Ron Paul Endorses Animated Feature Film (Video)

"Silver Circle," debuting at a theater in Los Angeles on Friday, impressed the former presidential candidate with its portrayal of an out-of-control Federal Reserve that is destroying America.

An animated feature film opening in Los Angeles on Friday is relying on an unusual source to bring folks to the theater: former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul.

The movie, called Silver Circle, is about a group of rebels who are fighting the Federal Reserve because its policies have led to out-of-control spending by the government and runaway inflation.

Any politico worth their salt knows that those are issues that scream at Paul and his supporters and, in fact, Paul has known about the movie since its early inception, according to director Pasha Roberts, who first ran into him in 2010 at a monetary conference.

PHOTOS: 20 Biggest Political Players in Hollywood

“He is more accessible than many politicians,” says Roberts. “We have been able to meet him at events, brief him and his staff about the film and keep in touch with our progress.”

In the film, the ragtag group of rebels mint “silver circles,” which are basically large coins that they spend and distribute as an alternative to paper money, the mass-printing of which has led to wild price fluctuations of everything. A bar, for example, advertises a special on beer: $90 a glass.

The filmmakers have been selling replicas of the coins, made of real silver, at their website, and they gave one of them to Paul. The movie scored an early marketing victory – unfortunately long before it was ready for distribution – 14 months ago when Paul, during a hearing in front of Ben Bernanke, showed the head of the Federal Reserve the silver circle in order to make a political point.

FILM REVIEW: Silver Circle

“I have a silver ounce here,” he said, holding up the silver circle. He explained to the Fed chair, congressmen and others that in 2006 the coin, based solely on its silver content, would buy four gallons of gas. Now, it would buy 11 gallons.

“That’s preservation of value,” Paul said. Also at the hearing he spoke of “competing currencies,” which is another strong theme in the movie, and he belittled the Federal Reserve by saying: “The Fed’s going to self-destruct eventually anyways when the money’s gone.”

That affair was captured on video, and the Silver Circle filmmakers have posted it on YouTube. See the video below.

Since then, the filmmakers have shown Paul the finished movie and they have coaxed from him a proper endorsement of the film, which reads as follows:

“I am very excited about Silver Circle, which spreads the message of liberty and sound money via an exciting tale of a future where the Federal Reserve has killed the dollar, the U.S. economy has collapsed and the federal government has slid into complete authoritarianism. Using popular culture to spread our message is key to the long-term victory of our revolution, as movies like Silver Circle enable us to reach audiences who otherwise might not be exposed to the ideas of liberty.”

PHOTOS: The Top Celebrity Political Twitter Commentators

The Paul endorsement, though, isn’t the entirety of the film's micro-budget marketing plan. The filmmakers, along with boutique distribution company Area 23a, have arranged for about 30 special-event screenings, some of which are sponsored by gold and silver bullion dealers and some right-leaning political groups.

Area 23a and Two Lanterns Media, which produced the film, have also enlisted a “rebel crew” in each location where the film will play. Those crews are charged with spreading the word via social media, flyers and even protests. These volunteer, super-fan crew members have been involved with the project for so long that some of their likenesses have been worked into the animated movie.

Plus, organizers are inviting political and economic groups that might be sympathetic to Paul’s message to attend the various screenings, which often include a Q&A with director Roberts, sometimes joined by writer Steven Schwartz or various financial and political speakers. Some screenings include after-parties. For the L.A. debut on Friday at a North Hollywood Laemmle theater, members of the Reason Foundation, GoldSilver.com, the Republican Liberty Caucus and Antiwar.com have been invited.

Email: Paul.Bond@THR.com