Gringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee

Last updated

Gringo: The Dangerous Life
of John McAfee
Gringo The Dangerous Life of John McAfee poster.png
Promotional poster
Directed by Nanette Burstein
Produced byJeff Wise Chi-Young Park
Starring John McAfee
Cinematography Robert Chappell
Edited by
  • Lars Woodruffe
  • Matt Colbourn
  • Kenneth Levis
Music byDana Kaproff
Production
company
Ish Entertainment
Distributed by Showtime
Release dates
  • September 11, 2016 (2016-09-11)(TIFF)
  • September 24, 2016 (2016-09-24)(United States)
Running time
97 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Gringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee is a 2016 American documentary film, about the portion of John McAfee's life spent in Belize. The film was directed by Nanette Burstein and produced by Ish Entertainment. The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2016, before airing on Showtime on September 24, 2016. [1]

Contents

Synopsis

McAfee became a multi-millionaire after creating a prominent antivirus software, and later relocated to Belize. In April 2012, national police raided McAfee's estate based on suspicions of drug manufacture or trafficking. Later that year, McAfee's neighbor Greg Faull was murdered and McAfee went into hiding before crossing the border to Guatemala and being deported back to the United States.

Based on interviews with McAfee's former friends and employees in Belize, the documentary suggests that McAfee paid a hitman to kill Faull due to a feud between the two over McAfee's dogs. It further claims that McAfee had suspected David Middleton to have robbed his home and paid people to abduct and abuse him; Middleton died soon after from his injuries. The film also contains an interview with Allison Adonizio, a biologist who worked with McAfee. She said that she believes to have been drugged and sexually abused by McAfee. [2] [3]

Reception

John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter praised the film, stating, "Though she says she began the documentary trying to understand how McAfee's likely guilt was so quickly forgotten by the media as they covered his latest political aspirations, Burstein seems to have wound up conducting an investigation more thorough, or at least more fruitful, than any local authority." [4] Jacob Brogan of Slate said of the film, "Even when Burstein's questions don't prompt easy answers, it's thrilling to consider the possibilities that arise in their wake", [5] while Steve Greene of IndieWire said, "This film works best as an indictment of a sensationalist, tunnel-vision brand of media coverage that confuses eccentricity for legitimacy and eschews reporting in favor of the face-value testimony of a strong personality." [6]

Criticism

Belize's leading newspaper published an article stating the producer paid money to purposely sensationalize the documentary, made interviewees sign papers that they did not or could not properly read and comprehend, or said it was only to be watched by John McAfee. [7] [8]

McAfee described the documentary as fiction. [9] Several people interviewed in the film retracted their statements in video messages uploaded to McAfee's YouTube channel. [10] [11] [12] They said that they felt misled by the director's questioning and filed a cease and desist demand on grounds of untrue allegations. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Errol Morris</span> American filmmaker and writer

Errol Mark Morris is an American film director known for documentaries that interrogate the epistemology of its subjects. In 2003, his documentary film The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. His film The Thin Blue Line placed fifth on a Sight & Sound poll of the greatest documentaries ever made. Morris is known for making films about unusual subjects; Fast, Cheap & Out of Control interweaves the stories of a wild animal trainer, a topiary gardener, a robot scientist and a naked mole rat specialist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patty Hearst</span> American kidnapping victim (born 1954)

Patricia Campbell Hearst is the granddaughter of American publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst. She first became known for the events following her 1974 kidnapping by the Symbionese Liberation Army. She was found and arrested 19 months after being abducted, by which time she was a fugitive wanted for serious crimes committed with members of the group. She was held in custody, and there was speculation before trial that her family's resources would enable her to avoid time in prison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brandon Teena</span> American murder victim (1972–1993)

Brandon Teena was an American transgender man who was raped and later, along with Phillip DeVine and Lisa Lambert, murdered in Humboldt, Nebraska by John Lotter and Tom Nissen. His life and death were the subject of the films The Brandon Teena Story and Boys Don't Cry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carmelita, Belize</span> Place in Orange Walk District, Belize

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aileen Wuornos</span> American serial killer (1956–2002)

Aileen Carol Wuornos was an American serial killer. In 1989–1990, while engaging in street prostitution along highways in Florida, she shot dead and robbed seven of her male clients. Wuornos claimed that her clients had either raped or attempted to rape her, and that the homicides of the men were committed in self-defense. Wuornos was sentenced to death for six of the murders. She was executed on October 9, 2002, by lethal injection after spending more than 10 years on Florida's death row.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John McAfee</span> British-American programmer and businessman (1945–2021)

John David McAfee was a British-American computer programmer, businessman, and two-time presidential candidate who unsuccessfully sought the Libertarian Party nomination for president of the United States in 2016 and in 2020. In 1987, he wrote the first commercial anti-virus software, founding McAfee Associates to sell his creation. He resigned in 1994 and sold his remaining stake in the company. McAfee became the company's most vocal critic in later years, urging consumers to uninstall the company's anti-virus software, which he characterized as bloatware. He disavowed the company's continued use of his name in branding, a practice that has persisted in spite of a short-lived corporate rebrand attempt under Intel ownership.

Karla Leanne Homolka, also known as Karla Leanne Teale, Leanne Teale, and Leanne Bordelais, is a Canadian serial killer who acted as an accomplice to her husband, Paul Bernardo, taking active part in the rapes and murders of at least three minors in Ontario – including her own sister, Tammy Homolka – between 1990 and 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caril Ann Fugate</span> American convicted of 1958 murder spree at age 14

Caril Ann Fugate is the youngest female in United States history to have been tried and convicted of first-degree murder. She was the adolescent girlfriend of spree killer Charles Starkweather, being just 14 years old when his murders took place in 1958. She was convicted as his accomplice and sentenced to life imprisonment. In 1976, she was paroled after serving 18 years.

