Authorities may prosecute producer of ‘Bambi’ video

Friday, July 25, 2003 | 11:22 a.m.

The man who said his company arranged paintball "hunts" of naked women was cited Thursday night for running his video-sales business without a license, Las Vegas officials said this morning.

The city's investigation concluded Thursday night determined that the "hunting" was a hoax, "that Michael Burdick has no business license and that he lied to investigators," said Elaine Sanchez, spokeswoman for the city.

Burdick runs a company called Real Men Outdoor Productions. The company produced "Hunting for Bambi," a video that depicts camouflage-clad men shooting nude women with paintballs. The company also operates a website to sell the video and sells related merchandise. Burdick attracted national publicity by claiming that the hunts were real and available to anyone willing to pay a $10,000 hunting fee.

That publicity generated a wave of protests from advocates for women's rights and reflected badly on Las Vegas, Mayor Oscar Goodman said. The uproar over the alleged hunts prompted the city investigation.

The business license application for Real Men Outdoor Productions shows that Lakana Campbell, 48, is the owner. Burdick has said she is his fiancee.

"When our investigators went to question Miss Lakana Campbell, she clearly had no idea what we were talking about and Mr. Burdick came forward and said he was in control," Sanchez said. "If he is in control, his name should be on the business license."

Sanchez also said that Campbell could face charges for "failing to report changes in the status of the license."

City officials said that Campbell's business license violation will be dealt with administratively. She could be allowed to modify her license to reflect Burdick's role or she could face a hearing in which she would have to show cause to keep her business license, Mark Vincent, the city's finance and business services director, said.

Burdick has a municipal court hearing scheduled for Aug. 28. He could be fined up to $1,000 and could be sentenced to up to six months in jail for the business license violation, city officials said.

Most first-time offenders receive little to no punishment, "but not every first time offender has garnered the wrath of the mayor," Goodman said.

"We have jail space and judges who take this kind of conduct seriously in the city of Las Vegas," Goodman said.

Sanchez said the interview with the couple was conducted at the address listed on the license application for Real Men Productions, a four-bedroom home in the Lone Mountain area, near the Las Vegas Beltway and Cheyenne Avenue. The Clark County assessor lists Campbell as the owner. Burdick lives there.

During the investigation, Sanchez said, Burdick indicated that the alleged hunts -- involving men paying $10,000 to participate in a paintball hunt of a woman clad only in sneakers -- were not real. The hunts were the subject of national coverage that city officials said reflected badly on Las Vegas.

Campbell's business license does not allow hunting expeditions, but rather the sale of hunting videos. Also, there is a question as to whether the videos are of an adult nature and whether the business should be required to follow ordinances established for adult-oriented businesses.

"These are violations that city takes seriously," Sanchez asid. "People with business licenses must adhere to our regulations."

The announcement of the potential city action comes one day after Mayor Oscar Goodman indicated that the investigation was winding down and that there apparently would be no action taken on the more serious of issues -- whether women were being subjected to violent acts.

The alleged hunts and the video were all part of " a scam -- all staged with actors," Goodman said at his weekly news conference.

Goodman told reporters that some of the media -- including both local and national outlets that picked up the story -- served as "unwitting dupes to promote a private" venture and that the women in the video apparently were not victims of acts of violence.

Even though Goodman called it a scam, he did not indicate legal action was forthcoming to stop the sale of the video. The longtime noted attorney said if people want to purchase a scam "you can't protect dummies."

Goodman said there is no indication that any "Bambi" hunts have been conducted in Southern Nevada. Goodman also said the city's investigation has not turned up any evidence the women were actually shot with any paintballs in the video.

However, while Goodman was conducting his news conference, Sanchez said Burdick contacted her and said he would go on MSNBC that night and continue to hint that the hunts are real, despite what he had told investigators.

Burdick appeared on that cable news channel on a program that reported his venture was a hoax and indicated he would conduct hunts, Sanchez said.

Burdick could not be reached for comment today. However, he told the Sun Thursday that he takes the selling of his video seriously.

"I've maintained from the start that the video is a spoof of hunting and that the video we shot was done with all hired staff," Burdick said, stopping short of calling the women models or actresses. Instead, he called them "women who wanted to make money or get attention."

Burdick said the women in his video were paid $1,000 to participate in the hunt and $2,500 if they avoided getting hit by a paint ball. He said the video also is meant to spoof how far women will go to make money.

Women's groups have denounced the video as demeaning to women. Burdick said he has received numerous offers from women to appear in future videos at the rates he claims the women in the original video were paid.

Burdick said he would have conducted some hunts but that potential customers wanted to put them on their credit cards, which the credit card companies do not allow. He said so far potential customers have balked at paying $10,000 cash.

His website this morning was advertising the hunts for $6,000.

Burdick said he got the idea for his video from years of hunting animals. He says hunters on TV look "hilarious" when they proudly kill an animal, pose with it and turn it into a trophy. He said, while growing up, he ate what he killed.

And, Burdick said, what better way to spoof hunting than by using a beautiful naked woman as the trophy.

The video depicts the women falling to the sagebrush-dotted ground as they are "shot." They pretend they are dead or unconscious as the hunters prod them with their foot or drag them off by their hair.

Burdick said he is not familiar with that X-rated film industry, noting, "I am just a hunter."

Burdick has responded to a number of news media inquiries by saying that just because the women in his film are nude, that does not make it a pornographic video.