WatchSuper Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! It's about return for the consumers. More to explore. They are basically trapped inside these companies with the debt these companies throw on them. But the dream of releasing a documentary that was as impactful as the 2004 original faded away when three months after that successful Super Size Me 2 world premiere, and at the height of the #MeToo Movement, Spurlock sent out a tweet that read I am Part of the Problem, along with a link to a letter via TwitLonger, in which he confessed to numerous acts of sexual misconduct in his past. You know who you are, and Im surprised youve gotten this far in this review. Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken is filmmaker Morgan Spurlock's sequel to his critically acclaimed original first film Super Size Film where he examined and consumed McDonald's for thirty days which resulted in negative effects to his mind and body, but this time around he's all about the chicken. With the end credits rolling on the big screen behind him, Morgan Spurlock took the stage after the world premiere of Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! during the Toronto International Film Festival last September, and flashed his patented wide smile as he took in the loud applause from the audience. Morgan Spurlock teamed up with Jonathan Buttram, a chicken farmer in . But the problem is when the people backed out who were to release the movie it hurt the consumers but it hurt the poultry growers a lot worse. Sign up for notifications from Insider! Samuel Goldwyn. National Chicken Council. Im happy that Im being able to get the word out and let people know whats happening to the farmers and the animals -- the chickens out there, he said. "Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! At Spurlocks restaurant, truth is on the menu. Its an in-your-face, postmodern fantasia of reds, greens and boldface messaging. Morgan Spurlock's "Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!" has languished for nearly two years, having been shelved after the director's disclosure of "past indiscretions." Yet the sequel to . I was lucky enough to see Holy . will be making an appearance in New York later this month on 18 West 23rd Street. He and many others had hoped their "mistreatment" at the hands of "Big Chicken" (the five powerful corporations who control 99.9 per cent of the birds raised, sold and eaten in America) would gain public exposure from the release of Morgan Spurlock's documentaryHoly Chicken. Scene from "Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! Additional information about how farmers are paid is readily available on our website.". Morris learned about what Spurlock did and the eventual backing out by YouTube through his attorneys. When you purchase a ticket for an independently reviewed film through our site . NEW YORK, Sept. 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Celebrating today's opening of his latest exploration of the food industry, Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!, Morgan Spurlock's honest and fully transparent fast casual restaurant is now opening to the public! The film keeps a brisk pace from beginning to end, with only a slight lull as Spurlock detours into a series of interviews concerning a . had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. Speaking at the premiere, Buttram detailed the toll these draconian and punitive practices had on his fellow farmers. I did not know that, replied the guy. But I am also part of the solution.. The news is that hes opening his own fast food restaurant. The national flock is as healthy as its ever been. Alabama chicken farmer Jonathan Buttram is one of many who missed out on some much-needed publicity for their plight by the demise of Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! Morgan Spurlock teamed up with Jonathan Buttram, a chicken farmer in Alabama, to learn about the modern poultry industry. All three men told Business Insider that Spurlock never contacted them before or after his tweet. After being there, that they "Hope to not see you soon!" They taste good. That news ladys investigative report and shocked reaction was far more revealing (and more hilarious) than Spurlocks reaction to his similarly posed experiment. Spurlock said theres a dark side to big chicken, referring to the nations top chicken producers. Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! takes 93. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? -- a sober look at an industry that processes 9 billion animals a year in America. