Film – C. W. Schultz

C. W. Schultz video about the suspicious mystery behind the Christine Chubbuck audio leak

C. W. Schultz released a video about the suspicious and mysterious audio leak of Christine Chubbuck‘s suicide.

Chubbuck was an American news reporter and host of the morning community affairs talk show Suncoast Digest. Because the broadcast of Chubbuck’s suicide took place in 1974, it’s highly unlikely that the footage of her suicide could’ve been recorded by a home viewer, since VCRs were such high cost and thus incredibly rare for a 1974 household to possess one. As such, Chubbuck’s suicide is considered lost media.

According to an article by Vulture, the video does still exist in the hands of Mollie Nelson, the widow of Chubbuck’s former employer. When this was publicized, Nelson started getting requests to see it, which made her uncomfortable. She says that the tape is now in the hands of a very large law firm for safekeeping and has no intensions of ever letting anyone see it.

In early 2021, Ataliste claimed to have acquired a legitimate cassette recording of the audio from the incident (via an undisclosed private collector), releasing a portion it to his YouTube channel. The audio aligns with the news covered in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune from the day of the incident, giving credibility to the audio’s authenticity.

Ataliste eventually released the audio in its entirety, but it has since been privated. Despite Ataliste’s attempts to remove the audio, others were able to download and re-upload it; resulting in it still being available.

Prior to 2024, only very limited footage of Suncoast Digest was available, which included a few seconds of Chubbuck conducting an interview (without audio). However, in February 2024, prominent Chubbuck researcher Tapesignal revealed she had been in contact with John Griffin, the creator of a documentary surrounding Chubbuck’s life. Griffin provided Tapesignal with a full Suncoast Digest episode hosted by Chubbuck. In April 2024, Tapesignal uploaded the episode to YouTube. It’s thought that this is the only known fully intact footage of Chubbuck still in existence.

With an increased amount of audio available of Chubbuck’s voice as a result of this resurfaced Suncoast Digest episode, a more accurate voice-to-voice comparison can be made with the supposed audio of her suicide…

And the similarities are uncanny! This comparison led many skeptics to concede that Ataliste claims are legit and that his audio of Chubbuck’s suicide is indeed authentic.

Given that all footage of Chubbuck’s suicide was thought to be lost (with the one exception being in Mollie Nelson’s attorney’s possession), Ataliste’s ability to retrieve audio of this tragic event is astonishing and impressive… but also mysterious and suspicious. Having a piece of Chubbuck’s death has made the impossible possible, leading some to think the full footage might eventually be released; however, if anything, this actually raises more questions:

How did Ataliste get his hands on the audio?
Who is this “private collector”?
What’s the reason for the secrecy behind protecting the collector’s identity?
Can the claims be substantiated that one of Christine Chubbuck’s brother is filing a lawsuit for the audio leak?
Could Ataliste know Nelson’s attorney, and the audio got leaked over a breach in confidentiality?
Who is Ataliste and how did he come into possession of something so sensitive?

New interview with C. W. Schultz

C. W. Schultz was interviewed by Write Publish & Impact, a writing circle of authors and editors from Japan, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Here is an excerpt of the interview from September 12, 2021.

Snowy Valentine

Sometimes, I feel like I have all the luck. Other times, nothing seems to go right. Unfortunately, this post will be detailing the latter.

By delivering the most recent Mysterious Music episode over a week early, it allowed me extra time to achieve my next goal that I planned on sharing by 03/03/2021. But, for whatever reason, despite all the hours of work (and even about a half-hour’s worth of usable material), things just aren’t lining up right. The good news is, there are a lot of ideas I’m eager to bring to life for both my bibliography and YouTube channel; the bad news is, the projects keep hitting roadblocks. Admittedly, this isn’t the first time I’ve encountered this problem. Between 2013–2015, I had three false-starts with A Book About a Film. With the house-of-cards that storytelling can be, I just couldn’t get an entire level standing without collapsing. Luckily, I eventually cracked the story of A Book About a Film, so I have no doubt that I’ll do it again with the bind I’m in right now.

