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Merlin Miller | |
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| Born | Merlin L. Miller Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Film director, producer, writer, |
| Political party |
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Merlin L. Miller is an Americanpaleoconservative political activist, independent film director, writer, and producer. His works include the television filmA Place to Grow (1998), starringGary Morris, and the filmJericho (2000), starringMark Valley. During the 2000s he founded aTennessee-based production company, Americana Pictures. He has also written articles for theBarnes Review and theOccidental Observer.[1][2][3]
Miller was the 2012 presidential nominee of the white nationalistAmerican Third Position Party (now known as the American Freedom Party).[4] Academic and political activistVirginia Abernethy was his running-mate.
Miller was born inDes Moines, Iowa and was also raised there. He states that he worked as anIndustrial engineering manager forMichelin Tire Company. Miller says that in his childhood, he admiredWalt Disney andDavy Crockett.[3]
Miller produced and editedDevil Rider (1989), ahorror movie starring Tag Groat as the title character.[5][6] In 1991, Miller producedDavid Heavener's crime filmPrime Target, starring Heavener as policeman John Bloodstone andIsaac Hayes as Captain Tompkins.[7]
Miller co-produced the action filmA Mission to Kill (1992), starringWilliam Smith as a mentally unstable Vietnam veteran, Boris Catuli. Tag Groat, who played the title role inDevil Rider, also appeared in this film.[8]
Miller returned to film making withA Place to Grow (1998), which he wrote, directed, and produced. The movie starred country singerGary Morris; actorsJohn Beck andWilford Brimley, as well ashobo music artistBoxcar Willie, also appeared in it.[9][10]
Miller produced and directed a western movie,Jericho (2000), withMark Valley as the title character. RetiredMarine Corps drill instructorR. Lee Ermey appeared in the movie, as didBuck Taylor and country artistLisa Stewart.[11]
Miller's shift in ideology led him to found Americana Pictures, based inGatlinburg, Tennessee, Miller's current home. According to its mission statement, the company aims "to develop, produce and market quality motion pictures, which promote fresh talent and the best of traditional European-American ideals."[12] Americana Pictures' first film was said to be about theUSS Liberty incident, which he referred to as a "shocking Israeli attack" on the United States. He said he was planning to produceThe Liberator (which was to be based on the history ofArminius and theBattle of the Teutoburg Forest).[3][13]
During the 2000s, Miller began to take on an increasinglypaleoconservative political stance. He also became harshly critical ofHollywood, claiming that it "surreptitiously seeks to destroy ourEuropean-American heritage and our Christian-based traditional values, and replace them with values that debase these traditional values and elevateminorities as paragons of virtue and wisdom.... Today's motion pictures, in concert with other forms of mass media entertainment, are the greatest enemies to the well-being of our progeny and the future of our country." Miller has also accused Hollywood of being under "Jewish-Zionist control"; he citesKevin B. MacDonald as influencing this belief.[3] He has criticized celebrities such asQuentin Tarantino andMadonna, saying that they are "dysfunctional" and "come from traditional Christian or European-American backgrounds but are notorious for spurning those values."[3] He has citedMel Gibson and his self-marketed movieThe Passion of the Christ as inspirations.[3]
Miller also spoke at the 2008 national conference of theCouncil of Conservative Citizens, of which he is also a member. Miller has stated that while he does not share all the goals of the COfCC members, and rejects "extremist stances", he nonetheless agrees with the group's statement of principles. Miller states that he "doesn't like"interracial marriage but that he does not supportoutlawing interracial marriage. Miller has denied beingantisemitic, instead claiming that he merely opposes "favoritism" granted to Jews in the film industry. He also opposesillegal immigration and what he refers to as "wide open borders" in the United States.[14][15]
Miller was a noted participant in theInternational Conference on Hollywoodism inIran. After his return from Iran in 2012, he wrote on his website that he realized that the people who wanted a war between the US and Iran are "globalists (international bankers and their multinational beneficiaries). They control Israel, the American media and most of our politicians…and by extension our foreign policy."[16]
In 2008, Miller contributed $200 to thepresidential campaign ofRepublican CongressmanRon Paul. He also served as a delegate for Paul's campaign.[17][18]
In January 2012, Miller was nominated by theAmerican Third Position Party (later known as the American Freedom Party) for President of the United States in the2012 election.[19][20] He was the party's first presidential candidate nominee after its foundation in 2010.[4][21] He gained ballot access in Colorado, New Jersey and Tennessee. During the 2012 election, he received 2,307 votes (~0.0%) in these states.[22]
In September 2012, Miller met with Iranian presidentMahmoud Ahmedinejad for nearly 20 minutes and discussed a number of issues, including what both Miller and Ahmedinejad characterize as the "Zionist-controlled media" in the West. Miller publicly defended Ahmedinejad as someone who has been unfairly demonized in Western media and who cares about his people. Ahmedinejad gave Miller a collection of poems byOmar Khayyam.[23]