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Spurlock worked with farmer Jonathan Buttram in Alabama to raise the chickens for his restaurant. But the real meat of the movie are the sections about chicken farming, which see Spurlock hiring third-generation Alabama chicken farmer Jonathan Buttram to help him raise a flock of big-breasted . Its almost guaranteed youll find a grilled or crispy (you never see the word fried) chicken sandwich on any menu (sometimes both) especially in the food chain industry. "Two weeks ago, I had two farmers calling me threatening to commit suicide. We invite anyone interested in seeing first-hand the real story of broiler chickens to watch NCCs360 video series. A Samuel L . The Holy Chicken! subtitle is clearly meant to evoke Chick Fil-A, that extremely popular chicken sandwich place whose owners love contributing to anti-LGBT causes. leaves locals concerned. If eliminated, as the National Chicken Council want in the interest of saving "consumers hundreds of millions of dollars", the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration rules' absence would mean farmers could not sue the companies for any "mistreatment". But his half-smiling poker face is ironclad. The scoop: The companies that sell us fast food have been sneakily presenting themselves to customers as healthier and more socially responsible deploying such feel-good terms as artisanal and handcrafted that amount to little more than empty, market-tested signaling. Weve already identified chicken growers that were going to be working with, Spurlock told The Post. They used the former as a movie prop resta. Days later, YouTube announced it would not release Super Size Me 2 and Spurlock stepped down as head of his production company, Warrior Poets. This stunt pays off more purposefully than the movie initially gives us reason to hope for. But the national outcry following the release became a major factor in the chains ditching super-size options on the menu and implementing healthier items like salads and, you guessed it, healthier chicken. And so, he offers moviegoers and potential customers the honesty he believes they crave alongside the fried chicken they definitely do crave not by sneaking cameras into the Chicken Mafias inner sanctum, but by laying bare his own restaurants operations. So maybe now it's time forour own "Documentary Edge" Festival tolive up to its name, risk the potential backlash,and seek it out for screening here later in the year. As Super Size Me 2 highlights, in one instance Tyson used a tournament system in which the company gave farmers a certain amount of chickens per year, and then paid by the performance of those chickens (i.e., size of the bird, and the amount produced). Holy Chicken, both the film and the franchise, aim to debunk the chicken industrys corporate mythology, breaking down what Spurlock says are misleading phrases like natural, artisan and free range., Spurlock said there are places that do actually raise chickens in the free-range environment people imagine: There are places where the chickens do actually get to go outside, but they're so few and far between of what is truly representative of the industry it's crazy.. 'Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!' is an excellent and necessary expose on the Big Chicken industry - it's a showcase of how unnatural the whole value chain of the chicken industry is, how the chickens are treated unnaturally to make them grow fast, the unfair treatment of the farmers and the clever use of marketing tricks to give a false . The full statement from the National Chicken Council can be found at the end of this story. "I filed a complaint six or seven years ago and they tore it up and threw in in the trash. Its also an exercise in radical transparency in the fast-food industry. More than just savvier customers are at stake: Many chicken farmers who feel abused by the current system are hoping Spurlock can make a viable business that can employ independent growers. I worked for a year and a half to try and find a distributor. If he and Holy Chicken can liberate even a small portion of poultry farmers from the Chicken Mafias grip, Spurlock says, that will disrupt the status quo. at a farmer named Jonathan Buttram and his son Zack. The movie became a must-see, grossing over $20 million at the box office worldwide (on a $65,000 budget). "Family farm, mom and pop operations will not be in existence probably in five more years because of this if this goes through," said chicken farmer Jonathan Buttram. Still, my mind wandered to, Dear Mama: The Saga of Afeni & Tupac Shakur, Fatal Attraction Works As Entertainment, Fails as Social Commentary, Prime Videos Citadel Traps Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Richard Madden in Played-Out Spy Game, New York Philharmonic and Steven Spielberg Celebrate the Music of John Williams, A Piece of His Fire: Harry Belafonte (1927-2023). But what you need is an education.. Im hopeful that people dont try and penalize [the farmers] and the message were trying to put out based on some things that I said a few years ago, Spurlock told The Post. Company ended up having to file for bankruptcy. You need something like a movie to get people to engage and take a step back and get the full story.. Now, thanks to Spurlock's admissions and behaviour, hardly anyone else is likely to hear it and that's frustrating and disappointing. "Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!" Big Chicken has seen Super Size Me, so when Spurlock calls to inquire setting up a farm, hes met with much resistance. If it were me, I would