“Bumfights” filmmakers deny allegations of extorting and kidnapping homeless men

Rob Zurn

 

The creators of the highly controversial DVD “Bumfights” have argued that their Jackass-esque release, which featured homeless people endangering themselves, did more good than harm.

 

“Bumfights” Director Ryen McPherson claims that while many news outlets and public figures have tried to condemn “Bumfights” and its creators, he “did more for those guys than anybody had, for years.” The two most prominent homeless men featured in the DVD, Donnie Brennan and Rufus Hannah, see it differently.

 

Brennan and Hannah served in the United States Army earlier on in their lives. Back in the late 90’s, they were homeless men trying to survive in La Mesa, California. At the same time, McPherson was a teen with a camera that would shoot his skater friends doing tricks and attempting stunts. This was typical to the skateboarding scene. However, Hannah and Brennan, being recognizable figures in La Mesa, got caught up in the skaters’ behavior.

 

“Mostly because people liked us, and we were kidding around,” said Brennan of why they performed their own public stunts in an interview with Rolling Stone. These stunts caught the eye of McPherson, who began filming them prior to the concept of “Bumfights.”

 

When they first met, McPherson, Brennan, and Hannah supposedly became quick friends, according to the former. However, more recent arguments arose because of what happened soon after.

 

Brennan and Hannah claimed that McPherson offered a paid incentive to the homeless men in order to coax them into performing dangerous stunts. McPherson himself denies this, instead arguing that he was only trying to help the men out. After a Thanksgiving meal, McPherson brought plates of food out to the two homeless men. He also has claimed the money that he gave Brennan and Hannah was not for malicious reasons, but rather because he wanted to help out his friends.

 

McPherson, along with fellow creators Zach Bubeck, Danny Tanner, and Mikey Slyman, compiled footage they had captured into the DVD compilation that became “Bumfights.” The name itself was mostly to gain attention, as the stunts and actions performed by the homeless men were only a fraction of what was contained. There was also footage of drug abuse, violence, and vandalism, some of which by bums but also other local teenagers. A report by Wired a few months after the “Bumfights” release stated that over 250,000 copies of the DVD had been sold online.

 

Moving to Las Vegas in the summer of 2002, McPherson brought along Brennan and Hannah, getting them settled with an apartment. At some point, Hannah called a San Diego businessman he had worked for in the past, telling him that he felt endangered by McPherson and his cohorts.

The businessman, Barry Soper, and his cousin flew out to help the bums. Soper claims that McPherson and his friends were holding Brennan and Hannah against their will, intending to force them to shoot more “Bumfights” scenes. McPherson and his team denied these allegations and remains firm that they were only trying to help the men through their troubles.

It’s a split argument, and one that has continued for over 15 years.