About The Film (on digital everywhere june 16th)

Stolen Kingdom is a documentary that delves into the history of mischief, scandal, and theft at Walt Disney World, ultimately leading to the theft of an animatronic valued at nearly half a million dollars. The film features key figures from the park’s underground exploration community, each sharing their unique stories. As the narrative unfolds, early pranks and antics are shown to have inspired more recent crimes, culminating in a true crime mystery. What begins as a tale of friendship and passion ends with one lingering question: Who stole Buzzy? Buzzy was an animatronic character featured in Cranium Command, an attraction at Epcot that operated from 1989 to 2007 within the Wonders of Life pavilion. The attraction followed Buzzy, a rookie recruit in the "Cranium Command," a military-like organization tasked with piloting human brains. Set inside the brain of a young boy, the show depicted a day in his life as Buzzy navigated various challenges. After the attraction closed in 2007, the pavilion remained abandoned until refurbishment began in 2019 and the Cranium Command theater was gutted. The pavilion has yet to reopen.

https://www.stolenkingdomfilm.com

https://www.instagram.com/stolenkingdomfilm

About the filmmaker

Joshua Bailey (writer/director/producer) was born in Tampa, Florida. As a child, he dreamed of becoming a filmmaker after being captivated by the works of Steven Spielberg. At 18, he relocated to Orlando, Florida to study film at Valencia College before departing the program prior to graduation. After working at Orlando’s theme parks for a time (including Walt Disney World), Joshua was inspired to tell the story behind Stolen Kingdom, his directorial debut.

https://www.instagram.com/joshbaileythings

Credits

Stephen Bluhm - Sound Engineer and episode editor

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.stephenbluhm.fun⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Rich Wexler

Producer/Interviewer

⁠⁠⁠http://www.vintageannalsarchive.com

Episode Editors

Otter Castro

https://www.instagram.com/ottercastro

Isaac Gehring

https://www.instagram.com/storysoundsmedia

Podcast Episode Page

www.vintageannalsarchive.com/vintage-annals-archive-podcast.html

Please join our Patreon

https://patreon.com/VintageAnnalsArchive

About Dito Van Reigersberg/Martha Graham Cracker

Dito van Reigersberg was the co-founder of Pig Iron Theatre Company and has performed in almost all of Pig Iron’s productions since 1995, including the OBIE-winners Hell Meets Henry Halfway and Chekhov Lizardbrain. He was a featured soloist in Heather Christian’s acclaimed Oratorio for Living Things with Ars Nova. He is truly thrilled about Pig Iron’s upcoming Aimee Mann cabaret, Poor Judge, and the chance to sing all those glorious songs at the Wilma. Dito’s alter-ego Martha Graham Cracker is famously ‘the tallest, hairiest drag queen in the world.” She got into some hot water with the religious right when she portrayed the titular character in Jesus Drag Superstar.

Interviewers Note:

I recorded this about 11 months ago and wanted to re-record it as I was quite exhausted and didn’t feel like I listened as well and definitely talked too much. Dito was ok with releasing the original episode so I got full content to release it. I wouldn’t have put it out if I hadn’t had that. I knew Dito for around 20 years and they were flat out one of the loveliest people I ever got lucky enough to get to know. I was got to sing with Dito for a Pig Iron Benefit as Kermit singing a duet of “It’s Not Easy Being Green”. I’m putting this out today mainly for the people that didn’t know of them. I’m only releasing this now as it feels like the right thing to do to honor them, and my hope that it brings some of you joy. He dealt with cancer for years and this was a moment he was doing a bit better. They will be missed and it was such an honor to get to do this and to get to know them.

Rich Wexler

Vintage Annals Archive

Ep. 212: Heavy Metal Parking Lot 40th w/ John Ross Bowie

HEAVY METAL PARKING LOT - RARE AND UNSEEN

Special Features: 40th Anniversary | Q&A with filmmakers John Heyn and Jeff Krulik, plus stars of the film

On May 31,1986, emerging filmmakers John Heyn and Jeff Krulik drove into the parking lot of the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland — and into pop culture history — when they caught lightning in a bottle recording amped-up Judas Priest fans before a concert. Nobody could have imagined that 40 years later the resulting short film, HEAVY METAL PARKING LOT, would be frequently cited among the greatest rock documentaries ever. Forty years to the day since this much-heralded time capsule was captured on film, AFI Silver will screen — for the first time ever in public — the 60 minutes of original source footage, before the edit. Audiences will experience what was recorded that afternoon, in real time, while both Jeff and John provide live commentary as history is being made. The event will also feature the resulting 16-minute HEAVY METAL PARKING LOT, plus a chance to meet some of the stars. Join us for a special one-of-a-kind screening to officially launch the film’s 40th anniversary commemoration year! DIR/PROD Jeff Krulik, John Heyn. U.S., 1986, color, approx. 76 min. NOT RATED

Run Time: 76 Minutes

Opening Date: Sunday, May 31, 2026

Genre: Documentary - music

Sunday, May 31, 2026

6:15 p.m.

AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center

8633 Colesville Road

Silver Spring, MD 20910

https://silver.afi.com/movies/detail/0100005538/

https://www.instagram.com/hmpl40th

John Ross Bowie

John Ross Bowie is perhaps best known for playing recurring villain and fan favorite Barry Kripke on the international hit television show The Big Bang Theory. He also recently co-starred as Minnie Driver’s husband, Jimmy DiMeo, on ABC’s “Speechless.” John has been appeared on the television shows Veep, Fresh off the Boat, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Brooklyn 99, CSI, and Glee, among many others, and in movies such as Road Trip, The Heat, He’s Just Not That Into You, The Santa Clause 3, Jumanji: The Next Level, and the cult hit What The Bleep Do We Know? Prior to his acting career, John was a contributing writer for the New York Press and has since written and developed television scripts at Fox, CBS, and Amazon. He is currently featured in the new show “Stuart Fails to Save the Universe” coming soon to HBO Max on July 23, 2026

Jeff Krulik

Jeff Krulik has been documentary producer/director for over thirty years. His work has screened at the Museum of Modern Art, Lincoln Center, the American Film Institute and on PBS. His resume includes work for Errol Morris, Discovery Networks, and National Geographic Channel. His commissioned work includes a one-hour documentary on carnival sideshow history for The Travel Channel.

Jeff is also co-producer of cult documentary 'Heavy Metal Parking Lot' which was turned into a reality TV series called ‘Parking Lot’ for pop culture network TRIO. Other documentaries include ‘The Legend of Merv Conn,' 'Ernest Borgnine on the Bus,' and the recent 'Led Zeppelin Played Here.' In 2008, he produced the Emmy Award-winning documentary Eatin' Crabs Chesapeake Style for Maryland Public Television's Chesapeake Bay Week.

In addition to filmmaking, he also does freelance archival research at the National Archives, and this work got him invited on a recent ten-day trip to China as a guest of China Network Television. And earlier this year, he was honored with the inaugural ‘Filmmaker in Residence’ title for the Docs in Progress organization, which mentors and advises documentary filmmakers, both emerging, and professional.

https://www.jeffkrulik.com

https://www.instagram.com/jeffkrulik

John Heyn

John Heyn is known for Neil Diamond Parking Lot (1997), Led Zeppelin Played Here (2014) and Heavy Metal Parking Lot (1986).