Ann McElhinney
Encyclopedia
Ann McElhinney is an Irish
journalist
and documentary filmmaker. She has written and produced the political documentaries Not Evil Just Wrong
and Mine Your Own Business
, as well as The Search for Tristan's Mum and Return to Sender. She is married to fellow documentary-maker and journalist Phelim McAleer
.
is a film McElhinney and McAleer directed and produced to challenge Al Gore
's An Inconvenient Truth
. It suggests that the evidence for human-caused global warming
is inconclusive, and that the impact of suggested legislation for mitigating climate change would be much more harmful to humans than beneficial. The movie was filmed in 2008, and was screened at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam and at the Right Online conference in 2009
.
Not Evil, Just Wrong attempted to break a World Record
for largest simultaneous premiere that is currently held by The Age of Stupid
. The film was endorsed by some within the Tea Party movement, and McElhinney's website claims that there were 6,500 U.S. screenings and 1,500 foreign screenings--that reached 400,000 people.
In 2010, the directors cooperated with the Independent Women's Forum
to create a program, Balanced Education for Everyone (B.E.E.) that seeks to place Not Evil Just Wrong in schools; the concept was an attempt to teach both sides of the climate-change debate.
is a documentary that looked at campaigns by foreign environmentalist
s against a large scale mining project in Romania
that never came to fruition. The film looked at how the lives of the poor people in the area would have been affected if the mine had been built, and gave a voice to poor, umeployed people who lived in desperate situations and would have been able to afford such things as indoor plumbing if the project had gone through.
When the documentary was reviewed by environmentalists it was compared to pornography and Nazi propaganda. McElhinney later received two death threats because of the content of this documentary."
Eighty environmentalist organizations tried to have the National Geographic cancel a screening at the organization's headquarters in 2006.
The UK Guardian
described the documentary as "a Michael Moore
-style documentary [that] casts the green movement as the influential villain of a worldwide campaign to block development and deny people the chance of jobs and a decent life."
two years later. It broadcast on RTÉ 1, the Irish state television station, in 2005. As part of the film project, McElhinney located Tristan's mother, and reunited her with her son.
This film was selected to be part of Input 2006, a showcase for programs representing national public broadcasters from around the world, and was duly screened for industry professionals at the film festival that year in Taiwan
in May.
, CBC
(Canada
), and RTE
(Ireland
). She has been a guest on Dennis Miller and the erstwhile Randi Rhodes
show. McElhinney has worked as a journalist and filmmaker in the US
, Canada, Romania, Bulgaria
, Chile
, Indonesia
, Cambodia
, Vietnam
, China
, Ghana
and Uganda
.
, hosted by Americans for Prosperity
, where she spoke out in reaction to Van Jones
--who had made an appearance at Netroots Nation. She spoke at both the 2009 and 2010 Conservative Political Action Conference
s. In 2009, a U.S. poll identified McElhinney and her husband, Phelim McAleer, as the most popular conservative speakers after broadcaster Rush Limbaugh
and columnist Ann Coulter
.
McElhinney is considered a supporter of some "Tea Party" groups, and in fact she spoke at the Sacramento
Tea Party tax day protest in 2010.
The Constitutional Coalition's "Educational Policy Conference" in St. Louis, Missouri
also hosted McElhinney, and she received a standing ovation there for endorsing capitalism and proclaiming that anthropogenic global warming
does not constitute proven science.
—California's climate change legislation. In response to this donation, McElhinney and McAleer
made an short film; it alleged that passage of AB 32 would increase Californians' energy costs, and suggested that Cameron, who'd been quoted as saying, "we are going to have to live with less," lives a more energy-extravagant life than most Americans. The Independent
said that this attack advertisement
might "be tapping a rich rhetorical vein", but "conveniently ignores the fact that Cameron pays to off-set his personal carbon emissions".
