainly have, even if you just stick specifically with this sort of subject matter we've been discussing the last 5-10 minutes. I think you've got plenty of material.

44:19
Especially now.

44:21
Especially now.

44:22
Yeah. I mean, John, how did you get involved with Closed For Storm?

44:26
So, I had been a fan of Jake since the beginning. I've watched all of his videos. I'm a huge nerd for this kind of stuff, too. You know, I love abandoned stuff and kind of the, the nostalgia of it, kind of like what we were talking about. And seeing the difference, and you know. And so I reached out to him a while back and told him - Hey, if you're ever in Louisiana, because I'm a freelance video producer, and so I work with cameras and editing and I kind I'm like a one stop shop. And so I told him, I was like, hey, if you're ever in Louisiana working on a project, let me know and I'll be glad to help. And so, just so happened that it was perfect.

Yeah, I got the perfect project for you.

His first feature documentary was in Louisiana. And so I came on board and helped and, you know, ended up securing all those interviews. And we, you know, kind of, I joined the project after they had filmed at the park already, so I was not there for the filming in the park. And that happened kind of urgently because there was a news article published that the park was being demolished. Back last summer sometime...

45:40
May of 2019.

45:41
They kind of cycle through those news articles. That happens almost, you know, once a year. But it seemed pretty credible. And so they kind of rushed and got everything together and went and did their filming in the park. Which I would have told them not to because they did it in the middle of June in New Orleans. I wish I had been involved and told them, hey, maybe wait, you know, a few months. But it worked out great, because then I was able to get involved. And we went back a few times and, you know, filmed the interviews and kind of did a lot of the rest of the film. And yeah, it was an awesome project. And I really, really enjoyed being part of it, and, you know, still being part of it.

46:26
And, John, what are some of the, besides COVID, obviously, but what have been some of the biggest challenges in making this film?

46:34
I think some of the biggest challenges have been, besides COVID, when we were getting interviews. First of all, finding people to interview was tricky, because, you know, there's not a lot of public records about who worked there, who was involved. And so we kind of worked our way back and found as many people as we can, but a lot of people were hesitant to be involved because either they still had affiliations in the theme park world or Six Flags world. And a lot of people, you know, with a documentary, you never know which way a documentary is gonna side. And so, you know, despite our best efforts of telling people, hey, we are going to take a pretty neutral stance, you know. Six Flags made some mistakes, and the city of New Orleans made some mistakes, and everybody's kind of made mistakes to get the park to this point. So we're not tossing any blame at anybody in this documentary. But I think a lot of people were concerned about that. And so I think that was a challenge we faced in terms of finding interviews. And then I'm sure the actual filming at the park had its own set of challenges, just physical challenges of the heat, the wildlife, the bugs, you know.

47:48
Well, the cicadas were loud and clear. I can tell you that.

47:50
Yeah. There's an entire population of them out there, I'm sure.

47:56
Believe me the sounds editing for the film was not easy because of the cicadas too.

48:00
Yeah, exactly. Middle of June. Hey, that's what happens down here.

48:06
And speaking of sound, one thing that I wasn't expecting before I watched this film, but was the orchestral score that you have. And I was very impressed with it. And I looked it up and I saw that you've got Matthew Jordan Leeds on the project. How did that happen?

48:26
I've, Matthew and I are actually really good friends. We've been talking for, actually he's done work for me on the YouTube videos in the past. So obviously, when this project came to light, I was obviously gonna ask Matt because he's the best of the best. Yeah, he wrote absolutely fantastic score. And we had it recorded live in Budapest actually, of all places.

48:50
I noticed.

48:52
Yeah, and it sounds fantastic. He did such a great job. He's a brilliant guy, and he's going to go places, that's for sure.

48:59
Yeah, I was very impressed. It was like straight, you know, it's a good film but I wasn't expecting that. It was like I came, and it fits so well. I know he does a lot of different styles. I mean, not just orchestral.

49:14
He actually does a lot of stuff for Disney too. A lot of stuff for Disney World specifically. So I think the Americana aspect, the theme park feel of the film, especially in the earlier days when we're discussing, it really comes alive, I think. But not even that, like the emotional parts and the dramatic stuff in this film. He really brings it alive in the main theme. He did such a great job. I really can't praise him enough.

49:46
I mean, so got the question here is - what's next. I mean, I guess it's trying to get this film released somehow in front of as many people as possible. And I gather those discussions are ongoing. But what about after this project? What's next for you, Jake?

50:04
Oh, man, I don't know.

