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Most people raised in the Southern Baptist part of the Bible belt live in fear of being left over when the rapture comes. Television producer Joe Banks is counting on it. As a young boy, Joe Banks idolized the work of television producer Alan Funt, whose Candid Camera program was the first in a long line of reality programs that captured people in real life situations. After graduating from UCLA with a degree in filmmaking, Banks briefly interned as a writer for Bob Saget on America’s Funniest Home Videos. “It was all about getting to know people, so that when the time was right, I could pitch my own show,” said Banks from his Glendale office/apartment. Banks pitched his first show in 1997 to Fox executives, a rip off of Saget’s show called “America’s Funniest Security Camera Videos.” “I was definitely ahead of my time,” said Banks. “Nowadays you see little old ladies getting mugged and convenience store gunfights on the five o’clock news, but in the 90’s. Gunfights in convenience stores, little old ladies getting mugged, couples fooling around in the chip aisle of the 7-11. The 90’s audience just wasn’t ready for it. Now that kind of garbage is everywhere.” Banks went back to the drawing board, and as TV content became more depraved at the turn of the century, he came back with another reality show pitch, “So You Want to Be A Serial Killer.” “The show would take ten contestants and lead them through a series of challenges. Each one would have to determine what their fetishes were, what their preferred method of murder would be, what tell-tale clues they would leave the police. Sadly, the WB turned me down cold. Though Iranian Television almost came in and picked us up.” The failure of his second show left Banks bankrupt, leading him to return to his hometown to get his bearings. It was there an old flame introduced him to the “Left Behind” series. “I had grown up in church, but I honestly never heard about this rapture thing!” he said. “I grabbed the book and devoured it in one day. That night I dreamed about all the chaos a rapture would cause: cheerleaders vanishing and toppling pyramids; cars careening out of control and smashing into buildings; people vanishing off the toilet; a man disappearing in the middle of a date with a beautiful woman.” Banks smiles to himself. “Do you know how funny that’s going to be?” Thus, “Heaven’s Funniest Rapture Videos” was born. Much like “America’s Funniest Home Videos”, the show will be a clip show, only these clips will focus on one theme: the chaos and calamities that result from people being raptured. “Let’s face it, everyone’s gonna have a story,” says Banks. “And with camera phones as ubiquitous as they are, almost everyone’s gonna have it on film.” But Banks isn’t willing to gamble on his audience alone. With the help of some friends and investors, he is traveling across the country, installing cameras in strategic locations. This Big Brother-like camera network will provide the show’s initial run with plenty of material. They’ve even created some sample videos to spark interest from investors, which they have posted at www.areyoualeftover.com “We’re concentrating on locations where we expect to get the best stuff,” Banks says. “Consruction sites, high school gyms, fleabag motels, busy intersections, shopping malls, bowling alleys, airports, you name it.” Banks knows there’s a great deal of risk involved with this endeavor. In order to capitalize on his baby, Banks will have to become a “left over” himself. “This could really blow up in my face,” said Banks. “I could die of old age before Jesus comes back. Heck, I could get hit by a car tomorrow. But no one ever got rich and famous without taking a risk.” Indeed it is a risk, but if the rapture comes, at least one person who knows what happened will be laughing about it. “After that first show airs, I won’t be the only one,” he says with a wink.
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Watch rapture videos and learn about the upcoming Left Behind parody "LEFT OVERS" at www.areyoualeftover.com
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