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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: documentary film

documentary film stories: 23 news summaries

1 - 20 of 23 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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MOVIE REVIEW

 By the People Has 
 Access, Little Else 

Critics split on virtues of Obama doc with little dish

Nov 3, 09 12:12 PM CST
(Newser) - Critics agree the HBO's By the People, a record of the Obama campaign produced by Edward Norton, offers behind-the-scenes access but no real scoops. But what some see as a heartwarming tale of triumph, others find fawning. A sampling:
  • The naivete of the filmmakers shows through for Hank Stuever
... More »

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HBO • movie review • Election 2008 • documentary film • President Obama • Obama campaign • access • political campaign • By the People reviews

box office roundup

 Jacko Rules the World 

'This Is It' wears crown as 'Paranormal Activity' heads for $100M

Nov 1, 09 1:34 PM CST
(Newser) - This Is It lived up to its name at the weekend box office, raking in $21.3 million domestically and $101 million internationally. The Michael Jackson documentary's strong showing prompted distributor Sony to extend its original 2-week run by 3 weeks, through Thanksgiving weekend, reports Variety . The sleeper sensation Paranormal ... More »

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film • documentary • box office • Michael Jackson • movies • documentary film • Couples Retreat • Paranormal Activity • This Is It • Law Abiding Citizen • Saw VI

payback

 Michael Moore Attracts 
 His Own Gadflies 

Veritable 'cottage industry' of negative docs on documentarian

Oct 23, 09 12:22 PM CDT
(Newser) - Michael Moore makes a living speaking truth to power, and an assortment of other filmmakers are lining up to speak truth to him. “There's actually more films made attacking me than films I've made,” he tells the Wall Street Journal. They include Fahrenhype 9/11, Celsius ... More »

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entertainment • film • Michael Moore • movies • documentary film • Capitalism: A Love Story • Shooting Michael Moore • Kevin Leffler • Flint, Michigan

MOVIE REVIEW

 Good Hair Has a Few Knots 

Chris Rock shines as interviewer, but social issues get lost in the weave

Oct 9, 09 10:24 AM CDT
(Newser) - Chris Rock is a natural and hilarious interviewer, critics agree. But watchers are split on whether the substance of a rather complicated debate shines through in Big Hair, his documentary on black women and their coifs. A sampling:
  • Rock has helped craft a film with "much good feeling
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • film • African Americans • movie review • Chris Rock • black women • documentary film • hair care • perm • straightening • Good Hair

FILM REVIEW


 Autistic Surf Pro 
 'Becomes One 
 With the Wave'  

Documentary shows raves, and difficulties, for Clay Marzo, 20,

Oct 4, 09 4:56 AM CDT
(Newser) - That a 20-year-old Hawaiian might be among the world’s best surfers isn’t a surprise—but Clay Marzo has Asperger’s syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism. Just Add Water, a documentary out next month, juxtaposes Marzo’s inability to handle everyday social situations with a seemingly innate mastery... More »

MORE ABOUT:
autism • surfing • Asperger's Syndrome • documentary film • Clay Marzo • Just Add Water • Jamie Tierney

TV Review

Rare Documentary Offers Intriguing Peek at Court


Oct 3, 09 1:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - C-SPAN's new documentary on the Supreme Court is both "unprecedented and surprisingly moving," writes Hank Stuever, and even court junkies are bound to learn something new. Bombshells? Not so much, but it's the first time that all current and retired living justices have given individual interviews for the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
documentary • US Supreme Court • C-SPAN • documentary film • Supreme Court justice

movie review

 The September Issue Delivers 

Offers new look at notorious Vogue boss

Aug 28, 09 11:43 AM CDT
(Newser) - The September Issue is a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of Vogue’s September 2007 issue—and at the woman in charge of it all. RJ Cutler's film may change minds about editor in chief Anna Wintour and her brutal reputation:
  • Stephanie Zacharek of Salon calls the film “
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
film • movie review • Vogue • Anna Wintour • documentary film • RJ Cutler • The September Issue

MOVIE REVIEW

 HBO Campaign Doc 
 Shows Same Cool Obama 


Jul 30, 09 12:43 PM CDT
(Newser) - A new documentary on Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign depicts not much more or less than the restraint and measured response we’ve come to associate with our president, Ted Johnson writes for Variety. HBO’s By the People, to air Nov. 3, was not intended as an “exposé... More »

MORE ABOUT:
HBO • Chicago Sun Times • David Axelrod • Election 2008 • documentary film • Edward Norton • Obama administration • President Obama • Obama campaign • Lynn Sweet

Moore's New Movie Targets Wall St. 'Bloodsuckers'

After Bush, GM, and guns, filmmakers sets sights on 'robber barons' behind crisis

Jun 11, 09 3:30 AM CDT
(Newser) - Michael Moore promises to tear chunks out of the people behind the Wall Street meltdown in his new movie, USA Today reports. The documentary filmmaker, who calls the financial crisis "the biggest robbery in the history of this country," is targeting the corporations and politicians responsible. He... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Wall Street • Michael Moore • documentary • documentary film • financial crisis

(Newser) - Director David Lynch will debut his multipart documentary Interview Project on his website June 1, the Wrap reports. The project consists of 121 three- to five-minute interviews with regular folks across America. A new one will be rolled out every few days over the course of a year. Lynch... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Internet • film director • interview • documentary film • road trip • Jay-ZTV • David Lynch

