Documentary Superstars: How Today's Filmmakers Are Reinventing the Form

(Paperback)

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Explores the history of a documentary filmmaker - from cinema verite to the inserted narrator, from the "quiet" filmmaking of David Wiseman and Frederick Maysles to interactive documentaries, from the "balanced" point of view to the charismatic commentator, ala Fahrenheit 9/11. This title includes interviews with Michael Moore and Errol Morris.

Reviews

Praise for" Documentary Superstars: How Today's Filmmakers Are Reinventing the Form
"
"A lively, well researched, and informative book that raises all the right questions about documentaries of the past as well as those of the present. The "Tips and Tricks of the Trade" section will be particularly useful to beginning filmmakers. This book is highly recommended."-Philippe Perebinossoff, Radio Television and Film Department, California State University, Fullerton

"I reach for my revolver when I see documentaries referred to as 'docs', but with such enthralling interviews and fascinating revelations, I forgive everything."-Kevin Brownlow, film historian and filmmaker

""Documentary Superstars"' sparkling exuberance, wit, and wisdom-qualities all too rarely combined in studies of this type-make this a must-read for students and lay readers alike.... McCreadie fearlessly tackles new generations of imagemakers busily refining and redefining documentary forms on screens, on the Web, and on reality television.... I'm sure my students will love reading it every bit as much as McCreadie has obviously loved writing it."-John C. Tibbetts, Associate Professor of Film, University of Kansas

"Reading about important documentary filmmaking is easy--if you pick up the new page-turner by Marsha McCreadie. "Documentary Superstars" is conversationally written and informally organized, but this easy-to-read book takes on a difficult task: McCreadie wants to know how the revered doc filmmakers of the 1960s, '70s, and '80s (wittingly or unwittingly) laid the groundwork for today's blockbuster 'star/auteurs'." --Lisa Mills, "Documentary" magazine

"It is the latest in a series of McCreadie's books on the filmmaking scene . . . both brilliant and acerbic, sometimes at the same time." --The Notre Dame Review of Books


Praise for" Documentary Superstars: How Todays Filmmakers Are Reinventing the Form
"
A lively, well researched, and informative book that raises all the right questions about documentaries of the past as well as those of the present. The "Tips and Tricks of the Trade" section will be particularly useful to beginning filmmakers. This book is highly recommended.Philippe Perebinossoff, Radio Television and Film Department, California State University, Fullerton
I reach for my revolver when I see documentaries referred to as 'docs', but with such enthralling interviews and fascinating revelations, I forgive everything.Kevin Brownlow, film historian and filmmaker
"Documentary Superstars"' sparkling exuberance, wit, and wisdomqualities all too rarely combined in studies of this typemake this a must-read for students and lay readers alike.... McCreadie fearlessly tackles new generations of imag

Author Bio

Marsha McCreadie, a film critic and author, has written four books on film. Her articles appear in Variety, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and many other publications. A professor of documentary filmmaking at Fordham University, she lives in New York City.