50:07
This project, for such a first time director, it's, I think pretty, pretty one note for me. I'm tunnel vision on this, but I think afterwards, sky's the limit. I would love to, love to do another film at some point. But obviously, like I said, my focus right now is trying to get the film out and properly distribute it in the best way possible. But it's a bit of a task right now.

50:33
And since we're there at this point, John, chime in if you want, how are those discussions going? Are you finding it really hard going? Because I mean, I know people, you've got a great film, we've got a lot of people with great films and they're finding it surprisingly hard, given all this word we're hearing about there not being enough content out there.

50:57
Yeah, it's difficult. Because, you know, the natural course of like an indie film would be, hey, you have a festival release, festival run, get a distributor, distribute, you know, the natural course. But everything is thrown for a loop right now and all the festivals are trying to decide, hey, do we want to do the festival? Is our, what is the federal or state lockdown procedures, if we're actually legally allowed to do this festival? And then, if not, you know, are we going to do it digitally? And then how does that work? Where, you know, ticketing and there's so many things that go into that.

51:37
And copyright and all that.

51:39
Yeah, I think we're kind of taking it day by day because we really had hoped to premiered at the New Orleans Film Festival because that felt right for us. And, you know, we knew that there would be a huge audience of people down here that would be interested in it. And you know, there's already been a lot of support just from people I know that have, you know, driven by the park every day. And so I think the New Orleans Film Festival was our natural home for the release of this. And I think it's still might be. We're really hoping that, you know, things can improve here and the film festival can happen some way or another. And so I think, you know, we're going to try and do as good of a festival round as we can. And we're talking to a few distributors right now that seemed promising. And so we're hoping that, you know, through these festivals, we can come up with a more concrete plan, at least by the end of the year that we can have a way for everybody to see this. And if not, you know, if things aren't better in the, at least the United States by then, we're gonna have to have another discussion. But I have faith that, you know, that things are going to work out. Because, like you said, there is no shortage of people wanting new content right now. And it's all just about getting people, you know, connected with the content creators.

53:08
Do you think there's still a role for, I mean, who knows, but do you think is there still a role for the festivals and all this? Or is that thing... ?

53:18
It's a good question. I think there is. You know, I think it might, after this year, it might be different because the whole idea of the festival is not only to debut and screen your film to like an audience, but also it's for making connections. And there's a lot of physical aspect that goes into, you know, doing a festival run in terms of, you know, flying out there, having dinner with people, shaking hands, you know, getting caught like, there's a lot that goes into a festival. It's not just, hey, here's a bunch of people that can watch my film. Because if we wanted that, we could just put it on YouTube, and we'd have, you know, a big audience and so I think I think it's going to have to change. I think that there's, every festival right now is going through that and they're trying to figure out what's the best way to do things. And the ones who don't or just, you know, straight up canceling. And you know, New Orleans is facing a lot of issues right now. You know, COVID is very rampant there and we're dealing with that. We just had a, you know, a pullback on some of the openings down here in Louisiana. And so we've been talking to the film festival, and it's literally for them, it's day by day. They're talking to the, you know, Mayor and the City Council, but ultimately, the film festival is very low on the priority of the city officials right now. Understandably so.

I mean, it's gonna be tough.

54:48
Yeah. I mean, Jake, I want to turn this to you because, given what we were discussing things you've done on your, for Bright Sun as well. I think you, if I may say a bit of a maybe an outsider's perspective in terms of the film industry. I mean, it's meant as a compliment. And then I think you've probably got an eye for innovation or certainly an eye for where certainly businesses have gotten things wrong. What do you, just generally, do you see the film industry? Is it ripe for disruption, you think?

55:27
Well, you know, you're seeing a shift right now, with studios who are choosing not even to do a theatrical run. They're doing straight to streaming, which is the next big, the next big shift, I guess you would say. Who knows if it's the future, because we've been talking about doing all these streaming services for a while and now you see, services like Quibi, which will be a great episode of a Bankrupt one day, I'm telling you, who are launched with a billion dollars behind it. Jeffrey Katzenberg is you know, the creator, and it's not doing very well at all. I think the newest Washington Post article came out, they have 72,000 active users or paid users on it right now, which is abysmal. So it's interesting to see who is going to survive and who isn't. You've seen like go90, on Verizon, that was their version of a streaming service back in 2011, or whatever. So Disney+, Netflix, who knows a Peacock is going to do well, and the others. They're all seeming to get the market share. However, what about the other studios and what they're going to do? It's interesting to see whether or not movie theatres are even going to be around in the next couple of years as well. Because they are haemorrhaging money at a horrifying rate and people who love going to theatres, it may boil down to independent theatres at one point in the next 10 years. So, yeah, it's interesting to see where the industry is going. And you would think right now, like you guys have mentioned, that all these companies and networks, they would be buying up content right now. But in fact, they're still pretty gung ho on making their own original contents, which I think is their way of trying to diversify their own streaming services. Disney+ is a very gung ho about making their own content for their streaming services. So yeah, it's gonna be interesting to see where the industry shifts, especially after this, because I think COVID is going to be quite a pivotal moment in all this.

