Oh is it showtime?
People say good money to see this movie.
When they go out to a theater, they want cold, hot popcorn and no monsters in the protection booth.
Everyone pretend podcasting isn't boring.
You add to a.
Very strange crime at Walt disney World.
Bargerick burglary, grand theft and trafficking and stolen property iconic only one on the planet, Where did he go?
The unwanted tourists part of a.
Growing subculture called urban explorers.
You start to get bored of just the normal experience, and then you start thinking, well, what else can I do?
I risk my freedom, I risked my life, but I want to show people things that they normally can't see.
My God, we started doing these adventures in theme park exploration.
Man, it just caught on fire and it led.
To all of this, a bombshell investigation feeling from the happiest place on Earth.
It's a cast of taking costumes and memorabilia. Why because of high demand on the black market. Disney black market has kind of always been a thing. But Buzzy's a different story.
Buzzy is Fuzzy Man.
Buzzy, the animatronic from Epcot's Closed Wonders of Life attraction was stolen?
You ever put this on either him? You are the picture you see. Disney is this happy, colorable place.
Even though Disney's a place of fantasy, it is not immune to crime.
Disney.
If someone did just come and take it, then you just felt the Ocean's eleven of Walt Disney World.
Did you steal Buzzy?
Hey, folks, welcome to a special episode of The Projection Booth. I'm your host Mike White. On this episode, I'm talking with Joshua Bailey. He is the director of the new documentary Stolen Kingdom. It is a great doc all about the misdeeds and debauchery at Walt Disney World resort. Not that much debauchery, I guess, unless you count stealing things, violating property laws. Yeah, just that kind of stuff. It
is fascinating. I had a great time watching this, and I hope you have a great time listening to this interview. Definitely check out Stolen Kingdom if it is coming to your town or when it starts to stream. Thanks so much for listening. Of course, I started this interview off by asking Joshua how he got involved in making films.
I've always been interested in filming since I was a child. I grew up in Tampa, Florida, and moved here to Orlando because it was the closest film program that I could realistically get accepted into. Didn't matter because I dropped out and got caught in the nine to five trap for a while live, so I just worked odd jobs. Still this whole time, wanting to make films and writing down ideas for documentaries and even scripts for documentaries. This is my first film, so I'm only just now getting
around to it. I started shooting this when I was twenty six, and I'm turning thirty, so it's just been a long road to get here. But I wanted to do filmmaking since probably elementary middle school.
Were there any particular films that you saw that really were an inspiration for you?
Yeah?
Actually, Jurassic Park was the first time I watched the film and thought, wow, I want to make a film. I still remember the date of my parents brought it home and handed mere THEHS take and I ran upstairs. So are lost. I was really into dinosaurs, probably too young. I have watched it, but things were different. Steven Spilberg. In general, I would say that's probably pretty common people my age. We definitely grew up with a lot of
those films a little before our time. The kids. Yeah, we're still enamored, still growing.
You said that you write down ideas for documentaries. When did you become a fan of documentaries.
I think it was in pandem with these Spielberg films and a lot of those other kind of blockbusters from the eighties and nineties of that caliber. They would have a bonus feature sometimes like a full disc like the Indiana Jones Box for example, a fourth Old Boss. It's just that's really what got me into documents. I was just really interested in that world and real like, sometimes
the truth is stranger than fiction world. I got really into that, and Tiger King happened in twenty twenty, and it just like really changed everything for a lot of people. I think it's become like popcorn cinema. Fortunately, I'm really glad that it's become like a legitimate form of media for a lot of people, as opposed to like PBS stocks.
So I think it was just really lucky to have grown up in an era where documentaries evolved, and then just beginning to start my own career and back to get evolved again and turned into what some people refer to as this golden era of documentary.
Where did you first hear about what had been going on at Disney World?