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and documentary filmmaker. She has written and produced the political documentaries Not Evil Just Wrong
Not Evil Just Wrong
Not Evil Just Wrong is a documentary film by Ann McElhinney and Phelim McAleer that challenges Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth by suggesting that the evidence of global warming is inconclusive and that the impact global-warming legislation will have on industry is much more harmful to humans than...
and Mine Your Own Business
Mine Your Own Business
Mine Your Own Business is a documentary directed and produced by Phelim McAleer and Ann McElhinney in 2006 about the Roșia Montană mining project. The film asserts that environmentalists' opposition to the mine is unsympathetic to the needs and desires of the locals, prevents industrial progress,...
, as well as The Search for Tristan's Mum and Return to Sender. She is married to fellow documentary-maker and journalist Phelim McAleer
Phelim McAleer
Phelim McAleer is an Irish journalist and documentary filmmaker. He has written and produced Not Evil Just Wrong and Mine Your Own Business, as well as The Search for Tristan's Mom and Return to Sender...
.
Not Evil Just Wrong
Not Evil Just WrongNot Evil Just Wrong
Not Evil Just Wrong is a documentary film by Ann McElhinney and Phelim McAleer that challenges Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth by suggesting that the evidence of global warming is inconclusive and that the impact global-warming legislation will have on industry is much more harmful to humans than...
is a film McElhinney and McAleer directed and produced to challenge Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
's An Inconvenient Truth
An Inconvenient Truth
An Inconvenient Truth is a 2006 documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim about former United States Vice President Al Gore's campaign to educate citizens about global warming via a comprehensive slide show that, by his own estimate, he has given more than a thousand times.Premiering at the...
. It suggests that the evidence for human-caused global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
is inconclusive, and that the impact of suggested legislation for mitigating climate change would be much more harmful to humans than beneficial. The movie was filmed in 2008, and was screened at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam and at the Right Online conference in 2009
2009 in film
The year 2009 saw the release of many films. Seven made the top 50 list of highest-grossing films, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that as of this year, their Best Picture category would consist of ten nominees, rather than five .- Highest-grossing films :Please note...
.
Not Evil, Just Wrong attempted to break a World Record
World record
A world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...
for largest simultaneous premiere that is currently held by The Age of Stupid
The Age of Stupid
The Age of Stupid is a 2009 British film by Franny Armstrong, director of McLibel and Drowned Out, and founder of 10:10, and first-time producer Lizzie Gillett...
. The film was endorsed by some within the Tea Party movement, and McElhinney's website claims that there were 6,500 U.S. screenings and 1,500 foreign screenings--that reached 400,000 people.
In 2010, the directors cooperated with the Independent Women's Forum
Independent Women's Forum
The Independent Women's Forum is an American conservative, non-profit, non-partisan research and educational institution focused on domestic and foreign policy issues of concern to women...
to create a program, Balanced Education for Everyone (B.E.E.) that seeks to place Not Evil Just Wrong in schools; the concept was an attempt to teach both sides of the climate-change debate.
Mine Your Own Business
Mine Your Own BusinessMine Your Own Business
Mine Your Own Business is a documentary directed and produced by Phelim McAleer and Ann McElhinney in 2006 about the Roșia Montană mining project. The film asserts that environmentalists' opposition to the mine is unsympathetic to the needs and desires of the locals, prevents industrial progress,...
is a documentary that looked at campaigns by foreign environmentalist
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
s against a large scale mining project in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
that never came to fruition. The film looked at how the lives of the poor people in the area would have been affected if the mine had been built, and gave a voice to poor, umeployed people who lived in desperate situations and would have been able to afford such things as indoor plumbing if the project had gone through.
When the documentary was reviewed by environmentalists it was compared to pornography and Nazi propaganda. McElhinney later received two death threats because of the content of this documentary."
Eighty environmentalist organizations tried to have the National Geographic cancel a screening at the organization's headquarters in 2006.
