Documentary superstars : how today's filmmakers are reinventing the form / by Marsha McCreadie.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McCreadie, Marsha, 1943-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Documentary films--History and criticism.

Documentary films.

Motion picture producers and directors--Interviews.

Motion picture producers and directors.

Genre:

Interviews.

Physical Description:

x, 245 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Allworth Press, [2008]

Summary:

When did the documentary filmmaker, purveyor of all things dull, become a glamorous Hollywood figure? Documentary Superstars examines the evolution of the documentary film: from cinéma vérité to the inserted narrator, from the balanced point of view to the charismatic commentator, from the documentarian as star to popular reality television shows. Film critic and instructor Marsha McCreadie explores the controversy and innovation of the modern day documentary with detailed film descriptions and brand new commentary from some of the most influential names in the field, including:

Errol Morris

Werner Herzog

Michael Moore

Kevin Macdonald

Sacha Baron Cohen

Celia Maysles Morgan Spurlock

Christopher Guest Albert Maysles

Peter Davis

Alan Berliner

Davis Guggenheim

Grace Lee

Sydney Pollack

Frederick Wiseman

Perfect for both film buffs and aspiring filmmakers, Documentary Superstars includes a list of the big international and local film festivals, as well as a compilation of advice and tricks from the writers, producers, and directors reinventing the documentary.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Transforming the Image of Truth 001

Chapter 2 The Purist and the Peekaboo Documentarian / Frederick Wiseman, Albert Maysles 027

Chapter 3 The Professor and the Rabble-Rouser / Peter Davis, Michael Moore 053

Chapter 4 The Practitioner and the Visionary / Werner Herzog, Errol Morris 075

Chapter 5 The Charismatic Commenter / Al Gore, Leon Gast, Davis Guggenheim, Christian Slater, Spike Lee 107

Chapter 6 The Documentarian Gets to Star / Morgan Spurlock, Sydney Pollack, Mark Wexler, Alan Berliner 127

Chapter 7 The Documentary Filmmaker in the Role of Spoofmeister / Rob Reiner, Christopher Guest, Michael Ritchie, Alex Karpovsky, Sacha Baron Cohen 151

Chapter 8 Happy Hybrids / Kevin Macdonald, Jason Reitman, Peter Morgan, Roy Frunkes 171

Chapter 9 The New Breed Selects and Mixes Forms / Amir Bar-Lev, Sara Lamm, Grace Lee, Celia Maysles 183

Chapter 10 It's a Wrap 199.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 231-234) and index.

ISBN:

9781581155082

1581155085

OCLC:

166378215

Online:

Contributor biographical information

Publisher description