We are so fortunate to have been here when the story happened. We weren't involved in this story per se. We were there while it was happening and were already communicating with these people before some of the crimes in the film even happened. So I always say that this
story tom about. We didn't find the story because I grew up, like I had mentioned, interested in film theme parks a little bit as well, because sometimes there'd be a theme park attraction like jaw as a great movie role literally based on a film and worked at the theme parks. But I was also interested in hardcore punk and skateboarding and the convergence of those things some of the subjects of this film. So I had, like I grew up watching some of these people's YouTube videos they've
been posting in twenty twelve and thirteen. I call it the dark Side era. Leonard Kinsey and Florida Urban Exploration was very popular, and some of them started to get banned. I was coming right out of high school. I was like seventeen eighteen around then, so it was natural to know about some of the history and who Gibson and their horizon exploits in Masavery times. That was a legend in the community. So I was already entrenched in this Disney fan community and it started to happen again. And
I lived here in Orlando. I had worked at the parks. I don't think I did at the time. And everyone wants to know. It was either fascination or anger with him, because some people were so prostrated that he was posting what he was posting. We loved it, and we just wanted to meet the guy, and then we wanted to know more about him. Matt Sansois, who I think is one of the most interesting people in the film, were one of the most daring. He put it all out there,
like we knew his name. He shows his face on camera, but it was what you get with him look back to our Disney. It was like, well, what what is this? Is he our age? Is he not? We'd thought that he might be around our age, and it turns out yeah. So we met Patrick and he I think he's the same age as me, or maybe a year older, very camp at everything we thought because we had grown up with Adam the Woo and Leonard Kinsey and these guys
were like cool older dudes with tattoos. And then we just met Patrick and he was just like an a Fello cast member. He was like twenty three at the time. How do you do all of this stuff so young? And it's pretty daring And maybe he could say stupid because we had wanted to do that, right, Like I mentioned, growing up watching this stuff, we thought, man, that would be really cool to jump out of this rider go by in the scenes here, and he just started to
show us pictures and explain how he does it. Not the stuff that we couldn't have done. We just weren't brave enough or stupid enough, depending on who you are
and what you believe. But he showed us the clothes, the buzzy clothes had been stolen, and mentioned interest in the animatronic and shortly after that he was arrested in that interrogation video that's seen in the film My favorite art, like the standout where he gets tackled by the police, and we never talked to him again, is what we thought, until we thought, let's finally make this film. Yeah, it
was just it happened all around us. When the animatronic went missing and we saw the news reported on Twitter, we all freaked out because we had just been shown like a few months prior to close, and we didn't think that Patrick was capable of doing that thing. But we just felt like we were like some kind of accomplices to this dangerous crime.
So what was that final impetus that you said, Okay, I need to pick up a camera. I need to make this my first future length documentary.
It was that night that we met Patrick, So we had decided before the Buzzy ematronic even went missing. I think that took it a step further. But we had thought that the urban exploring world was interesting, and it's a fascinating undergrad community of people doing something where you know the exact outcome. It's that you're going to get banned and at worst get arrested and charged with a felony trespassed, but they still do it. Anyways. We were like,
that's pretty surface level, that's interesting. But he opened our eyes to this black market community of celebrities and other rich collectors. It's making calls and I we first met him saying I found this, I could maybe get you this and showing stuff in the back of his trunk things and that was I was like, okay, now this needs to be a documentary because I'm not sure if the urban exploring thing could maybe be a full feature doc. But this combined with that is is something else. And
then the buzzy stuff happened and it was over. We had to wait. We couldn't get to Patrick because of the crimes and the arrests and court records and things, so we did have to wait a little bit, and then COVID happened. But yeah, we decided that night in twenty eighteen. It was like August twenty eighteen.
Did the pandemic help you in any way as far as like gathering your material or start editing or were you just completely on a standstill?
I would say it helped.
Yeah.
It gave us time to really develop the idea. And that's why I, me and Matthew Serranot have writing credits on it, because we really did develop a script. So I took all that time, like I had mentioned, coming out of high school writing documentary scripts and ideas. I wrote a script basically what I thought this film could look like and I think marinating on that idea could help and the structure in the end. Now with the final product, it really is like I have a rough
outline screenshot on my phone. Still it's basically the same. There's some little things we moved around for pacing because it makes it a little quicker and bringing that buzzy stuff up towards the front of the film, but yeah, it's really the same. And we also just didn't have
much of a choice. The court hearing was maybe twenty nineteen, so then we had to wait a year, so we didn't get any of the materials from the discovery for the Patrick deaths until twenty twenty anyways, and then we spent that time figuring it out, and in early twenty twenty one we actually started shooting.
Now, was it making this documentary when so many of the people that you interview are basically doing illegal things? Are they okay talking with you? Or do you have to have a whole song and dance to get them to come on camera?
