A 6'11" (could have been 7' but he drank too much caffeine and stunted his growth - probably why he is not in the NBA right now, at least he was considered tall in France...) gentle giant named Evan gave me some inside (it's on Google so it's not that inside or secret) information on Vince Offer. You know Vince Offer as the young man that via the 90 second infomercial, selling (and is the US distribution owner) the Sham Wow!
Before Sham Wow Vince was a movie maker (he may still be a movie maker as well). Vince is best known for his movie, "The Underground Comedy Movie" co-staring Michael Clarke Duncan, Slash, Gena Lee Nolin and Joey Buttafuoco.
I don't know about you but when I want the "facts" about anything like time travel, beer, hot stuff, death reports or movies then I go to Wikipedia. Here is the Wikipedia skinny on Vince's movie:
The film itself mainly consists of crude lowbrow skits (such as Gena Lee Nolin loudly using the restroom and a superhero named "Dickman", who dresses in a giant penis costume and defeats his enemies by squirting them with semen), created by the director, based on sketches Offer originally performed on a cable access show he had hosted. The film went direct to video and consistently rates in IMDB's bottom 100 movies. Lawrence Van Gelder in The New York Times wrote a scathing review, saying the movie "stands as a monument to ineptitude and self-delusion." LA Weekly crowned it as "The single most offensive movie ever made!"
Although the film was released and screened in 1999, Offer was ruined financially by 2002 and home video distribution plans were shelved. Offer, who had previously been a successful vegetable chopper salesman and businessman, resumed selling vegetable choppers at swap meets in order to support himself and raise money to complete his film project. Within a few months, he had earned enough to resume production, and the movie was finally completed, released, and marketed entirely on late-night infomercials which Offer funded with his earnings from the swap meet vegetable chopper sales.
So know you know - Vince, most famous for Sham Wow. Before Sham Wow he was a movie producer and writer (still could be as far as I know)... But did you know that Vince Offer was a Scientoligist and is now using his fortune to sue the Church of Scientology? Hmmm, did you? No you didn't...
Time to don the moustache, spray on the tan, put on the short shorts, a bad Hawaiian shirt and investigate this story! Higgins, I will need the Ferrari....
In 2004, Offer sent out a press release through prnews.com announcing his intention to sue the Church of Scientology. Previously, in 1997, while production was ongoing, the Church of Scientology allegedly began a large-scale smear campaign against Offer and his film (Offer was a Scientologist at the time). The director claimed the Scientologists' "Celebrity Center" in Hollywood labeled him a "criminal" (based on the rules of Scientology) and threatened his Scientology friends in the movie business with "condemnation" punishment that could be lethal to their careers if they did not write malicious reports against Offer.
From Vince: After setting the stage, the Scientology sub-organization that recruits and caters to celebrities "Celebrity Center International," located in Hollywood and whose motto is "To Create a Safe Space for Artists," according to Offer recruited dozens of his Scientology friends, associates and actors that worked on Underground Comedy, to write false and malicious reports against him. If individuals refused to write these reports, they were threatened with condemnation and punishment that could be lethal to their careers. One person reported a statement informing, "They threatened that I would also be Declared Suppressive if I didn't write up all the bad stuff I knew on Vince." A Scientology term, "Declared Suppressive," means being labeled as an "enemy" of Scientology, expelled from the organization, becoming"fair game," and subject to "disconnection" by all family, friends and associates who are Scientologists.
RWC: I wonder if the Church of Scientology would RWN a safe space for artists or if we would be declared at suppressive? I am leaning towards suppressive... Only the creepy aliens really know...
Celebrity Center staff executives summoned Offer to face a Scientology court for the numerous charges that unbeknownst to Offer were recruited by Scientology officials but were presented to Offer as having been written by other members on their "own accord."
RWC: WOW! Scientology has it's own court. Did you know that Disney has it's own police force and jail? Yeah, totally true. The judge dressing up as Goofy - false. But the judges don't wear pants, just like Donald Duck... Odd.
According to sources: This court was run by four scientology church staff members, the youngest being about 14 years of age, and in March of 1998, a ruling document entitled"Findings and Recommendations," held Offer to be guilty of 23 charges, none of which were ever presented to him in the "court." To add insult to injury, the ruling document labeled him a "Declare Type B," a Scientology term which means a person who is a "Criminal" and has "a criminal record." This was publicly distributed or communicated to all associates, future associates of Offer and general Scientology members, thereby sealing his fate as an outcast. Offer suffered irreparable damage due to this, including a lucrative business enterprise he owned that consisted of many Scientology sales representatives who abandoned him upon hearing the "Criminal" charge. The enterprise folded soon after.
RWC: 23 charges, Type B and a criminal record in the court of Scientology! I consider this a win. I would put this charge on every one of my business cards. Somethings in life you have to embrace and this is one of those "things."
Offer is using his proceeds from the sales of the movie to fight the Church of Scientology in court. Offer is represented by attorney Ford Greene of Marin County, Calif., who collected almost $8.7 million from Scientology in another law suit.
RWC: The lawsuit started back in 2004 and from what I can find is still going on. That makes me wonder, do I support Vince and his lawsuit every time I buy a Sham Wow? How much of his Sham Wow proceeds go towards shutting down or taking money from the Church of Scientology?
My recommendation: Drop the 20 dead white guys and buy a Sham Wow. At the very least there could be enough Sham Wow's created to soak up all the BS from the Church of Scientologist. I want to go to Scientology criminal court and have Tom Cruise be the prosecutor with Travolta as the judge... Why don't they make that into a TV show. It would be the bastard TV child of Law and Order and the X-Files. Don't act like you wouldn't watch it - the antics would be far better then anything you see of Rock of Love... I would want Dr. Drew to be my council in the court room....
I am out! Happy Friday