57:39
That's what's going to be interesting. I think going forward, when we're talking about that shift, is that, you know, everyone's going to want their own streaming service and everyone's going to want their own content. And then it's going to get to the point where everything, I think there's going to be this war, kind of like, of all the streaming service. I mean, we're already seeing it, but I think it's gonna get even worse where everyone is producing their own content for their own streaming service. And it's gonna essentially be like, you know, everyone's paying for cable television all over again or even go from streaming services.

58:18
Or even go further back. It's almost like the old broadcast networks, isn't it?

58:22
Mhm. It's like, you got your few main ones and then that's it. I was just gonna say and all it does is make it even harder for independent people, I think.

58:37
Do you guys know about Quibi? Have you guys done a research on it?

58:40
Yeah, well, we, the answer is no. I mean, in the sense of the proper research. We did, you know, we heard about it, we knew it was coming out. And so talking, oh, here, because we actually have some, some shorts. And we're, oh, maybe we can get the shorts on the Quibi, but then, you know, everything, haven't heard too many good things about Quibi. First of all, I don't know how to approach them. And if, and I don't know, who is allowed to approach them, in terms of, you know, I don't know. I don't really know how a lot of these, it kind of gets back to this thing you're saying, sort of business plans. I don't know what kind of business plans these people are working with basically?

59:21
Right. Yeah. I mean, there's a, there's a great Wall Street Journal article about them that just came out. It is just fascinating what, how they thought this was going to work and how they thought it was going to succeed. It's been a whole calamity. So I think it'll be a good episode of Bankrupt one day for me, as it is so.

59:41
Oh, yeah. Yeah, absolutely.

59:44
And you said it was in the Wall Street Journal recently. I'll go have a look.

59:47
I think yeah, I think it was Wall Street Journal that posted it. Yeah.

59:49
I'm sure I can find it. Yeah, I think it'd be very interesting. I think it's the whole, I mean, it's a horrible situation we're all in, obviously in the world. It's affecting a lot of people but it is a very interesting time because of how things are going to be changing.

1:00:05
Everything, every single week there's something that is unprecedented that's ever happened. Especially John and I are both very young, so it's like, we're growing up in this whole new era of everything. It's like growing up through the Spanish Flu, it's bizarre to see how everything is changing and you're here to make a movie.

1:00:26
Yeah. And it's got to be even more bizarre for the two of you, like witnessing what's happening in America but not being here, you know. And seeing, you know, it's a whole different perspective I'm sure. I'm sure everyone here looks a lot crazier. Actually, I don't know. I don't know that we look crazier than we are because things are pretty crazy down here.

1:00:51
I think what has happened is a bit of a, maybe some of the veneer of, I mean, I live in Europe and it can be very frustrating. Because Europeans have always got this view of the US, which is a bit distorted and I think there's plenty of things to be critical about, but they often criticize the wrong things I would say sometimes. But, I think what has happened is you got a bit of the veneers been taken off. And in that sense, the US is really not looking that much different than a lot of other places, I mean. Not necessarily in a good way, if you know what I mean. I mean, we've got riots in Serbia, and we've got things going on in other countries. And, you know, the scenes in sort of the Midwest and people's storm, practically storming state houses in Ohio or Michigan and places like that.

1:01:42
But I think that's what so many foreigners get angry about, is because the United States always, or at least citizens would always like to preach that they're better than every other country or the best country in the world. But then you see this, this series of events that, like you said, very much parallel other countries.

