VENICE BEACH – Bigger Stronger Faster is a daring documentary about steroids in American life. Director Chris Bell gives us a first person journey into these hormones in a bottle that helped create baseball superstars, Olympic gold medalists, Razzie winning actors, pro wrestlers and a governor. The film starts with the attitude that it’ll be part of the witchhunt, but it changes course and dares to ask if steroids are that wrong.

Here’s my email exchange with the director about the effects of his film .

Have you heard from Arnold, Sly or Hulk Hogan about the film?

BELL: I know they know about the film, but they haven’t commented yet. I think Michael Moore set the standard with Fahrenheit 9/11…I think people think if they don’t comment then it’ll go away. I still look up to and respect all of those guys. I think they’re awesome and they’ll always be heroes to me. If you look at it realistically, am I not going to like Guns and Roses or Metallica because they were involved in drugs? Eminem said he wrote every hit F’d up on drugs. We live in a drug culture and steroids are part of that puzzle. Doesn’t mean it’s right, but it is what it is.

I worked with NBC on their pre-2004 Olympic coverage of Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery. I saw the difference between the way they lived and the other track stars they practiced with. Do you think the money difference between that step using steroids is way too much for an athlete to want to stay clean? And likewise with all the banned substances that can easily sneak into their bodies with a cold pill or poppy seed bagel, is it easier for an athlete to cheat and cover up than worry about keeping themselves clean?

BELL: The drug testing isn’t all that great. Not as good as what it needs to be to stop drugs in sports. The USOC has over 2000 documented cases of athletes failing drug tests and nobody doing anything about it. It’s not a conspiracy, it’s the truth. For Athletes it’s about glory, for TV execs and team owners it’s about money. I don’t think athletes make a decision to “Cheat” based on money. As an athlete I think it’s more about pride, but my mom always taught me from the bible that “pride cometh before a fall”.

Do you think pro wrestling was more fun when guys were more doughy?

BELL: I don’t because I started watching in the 80’s. Jimmy Snuka, Polish Power Ivan Putzki, Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, Rocky Johnson (The Rock’s Dad), Magnificent Muraco, Big John Studd, Ken Patera…they were all juiced. More recently WWE has tightened down on drugs and the wrestlers are less ripped, but in my time I’ve never seen them actually doughy…That’s the era of Bruno Sammartino years before my time. I think what hurt wrestling was the MTV, I want it now generation of television. It changed the business into sex and flash over story and character.

How has you family dealt with being in the film? Will they be giving out the DVD as Christmas presents?

BELL: My family will certainly be giving out the film as stocking stuffers. They love it. They told me to go out and make the best film possible. When you do that and your film gets two thumbs up and four stars everywhere, it’s hard not to like it no matter how close you are to it. I think my producers and friends helped me make the best movie possible and hard work always pays off.

Are you going to debate Dick Pound about steroids? Would you consider doing one of those college tours?

BELL: I’d love to do a college tour, but I have to be realistic. I’ve been touring around for free for a year. I haven’t made a dime off of this movie, so if it’s all taken care of, I’ll debate anyone. I have nothing against Dick Pound. I’d love to speak with him. He’s the one that made the Olympics big bucks in the first place, so he’s in a strange position. The Olympics make a lot of money from sponsors that are hazardous to our health like McDonalds and Budweiser…in some cases it’s a conflict of interest to be sponsored by an alcohol company and say “drugs are bad m’kay”

How much money is there in the anti-doping business?

BELL: I can’t give you a number, but I don’t think the guys testing are making any real money. I think guys like Don Catlin who ran the UCLA lab were getting screwed. Maybe that’s why he stepped down. He needed more money to develop tests and he wasn’t getting it. I think the real money is in the TV contracts and stuff. The Studios like NBC just want to know that their sponsors aren’t going to get burned by doped athletes. I don’t think that the anti-doping world is involved in a conspiracy so to speak. I think they are underfunded and the conspiracy would fall on those making millions of dollars promoting the fact that sports are clean. We’ve known Marion was doping for years and years and they couldn’t catch her? She’s not Osama Bin Laden. We know where to find her to test her, but the tests are so bad that you could argue them all day. When a black and white test is developed, they get rejected. If you watch the DVD you’ll see what I mean on our DVD Extras.

SHINE A LIGHT

Back in the spring, my cousin Bill phoned up and asked if I wanted to join him on a tour of the Lighthouses of the Outer Banks. I grabbed my trusty camera and hit the road for the beach. This could be considered a visual sequel to Bob and Chris Elliot’s Daddy’s Boy .

Hope you enjoyed our trip. Bill didn’t know I was grabbing shots of him. He’s really shy which is why he didn’t want to talk on camera. Although if you are one of the Girls of the Adriatic from the Playboy issue or their daughters, please drop us a line. He’ll take to you.

DVD SHELF

Halloween: 3-Disc Unrated Collector’s Edition unleashes more gore in Rob Zombie’s reworking of John Carpenter’s original tale of Michael Myers. This time we focus more on the young boy that became the monster. Zombie turns this into a Crown International slasher flick. Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange) takes over for Robert Pleasense in the role of Dr. Loomis. Malcolm looks more like a basketcase than his patient. I was at first ticked off that they dared rework a classic. But Zombie does more than a Xerox gig. He brings his scare sensibility to the action. The big bonus feature is a four hour making of mini-series. By the time you finish watching, it’s like you were Zombie’s personal assistant on the film.

