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Theatrical release poster
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Copley plays Ted Kaczynski, the mathematics professor who quits his job in order to live as a survivalist in Lincoln, Montana.
He lives a primitive life in a remote cabin, hunting for food and existing without electricity or running water, based on his belief that modern technology is destroying the planet.
He becomes a domestic terrorist, launching nationwide mail bombing campaign in protest of modern technology and the destruction of nature.
The publication of his 35,000 word “manifesto” by the Washington Post on Sept. 19, 1995 led to his being dubbed “the Unabomber” by the media.
It also prompted the FBI to conduct the largest, most expensive investigation in its history.
Premiering in the Panorama section of the 2021 Berlin Film Fest, Ted K was theatrically released in the U.S. a year later.
Unflding as a tale of vengeful obsession, the film received critical acclaim, with particular praise for Stone’s taut direction and Copley’s compelling turn as a man who changes his appearance radically by shaving his beard, or slamming his nose against a cinder block.
Spoiler Alert:
The FBI arrested Kaczynski in 1996, after his brother David identified the manifesto as written by Ted. He is given life in supermax prison in Florencem, Colorado, for killing 3 people and injuring 23 others.
It’s hard to tell why the movie never managed to find an audience. Was it the grim subject? Timing of its release? Too long to tell its depressing story?
Credits:
Directed by Tony Stone
Written by Gaddy Davis, John Rosenthal, Stone
Cinematography: Nathan Corbin, Ethan Palmer
Edited by Tony Stone and others
Music by Blanck Mass
Distributed by Super Ltd, Neon
Release dates: March 1, 2021 (Berlin); Feb 18, 2022 (US)
Running time: 122 minutes
