Jared & Jack not giving back.

Rating: 1/10 (24 July 2006)

I recently saw Nacho Libre and was pleasantly entertained. I had the pleasure to meet the elderly Mexican priest whose story the movie is based upon. His name is Padre Fray Tormenta (Brother Storm). Now retired from the ring, he still says the mass in his Luche mask. He used the winnings from his wrestling matches to build a home for at-risk boys. To date he has helped over 2000 young boys.
I learned that when approached by the producers about his story he chose to negotiate the rights himself. Needless to say, in a Luche match between Los Hollywood Diablos and Fray Tormenta- the outcome is an obvious one. On top of this, no one from the production- especially the director and the star made any donation to the orphanage or the church. This is a church covered in peeling paint, the orphanage has a broken down van, a cook who left cuz there was no money- its a dilapidated structure that is barely surviving.
Shame on the filmmakers and the cast. The per diem for the week of one of them could let the orphanage survive for a year. The star sneezes money that could help 2000 more kids. The Padre was never even invited to the set. No benefit screening, no fund raiser, no sponsored ebay auction, no benefit Tenacious D concert, no quiet donation, nothing, nada.
Upon hearing all of this from the priest, I emptied my wallet of everything I had in it- an embarrassing $60. I gave more to him than Jack Black did (!) yet I didn't make the millions of dollars that the filmmakers and stars did off of the Padre's life story.
I'm assuming Salt Lake City got its 10%.