C.S.I.: The Eighth Season brings more Las Vegas crime to the small screen. How come the crew isn’t spending every week at the new City Center project investigating the numerous construction worker deaths? This new season has “A La Cart” with a go-cart guy taking his mini-speed to the highway. “Go to Hell” has a devil possession. “The Chick Chop Flick Shop” brings a murder to the set of a horror porn. Horror porn? Can’t people pleasure themselves without a machete in the room? There’s 17 episodes in the boxset. The original flavored C.S.I. is still my favorite of the batch.

Nash Bridges: The First Season proved that Don Johnson could shave for the small screen. After his five seasons on Miami Vice, he lighted up his TV character and cruised to San Francisco. He also unloaded Philip Michael Thomas for Cheech Marin as a partner in his new gig. Cheech doesn’t sing as much and has a more convincing accent. Although if Don wanted to stop the dope trade in the Golden Gate area, he should investigate his partner’s police locker.

The Sarah Silverman Program Season Two Volume One keeps up the irreverent humor from everyone’s favorite “did she really say that” gal. The best disgusting moment is when she decides to see how hard it is to be black in America by doing the full Al Jolson. Now that Sarah is not sleeping with Jimmy Kimmel, it’s ok to laugh with her. The second disc contains an hour’s worth of bonus features including short videos made on the set.

Dynasty The Third Season Volume Two finally brings the battle home. Someone in the bus station asked, “What’s the greatest moment on Dynasty?” Wouldn’t you reply, “The episode with Linda Evans and Joan Collins fighting in the lily pool.” Well that is here. It’s pure ’80s wet glam. It’s remarkable that they didn’t drown when their shoulder pads absorbed all that water. Blake breaks up the fight way too early. It should have gone on as long as the battle in They Live. Do they celebrate this TV moment in Denver?

The Cult of Cartman: Revelations brings together a dozen of the best South Park episodes involving the biggest troublemaker on TV. My favorite of the batch is “Scott Tenorman Must Die.” If only you could make millions off selling pubes, I’d buy the “mineral rights” to Ron Jeremy. Besides the episodes, there’s plenty of segments where Cartman explains how you should worship him. You get a sticker and a membership card to prove you have become a true believer. The boxset looks like a religious text with the gold leaf. You should buy extra copies to leave in Hotel rooms.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Blu-Ray brings more detail to the image than George Lucas and Steven Spielberg brought to the script. Maybe I would have enjoyed this film better if Lucas hadn’t kept rejecting top writers’ scripts as he searched for the perfect 4th film. Nearly two decades and this is what turned Lucas on? Will someone please lock this man inside lead lined refrigerator to save his cinematic legacy? They really don’t seem to want to play with the fact that Indy is an old guy. Why doesn’t he complain about his knees hurting? How come he can sit down after his rump goes through a truck’s window? Harrison Ford deserves a better farewell to this character. Maybe the guys behind the last Rambo flick can show Lucas how you do it. This is a dumb fun film if you don’t think about it. Shia LaBeouf is completely miscast as the Brando misfit with a motorcycle. He’s just too square to be tough. And Cate Blanchett’s Louise Brooks hairdo is more convincing than her villainous ways. And then there’s the aliens. But if you don’t think so hard, you’ll be able to enjoy Indiana Jones’ dopiest adventure yet. The 1080p action gives you a chance to really enjoy the work done by the SFX crew. There’s plenty of bonus features about the creation of the film and the numerous stunts. There better be a fifth installment.

Sleeping Beauty Two-Disc Platinum Edition Blu-ray brings the elegant fairytale to Hi-Def. They’ve gone to the 2.55:1 transfer instead of the 2.35:1 aspect ratio used on the previous DVD release. They also tweak up the colors to get things even more close to the original Technicolor release. Maleficent looks ten times as seductive and evil in Blu-ray. When she turns into a dragon, you’ll get a serious brain rush. The Mary Blair inspired designs are given their due. The BD-Live Network will allow you to get online bonus features. Plus they throw in a DVD of the film so in case you’re wanting to upgrade in the near future, you don’t have to fret which is best. They picked a great title for their first Blu-ray release since it pushes the technology.

Boy A is a film that would have been a major indie release a decade ago. Unfortunately we’re in a era where small films don’t have the impact in the art house. If you don’t have a multi-million dollar promotion budget, you’re screwed. Critical praise means nothing when it comes to box office. Boy A is about a kid who joins his friend in killing a young girl. The friend dies in prison. At 24, he is paroled (Andrew Garfield) with a new identity. He’s warned to keep his true identity a secret, but can he remain a new person? Will the evil of his past be revealed as he makes new friends? If you are the person who mouths off about wanting to see small yet significant films, you be get your eyeballs wrapped around Boy A.

CATHOUSE IS COMING

As a teaser for the next column, we’ll be having a video interview with Dennis Hof of HBO’s Cathouse. He invited us up to the Bunny Ranch to take in the reality of the brothel life in anticipation of the new season that starts at the end of the month along with the DVD boxset.. We shall have an exclusive about Isabella Soprano. Stay tuned.

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