Wordplay director's new film is coming out

If you liked what Patrick Creadon and his team did for crosswords with Wordplay, wait till you see Patrick's new documentary, I.O.U.S.A., about the national debt. It opens this Friday, August 22, in 10 cities (including Chicago! I can't wait!), rolling out nationwide thereafter. This Thursday evening, there's also a special showing that includes a live town hall meeting with Warren Buffett; it's at 350 theaters.

Here's the trailer.

Patrick's story of the making of I.O.U.S.A. follows after the cut:

Patrick Creadon writes:

Here's a quick history of the making of the film: As we were wrapping up "Wordplay" in November of 2006 Christine and I were approached by producer Sarah Gibson. She and Addison Wiggin -- author of the book "Empire of Debt" -- were searching for a team to direct and produce a documentary based on Addison's book. Sarah had seen "Wordplay" and thought we were a good fit to tackle a challenging topic like the national debt. We read the book and agreed to take on the project.

"I.O.U.S.A." profiles David Walker, head of the GAO (Government Accountability Office) and the nation's "accountant-in-chief", and also features interviews with leaders from Washington and the business community. A partial list of those in the film includes Warren Buffett, Alan Greenspan, and former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin. The film looks at the country's financial health and examines the future challenges that lie ahead.

Christine and I and the "Wordplay" creative team (including editor Doug Blush, designer Brian Oakes, composer Peter Golub, and associate producer Theodore James) have spent the past 18 months making this film and are very proud of the work we've done. I hope you get a chance to see it next week or in the weeks to follow.

Patrick also has "an offer to the crossword constructors of the world: Whoever puts IOUSA in a puzzle gets a free beer from me next March at ACPT. No joke! Merl was with me the night we came up with the title and said 'You HAVE to use that title. 5 letters with 4 vowels... and an S? I'll use it every day!!'"