John Denver was known and loved around the world for his songs. But few knew he was much more than an entertainer. He was a man deeply committed to bringing peace among nations, ending world hunger and protecting the environment. Hedreamed big dreams and made them real and spoke of things that matter. He WAS a humanitarian, but I doubt it was his intention. “Humanitarian” is a label other people give us. We wonder how John saw himself.
“Rejoice in the creative spirit that lives in you. Use it consciously to create the life and the world you want.”
-- John Denver –
This above message from John Denver uprooted my workaholic life in Sydney Australia in 1989 and moved me to Aspen, Colorado with a commitment to “create the life and the world I want.” While co-producing events for John’s Windstar Foundation in Australia and in Aspen, I met some of the greatest hearts and minds on the planet many of whom have pledged their personal support to the film I am developing. One of the greatest of these was Donna, my wife of seventeen years, who joined me on an inspirational quest of self-discovery and personal growth. Despite our move from Aspen to Austin, Texas in 1995 and John Denver’s tragic death in 1997, his vision never ceases to inspire us and remains the foundation of our lives. His idea of a “you and me world” and his “together we can make a difference” are our lifelong mantras. Although the film will show the impact he had on the world, this film is not "about" John Denver. It is really a celebration of the creative spirit that lives in each of us and the potential each one of us has. It will do this by showing how a "country boy." who rose to superstardom, saw his success and his celebrity as an opportuniy and a responsibility for him to communicate the challenges facing our planet and serve as a catalyst to bring people and organizations together to pursue a mission of peace and sustainability.
“What One Man Can Do” commissioned by JoLynn Long is inspired by John Denver's deep commitment to the challenges facing humanity - bringing peace among nations, ending world hunger and protecting the environment. Through original interviews with John and those who traveled, played and worked with him, audiences around the world will learn how the seeds he planted many years ago have since produced extraordinary results demonstrating how it is possible for one man to lift the consciousness of so many lives and make a huge difference in the world. The film will be enhanced by adding certain of John's inspirational songs. My intention is that audiences will leave the theatres wondering where they fit into the “jigsaw puzzle” of human experience and inspired to consider how they might make their own positive difference in the world. All of us are faced with increasingly difficult choices within what seems a chaotic world. Global climate changes, the war on terror, intolerance, greed and corruption, pollution, looming fossil fuel shortages, hunger and aids—all seemingly intractable issues that tempt us to surrender, become apathetic or act in dysfunctional ways. I believe that consistent with and evidenced by the success of other documentary films recently released, "What One Man Can Do" is important and timely and will be a medium through which John's call for peace can continue to be heard. To make the film I am supported by many influential advisors and consultants many of whom worked alongside John and are themselves making great contributions. One of these is John Raatz who was largely responsible for the enormous success of "What The Bleep." Terry Lipman Executive Producer
My mission for this film is to educate the largest audience possible about the current serious state of the planet and the plight of the many species that live on it.To reach this audience, because of his vast international influence, connections and philosophy of inclusion, (it has been said he was one of the most influential spokesmen of the second half of the 20th century), I am revisiting John Denver’s life with whom I worked for a number of years and reintroducing his notion that “each of us is part of and responsible for the quality of life on Planet Earth and that which affects any one of us affects us all.”
Unlike other documentaries dealing with the environment, rather than have audiences fear the current crisis and be tempted to surrender and become apathetic or act in dysfunctional ways, my intention for this one is to have them embrace it and be inspired by John’s and others' examples to join together and support appropriate actions towards creating a sustainable and peaceful future for our Planet Earth.
Thirty years ago John was urging us to consider the plight of the Planet as, even then, our actions were putting a serious strain on its natural functions and resources. Today, with the ever growing world population, the seriousness of the situation has increased dramatically and is speeding rapidly towards a crisis point.
According to Randy Hayes from the World Future Council ....
70% of the world’s forests have already been eliminated;
30% of the world’s arable land has been lost;
our water wastage is exceeding replenishing supplies;
our rivers are being poisoned;
tens of millions of species and one half of the Earth’s plants are facing extinction;
overfishing has caused over 90% of large fish to be gone from the oceans;
over 80% of the oceans’ ecosystems are being exploited at a non-sustainable rate.
And the most pressing and potentially most destructive challenge confronting us is global climate change which already is causing cataclysmic storms and the melting of our glaciers. As Randy says “These are all big ticket, global, ecological issues, and what they are doing is shredding the fabric of life that basically creates the life support systems; the ability of the planet to support our life and future generations.” A week before he died in October 1997, John and I met back stage at The Bass Hall in Austin Texas after one of his last concerts.We talked seriously about his environmental and humanitarian concerns then and how best he could reach a larger audience.
