Kate Stellmacher

Period 5
10-29-15

Kates Senior Paper

My senior project is a documentary on the deaths of recognizable celebrities
and conspiracy theories surrounding their deaths. I have always been one of those
people who looked to celebrities as role models. I have come to realize that its
true what people say; when youre dead, people finally start listening and this is
precisely what conspiracy theorists feed off of.
River Phoenix was an activist, musician, and actor who passed away at the
fateful age of twenty three on October 31, 1993. Phoenix took a deadly mix of
cocaine and heroin, better known as a speedball. He died of that same mix outside
of the Viper Room in West Hollywood. Conspiracy theorists speculate that the
church called the Children of God had something to do with his death. As a
child, Phoenix and his family became missionaries for the Children of God, which
was surrounded by scandals. People say that Phoenix talked too much about the
disturbing truths behind this religious cult to Hollywood, angering them and
causing them to slip him a deadly speedball.
I dont believe that there is a person in the world that hasnt heard the
conspiracies surrounding Marilyn Monroe. Monroe died at the unexpected age of
thirty six years old on August 5, 1962. She was in her Brentwood home, locked in
her room, when she died. According to the autopsy, she took one too many
sleeping pills. Monroe was known to have ongoing problems with insomnia, so

the fact that she overdosed on sleeping pills didnt seem too farfetched at the
time. Some speculated that Monroes death was a probable suicide. Some say that
her death happened due to her affair with President John F. Kennedy. It is possible
that Monroe knew too much about the family and had knowledge of their darkest
secrets. As a result, Kennedys family hired people to kill her in secret and
supposedly staged it to look like an accident.
Next, Id like to cover the story of Brian Jones. Jones was the founder of
the original Rolling Stones. Jones joined the 27 Club on July 3, 1969. Throughout
Jones life, he struggled with an addiction to drugs. His death was recorded
as death by misadventure. Jones was found face down at the bottom of his
swimming pool. Conspiracy theorists genuinely believe that Jones construction
worker, Frank Thorogood, was angry with the way that Jones had been treating
him. Because of this, Thorogood waited for Jones guests to go inside before
drowning him. This conspiracy theory is actually one of the very few theories that
I believe in.
Selena Quintanilla-Perez is one of the few celebrities I will be covering that
managed to escape the attention of conspiracy theorists. Quintanilla-Perez was a
Mexican-American singer in the late 1980s through the early 1990s. She died at
the age of twenty three on March 31, 1995. Quintanilla-Perez was shot by her fan
club president and friend, Yolanda Saldivar, while confronting Saldivar about
sketchy withdrawals from her bank account. Quintanilla-Perez died from the
gunshot wound that was inflicted by Saldivar.

Alike Selena Quintanilla-Perez, Janis Joplin was fortunate enough to escape

the crazy conspiracy theorists, as well. Joplin was a musician and another
member of the 27 Club. She died on October 4, 1970 of a drug overdose in her
motel room.
Kurt Cobain was a brilliant, grunge musician from the band, Nirvana. Kurt
joined Brian Jones at the 27 Club when he died on April 5, 1994. Cobain killed
himself with a gunshot wound to the head. Conspiracy theorists believe that his
wife, Courtney Love, killed him or hired someone to kill him.
Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, died from a supposed homicide. He was
given too high a dose of anesthesia by a doctor, Conrad Murray. This anesthesia
was supposed to help Jackson sleep. Both Jackson and his doctor, Murray, were
both aware of the risks of being injected with high doses of anesthesia.
Michael Jacksons and Elvis Presleys conspiracy theories are the same: they
faked their deaths and are still alive today.
The most mysterious death of all was the death of Amy Winehouse.
Winehouse was a British singer/songwriter. Winehouse was, unfortunately, a very
sad and very lonely individual who was overcome by addiction. When things
finally began looking up for her, she mysteriously died overnight. Her bodyguard
witnessed the whole thing. He said that she simply drifted to sleep while watching
television and that she never woke up. Winehouse joined the 27 Club on July 23,
2011.
Lastly, Jim Morrison was the frontman of The Doors. As another
member of the 27 Club, Morrison overdosed on heroin in his apartment in Paris

France on July 3, 1971.

For the casting portion of my senior project, Ive decided to base the
decision-making process more so on appearance, as opposed to acting abilities.
There wont be much acting required for the documentary and therefore, it isnt my
top priority. Since this is, indeed, a documentary, only twenty five percent of it will
consist of actors.
Aside from what I will be filming with my actors, with the help of a few
friends in stagecraft and broadcasting here at Santa Susana I will be putting
together a slideshow in between each scene with hopefully some narration by
voiceover. Im hoping to also include a short story as to how these people rose to
stardom. The completed product will, with any luck, talk about the impact that
these celebrity deaths had on those around them.
Location, location, location each of the celebrities that I mentioned in the
previous paragraphs met their demise in different locations. However, Ive already
figured out what to use for each of their scenes. For River Phoenixs scene, I have
connections with a worker at the Viper Room, and through him, I will get the
permission to film there, or at least on the outside. As for Marilyn Monroe, I just
need a bedroom that is wide and open. I could easily use a bedroom, as well as a
bed in my home. Since Brian Jones died in his swimming pool, I figured Id film
his scene at my swimming pool, once the sun has gone down, to set the mood. For
Selenas scene, I wanted to request to film at the local Motel 6 here in Simi Valley.
We only need the lobby for it, and that, alone, will only take a few minutes to an
hour. I was planning on filming Kurt Cobains in my living room, in front of the

coffee table, recreate his suicide note, and lie it down in plain sight on the coffee
table once he collapses. Janis Joplins death will be filmed in the bedroom of the
actress playing Janis until further notice. Michael Jacksons will be filmed in my
bedroom, as well, but I will be making an effort to make it look different from the
other scenes I plan to use it for. Elvis Presleys calls for nothing more than a
bathroom. However, Id like it to be a bit more spacious than a basic bathroom,
given the social status of Presley. So, my cinematographer offered up his much
larger bathroom for the occasion. I havent decided whose bedroom I will be using
for Amy Winehouse, but Ive had a few offers from my cast members. For Jim
Morrison, I will be using my bathroom, which has a tub, and a decent amount of
space in it.
If youre wondering how I can manage this production all on my own, its
because Im not on my own. I have my cinematographer, Ryan. He is taking care
of filming auditions, as well as the filming of the scenes for the documentary.
Ryan and my friend, Dalton, will be aiding me with the editing process, along with
my amazing mentor, Tracy Seligman. As for costumes and makeup, I will be
working with my friend, Stevie, as well as my friend, Riley, to measure my actors,
find suitable costumes and to decide what makeup they will need. I am very
fortunate to have so many amazing people by my side.
If everything goes as planned, my project should be completed by Spring of
2016, but preferably in April or May. At the rate that things are progressing, I
wouldnt be surprised if I finished earlier than that. Once I finish editing the
documentary and pulling it together, I will be discussing where to show it with Ms.

Mayea. This will be an amazing journey and I am so excited to present my project.