call you up and say, Hey, I screwed up. I would tell you whats going to happen., I applaud anyone who tells the truth, especially in the world today, Butler said of Spurlocks confession. I was lucky enough to seeHoly Chicken! Much of the chicken that ends up on your plate comes from one of a handful of big businesses, such as Tyson and Perdue. But the real meat of the movie are the sections about chicken farming, which see Spurlock hiring third-generation Alabama chicken farmer Jonathan Buttram to help him raise a flock of big-breasted . Its about numbers for the industry," Jonathan Buttram said. By the films end, Spurlock has an operational Holy Chicken pop-up in Ohio. "In the state of mind I was inI dealt with depression for decades," he said. Buttram said rollback of the Grain . We follow him as he plans to open his own chicken-themed fast food franchise thats completely transparent about its ingredients and its intentions. As to how Spurlock's office got this confidential letter, one chicken farmer forwarded the letter to Spurlock's office, claiming to be in dire financial straits, and encouraged Spurlock to buy his farm specifically, and hence, this farmer, Jonathan Buttram, who becomes a big part of the documentary. Spurlock is once again up to his muckraking high jinks, delivering the scoop from within the very structures of American fast-food mongering and corporate agribusiness that he seeks to critique. A big reason was the title recognition he had. was supposed to be released a few years ago, but it was put on the shelf after Spurlock admitted to inappropriate sexual misconduct in 2017. But rather than constantly subject himself to fast-food consumption as he did in the original documentary, Spurlock has instead decided to feed other consumers. And we live in a time now when people crave that level of honesty and information.. Both are part of our commitment to promote transparency and communications with the independent farmers who grow chickens for us. Starring Morgan Spurlock, Jonathan Buttram and Zack Buttram. "I wanted to be able to lean into the serious moments. Food is an experience, says Darby Hughes, one of the strategist talking heads interviewed on camera. Should have been done differently, he said. Its not a solution to the problem, but it could be part of one. "These are guys who are indentured servants. But as the vet hired to do an onscreen autopsy tells us, this is normal and the birds are not harmful to eat.. concept designed to skewer "better-for-you" messaging People love these and other items despite knowing that theyre not good for them. It was going to come out in theaters in April 2018 but then once I said what I said, everything just collapsed. Suggest an edit or add missing content. Instead, grill marks are painted on with dark food coloring. The Holy Chicken Pop-Up, located at 18 West 23 rd Street, is serving up Spurlock's chicken fare through Sunday, September 22nd ( 11am-5pm daily). Before the festival ended, Spurlock scored a deal with YouTube Red, reported to be around $3.5 million, that included not just a streaming deal but also a theatrical release. . Farmers and advocates visit USDA. I'm on day 640 something of being sober, being a better Dad, a better partner and that's all I can be.". The poultry company doesn't care.". This former Wendy's closed in 2014 and in 2017 and it was used for a movie about fast food called Super Size Me 2. This movie was shelved for two years, he said. Fact-checking Eating Animals: What the film gets right and wrong. PG-13. Two years on, he said he's "in the process of continuing to heal and continuing to get better and make amends to the people that I need to. In a phone interview, Spurlock said he wanted people to focus not on him and his transgressions but on the farmers who are being squeezed by major chicken processors. Holy Chicken! It was it was almost like a soul purge that happened. And I say, 'Well, the marketing sure has,"' he said. Because [Tyson] controls all of the factors that go into influencing how much chicken gets produced and the health of the chickens and the ability of the chickens, Tyson manipulates it and influences how much the growers get paid in a way that is anti-competitive and against the law, claims David Muraskin, a lawyer for the public interest law firm Public Justice, which is one of the firms representing farmer Charles Morris. Such a suit would surely have the support of more consumers had Holy Chicken survived the backlash against Spurlock. Though Super Size Me 2 wouldnt have been able to speed up the wheels of justice, many involved in the suit believe at the very least Super Size Me 2 would have put a huge spotlight on the issue. One of them was cop who was threatening to commit suicide and murder. Since Spurlock left the public eye, Warrior Poets has come under fire as seven former employees told Jezebel that the company had a fratty, boys club culture. Filmmaker celebrates new movie with natural, free-range, hormone-free chicken sandwiches and sides! Odie "Odienator" Henderson has spent over 33 years working in Information Technology. Stay