We are beyond proud to announce that our director, Celene Beth Olsen, has been selected as a finalist for the Utah Film Center’s Artist Foundry Pitch Competition.
As we move through the final stages of production on K*lling Theodore, this competition offers a vital platform to share our mission of restorative, trauma-informed storytelling. We’d love to see our community in the stands cheering Celene on as she pitches the heart and soul of this project to a panel of industry judges.
We want to express our immense gratitude to the Utah Film Center for this opportunity. We are truly honored to be recognized alongside such a talented group of local filmmakers and are so thankful for the Artist Foundry’s dedication to supporting independent voices in our community.
May 29 @ 6:00pm
Utah Film Center @utahfilmcenter
I am so deeply honored to share that I’ve been selected as a finalist for the Utah Film Center’s 3rd Annual Artist Foundry Pitch Competition.
This project has been a nearly a decade long journey, and having the opportunity to share the heart of this work on such a platform is truly one of the highlights of this entire experience. There is something so special about pitching to my community and my beloved Salt Lake City—the place that has shaped so much of this story.
I cannot wait to meet my fellow filmmakers and take on this exciting journey alongside such a talented group. I am incredibly grateful to the Utah Film Center for this opportunity and for their dedication to supporting independent voices.
May 29 @ 6:00pm
Utah Film Center
Fifty years of relentless media have transformed a legacy of violence into a sprawling global empire. This investigation exposes the hidden mechanics of that industry, revealing the profound human cost of turning tragedy into entertainment. What begins as a rigorous inquiry into storytelling ethics evolves into a visceral, personal reckoning with the price of commodifying trauma for public consumption.
Applying the long-absent lens of a woman of color, the narrative dismantles the sensationalist tropes that have historically exploited participants while centering notoriety at the expense of the silenced. By prioritizing a participant centered methodology, the work challenges the viewer to look beyond the spectacle and confront the systemic reality of the “Ted Bundy Universe.”
It represents a bold shift in documentary practice, moving past a global fixation on the perpetrator toward a more ethical future that honors human dignity over intrigue.
This is K*lling Theodore.
(Thank you to @amantopush for seeing our vision so many years ago!)
We are deeply privileged to announce that Ellicia Elliott has officially joined us as Associate Producer. Ellicia is a Washington State native, an accomplished theatre artist, a historian, and an educator. Beyond her incredible professional background and vital local connections, Ellicia holds a profound personal connection to K*lling Theodore—the history of these cases are interwoven with her own family’s story.
In a project of this nature, intentionality is everything. Ellicia brings a strong sense of purpose to all that she does, ensuring that we are always holding space for the individuals and communities affected by these generational crimes.
We are incredibly grateful to have an official Washingtonian helping us guide this story forward!
Working in true crime is often glamorized from the outside, but the reality is a lot heavier. It’s a difficult, taxing space to be in, and it took me years on the ground to truly see the effects this kind of storytelling has on the whole ecosystem.
Walking away from that “assembly line” was the first step. Becoming a Certified Mental Health Coordinator was the second. It was an intentional move to stop just participating and start implementing an “Ethics of Care” for the survivors, the crews, and the leadership involved.
My goal will forever be to leave this industry better than how it found me.
Heading into the recording studio with Jess and Frankie is always special, but this conversation went deeper than I ever expected. My love for these two spans twenty years, and it was a gift to talk through the reality of this industry with people who truly care.
We got into the emotional weight of the true crime space, my podcast True Crime & Hollywood: A Personal Tale, and the journey of my new short film, The Sundance Kid. We also touched on the years of work poured into K*lling Theodore and why trauma-informed storytelling is so vital. This is easily one of my favorite interviews to date—I’m forever grateful for the space they hold for our community.
Thank you for having me @listentofrankieandjess 🫶🏽💫💜 The Jess & Frankie Podcast is available on Apple and Spotify!
I’m often told that Ted Bundy is no longer a relevant or “current” topic for a feature film. Then, I see things like this—a professional LinkedIn profile created for a serial killer that displays a verification badge.
