In 2007, Australian born Joe Cross started a revolution when he released a movie chronicling his battle with weight and sickness in the most transparent way. The movie: Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead (FSND). The movement: juicing. Since the release of the documentary, over twenty million people have seen the film and taken on the challenge of changing their lives, myself included.
FSND exposed the audience to a new worldview. It challenged the status quo by presenting helpful tips on how to reboot your body, make better food choices, lose weight and cure sickness in a healthy way by drinking fruits and veggies for 90 consecutive days. Some other benefits of juicing shown in the film were: increased energy, glowing skin and clearer mind.
Today, Cross and his team released part 2 of the movie: Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead 2. This film is a natural progression of the project and answers a very important question: What’s next?
I got the scoop from Cross himself. Here’s what he had to say.
F.W.A.C.: FSND was such an immense success. Did you expect it to do this well?
J.C.: Absolutely no way. Kathleen, never, ever, ever did I imagine in a million years that 20 million people (and still counting) would see this. I thought: “you are lucky to get ten thousand people at a yoga studio off the mountain somewhere.” It’s been a real surprise but a pleasant one.
F.W.A.C.: Susan was saying that it was the movie that could and I told her that it’s actually the movie that did.
J.C.: Yes, that’s true. I hope that the new movie that we are doing a sneak peek premiere across America tonight at 650 movie theaters lives up to the success of number 1. So far the reports are coming in quite positive from the audience in the small screenings we’ve done up until now. But now is the test, we hand it over to the audience and now the audience can judge us.
F.W.A.C.: Why did you decide to do a second movie?
J.C.: I think that because the first movie […] I didn’t really think anything like do one and do another one and do another one. I didn’t think like that. […] Because I had never made a movie before, there was a lot of stuff that we didn’t incorporate like: what to do afterwards, how do you maintain [your weight loss]. It’s one thing loosing it and it’s another thing keeping it off. And also just looking at the response from people and the community and how they really wanted more content. So I found myself looking at the way that we live, the way that I live and through that lens saying how is it possible to do our best and to be healthy in a predominantly unhealthy world. What are those hurdles that we need to overcome and what are some of the ways that we can connect with others to help us stay on the right track.
THE TRAILER
F.W.A.C.: Between this movie and the first one, how were you able to stay on track?
J.C.: I think it’s a combination of things and I’m happy that the movie will show and share that with you. But I think it’s a combination. It’s about being kind to yourself, it’s about loving yourself, it’s about loving and honoring our plants and learning what they do, the earth and the connection that we have to nature. I think it’s about being connected to others and people who we can rely upon, whether it’s a church, a family, a husband or a wife, a parent or a child, whether it’s work colleagues, people you meet on the street. It’s about being connected and feeling that you are part of something. And so I think that being connected to a group is really important and that can also be online. We see that in the movie: how successful those people that feel connected are versus those who are not connected.
F.W.A.C.: The first movie was focused on the US, is the second movie also focused there?
J.C.: Well actually, in this movie we are in other parts of the world and you’ll be surprised when you see it later just how globally the word is out there about juicing and about rebooting your life. We are in many countries tonight, when you see the movie, it truly is a global message.
F.W.A.C.: Why did you choose to start here?
J.C.: Back in the first film,[…] America is a fabulous country and does so many things well. I guess the one thing I would say that Americans are not really good at is watching content from other countries. Americans love watching American stuff, they’re not real big on watching a lot of stuff made in other countries. There are some notable exceptions and so on. And they are getting better but back in 2007, I felt that if I wanted to get as many eyeballs on this movie as possible I should come and make it in America because Americans will see themselves in the movie and be more comfortable as opposed to just a journey around Australia or across Great Britain. Whereas Australian and other English-speaking countries are used to seeing American content.
F.W.A.C.: I’d like to get to know that man behind the movie. You are a businessman, movie director now and star… who is Joe Cross and what does he do?
J.C.: That’s a good question, I don’t think we have enough time… We gotta go and see my therapist now. I’m a regular guy like everybody else, I’m a juggler. I’ve got things to juggle in my life. It’s about prioritizing and being focused. You have to juggle family, friends, career, health and yourself. They are the things that I’m doing my best with. So I’m trying to create a company where we can show stories that inspire others that hopefully those people will like what they see and they’ll come into our world and we can fund our movies via e-commerce transactions whether they want to buy the movie, rent the movie or if they are watching it on Netflix for free maybe they’ll come over to rebootwithjoe.com and they’ll see some of the books and plans we have available and they’ll support us. I just think for us it’s about creating a world where we can make it easier for people to connect and increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables.
F.W.A.C.: Last question, rapid fire? Your favorite things:
Food that is not juice? Chocolate.
Movie of all time? Shawshank Redemption.
Red or white wine? I don’t drink.
Physical activity? Walking and golf.
Suits or jeans? Definitely, jeans.
Guilty pleasure? Chocolate ice cream.
Cause dear to your heart? The loneliness and depression that people suffer and feel in the world. When people are disconnected, I really feel for them.
The FSND saga personally changed my life and for that I am forever grateful to Joe. Go see the movie it’s so worth it!
Stay Conscious & Chic!