1:02:02
Yeah. I mean, it's interesting. We had the guys from the, there's a Baywatch documentary that's gonna come out. And we did a podcast on that a few weeks ago. And so the guy, Jeremy Jackson was one of the actors on the show. It's there and he's talking about what it was like to go to Europe in the 90s as a teenager with David Hasselhoff, you know. And paints a very bleak picture of Europe. I think it's a bit exaggerated, but even then he turns around he goes, but now we realize that they were not as good as we thought. And, you know, it's sort of the crows are coming home to roost. I mean, it is a crazy, 2020 is just absolutely one of the, it's got to be the maddest years, craziest years that any of us, no matter how old you are, are gonna ever live through, I would hope. But I mean, from my own personal standpoint, given when I grew up, I mean, I realize now that stuff that was happening in the 80s and 90s, which relatively was so tame, that those were the exceptional decades. Because you hear about stuff having the 60s, well, that's kind of stuffs happening again. You hear about stuff like swine flu and another and you hear about wars and things like that. It just has been, when I was home visiting my parents and I just turned to my dad who's 90 actually. I said, I realize this is a crazy old world we live in, and I just, there was just this time period that was a bit, we were living in a bit of a cloud cuckoo land basically, I think. Not realizing that actually, it is just one crazy messed up world sometimes. And we're living in one of the craziest, most messed up years I could remember.

1:03:52
Yeah, absolutely.

1:03:53
My, my grandfather, he passed away last year, but he was 100 years old. So he was born in 1919. And I could only imagine if he lived through this year. It's gotta be one of the weirdest years he would have ever lived through. And he was going through both world wars. It's just bizarre. This year is crazy.

1:04:15
And I think that everyone having social media and a phone and a camera has only amplified it. Because I think that there have been events like this year in the past, but I think that they haven't been, it's like, you know, the pilot light has been lit. But then everybody having a phone and a camera and social media and constant updates on everything has been like the gas to the fire of every event that's happened in 2020. Even the pandemic of spreading of information and misinformation has been greatly, whereas, you know, maybe back in the day if they told everyone to wear a mask - hey, wear a mask so you don't get sick. Maybe back in the day everyone would have listened. But now that there's such a widespread thing...

1:05:09
I was having this conversation with my daughter. And I said, well, you know, I'm one of these people, maybe it's my age, but I like to think if someone who has, you know, it's right to be skeptical, but if I think if someone's got lots of degrees and done a lot of research and tests and things like that, and they tell you, give you advice that it would be better off wearing a mask or something, then you tend to listen to them. But these days, it's everyone's like, either self diagnosing, I got on the phone and I just did the symptoms and I've obviously got cancer or I've got...

1:05:42
I don't even think people go that far.

1:05:44
Yeah, exactly. And I don't know, someone said, I read this, someone's on the internet saying that masks are, you know, whatever it is. I never thought masks would become a political football, you know.

1:05:59
Yeah. It's the ease that information and misinformation can now be spread, is the reason that I think we're in the state that we're in. Because I don't think that if misinformation had a way to spread, I think that everybody would listen to doctors and listen to, you know, people who have done research and are knowledgeable on the topic, when they say, hey, maybe a mask will help slow the spread of this disease. I don't think it would be, I think it'd be a non issue.

1:06:32
Well, I think people nowadays, they choose the facts that they want, regardless of whether or not it's true. But I think also there's a side of people who have just been so badgered down by what is true and what isn't. And you know, all these people who don't trust anyone anymore. So it's like, there's this severe mistrust among the citizens of, I would assume it's only America, in the UK, is it? Are people at the same level afraid to wear masks?

1:07:06
No, I think in the UK... UK is a very unique, every country is unique. I think, the interesting thing that's been happening here and, you know, it all gets caught up in the politics, but if I was to give the current Prime Minister and the government some credit is that one thing that they have always been worried about was that if they inundated with people with think rules from the very beginning, that the typical British mindset would be - they would just kind of grow tired of it and kind of ignore it, basically. So they, they're phasing in next. So a lot of phasing. Things happen a little more slowly here. So they're phasing in masks in retail, you know, if you go to a shop or a store or anything, starting next Friday, you'll have to wear a mask. Well, why aren't we having to wear them now?

1:07:57
Very similar to how Canada is doing it, yeah.

