“Side Effects”
A Wisconsin mother of two takes on Big Pharma in two films without studio support.
Imagine writing and directing a film as a mother of two very active children.
Imagine bringing the movie to film festivals and movie screens without a single
studio dollar. Now imagine that your film takes on Big Pharma. This is exactly
what former pharmaceutical rep Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau did. In her movie
“Side Effects,” starring Katherine Heigl of “Grey’s
Anatomy,” Slattery-Moschkau mixes a coming-of-age story with a satirical
look at how prescription drugs are marketed. Slattery-Moschkau was a sales representative
for Bristol-Myers Squibb and Johnson & Johnson for 10 years, and the film
is closely based on her experience and personal struggles with the industry.
“Side Effects” tells the story of Karly Hert, who is conflicted
on a daily basis by the values within the pharmaceutical industry. She has a
desire to get out of the business of selling drugs, but she has become seduced
by the lifestyle it allows her to maintain. Karly meets a “Mr. Nice Guy,”
Zach Danner, who helps her devise a plan to get out of the industry, but Karly
discovers leaving isn’t so easy. In the middle of the romantic comedy
storyline is an unsavory look at Big Pharma.
Once “Side Effects” was under her belt, Slattery-Moschkau felt the
movie posed additional questions that she wasn’t fully qualified to answer.
To answer these questions she turned to an investigative journalist, physicians
and medical experts from Harvard, Columbia and UCLA. The result is “Money
Talks: Profits Before Patient Safety,” a hard-hitting documentary that
takes a more academic approach to the problems in the pharmaceutical industry.
“Money Talks” covers how sales reps court physicians with gifts,
the effects of advertising and Big Pharma rewarding heavy prescribers.
Both “Side Effects” and “Money Talks” have been well-received
by the critics and are available on DVD for $19.99 and $14.99 individually,
or $31.50 as a DVD package at sideeffectsthemovie.com. For more information
about the films visit sideeffectsthemovie.com.
—Amy Dusek