Hero Pilot Documentary Headed for Cable in Late '09

Film to air in late 2009

Apr 2, 09 11:02 AM CDT
(Newser) - Cable channel TLC has obtained exclusive rights to make a documentary on the story of Chesley Sullenberger, the pilot who successfully saved US Airways Flight 1549 with a daring water landing in January. The documentary will feature extensive interviews with Sullenberger discussing both his specific actions to save the plane... More »

MORE ABOUT:
television • documentary • pilot • hero • TLC • documentary film • Chesley Sullenberger • Flight 1549 • Hudson crash

Supreme Court Will Rule
on Hillary Documentary

Anti-Clinton flick deemed campaign ad

Mar 21, 09 7:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - Supreme Court judges will go the movies next week when they hear arguments about a feature-length film on Hillary Clinton, the AP reports. Screened in eight theaters during the presidential campaign, Hillary: the Movie fizzled after federal courts said the scathing documentary and its commercials amounted to campaign ads.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Hillary Clinton • film • campaign finance • political advertising • US Supreme Court • Election 2008 • documentary film • Citizens United

(Newser) - A one-eyed documentarian is planning a film on privacy shot using a camera implanted in his prosthetic organ, the AP reports. Rob Spence, who plans to become a "human surveillance machine," got the idea when he realized how small his cellphone camera was. His eye muscles will move... More »

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weird • privacy • George Orwell • eyes • prosthetics • hidden camera • documentary film • Rob Spence

(Newser) - A documentary on animal cruelty at an Ohio hog farm has the pork industry considering how to better represent its “commitment to animal care,” Reuters reports. The footage in Death on a Factory Farm, taken secretly, led to animal-cruelty prosecutions, though the charged workers were acquitted. HBO airs... More »

MORE ABOUT:
HBO • Ohio • animal cruelty • pig • pork • documentary film • prosecutions • National Pork Board • factory farm

 It Might Get Loud Hits 
 Guitar Hero Trifecta 

Jimmy Page, U2's Edge and Jack White get their axe grind on in new documentary

Sep 19, 08 6:55 PM CDT
(Newser) - There's no Behind the Music-style debauchery to be found in It Might Get Loud, Rolling Stone reports. Rather, the documentary more resembles “having three carpenters talk about a radial-arm saw,” quips Jack White, who along with the Edge (of U2) and Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), form the heart... More »

MORE ABOUT:
film • U2 • rock and roll • guitar • Led Zeppelin • Jimmy Page • documentary film • White Stripes • Jack White • the Edge

Other Pelosi
Readies Political Documentary
for HBO

The film's focus remains under wraps

Sep 12, 08 5:38 PM CDT
(Newser) - Documentary filmmaker and famous political daughter Alexandra Pelosi is putting the final touches on a new film about the 2008 election for HBO, reports Politico. Known best for Journeys With George, her behind-the-scenes look at President Bush's 2000 presidential bid, Pelosi hasn't divulged what the focus of her latest effort... More »

MORE ABOUT:
film • HBO • Election 2008 • documentary film • Alexandra Pelosi

Review

 Gunnin' Sure to Score
  With Hoop Fans 

Beastie Boy produces shallow but pleasing documentary

Jun 27, 08 5:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - Gunnin’ for That #1 Spot, the second documentary from Beastie Boy Adam Yauch, is no Hoop Dreams, but critics predict a slam-dunk with roundball and hip-hop aficionados. The film follows eight high school phenoms through a high-profile Harlem pick-up game and “offers a snapshot of the kind of... More »

MORE ABOUT:
basketball • movie review • documentary • Beastie Boys • documentary film • Adam Yauch

 Campy
 Documentarians
 Focus on Fleiss 

Pair talks of fame, and falling out with the Hollywood madam

Jun 25, 08 12:42 PM CDT
(Newser) - The makers of such revelatory documentaries as Inside Deep Throat and The Eyes of Tammy Faye have a new film in the works, about Heidi Fleiss’ bid to open an all-male brothel in the Nevada desert, W reports. Fleiss, who had a falling out with directors Fenton... More »

MORE ABOUT:
reality TV • prostitution • Nevada • brothel • Heidi Fleiss • madams • documentary film

 Documentaries: 
 Box Office Wimps 

Even with critical acclaim, they can't draw decent audiences

Jun 20, 08 5:38 PM CDT
(Newser) - Although big-name documentaries such as An Inconvenient Truth and Sicko have raised the genre's profile, recent ones just aren't pulling in audiences, the Los Angeles Times reports. The critically acclaimed steroid film Bigger, Stronger, Faster has grossed only $164,000 since its release three weeks ago, and the Oscar-winning Taxi ... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Hollywood • movie industry • steroid use • documentary film

 Ventriloquists 
 Speak Up for 
 Themselves 

Well, maybe not. But the form is seeing more success these days

Jun 20, 08 3:03 PM CDT
(Newser) - Ventriloquism has been on the outs since the '70s, but its fortunes are starting to turn, the Wall Street Journal reports. Symbolizing the resurgence of the vaudeville favorite is Terry Fator, a winner of NBC’s America’s Got Talent competition, who recently picked up a yearlong headlining gig at... More »

MORE ABOUT:
NBC • Las Vegas • comedy • documentary • puppet • documentary film • ventriloquism • Terry Fator

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