Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. In 1975 he received the Gold Medal of the ire Society of Boston for service to literature. 16 on a season of Worlds Dumbest Hillbillies) built the tension, and pinned the tabloid coverage as a villain. . So that was nice. These guys are over-the-top characters and their story is absurd. Article ImageThe barbecue grill was sold toShannon Whisnant, who was surprised to find the leg within his new cooking tool. Instead he sees the leg as an opportunity for the fame and fortune he has always desired, initially setting up the smoker as a roadside attraction, and later producing merchandise around the leg and calling himself Foot Man. If part of the story is this guys search for fame, and desire for fame, thats the story, said Mr. Berlinger, who tread similar tonal and thematic ground with the 1992 film Brothers Keeper. When you go in the editing room, you have to make a great effort to be fair to your subject and fair to your material, whatever that is, he added. We stuck around for seven years, Carberry says, and found a story about what happened after the 15 minutes of fame were over.. Parts of the news media, Mr. Wood said, used him like a paper plate: They use you one time and throw you away.. Revealing its humanity slowly and a little tardily, Finders Keepers finally does justice to its dueling antiheroes, one addicted to attention and the other to multiple substances; one indulged and the other violently abused; one who finds himself and one who becomes increasingly lost. So that is this bizarre evolution of the cosmic connection between these two guys, that possibly the Foot Man, as he calls himself, might have to have his leg amputated. The case status is Not Classified By Court. The documentary "Finders Keepers" is a thorough, frequently hilarious and ultimately touching investigation of a legal dispute between two North Carolina men, each of whom lays claim to a severed human leg. John did the only natural thing. Wood felt that Whisnant was exploiting his leg asa "freak show,"and that regardless of whether it was still attached to him, he should have control over what happensto his own body. Privacy Policy and Have you followed up with them since filming ended? Thus began a bitter, drawn-out custody battle, one that landed Wood and Whisnant in the tabloids, on cable news shows, and on reality TV. Now hold on, youre saying. Things you buy through our links may earnVox Mediaa commission. I Stared in Finders Keepers Documentary! - LinkedIn BC: After getting to know them so well as people, you start to really not question their motives. Mike Dubberly got a chance to talk with former Alabama All-American Defensive Lineman and Co-Captain Shannon Brown, who's now the principal at Liberty Middle School in Madison, Alabama. The 911 call was unlike anything ever heard in Maiden, N.C., or probably anywhere else. They didnt deride it as being about two rednecks fighting over a leg. Read on for more thoughts from Carberry and Tweel about John Wood, Shannon Whisnant, and the path to Finders Keepers. Ad Choices, Everything You Need to Know About the 2023 Met Gala, 47 Best Mothers Day Gifts to Give Mom This Year, Where to Watch the 2023 Met Gala Livestream. Tweel: I think our job was then to continually to dig deeper and get to the heart of what makes these people tick and they were unbelievably trusting of us and more honest than a lot of people are on camera. They dont shy away. Shannon Whisnant: I'm pretty smart. But Mr. Whisnant, a professed entrepreneur with a flair for promotion and a thirst for the spotlight, did not want to return it to Mr. Wood. And so does Wood. But this shockingly funny, weirdly touching custody battle between John Wood, the aggrieved amputee, and Shannon Whisnant, the fast-talking entrepreneur who unwittingly bought the appendage in a storage-unit auction, is as authentic as the North Carolina vernacular in which it unfolds. (Oh, but he will. If you're looking for an extremely disturbing documentary film, you'll find it on these lists! The Inside Story Behind 'Finders Keepers,' This Year's Most - Yahoo The discovery naturally raised a lot of questions: Whose foot was it? The rest winds thoughtfully through family history, class, and the twin perils and enticements of drugs and celebrity. He called 911 and the police came to confiscate the leg. Eventually, they decided to appear on the show Judge Mathis, to once and for all decide the legs fate. There was a ton of great footage, hysterical footage, that they didnt use, of me.. Sidebar: Is there another term, in the film world, except footage? Mr. Wood asked during a recent interview alongside his directors in New York. He deals in kind of found goods and trying to resell them for a profit and he is always looking for a way to turn a buck. The U2 singer called his Zelenskyy portrait a few squiggles and I just got out of the way.. Published by The News and Observer on Nov. 13, 2016. After Whisnant invoked the time-honored finders keepers rule and reminded folks that possession is nine-tenths of the law, a bizarre whos-foot-is-it-anyway custody battle ensued. ", People We Want to See on a Comedy Central Roast. Forget Found Footage. The Doc 'Finders Keepers' Is About a Found Foot At this point, it would be reasonable to assume that Whisnant would want nothing more to do with Woods leg. Movies. Adam Hobbs. Will Tiger King 2 Figure Out What Happened to Carole Baskins Husband? Rather than return the appendage to its rightful owner,he madeit into alocal tourist attraction. Whisnant bought Woods barbecue smoker, took it home, opened it up, and discovered inside the mummified limb.