up to date with what you want to know. They pay their farmers through a tournament system, pitting grower against grower, where griping about unfair conditions often leads to a flock of smaller, even sicker birds the next month, triggering a cycle of lower output and lower compensation. Farmers and chickens are being mistreated, Buttram told The Washington Post. The film was also dropped from Sundance in 2018 and Spurlock stepped away from his production . The contract farmer raises them into . Jonathan Buttram, the outspoken Alabama farmer responsible for all those Holy Chickens, was on hand Monday and bristled at accusations that the operation is a stunt and that the chickens are from . Currently, the lawsuit Morris and 19 other farmers filed in Kentucky against Tyson has been in the discovery phase since 2016, which is uncharacteristically long, according to Morris attorneys. He runs the blogs Big Media Vandalism and Tales of Odienary Madness. from 8 AM - 9 PM ET. Last month, our Farmer Leadership Fund supported travel costs for family farmers to visit Washington, DC and make sure their voices were heard. Bettering himself and making amends doesnt have to happen in the public eye, he says, so he resigned from his production company and stepped out of the spotlight. The chicken sandwich has become the most popular item on the menu anywhere you go today. ", Morgan Spurlock's latest project appears to be a complete reversal -- as 15 years ago he made himself sick eating nothing but McDonalds fast food for an entire month -- chronicled in is Oscar-nominated film "Super Size Me.". Spurlock has partnered with Jonathan Buttram, an Alabama farmer who advocates for independent family farms, . But nutritionally not much has changed. Farmer Jonathan Buttram serves as Spurlock's window into the chicken industry in the documentary. When they sit down there [and it's] wet and there's methane and ammonia coming up and it burns their breast, burns their paws and they have a hard time getting the food and water, he said. Holy Chicken also details how farmers who want to give their chicken better living conditions, fresh air and sunlight, for example, are forbidden, "because happier birds don't get fat enough". And that's the thing that I've been fighting for the last 18 months: Jonathan and Zach, who literally put their life and work on the line to tell their story and be a part of this.. But when Spurlock sent out his confession, that hope to educate the public was lost. Jonathan Buttram. The farmers are not being treated well at all and the animals are being treated horribly in those large factory farms.. I think the best part, he said, is that people can have their chicken and eat it, too. You could picture him winking as he said it. In six weeks, theyll be ready for the dinner plate, were told. . Trailer 1:50. Spurlock canvasses the country doing market research, investigating whether fast food fare has improved since his first film and making wry observations on branding. The biggest thing that I learned and the whole thing that led to this was I can be better and I can do better. how Big Chicken punishes a farmer who rents him a "grow out" house to start his enterprise, what maladies hit chickens forced to grow to many times the size they used to grow in a fraction of the time. examines this from the corporate side, showing you the decisions that are made, the stories that are spun, the corners that are cut, and the lives that are impacted to get you, the consumer, what you believe to be the best food possible, at the most affordable price," said Spurlock. The fast-food industry has undergone a makeover since Super Size Me debuted 15 years ago. Theres also a "man on the street" interview showing how confused people actually are about these monikers. Coming clean personally imploded Spurlock's life professionally and hurt the people closest to him. My son's been blackballed and my wife, they stopped placement of her contract. in which he chronicles his own launch into fast food and agribusiness poultry farming. Spurlock said his team never got the $3.5 million. may skip that menu item once they learn about the cruelty and dishonesty used to make it. It would seem Spurlock stands to benefit, too. Success can mean proving that you can run a chicken place that has a healthier relationship with its suppliers and customers than the industry currently extends, even if it still serves fried chicken with grill marks painted on it. This time, his new gimmick flips the script: Instead of consuming fast food, Spurlock starts selling it. Did you know eating just one of those crabs could give you cancer? she asked. You know, green makes you think of natural, fresh vegetables, to the words that we use crispy being a perfect example. Humans devour more than 50 billion chickens each year. Stephanie Ruhle is joined by a farmer who took action and sued the Trump administration, Jonathan Buttram, and "Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!" filmmaker, Morgan Spurlock to discuss. Contribute to this page. Smartly readjusting the ratios to focus less on the health effects of fast food and more on the oligopoly-run farming industry and the food trade's sneaky marketing tactics, Spurlock goes . The big company provides the chicks. The biggest surprise about Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!, a feature-length follow-up to Morgan Spurlock's hit 2004 fast-food documentary, is that it was ever released in the first place.. "It's not about return for the shareholders. Jonathan tells his local TV station why he's suing USDA: "If we're being mistreated by the chicken company or packers we can't sue them. 