Burbank, California was the setting for what many people 
perceived as the defining moment of Digital Filmmaking. The 
low-budget motion picture Machiavelli Hangman’s release 
had an unprecedented number of fans gathered outside the central 
building of squareshire to take pictures of the actors and 
filmmakers as they made their way inside the theatre. The 
mystery around Machiavelli Hangman had increased tremendously 
since rumors of JFK scandals flew around and how the government 
had tried to put a stop to the production of the film.

The filmmakers went into hiding for the majority of the year 
until the actual release of the film. While the files documenting 
every detail surrounding John F. Kennedy’s assassination were to 
be kept secret until 2025, the filmmakers of "Machiavelli" 
managed to break the secret. "My father was a teenager when the 
president was shot and I have personally followed the conspiracy 
theories that have revolved around the Warren Commission. I have 
a feeling that this may be just a marketing scheme, but if it is 
legitimate, then it would create a big shake among the American 
public," says Phillip Main, one of the attendees. 

Flyers and brochures were passed out to the screeners and they 
all had to pass through a metal detector. The screening had the 
feel of a FBI investigation as opposed to a movie screening.

While many standard films will have an audience of hundreds, 
Shervin Youssefian, the filmmaker behind Machiavelli 
Hangman, invited a select few from the industry’s top production 
companies to be the first to see what all the talk is about. 
This was a group of sixty who were asked to present two forms 
of identification before being let in. One of the women who 
was unable to offer the two pieces of ID was denied entrance. 
"They’re making it such a big deal that it’s starting to worry 
me and I’m curious as to why, if it’s such a controversy, the 
government hasn’t stepped in and stopped it," says Jim Schater, 
as he held up a banner that read Machiavelli is Evil.

For some time between March and April, the government was rumored 
to have intervened and shud own the production facility to search 
for any copies or material that may reference the files regarding 
John F. Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald. The search yielded no 
results.

The secret is out and the filmmakers are claiming that the film 
is based on those truths. The government cannot stop a production 
company from telling a story and by pushing too hard, they would 
be admitting that this is the actual truth.  

Charles B. Ray is a movie reviewer.
Machiavelli Hangman
http://www.hangmanmovie.com