Last week I was interviewed by John Bennardo for the $2 bill documentary he’s shooting. I was nervous but it turned out to be the easiest and most fun interview I’ve done, probably due to it not having any political slant.

The $2 bill isn’t an intense interest of mine, but he found my post about it and was intrigued. He told me about other interviews he’s shot and I learned a few things. He’s a professional with solid work experience, so I think the film will turn out well. He’s good enough that the Federal Reserve allowed him to shoot a printing of $2 bills. This may be the only documentary on the $2 bill, so if you’re interested, follow his Twitter feed!

He’s going the full-indie route with this, which means all production costs are coming out of his pocket. He has a Kickstarter page (which closes Nov. 9) to help raise funds for the shooting/editing. He’s doing the film festival route when it’s done at the end of next summer. In other words, no one else is directing his vision for the film — it’s all him. I like that. It’s a labor of love.

Shot by John's assistant
Shot by John’s assistant

He’s still looking for more people to interview, so contact him if you have something you’d like to say about the $2 bill. (He also offers the option to donate a certain amount and get in the film!) It’s a documentary and does not revolve around strip clubs — my interview was just a small portion of his overview of the bill.

I didn’t think there would be much to say about the bill — I haven’t given it thought for years. But he really knew how to guide the conversation and I came up with new insights, plus recapping my blog post. He was someone else who thought I’d be more comfortable shooting in my home, which isn’t true. We shot in the conference room of his hotel and the setup was professional. Other than trying to decipher construction signs on the road, the hotel wasn’t an issue.

It was fun! If only everyone could be like this.

4 thoughts on “$2 bill documentary

  1. Off-topic with respect to the documentary, but doesn’t it seem that, given the large amount of monetary inflation that has occurred in the past half-century or so, the resolution in US currency is kind of ridiculous? We have coinage that goes down to 1/100 of a dollar, and bills down to the single dollar, all for dollars that are worth about one-sixth of what they were worth in 1953 (and that’s assuming an average annual rate of inflation of only 3%, which I’m sure is well too low). But yet, in 1953, pennies and single-dollar bills apparently provided enough resolution for cash business. In a sane world, our smallest coin would be a nickel, or maybe a dime, and the smallest bill a five or a ten (and there goes the poor two-dollar bill again!).

    And, in any case, I hope to get a chance to see the documentary one of these days.

  2. Jim — I think the small denominations are handy. I’d like $1 coins because those work really well in other countries. I’m someone who feels prices would not change for the better if we eliminated the smaller bills and coins. Most countries have stupidly small bits of change that you get every now and then (I collect them). Almost everyone’s system is kind of stuck that way.

    Small bills are also a huge help in other countries. A single $1USD acts as a great tip or can purchase much more than it does here. Using only large bills irritates the locals who may not be able to provide change. I have no idea if small bills are part of the US’s planned interaction with the world or not — but it is a significant use of US currency.

    These little oddities are human and fun to me. I’m not sure that money could ever truly irritate me in any way! 😉

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