It’s difficult to give details about a project that hasn’t even been fully realized (and may never be), but what I can share is that I have ideas for content on Batman, Him, Indiana Jones, sleep paralysis, The Sopranos, the Tyrion Targaryen Theory, true crime; as well as more short-stories, Mysterious Music episodes (including Panchiko’s D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L) and Scream content. Some are ideas in my head, others have made it on paper, a couple even have videos in the editing process… but, unfortunately, nothing that I feel is worth someone’s time. You can praise my work or criticize it, but you can never accuse me of making something in which I didn’t take my audience’s time into consideration. Even to those who’ve given me a bad review, I appreciate them taking a chance on something I created. So, at the end of the day, I feel okay not delivering something because I know that when I do deliver it, it’ll be without regret—not rushed and not for the sole purpose of being relevant. I know that those who were looking forward to my March 3rd release understands and supports this. For that, I thank you.

Here’s something that happened, which excellently summarizes things: During the snowy Valentine’s Day of 2021, of all the dozens of cars parked on Holden Street in West Seattle, only one had a cock-and-balls drawn on it. Of course, my car. With my luck, it probably wasn’t a finger that drew it either. Anyway, I shall continue to write on, so please check back soon. Thanks for visiting.

Luxury Reading’s four-star review of “A BOOK ABOUT A FILM”

Check out Luxury Reading‘s rave review of A Book About a Film.

Reviewed by Leigh Adamkiewicz

There is a delicious rush from finding something you’re not quite meant to see. And the Found Footage genre is testament to how much money we’ll spend to pretend we’ve found something risqué. But what if you found something truly forbidden? Dangerous? You’d get the word out, sure. But what would you do if the story started to grow and change as you were telling it? What if the illusion of danger wasn’t an illusion at all?

You’d probably come up with A Book About a Film, a magnificent, multi-faceted tale about the life-changing movie you’ll never see.

The book starts off with an excellent premise. What if people who had near death experiences learned something from their time on the other side? This was the plot of an excellent independent film called The Cornfield People. All the reports on the film indicated it had every chance of becoming a modest success, if not a cult classic. But there’s a problem. When the film was nearly done, it was shelved. Mysteriously.

The copies of the movie that exist are legendarily hard to find. But everyone who is anyone in film has an opinion about this one. The film has found its way into the hands of Spielberg (theoretically) and Tarantino (citation needed) and many more. So it seems only natural that our author writes a book about the film after being lucky enough to see it. And that’s when things start getting weird.

Much like Danielewski’s House of Leaves, this book relies on the footnotes to tell the story within the story. The story is not just the synopsis of the movie. It’s the things people have speculated. It’s the photos and articles that prove what happened. It’s even the typos in the document itself, which increasingly seem to be a code to another story entirely.

I actually got to the point when I wondered if the book was based on an actual movie. But aside from three posts on a movie blog, I couldn’t find any mention of it online. But this book’s level of detail makes it seem increasingly real. Didn’t you hear something about this in a trade journal? Wasn’t this person in a fluff piece in a local newspaper?

It’s the pictures, news clippings, and diary entries about those things that turn this into something more than just a good suspense thriller. If you just read the book the author thought they were writing, you’d think everything turned out. That it all wrapped up in a neat little package. But as you read on, you realize that the bigger questions are still out there.

About never enters abstract madness the way Leaves did. But it does get your heart racing as the pace accelerates, and the lines between fiction and reality gently blur. And I loved every bit of it.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Leigh is a fearless writer who never met a genre, subject, or format she didn’t like. She has written professionally for the past six years and enjoys biking, exploring odd corners of Northeast Ohio, and discovering those good books she hasn’t read yet.

Review copy was provided by C.W. Schultz.

“A BOOK ABOUT A FILM” available now!

A Book About a Film cover C. W. Schultz’s fourth novel A Book About a Film is officially available for purchase today! It’s an academic study on the cult classic The Cornfield People that not only acts as a novelization of the movie but also as a thriller in its own right when the book begins to dig into the film’s hidden messages, reoccurring themes and haunting obscurity. The book analyzes a chilling movie which follows a secret society that knows the meaning of life and what comes after death… and the cult will stop at nothing to keep their treasured knowledge hidden from outsiders.

You can watch the teaser trailer here!

Amazon is carrying the Kindle ($4.95) and paperback ($13.40) editions; while hardcover prints are being carried by Third Place Books and Waucoma Bookstore—you can also request hardcover copies here.