Investigative journalist Craig Silverman flagged this earlier today, noting that despite being reported multiple times, the platform still hasn’t removed it.
While LinkedIn is home to many Bundy profiles, this specific “verified” account is a glaring example of the systemic errors that upholds a violent culture.
According to investigator Jay Jones (The Profiler), the core problem is that LinkedIn displays a verification shield if just one element of a profile has been vetted, but it fails to check if that profile later changes its name, photo, or credentials.
It is a reminder that many people don’t realize how deeply his shadow still looms in our digital spaces. K*lling Theodore isn’t just about the past; it’s a rigorous deconstruction of the media empire that continues to be built around Bundy’s “legacy.” By applying a definitive female perspective, I’m working to expose how we’ve allowed the systemic exploitation and commodification of trauma to become so normalized that it remains on a professional networking site despite being flagged.
This is your daily reminder that there is a deep, unexamined world of ethics we have yet to truly investigate. We have so much to learn and evolve as a society.
I’m honored to be collaborating with the National Center for Victims of Crime as we lead up to National Crime Victims’ Rights Week on April 19th. This partnership is important to me because it’s a reminder that we shouldn’t just be consumers of true crime—we should be looking out for the people who actually live it.
To me, an ethics of care is about being a real safety net for the trauma survivors in our own lives and communities. That starts with making sure the people around us have the resources they need to feel supported, but it also means showing up for the local organizations and crisis centers that provide that same foundation on a larger scale. They are the ones doing the heavy lifting long after a story ends, and they deserve our focus just as much as the narratives do.
Let’s use these next ten days to be more intentional about how we support our neighbors and the people behind these stories!
Our team is beaming with pride as we watch our former Executive Producer, Rebecca Sirmons, leading the way as the Head of NASA+. Seeing the collective brilliance of the NASA family come to life with Artemis II is a profound moment that leaves us all in awe.
Bex, your vision and leadership have always been “galactic” in scale, and seeing the fruits of your labor unfolding on the world stage is a joy to behold. We continue to cheer you on from the ground as you navigate these extraordinary journeys. We love watching, we love learning, and we are forever inspired by your orbit.
Included here are some favorite photos of Rebecca and Celene Beth’s collaboration at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival for the NASA+ event, “You Bet Your Asteroid We Have a Story to Tell.” You can also see our editor, Lex Benedict, who joined in the celebration!
From space to crime narratives, we are always chasing the stars and the moon. Ad astra! 💫
Today we honor the incredible Lindsey Wade, a dear friend of our film. Many don’t realize that until 2011, Ted Bundy’s DNA wasn’t even in the national database—a gap that Lindsey made it her mission to close.
By tracking down a vial of blood from 1978 and working with the FDLE, she secured the complete profile that finally entered Bundy into CODIS. This breakthrough was instrumental in cases like Laura Aime’s, proving that no case is truly “unsolvable” when you have the right evidence in the system. Lindsey is a true champion for the truth, and we are so grateful for her dedication to the families and her support of our project.
Fifty years is a staggering amount of time to wait for the truth. As news comes out of American Fork Canyon, the weight of that silence is finally breaking, though the gravity of the loss remains.
We acknowledge Laura Ann Aime and the other child victims of Ted Bundy’s—it is a necessary intention to call them what they were: children. To use any other language or to call them “women” only serves to gloss over the reality of what was actually stolen. They deserve to be remembered for exactly who they were.
There is a deep, collective trauma that has lived in the canyons and homes of American Fork for decades. For the many families still searching for their children and siblings fifty years later, let Laura’s name be a reminder that no one is truly forgotten. The truth is patient, and we hope this moment provides a sense of collective healing to the family, friends, and the community of Laura Ann Aime.
Photo credit: @sltrib
This past October, I took K*lling Theodore off the shelf. There is still more to film, and there is no fixed timeline for this journey—it is simply too deeply personal to rush.
I am profoundly grateful to every person who has stood by me and this project for over nine years. This process is grueling, and the work is demanding, but it is necessary. Thank you for your continued patience and support.
