Not exactly grifting, as far as I can tell, but… exploitive, with a veneer of godliness. Per local news CBS8:
… The film is created by SMS Novel, a faith-based interactive film company that has produced bio-pics like “I Am Kim Porter” and “King of Detroit.”
“It paints a clear picture of #1 the American journey; all of us can find us in Ashli Babbit in some ways, but secondly, a cautionary tale that misinformation has deadly consequences,” said the film’s director Jomo Johnson.
“I think that is subjective that is up to the viewer. We are not promoting one view or the other. Again, I think the fact that she is no longer with us shows that there is a consequence of whatever side you choose,” Johnson said.
Filming will take place in Washington D.C. and Ocean Beach where Babbitt most recently lived and Spring Valley where she worked for her family pool business.
Johnson says exact filming locations and dates are private due to safety concerns…
It is titled “Nero’s Martyr,” named after the Roman emperor.
“Nero, a roman emperor, who was very unique at using the skilled propaganda to persuade countrymen and enemies. Stories like Ashlie Babbit; I don’t think she was going there to die that day. I don’t think her plan was not to come home. I think she thought she was going to be part of protest. I don’t think she knew what was going to happen. I don’t think she was willing or wanting to die. If something can happen like that to someone who is in a protest, can it happen to us? And so, we want to do honor to telling her story as a human,” said Johnson…
There’s a half-million-dollar pot already waiting, after all:
Refresher, from an AP article shortly after Babbitt’s death:
… In the months before her death, Babbitt had become consumed by pro-Trump conspiracy theories and posted angry screeds on social media. She also had a history of making violent threats.
Babbitt, 35, was fatally shot while attempting to climb through the broken window of a barricaded door leading to the Speaker’s Lobby inside the Capitol, where police officers were evacuating members of Congress from the mob supporting Trump’s false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. She was one of five people who died during or immediately after the riot, including a Capitol Police officer.
On social media, Babbitt identified as a Libertarian and ardent supporter of the Second Amendment. Her posts included videos of profane rants against Democrats, COVID-19 mask mandates and illegal immigration.
Her Twitter account, which was taken down after her death, was rife with references to the QAnon conspiracy theory, which centers on the baseless belief that Trump has secretly battled deep-state enemies and a cabal of Satan-worshiping cannibals that includes prominent Democrats who operate a child sex trafficking ring…
Trump has repeatedly insisted Babbitt was murdered, and she has achieved martyr status among Trump supporters. Her name and likeness now appear on T-shirts and flags at pro-Trump rallies…
A Trump partisan with anger issues and a gun fetish, she’s just like us, fr fr!… Not sure there’s a coherent *narrative* to be assembled, but there’s clearly a *market* out there.
War for Ukraine Day 641: The New York Times Actually Corrects a Head Line & Above the Byline Lede
Nettoyeur
Who among has not broken into a Federal facility that was officially closed screaming threats to harm or kill elected officials?
Frankensteinbeck
I agree with all of this. It was a violent fantasy until the chickenshits saw a defense they had utterly overwhelming numbers over. They did it because they believed there were no consequences. Ashli was shot because she was drunk on that belief, that she would literally get away with murder.
ColoradoGuy
This is a religious cult in the making. Martyrs, “chosen people” who believe they are persecuted by a secret cabal, a complex and evolving mythology, a central Jesus/Hitler figure, and a sophisticated propaganda machine based in the USA and Russia.
NotMax
@ColoradoGuy
A Canticle for Lying Sh*ts?
ColoradoGuy
Their Prophet said: “I could shoot somebody on Fifth Avenue and it would only make me more popular”. If that isn’t giving permission to go forth and do the same, what isn’t?
Citizen Alan
I hope she’s in hell. There. I said it. I don’t have any more regard for Ashli Babbitt than I do for a 9/11 hijacker.
eclare
Nero’s Martyr? It should be titled Trump’s Willing Idiot, because that is what she was. Consequences only for the little guys, so far.
mrmoshpotato
@Citizen Alan:
Amen. It’s still amazing only one of these piles of Trump trash was shot. Incredible restraint.
Tony Jay
It’s like these people have no idea that Horst Wessel lied.
Anyway, yeah, not sure how they’re going to find the nugget of relatable human interest in the story of a deadbeat racist moonhowler who so very much believed that flesh-eating kiddiefiddlers from Beta Rectuli were stealing democracy out from under President Bronzed Balls that she literally crawled through broken glass to attack an armed Agent of the State. Have they managed to dig up a huge-eyed cherub with an appealing lisp who they can feature in a scene of her crying on a lonely swing because she weally weally weally wanted Anny Ashy to see her perform as Eva Braun in the local Evangelical pre-school’s production of ‘It Should Happen Here‘?
Nukular Biskits
As a native Southerner, I can personally attest to the fact that some folks can milk a Lost Cause narrative for a long, long time.
Nukular Biskits
@Tony Jay:
Excellent! LOL!
Baud
She died for her sins.
NotMax
@Nukular Biskits
Classic bit about a Denny’s down south. The late Taylor Negron.