Basically, everyone except the journalists and this film is a criminal of a varying degree, So you can imagine that what we went through, it was. I guess it, Varied. It was a little bit of a song and dance. We tried to be very respectful of everyone's concerns. Having never done this before, we didn't have a lot of confidence, I think, regardless of documentary filmmakers and not lawyers. So even if I had done this a few times, I don't think I could confidently I'll go ahead and talk
about that crime. We just said, hey, if you don't want to talk about it, that's okay. See it varied Patrick. You'll notice there's two interviews with him. There's actually a third over zoom. He came back to us and he said, Okay, I think I can talk about this now. But that first interview we didn't really push him. We knew that there were things that he was giving, like a really pr response or maybe an attorney advised response to things, and we're like, that's maybe not what happened, or you're
leaving out some details. But we couldn't really point it out because we understood like he was answering questions that way for a reason.
As far as the footage goes, how did you mention the thing at the police station?
How do you get that?
How do you are they just all fine giving you their personal footage as far as their adventures, their spied lunking as it.
Were, Yeah, pretty much. Yeah, We're lucky that everyone in
the filmness of ideographer in their own rights. So we had accessed all of that footage through them, and they were really cooperative, even like Matt Sansois, who was like a little more mysterious and a loose He came around and was like, yeah, go ahead and use whatever you need, the police footage and other things body cam interrogation cameras and then the other records I was mentioning and we have a huge discovery report with all the details from
the crimes. That stuff we learned about requesting through public records. So we went to Orange County in the public requists and the state Attorney's office, and that's actually how we got a lot of the stuff that you see from Patrick from his cell phone. We had already acquired it before we even interviewed him because they did a cell phone extraction and took out all the relevant photos and things.
Did you have many problems when it comes to the actual video codecs and Primate used older because some of this footage goes back a ways.
I don't think anything's ever ideal and documentary filmmaking, So it would have been ideal to take like the master tapes of Who Chiefs Exploits from ninety nine, and there's even some earlier footage from ninety seven and ninety four, to take those first generation VHS tapes and then you transfer them and then put those in the film. But I don't think Dave even has those. I mentioned a couple of times trying to see if I could do that.
I don't know where those are, man, damn. So we have the YouTube video rips of those, and then there's a couple first generation VHS transfers, and then yeah, all the digital stuff from the twenty ten's and then later on, luckily when we get into the later stuff with Matt songs, when Patrick spikes, it becomes higher quality. But yeah, there's some stuff ripped from YouTube because even the people that shot it don't have the original files. Yeah, we've learned
a lot about that in the post production process. Originally we were going to work with the producer and director Photography brand and Pickering. He had cut a sizzle reel for us, and then none of us were getting paid to do any of the stuff. So we shot it. He had cut that sissle reel and we pitched it around and he had intended to edit it, and then he was like, man, I have to and if he does cam up on reality television stuff and all kinds of other nonscripted content for TLC and nat GEO and
all these things. So he was like literally out. He is also from the central Florida area, so he had to play out and do all of that stuff. So we started working with Matthew Serrano who worked on defunk Land and did a short film on Hot and Chief. There's guy Willy Patton and Austin who also helped us, Matthew Kazinski and Naked Breaker in the end did like our finishing pass at it and really paste it out. So yeah, four really talented editors, all different steps of
the process. The first Matthew Serrano helped just like with the rough cut and then sent it off to and got to do a finer cut, so on and so forth.
Were there many people that you tried to talk to that you were unable to get on camera?
Yeah, there was a lot. I think when we started we had thought it would be a little different. Like the the outline was still the same and all of the chapters are still there. But I think because there were certain people that we wanted to get, we maybe thought the black market section, when we talk about selling props stealing props, maybe that would turn out a little different. That is where we got into really hairy territory with people as far as speaking on the crimes goes, because
there were people that just would not be interviewed at all. Obviously, Robin Lopez is in the doc who unknowingly bought stolen props from Patrick. I don't know if he didn't want to do an interview or it just would not be wise to speak on this, which I like, I didn't think that we would get him. There's no way that an NBA team is going to allow him to speak
on this. Those were the biggest. There was a really interesting person that Patrick thinks deals in this black market world, and Patrick did sell stolen things too, and we really wanted to him and I think that would have maybe changed things a little bit, or pointed at a potential interested buyer and Buzzy or Buzzy's clothes, things like that. But yeah, we couldn't get I think he's very aware.