Roger Arthur Graef OBE was an American-born British documentary filmmaker and theatre director. Born in New York City, he moved to Britain in 1962, where he began a career producing documentary films investigating previously closed institutions, including Government ministries and court buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Volz</span>

Eric Volz is an American entrepreneur, author, and the managing director of The David House Agency, an international crisis resource agency based in Los Angeles. The New York Times recognized Volz as a highly sought crisis manager. He specializes in strategy for international show trials and other complex political and legal situations abroad.

<i>Redacted</i> (film) 2007 film directed by Brian De Palma

Redacted is a 2007 American war film written and directed by Brian De Palma. It is a fictional dramatization, loosely based on the 2006 Mahmudiyah killings in Mahmoudiyah, Iraq, when U.S. Army soldiers raped an Iraqi girl and murdered her along with her family. This film, which is a companion piece to an earlier film by De Palma, Casualties of War (1989), was shot in Jordan.

Nanette Burstein is an American film and television director. Burstein has produced, directed, and co-directed several documentaries including the Academy Award nominated and Sundance Special Jury Prize winning film On the Ropes.

Gringo is a term used to describe a foreigner from the perspective of Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries in Latin America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belize Police Department</span> National police agency

Law enforcement in Belize is conducted by the Belize Police Department headed by a Commissioner and headquartered in Belize City.

<i>Years of Living Dangerously</i> American documentary television series

Years of Living Dangerously is an American documentary television series, spread over two seasons, focusing on climate change. The first season, consisting of nine episodes, was broadcast on Showtime in 2014. The second season, consisting of eight episodes, was broadcast on the National Geographic Channel in 2016. Executive producers included James Cameron, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and series creators Joel Bach and David Gelber. Joseph Romm and Heidi Cullen were the chief science advisors. The series won an Emmy Award as Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series.

India's Daughter is a documentary film directed by Leslee Udwin and is part of the BBC's ongoing Storyville series. The film is based on the 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder of 23-year-old "Nirbhaya", who was a physiotherapy student. The documentary explores the events of the night of 16 December 2012, the protests which were sparked both nationally and internationally as a result of the attack, and the lives of the men before they committed the attack. The film is told through the use of reconstructed footage and interviews with those involved in the case, including the defence lawyers, psychiatrists, and one of the rapists.

<i>Making a Murderer</i> 2015 American true crime documentary series

Making a Murderer is an American true crime documentary television series written and directed by Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos. The show tells the story of Steven Avery, a man from Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, who served 18 years in prison (1985–2003) after his wrongful conviction for the sexual assault and attempted murder of Penny Beerntsen. He was later charged with and convicted of the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach. The connected story is that of Avery's nephew Brendan Dassey, who was accused and convicted as an accessory in the murder of Halbach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prison Fight</span> Rehabilitation program for inmates through combat sports

Prison Fight is a controversial rehabilitation program for inmates through combat sports organized in partnership with the Thai Department of Corrections, an agency of the Thai Ministry of Justice. The program gives Thai prisoners who are incarcerated former fighters the opportunity to take on foreign fighters in exchange for sentence reduction and even gain their freedom if they win. If the inmates win sufficient amounts of fights against foreigners and have good behaviours, the Department of Corrections can reduce their sentences or even grant them a Royal pardon. Prison Fight holds events inside various maximum security prisons in Thailand and provides inmates with money and equipment to prepare them to reintegrate society. Convicts can engage in Muay Thai and Boxing matches in exchange for an early release.

<i>You Belong to Me: Sex, Race and Murder in the South</i> 2014 American film

You Belong to Me: Sex, Race and Murder in the South is a 2014 American documentary film produced by Hilary Saltzman, Kitty Potapow, and Jude Hagin and directed by John Cork. The film works to uncover the hidden truths of the Ruby McCollum case of 1952. McCollum, the richest African American woman in Suwannee County, Florida, shot White physician and politician Clifford Leroy Adams four times with her revolver.

Joel Bach is an American journalist, film and television producer, known for his work on 60 Minutes with CBS News and for co-founding the environmental project, Years of Living Dangerously with David Gelber. He won two Emmy Awards for his work on 60 Minutes, and shared with David Gelber both a Primetime Emmy Award and an Environmental Media Award for Years of Living Dangerously.

References

  1. Zelenko, Michael (September 12, 2016). "New Showtime documentary accuses John McAfee of rape and involvement in two murders". The Verge . Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  2. "SV tech titan John McAfee accused of monstrous deeds in scathing documentary". Mercurynews.com. September 20, 2016.
  3. Yamato, Jen (September 12, 2016). "John McAfee Accused of Rape and Murder in Explosive New Doc". The Daily Beast.
  4. "'Gringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee': Film Review | TIFF 2016". The Hollywood Reporter . September 12, 2016.
  5. "This New Doc About Anti-Virus Software Pioneer (Turned Fugitive) John McAfee is Spellbinding". Slate.com. September 20, 2016.
  6. "'Gringo' Review: John McAfee Doc is Both Testament and Antidote to Media Manipulation – Toronto". Indiwire.com. September 16, 2016.
  7. "$$$ for lies!". Amandala Newspaper. September 24, 2016. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  8. "Photographic image of Western Union payment docket" (JPG). Miro.medium.com. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  9. "John McAfee: Showtime's 'Gringo' Documentary Is Fiction". Bloomberg . September 8, 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  10. "More Testimony from People Lied to and Paid by Showtime" via YouTube.
  11. "Showtime Gringo "Actor" Speaks Out Against Network" via YouTube.
  12. "Showtime Gringo" via YouTube.
  13. "Photographic image of letter seeking 'cease and desist'" (PNG). Showtimegringo.com. Retrieved June 4, 2022.