Statement to San Miguel County Board of Commissioners

Good afternoon. I want to start out by expressing my sincere appreciation for this chance to be heard by the Board of County Commissioners, my fellow New Mexicans and my neighbors to address something that has long been festering in our community. I am here today to demonstrate my loyalty and commitment to this state and to San Miguel County in particular, as a long-time resident. First, know this: I consider New Mexico to be my home. I have lived quietly, bordering the wilderness for 25 years now. Both my father and grandfather lived here and are buried here. My children have grown up knowing the wonder of this desert wilderness. I and my brother and my children exist because of the kindness of my grandmother’s Hispanic neighbor in the Gila. He nursed my grandfather’s injuries from a bad accident and my father never let me forget the importance of three things out in our wonderful wild west: First, to make a donation to the church and often, secondly, the importance of water, and thirdly, the importance of being a good neighbor and giving back to the community. I am here today because I want our community to heal from any ill will being harbored due to past comments attributed to me. Living here has bestowed upon me countless blessings, not least of which has been the opportunity to cultivate relationships with New Mexico’s people. My friends and neighbors the Perea’s, George Adello, Brian Sandoval, the Cowles, Jane Fonda, Mr. Garcia, Pam Sawyer and many others are close neighbors. I love it out here. New Mexico’s physical beauty and wildlife has inspired me to work towards conserving our natural environment and its inhabitants - an undertaking I feel privileged to be a part of. Preserving New Mexico’s natural resources for future generations to enjoy is a lasting legacy that we can all be proud of and benefit from.

Looking to the future, I have tried to do my part by giving back to the community. I have been actively involved in numerous wild life, art and museum initiatives. I support our local schools and their athletic teams. I take an active interest in our local projects, including the Pecos Medical Center and our Fire Department. I have also donated 3 solid years every Sunday to community service at my church in Santa Fe as a reader for the services. I have also sought to show the world the splendor of this magical place by encouraging the film industry in New Mexico. This has resulted in the creation of jobs, increased economic opportunity and has showcased New Mexico’s beauty. I have assisted in getting 3 films moved to Las Vegas, NM. I have personally assisted Gov. Johnson and Gov. Richardson in producing what an associate of our present Governor said was the fastest growing business in New Mexico since the atom bomb. Since I helped lobby under Johnson for our film incentives, we have grown from as I understand it, a 3 million dollar industry in our first year to just over a 3 billion dollar one now. I am proud of that contribution. I raise these acts of mine now, not to boast, but to explain how my support and love for this place we call home ought to speak louder than my words, especially the twisting of my words.

Despite my best intentions to be a good neighbor, a conscientious member of the community and a steward for our land, I recognize that I have not always succeeded. Comments I made to a reporter some seven years ago were misconstrued and taken out of context. At the time I had recently been made aware of what were staggering crime and DWI figures for our state and the resulting tragedies, which greatly saddened me. Unfortunately, it seems we all know someone who has been impacted by drunk driving. My oldest friend died as a result of a drug and alcohol related car accident. My mom was hit by a drunk driver years ago. My ranch manager and I were driven off the road by a drunk driver. It was in this vein that I spoke of the precautions necessary while driving on a busy interstate. I had been told by a judge the area this reporter was driving in was especially dangerous. It was my hope that such incidents would decrease with awareness. Instead, the comments resulted in an unfortunate and inaccurate portrayal of San Miguel County and its people. While I take issue with the way the reporter chose to transform our earnest discussion for the benefit of magazine sales, I take full responsibility for the resulting consequences. I never intended for any statements I made to be construed as derogatory, racially prejudiced or disparaging. I understand your anger and frustration at the offensive, sweeping generalizations the article made about our home. Trust that I too was offended.

I also want to apologize for the Esquire Magazine article that quoted me as making disparaging comments about our nation’s veterans. The comments were made only in reference to character acting and were taken out of context and applied to veterans in general, not the specific role I had been preparing for. In no way did I intend to insult those men and women who have given so much. Both my father and grandfather are proud veterans. Michael Naranjo, the renowned Native American sculptor, is my oldest and dearest friend in the state and here today in solidarity. He too is a veteran and was injured and blinded in Vietnam. I went to Iraq to support the troops and sought no publicity for my tour. I love and support our soldiers who have sacrificed in order to preserve our freedoms. Their strength and bravery is an inspiration to us all. I hope you can forgive my misconstrued comments and accept what is in my heart.

I accept that I have not done enough to prove that I am not the person I have been accused of being. I know of not a single personal slight I have made to a soul out here. There is not a person in this room, county, state or country that can make a claim that I am in any way prejudiced.

I sincerely apologize to the residents of San Miguel County, my neighbors, our nation’s veterans and the residents of the state of New Mexico for the comments made in Rolling Stone and Esquire magazine. I hope that you can recognize my deep regret for the impact my comments have had on you, my neighbors, as well as our state. I am, and wish to remain, a contributing member of our community. I can only ask that you view my apology as a stepping stone towards repairing this misunderstanding between us so that we may go forward working together towards our common interest in promoting and protecting our beloved New Mexico.

We have news about a new Facebook Val Kilmer Fan page that you should check out. Click Official Val Kilmer Fan Page to join.

MARK TWAIN & MARY BAKER EDDY NEWS

Dear Friends, 
      
On February 11, together with Mike Davis, library researcher, and Chet Manchester, who also has written a screenplay on Eddy, I will be in Boston at the Mary Baker Eddy Library, to discuss the development of my upcoming film "Mark Twain and Mary Baker Eddy".