1:07:59
Yeah, I think then there's where you see the similarities. I've been to Canada a few times myself. I think it's, it's much more of a, you know, on the whole much more of a... On the whole I should add, even keel sort of society. But at the same time, you know, I think let's face it - it's summer, it's Britain. And it's finally warming up and you only get 5 - 10 good days a year, really, if you think about it. You go, you're gonna want to go out, you know, everyone be damned, I'm going out. But I will say that it's one of those places where people like to keep their social distance in the UK generally, naturally. So, I think in that sense, it's actually worked out quite well. There's a, I mean, it's just like one really long extended Christmas in some ways in that, you know, we're used to taking our week off or whatever on Christmas time and just being holed up in our houses and that's a lot of what's what's happening or has happened. But you know, yeah, I drive to the studio, I'm about 45 minutes away from where I live, and each time there's a few more cars on the road and this sort of things. So, I think there's also a realization that this can't, I mean you have to be prudent, but this can't last forever. You know, because then you think about what are the damn you know, people already talking about, well, if the economy contracts by this much what are the health consequences of that? With rising poverty. I mean, one thing about the National Health Service here is that immediately all not, you know, elective surgeries were gone. I mean, I had for one reason or another had to go into a hospital a few months ago. And it was almost like one of your films, you know, from Bright Sun Films. The place was absolutely empty. I was literally in an empty hospital, going to the one place I had to go to for blood tests, but otherwise it was just eerie. So, you know, they've been able to do that. They're not worried about being overwhelmed yet or ever, maybe. But I think people also realize, people are going in to get tested for other things. And it's going to start having an impact that way. So in many ways, we're all in this together. We're all flying blind. And, you know, I think you just have to make the best of a worst situation. You know, and I think that's what people are trying to do. And, yeah, it sometimes does seem a little bit crazy back in the United States.

1:09:58
Not exactly the best case scenario, especially in the United States, but...

1:11:07
Yeah, and I'm not trying to get political, but I mean, just even the practicality of holding the election, how that's going to all work out, you know?

1:11:16
And, of course, that's going to turn into a political issue as well.

1:11:19
Well, yeah. There was on the car radio on the way over here, some US academic law professor talking about the potential for lawsuits and how that could all play out in November.

1:11:33
Yeah, it's, it's been crazy here because I feel like, you know, I feel like I'm living in a movie for the first part.

1:11:43
It's like living in Contagion. That's what it is.

1:11:45
Literally.

1:11:46
Finally saw that the other day.

1:11:48
Yeah, it's scary.

The similarities are insane, though, aren't they?

1:11:52
I watched it with my family and everyone's just, we're just, our jaws were dropping. It was just like, I mean, it was absolutely, give Soderbergh a lot of credit and everyone else who worked on that film.

1:12:05
They nailed it.

1:12:06
They absolutely nailed it. I don't think we realized it, I mean, I didn't see it when it came out in 2011. But if we'd only known. I mean, that should have been, everyone should have been made to watch that film, as soon as this was all declared a pandemic.

1:12:21
Yeah, I agree.

1:12:22
I mean get granted the virus in that film is a little more than deadlier, they say in the film it's like 40% fatality rate.

1:12:30
Yeah, it's okay. It's a film, it's fiction. You know within a day or two that you've got it and you drop dead in a couple days so there's differences. But, you know, the subtleties of how he, the shots, even though they're always concentrated on someone's hand touching a railing or something like that.

1:12:48
And the misinformation in the film too. They sort of, they follow around the gentleman who is spreading his own conspiracy theory. It's like, it's the same, except it's the president of the United States this time.

1:13:01
Exactly.

1:13:03
You know what else is going to be interesting and I think this might be another Bright Sun Films video depending on how things go. But with Disney opening back up in Florida right now. You know, things aren't good in Louisiana and we are slowly trying to backtrace things, but I know Florida - I think it's a leading state right now, in terms of like...

1:13:30
Fifteen thousand new cases yesterday.

1:13:32
Yeah. And so I think you're gonna be having a video really soon about Disney World. I'm surprised, because I think in California they didn't open back up, did they?

1:13:44
Yeah, they decided not to.

1:13:47
It's interesting. And I guess they probably make more money in Florida.

1:13:54
They have so many people on payroll and a lot, they're so desperate to open but...

1:13:58
Okay, well, I think I might have said it before, but do mean it this time - unfortunately our time's up, guys. I just wanted to thank both of you, Jake and John, for coming on to the podcast. It's been a joy having you. Just to remind our listeners, we've been talking with Jake Williams, director, writer and narrator and John Shaw, producer of Closed For Storm, which we hope to see very soon in the near future. Look for them, look for Bright Sun Films on YouTube, one of Jake's channels. And I want to give a shout out to This Is Distorted Studios here in Leeds, England. And please remember to like us and share us with your friends and family wherever you happen to listen or watch podcasts. This is Factual America, signing off.

1:14:54
You've been listening to Factual America. This podcast is produced by Alamo pictures, specializing documentaries, television and shorts about the USA for international audiences. Head on down to the show notes for more information about today's episode, our guests and the team behind the podcast. Subscribe to our mailing list or follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at Alamo pictures. Be the first to hear about new productions, festival showing our films and to connect with our team. Our homepage is alamopictures.co.uk

Closed For Storm: The Abandoned Six Flags Theme Park

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