The UK Guardian
The Guardian Weekly
The Guardian Weekly is a weekly newspaper published by the Guardian Media Group and is one of the world's oldest international newspapers. It was founded with the aim of spreading progressive British ideas into America after the First World War...
described the documentary as "a Michael Moore
Michael Moore
Michael Francis Moore is an American filmmaker, author, social critic and activist. He is the director and producer of Fahrenheit 9/11, which is the highest-grossing documentary of all time. His films Bowling for Columbine and Sicko also place in the top ten highest-grossing documentaries...
-style documentary [that] casts the green movement as the influential villain of a worldwide campaign to block development and deny people the chance of jobs and a decent life."
The Search for Tristan's Mum
McElhinney directed and co-producted "The Search for Tristan's Mum," which highlights the case of a toddler Tristan Dowse who was adopted by an Irish couple at birth--and then abandoned in an Indonesian orphanageOrphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
two years later. It broadcast on RTÉ 1, the Irish state television station, in 2005. As part of the film project, McElhinney located Tristan's mother, and reunited her with her son.
This film was selected to be part of Input 2006, a showcase for programs representing national public broadcasters from around the world, and was duly screened for industry professionals at the film festival that year in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
in May.
Journalism
McElhinney has made documentaries for the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
(Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
), and RTE
Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...
(Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
). She has been a guest on Dennis Miller and the erstwhile Randi Rhodes
Randi Rhodes
Randi Rhodes is an American progressive talk radio personality, formerly featured on Air America Radio and Nova M Radio and now on Premiere Radio Networks. Her eponymous program, The Randi Rhodes Show, airs live Monday through Friday from 3 pm to 6 pm Eastern Time.-Early life:Rhodes was born in...
show. McElhinney has worked as a journalist and filmmaker in the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada, Romania, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
and Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
.
Public appearances
McElhinney is a popular speaker at conservative conferences. Her most recent appearance was at Right Online in Las VegasLas Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
, hosted by Americans for Prosperity
Americans for Prosperity
Americans for Prosperity is a Washington, D.C.–based political advocacy group. According to their literature, they promote economic policy that supports business, and restrains regulation by government...
, where she spoke out in reaction to Van Jones
Van Jones
Anthony Kapel "Van" Jones is an American environmental advocate, civil rights activist, and attorney. Jones is a co-founder of three non-profit organizations. In 1996, he founded the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, a California non-governmental organization working for alternatives to violence...
--who had made an appearance at Netroots Nation. She spoke at both the 2009 and 2010 Conservative Political Action Conference
Conservative Political Action Conference
The Conservative Political Action Conference is an annual political conference attended by conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States....
s. In 2009, a U.S. poll identified McElhinney and her husband, Phelim McAleer, as the most popular conservative speakers after broadcaster Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
and columnist Ann Coulter
Ann Coulter
Ann Hart Coulter is an American lawyer, conservative social and political commentator, author, and syndicated columnist. She frequently appears on television, radio, and as a speaker at public events and private events...
.
McElhinney is considered a supporter of some "Tea Party" groups, and in fact she spoke at the Sacramento
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
Tea Party tax day protest in 2010.
The Constitutional Coalition's "Educational Policy Conference" in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
also hosted McElhinney, and she received a standing ovation there for endorsing capitalism and proclaiming that anthropogenic global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
does not constitute proven science.
AB 32
In October 2010, James Cameron donated $1 million to oppose California's Prop 23, which would have overturned AB 32Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006
The Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, or Assembly Bill 32, is a California State Law that fights climate change by establishing a comprehensive program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from all sources throughout the state...
—California's climate change legislation. In response to this donation, McElhinney and McAleer
Phelim McAleer
Phelim McAleer is an Irish journalist and documentary filmmaker. He has written and produced Not Evil Just Wrong and Mine Your Own Business, as well as The Search for Tristan's Mom and Return to Sender...
made an short film; it alleged that passage of AB 32 would increase Californians' energy costs, and suggested that Cameron, who'd been quoted as saying, "we are going to have to live with less," lives a more energy-extravagant life than most Americans. The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
said that this attack advertisement
Television advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
might "be tapping a rich rhetorical vein", but "conveniently ignores the fact that Cameron pays to off-set his personal carbon emissions".