Contemporaries and equally well-known in their time for their influence on society, Mary Baker Eddy and Mark Twain's worlds intersected in a battle of ideas. Their voices stood out in a culture going through dramatic change. Twain was fascinated by Eddy, and Eddy was committed to bringing liberation to the human condition that Twain so expertly satirized.

This program is part of the Mary Baker Eddy Centenary Series, "Strength of Spirit - Engaging with Mary Baker Eddy 100 years later". Admission will be $15 for seating in the Hall of Ideas and $8 for overflow seating or $10/$5 for Friends of the Library. For reservations, and more information, please go to the Mary Baker Eddy Library Website.

September 24, 2009

I will be attending the Hollywood Celebrities & Memorabilia Show - Chicago, IL - October 17th & 18th. You can get more details at http://www.hollywoodcelebritiesshow.com/. Hope to see you there, Val

February 24, 2009

I had such a great time in New Orleans. Being the King of the Bacchus XLI "Creatures of the Imagination" was a great honor. I would like to send a special thank you to the Brennan family, especially Pip and Owen for their gracious hospitality. I have brought home goodies from the parade, and plan to offer the items for sale to raise additional funds for charity. Please keep checking back, the items will be listed soon.
God bless, Val

January 3, 2009

Hello everybody. Happy New Year to you all and a special thank you for all of you who sent in personal greetings. I really appreciate the fond sentiments. I hope you all have an exciting New Year. I am going to be more attentive to reaching out to all my friends in cyberspace this year. God bless, Val

December 14, 2008

Denish Prepares To Transition To NM Gov. KOAT - USA

... her transition advisory team in nine areas. That transition team even includes actor Val Kilmer, a rumored rival to Denish for the 2010 gubernatorial race.

Note from Val: I love my state and the people in it and I'm flattered to be asked by Diane Denish to assist. I'll do whatever I can to help the 'Land of Enchantment'.

July 9, 2008

FELON will be released theatrically on Thursday, July18th at three locations:
- Mann's Chinese 6 Theaters in Hollywood, CA,
- Krikorian's Buena Park in Buena Park, CA and
- Landmark Sunshine Cinema in NY, NY.
Watch the trailer on this site!

I'm very proud of the film. It's one of the best films about the U.S.A. prison system ever made and the performances by my friends Stephen Dorff, Sam Shepard and many others are some of the best moments in their career. Peace, Val

June 20, 2008

It's been a crazy busy couple of months and I haven't been on here very much, so, I have uploaded a bunch of pics that I have taken the past couple of months and hope they will help make up for my absence.

I just saw Felon and I'm very proud of the film. It's one of the best films about the U.S.A. prison system ever made and the performances by my friends Stephen Dorff, Sam Shepard and many others are some of the best moments in their career. Felon is being released to DVD on August 12th and were going to take it to a festival in Italy where it's being honored next month.

May 30, 2008

On June 8th, I will be attending a one-night screening of 'The Doors' at The Robinson Theatre in Lafayette, Louisiana. The event is a fundraiser for the theatres educational and cultural programs. There will be a pre-screening reception beginning at 4, the screening at 5:30, and a post-screening Q&A with Alexandyr Kent, The Times’ movie industry reporter.

There will be 118 tickets available for the Robinson Film Center event. They will go on sale at 9 a.m. Monday and cost $125 each. All proceeds will benefit the nonprofit’s educational and cultural programming. To purchase them, call Kim Sizemore at (318) 459-4124 on Monday.

For more information, go to www.robinsonfilmcenter.org

April 30, 2008

Heading off to Louisiana to start working on 'Streets of Blood' (previously known as 'Microwave Park'). 
Peace,
Val

April 21, 2008

Val will work with 50 cent in action-drama "Streets of Blood". Filmed in New Orleans, it will be directed by Irwin Winklers' son, Charles Winkler. The cast also includes Sharon Stones and Dylan McDermott.
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I play a burly rough but loyal cop. 50 is my partner....
xox
v

March 6, 2008

Thanks to the listeners, Val is the #32 Rock artist (out of 25,100) on ReverbNation. And he sends the following message...
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THANKS ALL YOU ROCKERS OUT THERE. MICK AND I ARE REALLY PROUD YOU ALL ARE GETTING SOMETHING OUT OF OUR STUFF. HOPE TO GET SOME MORE OUT TO YOU SOON. MICK ROSSI IS ALSO A SCREEN WRITER AND ACTOR AS WELL AND JUST FINISHED STARRING IN HIS LATEST SCREENPLAY CALLED "222".
STAY TUNED.... VAL

February 26, 2008

'American Meth' DVD release. More...

February 6, 2008

Val Kilmer to be the new voice of K.I.T.T. in the upcoming Knight Rider TV Movie. More...

January 31, 2008

Check out the new TVGuide bio on my bio page. Click the link and if you get a log in box, just click cancel.
Peace,
val

January 13, 2008

World premiere of 'Comanche Moon', the final installation of the 'Lonesome Dove' saga.

January 11, 2008

Appearance on Tom Green Live. You can watch the video here or visit www.tomgreen.com.

January 1, 2008

New film 'Mark Twain & Mary Baker Eddy', pre-production started.
Watch the 10 minutes trailer here.