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. While that's understandable given the current climate in Hollywood andSpurlock'sreprehensible revelations, it's hard not feel some sympathy for the farmers who also gave their hearts, souls and trust to the once-populardocumentarianand it seems a shame that viewers around the globe have been denied the chance to view a fascinating and rage-inducing documentary. Charles Morris, a Kentucky based chicken farmer who is currently engaged in a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against Tyson Foods. We have a forum, in the form of New Zealand's Documentary Edge Festival, to right the wrong poured on Morgan Spurlock's latest doco, seeminglyconsigned to the "unlikely if it'll ever get a release" bin. "We wont comment on pending litigation," Tyson spokesman Worth Sparkman told Business Insider. Farmer Jonathan Buttram serves as Spurlock's window into the . . ", Use of this Website assumes acceptance of Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy | Accessibility, Published Monday, September 16, 2019 12:27PM EDT, 'Super Size Me' sequel pulled from festival after director's sexual misconduct confession, Spurlock on sexual harassment: 'I am part of the problem', Michael J. The film has classic Spurlock touches, including zippy graphics and amusing music, blending a Michael Moore-ish camera-in-your-face style with his own sense of humour and pathos. I interviewed Morgan recently, and he discussed the chicken and public relations industries, and the effect of Big Agra on family farmers . I hate to see that. ", First published on September 10, 2019 / 1:38 PM. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider During the process Spurlock fashioned his body into a toxic biohazard. He has kept his promises and will continue to fight for them. He wants to see if the site would be interested in selling the movie to him. Contact: Rachel Krupa,Krupa Consulting [emailprotected]/ 212.226.2922, Cision Distribution 888-776-0942 Since the movies original filming more than three years ago, a lot has changed: The chicken industry launched its transparency campaign Chicken Check In to answer questions about chicken production; - NCCs animal welfare guidelines were updated and certified by an independent audit certification organization; - All quick service restaurants now post calories on their menus; and. They barely flinch at the most awful parts of the process, and yet this consumer response is supposed to be the films thesis. "There was some time back in 2008 or 2009 where I was thinking about trying to unionize a McDonald's or a fast food restaurant, which would've been awesome. MARSHALL COUNTY, AL (WAFF) - A Marshall County chicken farmer is part of a lawsuit filed against the USDA. When we finally get a look at the experience the Holy Chicken restaurant provides its customers, the response of the people who eat there is barely explored. I take calls, as matter of fact, two calls in the last couple of weeks of farmers, [saying] I'm at the end of my rope. That means suicide. The search leads him to a San Francisco firm called CCD Innovation. Where you know I'm contacting them, I'm sitting down with them, I'm talking to them.. Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! For example, Spurlock rightfully goes after the words being used to sell food to people. Talking to farmers, he uncovers a reward system they consider rigged, one they complain makes them "indentured servants" to Big Chicken. The film was to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2017 but it was shelved at the height of the .MeToo movement when Spurlock came forward to detail his own history of sexual misconduct. is both entertaining and revealing, balancing the documentarian's expos of the food industry's dishonest practices with a storyteller's gift for making emotional connections. He doesnt bother me, so consider that a caveat. We had sold the sequel to the film out of the Toronto Film Festival to YouTube for $3.5 million, he said. ET on ABC. He also described a sexual encounter which led to an allegation of date rape when he was in college. Years later, he settled a sexual harassment claim at his production company. Full statement from the National Chicken Council: The National Chicken Council is aware of the film Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! from filmmaker and activist Morgan Spurlock. Buttram provided Spurlock with the chickens for his Holy Chicken ! This popularity has led to huge profits for the poultry industry, but