A Book About a Film has been receiving lots of praise. Nick Rossi of Reading Other People said “Schultz is destined for greatness” in his review; while Joanie Chevalier, author of Deadly Dating Games: Murder. Blackmail. Romance., gave A Book About a Film ★★★★★ (out of five) in her review. Ajoobacats Blog commended the book for being original and unusual, saying “this is one hell of a read for film enthusiasts” in the review. An overall rave review came from RedPillows, who said the book was ultimately intriguing and well-written. Schultz’s narrative choices was said to be “complex, gripping, and ultimately hard to put down” in a review from the Midwest Book Review. Of the copious analysis, disorienting narrative and unique layout, Kirkus’s response was that the subject’s “conceit is rather ingenious”.

“A BOOK ABOUT A FILM” Teaser Trailer

REVEALED! Cover art, release date and first review for “A Book About a Film”

A Book About a Film cover On May 21st, 2015, book reviewer Nick Rossi posted a rave review of C. W. Schultz’s upcoming fourth book A Book About a Film on Reading Other People.

But it didn’t stop there.

www.cwschultz.com decides a wonderful review of an exciting release warrants enough enthusiasm to finally reveal A Book About a Film’s release date as Tuesday, September 8th, 2015, as well as the front cover!

This should mark the beginning of updates on a project Schultz has been pretty secretive about. Stay tuned as the reveals continue to pile on!

It doesn’t get more meta or self-referential than this. C.W. Schultz’ original and effervescent work A Book About A Film is subversion at its best. It beckons the dream-like quality of Fellini’s masterpiece 8 1/2 with a touch of Grey Gardens. It’s like that great movie M. Night Shyamalan has yet to make.

I absolutely do not want to spoil the narrative for any prospective readers. I will say, however, that Schultz’ uncanny ability to write a work that has an inherent momentum which does not lose any steam is revelatory. I’ve read a lot of books that borrow elements from various genres that attempt to amalgamate them into a piece that will appeal to all demographics. A Book About a Film, however, is heads and shoulders above its subversive predecessors. It maintains the readers interest, utilizing imagery that is both evocative yet easily visualized.

It’s a thriller, a neo-noir and the Blair Witch Project all rolled into one cohesive narrative that held my interest in the palm of its words from start to finish. I was not only riveted by the plot mechanisms that managed to delve into the mentalities of secret society members, in this case, The Cornfield People, but I was also astonished by the authors effortless ability to weave varying styles into one masterpiece so successfully.

Maybe its because I’m a film graduate, or maybe its because I watch a lot of films, but I found A Book About A Film to be the equivalent of that rare director commentary on the DVD of your favorite semi-obscure movie. You’re in awe of the director’s ability to present subtle motifs without exploiting the intricacies of the characters and their flaws. Schultz is destined for greatness, and A Book About a Film is a book about life – the kind of life that is real, gritty, and dark.

A Book About A Film will be released in September 2015. I will write another post to remind you all to be sure to pick up a copy.

— Nick Rossi, Reading Other People

Geekster on Movies

Geekster on Movies, a fun film blog of capsule reviews and prizes, mentions C. W. Schultz’s upcoming book, A Book About a Film.

Geekser on Movies‘ main blogger Randy has been doing thorough research on the same subject that Schultz is covering in A Book About a Film.

Geekster on Movies is the place to be if you like film, want to discuss it with other fans, maybe learn something new about your favorite flick, get a good laugh or two, and perhaps even win a prize. Check it out.

“Rage of Angels” is Finally on YouTube

Rage of Angels, a 2009 film that C. W. Schultz was an assistant camera operator on, is finally available to watch on YouTube. Cast and crew include the following Schultz-collaborators:

– Philipp Aurland (actor in The Late Sorry and Rage of Angels)
– Scott Bowen (audio engineer on Is This Thing On?, Rage of Angels and Sub-Text)
– Bryson Burnham (Is This Thing On?, director of photography; Rage of Angels, director)
– John DeCorsey (Drafted, actor; Rage of Angels, grip)
– Tony Doupé (producer of Is This Thing On?, Rage of Angels and Watch)
– Trevor Gumble (Is This Thing On?, actor; Rage of Angels, script supervisor)
– Pearl Klein (Drafted, actress; Rage of Angels, assistant sound)
– Melissa Leland (Is This Thing On?, director; Rage of Angels, production manager; Sub-Text)

WATCH available now!

Watch, the short film that Schultz wrote and premiered at the Gig Harbor Film Festival on 10/21/2012 to take the first runner-up (2nd place) for Director’s Choice Award for Best Short Film, is now available online for free (see below). A DVD release is in the works, which will be a compilation of other short films from the Seattle area, but there is currently no tentative release date. Feel free to vote on it at its Internet Movie Database (IMDb) page.