:)
mrmoshpotato
@Nukular Biskits:
Like 150+ years?
Nukular Biskits
@NotMax:
I remember watching O Brother, Where Art Thou? when it came out and thinking, “This is a documentary, not a comedy!”
Nukular Biskits
@mrmoshpotato:
“The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”
– Faulkner
Tony Jay
@Nukular Biskits:
They’re all the rage, these days. Lot less effort than facing up to your mistakes and learning to be a better
cultureideologycult of personalityrace-based regional confederacy person.lowtechcyclist
Can’t wait to see how they portray the part where she repeatedly slams her car into the car of her ex’s new lover.
ETA: Ah yes, here we go:
That ought to add some drama to the biopic!
Nukular Biskits
@Tony Jay:
You, sir, underestimate the extent to which these folks will go to “OWN TEH STEWPIT LIBTARDS! HYUCK!HYUCK!HYUCK!”
Baud
Funny and true.
eclare
@Baud:
QFT
NotMax
@Nukular Biskits
Super cl;ever, funny man. Mostly true tale of a monkey, Christmas and Three Dog Night.
Baud
@lowtechcyclist:
It’s a love story and a political drama.
NotMax
@Baud
Lincoln-Speed: A Tryst to Remember?
satby
I didn’t watch the video because I need coffee before I face the stupid, but how can a wrongful death suit be in limbo? Unless the limbo is her grifter mother claiming to raise $ to sue the government for shooting her daughter while committing sedition, assault, and other crimes but not filing said suit because it’ll get tossed anyway.
satby
@NotMax: Been a long time since I’ve heard a Canticle for Liebowitz ref. Well played.
Spanky
@Tony Jay:
I see what you did there.
Rusty
@Baud: The genius of the documentary producer will be making Ashley the victim in every circumstance. She will be the mistreated in love woman killed by the evil government. If you want to donate for the statute to her martyrdom, I’ll take cash or gold.
AxelFoley
A Second Amendment freak, huh? What’s that saying about living by swords?
Baud
@Rusty:
The only thing that worries me is how they’ll portray the black cop that shot her.
Geminid
This morning’s Politico Playbook tells me that Vice President Harris and husband Doug Emhoff will fly from Los Angeles to Houston this morning for a Hispanic Caucus “On the Road” event. Then the VP will attend a party fundraiser this evening, and tomorrow she will fly to Atlanta for Rosalyn Carter’s memorial service.
Baud
@Geminid:
WaterGirl has some pull. Can’t wait to see the pictures.
kalakal
@Tony Jay:
Heh, nice one.
Wessel’s ‘day job’ was as a pimp. He died in a turf war fight with another pimp ( who happened to be a commie party member) . Talk about polishing a turd,
kalakal
@Baud: As a very scary, out of control psycho, who at the same time is weak and panics, while his nice, calm, white colleagues try to stop him. And everybody will look very sad realizing he’s killed a veritable saint.
This ‘epic’ will be propaganda poison
Mina Kessern
I get aggravated when people act as if Babbitt somehow “descended” into a twitchy lunatic.
The was an absolute garbage servicemember in the USAF. Frequent transfers, recommendations against promotion (she somehow finished out 12 years at an E4, which is essentially impossible unless you are an active screw-up. Sheer inertia will get you further than that in that time frame). She was explicitly not invited to renew her contract with the Guard.
She was a problem who kept being shuttled around until she ended up with nothing. And that’s all she should ever be considered to have amounted to.
Tony Jay
@Baud:
Probably like that.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@NotMax: Good one!
Tony Jay
@kalakal:
That’s anti-Aryan propaganda! Herr Wessel was a good German boy who spent his evenings patrolling the cobblestones of Munich so that plain, wide-hipped Aryan mothers could safely attend wurst-stuffing classes at the local Akadamie.
Ben Cisco
@Mina Kessern: Thank you for this. Truth got buried under the agitprop.
She died a seditionist and a traitor to the uniform that she half-assed wore. End of story.
Betty Cracker
If the “someone who is in a protest” is part of a violent mob that invades a protected space, corners elected officials and then smashes the final barrier that separates the mob from the officials and their armed guards and attempts to enter that space, then yes. Yes, it can happen to us.
Shalimar
@Baud: She was a 2nd Amendment solution. Not sure why they’re complaining.
Geminid
Alaska Lt. Governor Nancy Dahstrom has announced she will run against Rep. Mary Peltola next year for Alaska’s at-large Congressional seat. Republican Nick Begich, who finished behind Ms. Peltola and Sarah Palin last year, is also in the race.
matt
She seems to like she got in on a pyramid scheme at the bottom and never rose up. Thought she could make some money being a Youtube MAGA person and never really did. I think a lot of people are in this category.
Baud
@matt:
It’s a competitive field.
gene108
The mental gymnastics needed to turn Babbit into a martyr and hold Trump blameless for getting her wound up enough to “stop the steal” that led to her death is disturbing. They’ve built this convoluted fantasy world to twist facts to suit their narrative about how their perceived enemies are behind nefarious acts. Enough elected Republicans have joined this crazy train that it’s now mainstream to stew in these conspiracy theories.
coin operated
@Mina Kessern:
Didn’t know this about our dear departed insurrectionist, and you are right that she should have made E5 on sheer inertia alone. That said, I can testify to how easy it is to pass a problem like Ashli along from unit to unit until they finally wash out. Processing separation paperwork is a pain…transfer paperwork is a snap by comparison.
