Rick Zazueta
June 18, 2022
Open Letter to Variety Magazine.
BACKWARDS MURDER - Tragedy strikes at NETFLIX production “American Jesus” in Baja California Sur. Paco Mufote and Ray Garduño, Two of the most
beloved, well respected, and talented regional actors are dead because of a car accident on Baja California’s infamous Highway 1. This is a plea for
justice for these deaths. This was no ordinary accident, the cast had been complaining openly about the logistical and transport issues faced in this
production, calling it illogical, unreasonable, ignorant, and stupid. The conditions of the van were completely unfit for the purpose of transporting
people; worn out tires, noisy brakes, loose steering wheel, not all seat belts worked, easily identifiable signs of danger. But, the show must go on,
and the actors get wrapped up in the artform and want to work, and don't get as many opportunities to work, so they take these gigs with big dreams of
NETFLIX and the promise of a small paycheck.
Producer Stacy Perskie and director Everardo Gout are directly to blame as other Hollywood actors have mentioned they were on a campaign to recruit
the best talent and offering less than a third of the minimum standard. Naturally most declined, so they headed south of the border and recruited
local, hard working talent for even less. Baja California is a wild land from a geographical position. The main filming locations were between Santa
Rosalia and San Ignacio 230 miles away from each other, and as anybody who has traversed the peninsula knows, these 230 miles seem like a straight,
but it is a pronounced and difficult drive. Please be patient as I give you context; Baja California is home to the most aggressive off-road races on
the planet for a reason. Companies and race teams invest millions of dollars each year figuring out the logistical elements between locations, Perskie
and Gout’s production treated it as if these were first world highways.
The nearest commercial airport is Loreto which is another 125 miles from Santa Rosalia. The two airports that follow are La Paz at 350 miles from
Santa Rosalia and Tijuana at 600 miles. These are the points of interest in this production. Imagine moving people at a whim without experienced local
knowledge of the area. It's disrespectful to the land, it’s disrespectful to the people working, and it's a disgrace for the film industry as a
whole. Everybody knew something was seriously wrong with logistics and transport there was talk all over set and beyond- Not only the actors, but the
crew, and especially Perskie and Gout knew this was a problem, but they were cheap and selfish, and their selfishness cost Paco Mufote and Ray
Garduño their lives.
Overworked drivers + the distance between locations + quality of the vans = two lives. That is a lot of blood to pay for somebody else's negligence.
NETFLIX’s role on this is important because they are the ones whose name is attached to the production, and sure because of contemporary mechanisms
of executive production and different companies, they will likely attempt to wash their hands and abandon Perskie and Gout, but we all know that
without the promise of a NETFLIX program, there is no show, no money, no nothing. So either NETFLIX didn’t do its due diligence regarding safety and
proper production protocols or Perskie and Gout cooked the books to pocket money. The third possibility is a frightening one; NETFLIX doesn't care.
Which raises the question - is NETFLIX the audiovisual DeBeers buying the blood diamond of American Jesus?
So many questions that we will not allow to go unanswered. Where are the insurance companies? Why did they ask the casting director to call the
families of the deceased? why are there no protocols for tragedy, better yet, why were there no protocols to avoid them. Let’s get eyes on the
contracts that were signed between Perskie and Gout’s production company RedRum (Murder backwards, because apparently it’s all a joke) and Paco
Mufote and Ray Garduño. I’m willing to bet that these contracts are the real joke if they were studied by professional labor lawyers. What about
the contract that NETFLIX has with Perskie and Gout’s murder-backwards company? Could we see those? I bet those would not be as funny.
ANDA is the Union of Working Actors in Mexico - Are they going to speak for the deceased? Does ANDA matter? Did Perskie and Gout sign a contract with
ANDA? What about the Baja California Sur Film Commission? What kind of permits did they approve? They sure were talking about the greatness of having
this production in their state, did they send an investigator to talk to the cast and crew that was working? Or do they simply publish a badly worded
little post with the Secretary of Tourisms seal? Could NETFLIX or anybody issue a statement at least.
We need to know what’s going on, we are hungry for the truth. Beyond the backwards murder company of Perskie and Gout and regardless if they ever
work again or are allowed to be near a film set -this is an outrage! There needs to be justice, there needs to be people in prison and those people
have a first and last name; Stacy Perskie and Everardo Gout.
Pacote Mufote and Ray Garduño deserve more than our respects, they deserve a commitment to justice.
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