KETCHUM • for three years, a Wood River Valley filmmaker hasworked to keep the memory of Michael Jackson alive.
He hasn’t been dead that long, you say? You’re thinking of thewrong one. try Michael Jackson, the British beer writer, whose workstarting in the 1970s created beer styles as we know them today andspurred a resurgence in the popularity of craft beer, includingthrough a 1990s television show called “The Beer Hunter.”
Before he was a bartender at Ketchum’s Sawtooth Brewery, J.R.Richards served for three years as travel companion anddocumentarian to Jackson, who died in 2007. Now, he’s on the vergeof releasing his documentary on the beer critic, an attempt toensure new generations of beer lovers don’t forget this keyfigure.
The roots of the project date back to 2003, when Richards washired to film beer tastings Jackson did for his Rare Beer Club, abeer-of-the-month club. It was a new world for Richards.
“I liked beer, I was interested, but I was the video guy,” hesaid.
Over time, that changed. Richards was amazed by the response andattention Jackson garnered wherever he went, and he securedpermission to keep filming Jackson. That became a three-yearadventure.
Richards remembers it as long days with packed itineraries,complicated by a celebrity who never refused an autograph or aconversation — ensuring Jackson and Richards were almost alwayslate to events. Homebrewers offered the beer writer samples oftheir brews to critique. Beer fans sought autographs. Richardsrecalled arriving at a press conference in the Czech Republic, anhour and a half late, and being amazed by the throngs of presswaiting for Jackson.
“We walk in, and it was just like Michael Jackson the pop singerwas arriving,” Richards said.
As Jackson and Richards traveled the U.S. and Europe, theybecame close working partners. Richards recalls a man who washumble, who loved meeting everyday people and couldn’t standsnobbery. He also remembers a man who was driven to stay active inthe beer world, lest he become irrelevant as craft beer’spopularity continued to grow.
“Near the end, he started referring to me as a friend,” Richardssaid. “There’s something special about that.”
The duo talked about many options for Richards’ footage. Thedocumentary was still in play, but maybe, the two thought, theycould put together another installment of “The Beer Hunter,” morethan a decade later.
Those plans were cut short by Jackson’s announcement that he’ddeveloped Parkinson’s disease. Barely half a year later, thebehemoth of the beer world died from a heart attack.
“We were pretty much in shock,” Richards said. Then, his mindturned to his work of the past few years. “We thought, we had thisfootage, we had to do something with it.”
But what? Richards’ hours of following Jackson around wouldn’treally fit by themselves as a scripted documentary. and the footageneeded work — on rare occasion, he had audio or lighting help, butfor the most part it was just him and his camera.
Richards took it one piece at a time. He sketched out adocumentary that would work with his footage, and set about piecingtogether funding. That was more difficult that he expected, he said— even for a piece on such a luminary as Jackson.
Trailers released online in 2010 got some reaction, thoughRichards’ hopes to premiere the documentary at that year’s GreatAmerican Beer Festival (GABF) fell through. It was the productionteam’s discovery of Kickstarter — a website that allows people tohelp fund a variety of projects, even if they give only a fewdollars — that finally gave the project the boost it needed. Thekey, Richards said, is it brought the community of craft beerdrinkers on board.
As of Monday night, “Beer Hunter: The Movie” had 500 financialbackers, five days left to donate and had raised $40,000 — $10,000above its original goal. Richards said his supporters includepeople in about 20 countries, including Italy, Australia andCanada. In the U.S., breweries including new Glarus Brewing inWisconsin, Stone Brewing in California and Dock Street Brewing inPennsylvania have signed on as sponsors.
The sudden swell has left Richards hopeful he can add a few moretouches to his film. Specifically, he’d like to substitute his ownvoiceovers for interviews with key figures in the craft beermovement — “people who were there, who knew Michael.”
“You talk to one person and they have one part of Michael’sstory,” he said, noting as example Jackson’s lesser claim to fame —his career as a whiskey writer. “I want to get other footage, showthe other side of Michael.”
He’d also like to license some of the footage from the original“The Beer Hunter,” though he’s not sure how much that willcost.
And, of course, there’s the pressure of getting the film out inthe first place, with 500 backers awaiting its release. Richardsideally would like another year to finish it, but he’s looking atan earlier premiere — perhaps in August, on the day Jackson died.Or, there’s this year’s GABF in October, a fine place to show afilm dedicated to the man who so loved American brewing.
“Michael’s base of support was always right here in the U.S.,”Richards said. “He loved Belgian history. but Americans picked upon their creativeness.”
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