MOVIE FACTS

OPENING
1. What was the film and music in the opening?
2. Who were the girls outside the White House?
3. Where did that anti-drug ad come from?
4. Was that recording of President Bush real?

Q1: What was the film and music in the opening?
A: The music and "foreword" at the outset of the film were from the beginning of Reefer Madness, which is available in full at the Internet Archive.

Q2: Who were the girls outside the White House?
A: I don't actually know who they are. My producer and I were in front of the White House getting iconic images of the famous residence and the park across the street from it, when I decided we should attempt a "man on the street" type of interview. We set out to look amongst the crowd, and noticed the girl you see at the beginning. She had the t-shirt with the pot leaf on, so I figured she would be someone worth having an off-the-cuff conversation with. When I spoke with her, the gaggle of girls around her chimed in, and later her teacher spoke with us. All in all, it was some great footage, and I thank that group, wherever they might be.

Q3: Where did that anti-drug ad come from?
A: That ad was part of the "National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign," and was paid for by the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Q4: Was that recording of President Bush real?
A: Nope, I completely fabricated it, all to make the president look bad.

Q4A: Really?
A: No (duh)! In case you were living under a rock when it was all over the media (or became so disgusted by the news that you ceased to participate in their tricky game of being an "informed citizen" and simply turned it all off--don't worry, it happens), tapes of private conversations the not-yet-president-Bush had with friend Doug Wead were released, conspicuously coinciding with Wead's book release, a title that covers the childhoods of several presidents. You can read about it here.