RevRick
@Nukular Biskits: Ask the Serbs how they feel about the 1389 Battle of Kosovo.
Matt McIrvin
Hell, I’m preparing to do that.
lowtechcyclist
@Geminid:
Didn’t he used to be a Democrat?
Eyeroller
@lowtechcyclist: No, but some of his family members were.
lowtechcyclist
@Mina Kessern:
Didn’t know this part of her story. Thanks for sharing it. Sounds like there’s a pretty consistent tale here to be told of a nutcase and rageaholic who fit in all too well in the Qanon/MAGA world.
BellyCat
Wikipedia: “Babbitt (1922), by Sinclair Lewis, is a satirical novel about American culture and society that critiques the vacuity of middle class life and the social pressure toward conformity.”
In the interests of gender equity, this movie is laudable. //
Geminid
@RevRick: The Battle of Grunwald was 21 years later and people still debate whether the Lizard League tanked, or were scapegoated by the Teutonic Knights.
AWOL
Film’s DOA. Utterly revolting. Her career was shot when she jumped the
sharkwindow. Plus not enough carnal scenes with her, Hawley, and the vegan shaman.WaterGirl
@Tony Jay:
Had to see that again!
Tony G
@gene108: When people are not capable of or interested in logical thinking, it becomes easy to come up with illogical explanations of reality. See, for example, all Evangelical Christians. Not caring about facts or logic is their advantage.
Elizabelle
@AWOL: She was allegedly in a throuple. Wonder if that will make the final cut.
Do you guys think this movie will actually be filmed and released? Sounds like a grift/tax write off to me
I’m fine with her being removed from the world. She was a horrible and stupid person, and was likely to get someone better killed one of these days.
And weaseltalk from the director:
Excuse me?
Paul in KY
@ColoradoGuy: Horst Wessel is in Hell nodding to that.
jimmiraybob
She died due to the sins of the Trump/MAGA propagandists.
Mike in NC
Good riddance to a MAGA piece of shit. Fat Bastard will use her image to market his garbage collectibles. Remember the TV ads for “Trumpy Bear”?
jimmiraybob
See, for example, all fundamentalist literalist Evangelical Christians that believe that the Bible is fact and is inerrant (see for example House Speaker Mike “dinosaurs on Noah’s Arc” Johnsons).
I know plenty of Christians that belong to a liberal Evangelical strain of the religion that are just fine with empirical facts and reason.
StringOnAStick
@jimmiraybob: I’m related to a fundamental literalist, who is just as you described. Now she’s saying she’s having issues with dementia, and given the crap she believes I wonder how she can tell.
Bobby Thomson
Babbit wasn’t missed
Bobby Thomson
@lowtechcyclist: that was his brother Mark (and father Nick)
Gruniepig
Are they going to include her less than stellar Air Force career and the reasons for it? 15 years and only a Airman First Class?
Paul in KY
@Rusty: no bitcoin or crypto?!?!
brantl
@Baud: Her sins were mostly trivial, up to the last one; that one was a doozy. Although writing a book about her called What Does White Trash Do for a Hobby would have been spot-on.
stinger
@NotMax: I see what you did there.
Paul in KY
@Mina Kessern: I completely agree. E4 after 12 only means that somehow you have kept the involuntary discharge papers at bay.
Paul in KY
@Betty Cracker: That’s the definition of FAFO!
brantl
@jimmiraybob: Of which she was one.
brantl
duplicate, sorry, but true enough to print 2 times.
brantl
@Bobby Thomson: I believe that she was hit, square-on.
dnfree
@jimmiraybob: I have relatives who are fundamentalist literalist Christians, and they are obsessed with the concepts of “proof” and “logic”. They will claim both, even though their only evidence is the Bible (their interpretation thereof). At the same time they say there is absolutely no evidence for the theory of evolution. None. They claim there is proof that heaven and hell exist (Bible says so) and challenge others to prove they DON’T exist. Telling them that neither can be proved is beyond them.
jimmiraybob
@dnfree: Yep. That’s why I slipped in empirical. Faith “facts” are a whole nother breed of fact. Probably what Kellyanne had in mind when she announced the Trump “alternative facts” program.
unctuous
When it comes to our far-right jesus fashies’ attempt to make that twit into a martyr, two words come to mind:
Horst Wessel
lowtechcyclist
@jimmiraybob:
She died due to the sins of the Trump/MAGA propagandists.
No, that was just the particular rage she latched onto in what turned out to be her last years. Absent Qanon and Trump and MAGA, she’d have found a similar end, I’m sure.
sab
@lowtechcyclist: She died because she did stupid stuff against armed individuals who had a duty to protect people she wanted to hurt. Sometimes life choices are not complicated. Do not choose to be a dangerous idiot.