You don’t have to say a whole lot about the possibility of one of the craziest celeb photographers playing one of the most infamous killers of all time.
Tyler Shields will make a quick transition from his reality-esque TV show to the big screen to direct and star as Charles Manson in a gritty biopic titled ‘Eyes of a Dreamer.’
We’re hoping that Shields, known for his intensely intimate shoots with celebrities, will take that power to the screen.
How did you get involved with this project?
It was a Twitter conversation between me and the producer (Brad Weinmen).
What inspired you to take on the role of Charles Manson?
I’d been writing a movie with a character that was a crazy character also, but this was something different for me. … If it’s going to be me, it’s got to be crazy.
Why the move to the big screen?
I’ve always wanted to do movies, but it’s a matter of the right one coming at the right time, and this one feels right.
What would be your next character to play?
Everyone knows that I’m crazy, and they all have this crazy vision of me. A friend said that I need to do a romantic comedy or some sort of comedy. … It’s all about me being able to do what I want to do, how I want to do it, in the craziest way possible.
Who would you like to see play the female roles in the movie?
I’d love to see Amanda Seyfried, Evan Rachel Wood or Emma Stone in these roles. My whole thing is, any girl who’s in this movie is going to be seen in such a powerful, dynamic way. You have no idea how crazy these girls really were.
Manson family was a quasi-commune that arose in California in the late 1960s and attracted many female followers.
He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders carried out by his followers Charles Tex Watson, Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian and Patricia Krenwinkel.
Imagine one day your sister turns around and telling you that you’re adopted, so you search for your biological parents and find out that Charles Manson is your father. Well this happened to Matthew Roberts.
Roberts, a 41-year-old DJ who is living in Los Angeles, CA, claims that when he went searching for his biological parents he discovered that Manson was his father, which sent him into depression.
Roberts says that when he was 10-years-old his sister told him that he was adopted and that later on in his life, his adoptive father told him nothing good would come from looking for his parents. But he didn’t listen and managed to locate his biological mother, Terry, who then claimed that Manson was his father.
Terry told his that his birth name was Lawrence Alexander but would never reveal the surname, until she eventually revealed that Manson was his father after he had raped her back in 1967.
When he found out the truth he says, “I didn’t want to believe it. I was frightened and angry. It’s like finding out that Adolf Hitler is your father, I’m a peaceful person – trapped in the face of a monster.”
Manson who is serving life in Corcoran State Prison in California is in communications with his son, Roberts says that “He sends me weird stuff and always signs it with his swastika, at first I was stunned and depressed. I wasn’t able to speak for a day. “I remember not being able to eat.”
He says that he is not really like his father but he has a bit of a temper, “I’m not nuts but I’ve got a little bit of it, it’s scary and upsetting. If I get worked up, my eyes get really big and that’s really freaked some people out before. I’ve tried to tone that down quite a bit. I don’t like having that effect on people. I don’t even like the fact that I’m big. It makes me even scarier. My hero is Gandhi. I’m an extremely non-violent, peaceful person and a vegetarian. “I don’t even kill bugs. I’ve had long hair all my life. I could make it go away, but I can’t let the world and their fears change me.”
Despite having a phone number for Manson, they have never spoke on the phone yet, “If I did talk to Charlie on the phone, I would say, ‘I truly understand what it’s like to be you, more than anyone could ever imagine on so many levels, He’s my biological father – I can’t help but have some kind of emotional connection. That’s the hardest thing of all – feeling love for a monster who raped my mother. I don’t want to love him, but I don’t want to hate him either.”
I don’t even know what to say but that would be crazy shit to discover Charles Manson is your father, however just because someone is your biological father doesn’t mean you have a bond or even have to be in communication with him.
Thoughts?
source: I traced my dad… and discovered he is Charles Manson [The Sun]
For the second time in as many years, a state parole board voted unanimously Wednesday to deny one of Charles Manson’s fiercest followers her request for a “compassionate release” so that she can die at home.
Convicted murderer Susan Atkins, 61, is terminally ill with cancer and has only months to live, doctors say. The issue of mercy has long haunted Atkins. Nearly 40 years ago, actress Sharon Tate begged the knife-wielding Atkins to spare her life and that of her unborn child.
“She asked me to let her baby live,” Atkins told parole officials in 1993. “I told her I didn’t have mercy for her.”
On Wednesday night, the parole board meeting at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla had little mercy for Atkins, who slept on a gurney for much of a hearing that began in the early afternoon.
It was the same result as last year when, despite the presence of a number of supporters, and the approval of the prosecutor who put her behind bars, the 12-member California Board of Parole unanimously voted to deny Atkins’ release.
Atkins is serving a life sentence for the 1969 slaying of Tate, 26, who was 8 1/2 months pregnant, and musician Gary Hinman.
She has served 38 years in prison, longer than any other female in the state.
The victims’ relatives and supporters opposed Atkins’ release, saying she showed no mercy on Aug. 9, 1969, when she and other young followers of Charles Manson entered a hilltop Benedict Canyon home and murdered five people.
A former topless dancer who used to sing in her church choir, Atkins was one of Manson’s most loyal disciples.
After fatally stabbing Tate, prosecutors said, Atkins tasted the actress’ blood and used it to write “PIG” on the front door of the home.
During her trial, which took more than nine months, Atkins seemed to show no remorse and maintained utter devotion to Manson, whom she called “Jesus Christ,” “the devil” and “the soul.”
During sentencing, she taunted the court, saying, “You’d best lock your doors and watch your own kids.”
Atkins is now considered a model prisoner known for helping others. She has been married to an Orange County attorney for the last 21 years.
In recent years, she was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. One of her legs has been amputated and the other is paralyzed, authorities said.
Some of her supporters have argued that releasing Atkins would save the state substantial amounts of money in medical and prison expenses.
Former Manson prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi said it was time for the state to show Atkins mercy. He told The Times last month that it was wrong to say “just because Susan Atkins showed no mercy to her victims, we therefore are duty-bound to follow her inhumanity and show no mercy to her.”
“She’s already paid substantially for her crime, close to 40 years behind bars. She has terminal cancer. The mercy she was asking for is so minuscule. She’s about to die. It’s not like we’re going to see her down at Disneyland,” said Bugliosi, who wrote the best-selling book “Helter Skelter.”
source: Manson follower Susan Atkins is denied parole [los angeles times]
California corrections officials have released a new photograph of convicted mass murderer Charles Manson, who is now bald with a thick gray beard.
The photo of the 74-year-old Manson was taken Wednesday as part of a routine update of files on inmates at Corcoran State Prison, where he is serving a life sentence for conspiring to murder seven people, said Seth Unger, spokesman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
The cult leader was first sentenced to death for the 1969 murders of movie star Sharon Tate, coffee heiress Abigail Folger and three others stabbed and shot to death at Tate’s home in Los Angeles. The next night, two others were stabbed to death at their homes.
The image — complete with a swastika carved into Manson’s forehead — was released to the Los Angeles Times because the newspaper requested a copy the next time it was taken.
Manson’s co-defendants — Susan Atkins, Leslie Van Houten, Patricia Krenwinkel and Charles “Tex” Watson — were convicted with him. Their death sentences were commuted to life when the death penalty was briefly outlawed in America in 1972.