the farmers who are growing the chickens arent getting much of the rewards. This article was published more than3 years ago. "At the end of the day I do want to give you spinach, but I want it to taste like cotton candy and the more cotton candy-flavoured spinach I can give you the more you're going to eat.". . READ MORE *'Super Size Me' director Morgan Spurlock wonders 'when will they come for me' *Chicken People: a documentary that lacks spice *#MeToo campaign is a conversation that must be had. chicken sandwich chain. He also brought a Holy Chicken! . The chicken farmers who worked with us risked their livelihood to give us a glimpse into the vicious cycle of the chicken industry, hoping that their courage might help lead to change once the public had the opportunity to see the way chicken farmers are manipulated and forced into a cycle of debt. Buttram is the heart of Super Size Me 2, a guy locked into a contract with Big Chicken wholl pay the price for helping the filmmakers. The Ohio pop-up is just the start of what Spurlock envisions as a minor revolution beyond the film. Morris said he has never received a response from YouTube. His farm-to-table restaurant, Holy Chicken, is also the namesake of his latest film, Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken. Its a sequel to the Oscar-nominated stunt documentary that made him famous 15 years ago as the jocular redhead who ate McDonalds food exclusively for a month. There was nothing physical to it, he said of the settlement. We want to give you permission to laugh in the places where it's really hard to laugh," he said. How large that movement gets will depend on how large the market is for fast-food restaurants functioning as gallery-styled exhibitions of these restaurants various deceptions. Last Name 1 Name Professor Name Subject Date Response "Super-Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!" To study the status of the fast-food industry since then, partly because Spurlock ate at the Golden Arch for a month during the 2004 breakthrough. We are also proud to share that the overwhelming majority of the 25,000 farm families who partner with chicken companies are satisfied with their relationship. He and his family have been punished financially for revealing the industry's secrets to Spurlock. And she did it In four minutes. Urging the hundreds in attendance to help them "speak out", he said he was delighted that with Holy Chicken "our story is finally beginning to be told". He calls his agricultural experiment Morganic Farms. We learn that, like everything else in the good ol USA, the chicken industry is a large corporate entity with powerful lobbyists protecting their interests. food truck for TIFF audiences, filled with chicken sandwiches for everyone (Spurlock promised that the truck would also tour the country with the movie, once it was in theaters). "Somebody has to stand up and I'm standing up for the other farmers too," said Buttram. Learn more about contributing; Edit page. Not only do "Big Chicken" (Tyson, Pilgrim's Pride, Sanderson Farms, Perdue Foods and Koch Foods) make other conglomerateslook extremely benevolent by comparison, but they also allegedly punish farmers who complain about their ruthless practices. I wish I'd done it 10 years ago, he said. Morgan Spurlock is about to launch his latest venture luring customers in with his version of the perfect chicken sandwich at his pop-up restaurant Holy Chicken. Buttram helps Spurlock because he wants to expose the practices of the regulatory board and how they are destroying the livelihoods of chicken farmers across the US who don't adhere to their every whim. It all paid off. The Original Grilled Crispy Chicken Sandwich TM (Regular or Spicy) Crunchy Greens ; L'il Cluckers Chicken Tenders ; The Holy Salad; Guests at the pop up will include Jonathan and Zack Buttram, two Alabama chicken farmers who appear in the film and who are currently blackballed by BIG CHICKEN from raising birds for any company. 15 years later, Morgan Spurlock is trying his hand at chicken with a new movie called Super Size Me 2 -Holy Chicken. Super Size Me 2 Review: Beware That Healthy Chicken, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/05/movies/super-size-me-2-holy-chicken-review.html, Morgan Spurlock and his brood in Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!. At Holy Chicken near Westerville, the line is out the door. You know, I called her sex pants. Business Insider reached out to numerous independent film insiders and asked if they thought Super Size Me 2 would ever be seen by general audiences. With his new chicken documentary, is Morgan Spurlock part of the solution and the problem? Learning about the cruelty and hardship inflicted not only on the chickens, but the chicken farming community, as well as the deceptive marketing tactics used on consumers was a huge motivator for us in producing this film, Jess Calder, a partner at Snoot Entertainment, which was one of the financiers and producers on Super Size Me 2, said in a statement to Business Insider.

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