Yeah, I love that Buzzy's bear through life, through this whole thing, but then you're able to just weave around it and explore so many different aspects. I just thought that the structure of the documentary was really compelling.
Thank you how much. Yeah, we try really hard to Yeah, to have that throughout. That was something that we struggled with. Is keeping that kind of the main It's like the it was like the boiling point of this whole thing. That's not necessarily about him, because who in chief back in ninety nine really were that first domino that tipped? But it all leads to him, So all roads do lead to Buzzy.
Are people still doing this? Are they still doing this kind of urban exploration at Disney World?
I am not exactly sure. I do try and keep a finger on the pulse of this world, but I'm sure that people are still urban exploring, taking props, removing props and selling them on the black market. Urban exploring and posting online I have not seen, but I'm sure people are doing it, and I'm sure that they will get posted maybe years later. I think people have learned, they will adapt, They won't go to Discovery Island anymore,
maybe because there's trail cameras and things. But I think they'll adapt, and I think maybe videos have been filmed that will be posted in a year or two or three.
What are some of the biggest lessons that you learned from this that you can apply to your next feature.
Just a general like organization, having all of the right post perduption processes in place. We learnt the law so the film and trusting them and respecting them, foreign relationships with them. It's really easy to watch something like Tiger King and really want that interview moment the Jinks. There's another great documentary with some amazing moments with Robert Durst where there it's not necessarily gotcha moments, but it's just like wow, and it's really enticing to want that. But
I think that maybe sets a bad example. I think Tiger King definitely sets a bad example for documentary ethics. While very entertaining, don't try and make the next Tiger King. Just respect everyone in the film, which I think we learned very quickly, and I just everything about the post process, having all our contracts in place, all of our organization, all of our archival was really difficult. Lots. This is the first thing I've ever made. I hadn't made like
a handful of short films before this. People do like they make short films leading up to a feature, but I just doped straight into this feature because the subject was too perfect.
Tell me that moment when you actually get to see this with an audience for the first time, How does that feel for you?
Yeah, that was why that just happened a month ago. It was extremely nervous, but it was incredible. It was really rewarding. We showed it at Big Sky in Missoula, Montana, and it was like, it's a pretty low key documentary festivals. It's just documentary filmmakers. So it was a nice first time seeing it. It was this big historic theater. We did a quick sound check and we just played the opening credits. It was like really surreal seeing even just like a minute of it and you know, just watching
it and hearing people laugh. Yeah, very surreal. We showed it again a week later as Los Angeles Wild. Like the first one was in a very small theater and people were laughing like really loud, like really reacting to the film, and people showed up like wearing Disney merch and things. Imagine ears came and talked afterwards. It's unbelievable. You dream your whole life about this kind of thing. If you wish to be a filmmaker, this is what
you're always dreaming up. Showing your film is very surreal.
You mentioned before we started recording that here about to pick up again and show it some more festivals. What are some of the ones coming up that.
You can share showing at Florida film festivals? The opening night film on April eleventh, which is a huge honor by Home Stage Film Festival Opening Night that's also in Orlando. It's technically in Maitland, Florida at the ens In Theater, but in the greater Orlando area. So for Walt Disney World, it's a homecoming because we're thirty or so miles up by four, which would probably take you like an hour
and a half because of Florida traffic. But I hope we'll get a lot of Disney fans coming out, and then we're at a few other festivals right after that, but it'll be announced soon, so I'm very excited. Just some of their regional ish festivals around the country, and then who knows where from?
Is there a good place for people to keep up on where the screenings are happening.
Yeah, we have a website Stolen kingdomfilm dot com. I'll list screenings on the screenings tab as they get announced, and the best way is our Instagram page, which is just at stolntin Film. So that'll be like story posts and any kind of more important minute to minute updates on Do.
You already have the subject for your next film picked out?
I've got two pitch decks just sitting on my computer developing, and then I guess some other stuff as well. I would like to dip into narrative filmmaking and do some real scripted stuff at a certain point. I have a lot to learn. So this is my film school since I dropped out of film school. This is my real film school making these first few films. So yeah, I do well.
I hope you ninety five is being very supportive as far as you're going off to film festivals and that kind of thing.
They are, luckily. Yeah, they're pretty nice. I do graphic design, so it's a fun thing. I make my art and submit it and they're very supportive.
J just thank you so much for your time. This is so great talking with you.
Yeah, thank you so much.
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