Who killed Bill Gates?

Bill Gates is shot dead in the film a la JFK

A mock documentary researching the "murder" of Microsoft chairman Bill Gates has upset the multi-millionaire but, like predecessor The Blair Witch Project, is making waves online, reports Maggie Shiels from Silicon Valley.

An official police investigation into the slaying of Microsoft chairman Bill Gates has been branded a cover-up.

The murder has been dubbed the last great crime of the 20th Century.

Now Citizens for Truth is calling for a full and independent inquiry into the shooting, which happened on 22 December in a deprived area of Los Angeles known as MacArthur Park.

Yesterday the Los Angeles Police Department presented its report into the killing and concluded that the motives of gunman Alek Hidell remain a mystery.

But the LAPD also revealed that Hidell was a political radical hellbent on starting a classwar by killing the richest man in the world.

Citizens for Truth disputes the findings and claims the public is being duped.

If you think the details of this crime bear a striking similarity to the assassination of American President John F Kennedy in 1963 you would be spot on.

And you would also be right in concluding that the conspiracy theories that dominated JFK's shooting, surface here.

But relax, you haven't missed the story of the decade, you have just entered the parallel world of the mock documentary.

Director Brian Flemming: Obsessed with JFK

A more contemporary reference point for MacArthur Park is The Blair Witch Project, which took this form of film-making to a new level.

While the Microsoft founder is hardly media shy, being the subject of MacArthur Park hasn't left him feeling warm and fuzzy.

"There's nothing more important to Bill than the security and privacy of his family and children," says a not unreasonable company spokesman.

"It's very disappointing that a movie maker would do something like this."

If you agree that the story line is a little macabre then, says independent film maker Brian Flemming, blame history.

"I'm obsessed with the JFK assassination and I live in the corruption-riddled Rampart Division of the LAPD, which contains MacArthur Park," he says.

"I thought if an assassination happened within Rampart Division, nobody would trust the investigation.

"The decision to make the victim Bill Gates was impulsive. He's the richest man in the world and has powerful enemies.

"His assassination, if messy enough, could provoke controversy at the same level as the Kennedy murder.

"There was also something about the juxtaposition of an extremely wealthy man being killed in one of the poorest areas of LA."

You can't stop making movies out of an irrational fear that someone will imitate the action in it - by that logic we'd have to outlaw the Holy Bible

Brian Flemming

While Mr Gates might not appreciate the irony, Flemming dismisses the possibility that his faux-documentary may turn the world's best known net-nerd into a target.

"Paramount was fine with releasing South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut, which included a scene of Gates being shot in the head as retribution for Microsoft's substandard software.

"And Paramount was right, you can't stop making movies out of an irrational fear that someone will imitate the action in it. By that logic we'd have to outlaw the Holy Bible."

The shock factor of MacArthur Park will stand publicity for the movie in good stead.

But Flemming stresses that wasn't what motivated him to focus on the high tech industry's biggest player.

"I thought about making the victim a fictional character but it moved the film into run-of-the-mill thriller material. I should point out the film isn't about Bill Gates. It's about the search for truth."

On paper MacArthur Park has what every good movie should have. Drama, intrigue, a big name and a catchy hook in the form of the Bill Gates plotline.

And like all feature films today, it uses the internet to create a buzz and crank up interest.

Bill Gates: Not entirely happy

Producer Brian Clark of GMD Studios in Orlando admits they're drawing on the experiences of Blair Witch, whose creators are collaborators on MacArthur Park.

"We're approaching the web and the film as two different storytelling environments sharing the same universe."

Less prosaically, that means internet users can read all about the development of the celluloid version of MacArthur Park, which is more or less finished, and also take part in developing an online version of the story.

"Everyday I see new theories proposed by the audience in the discussion boards or in the homepages they've started," said Brian Clark.

In a way we're launching a subculture online. People who become a part of the online story will probably view the film as a kind of "prequel" while those who see the film first will see the web as a ready-to-experience "sequel."

The online spin certainly seems to be working, spawning a host of websites that will undoubtedly build a market for when the movie is finally released later this year.

Similar tactics helped Blair Witch gross $140m in America alone and Flemming is confident it can work for him.

"Since Blair Witch, the audience is primed for the even-more-reality-tweaking experience of MacArthur Park."

But is Bill Gates?