When one of the world's greatest intellects happily admits to being seduced by fame, perhaps the rest of us should stop being so sniffy about it
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Our celebrity culture rarely goes long unbemoaned: earlier this summer, Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring prompted another round of handwringing. According to the disgruntled, it was absurd that the likes of Paris Hilton should be famous. It was even more absurd that people should steal celebrities' knickers, and in doing so achieve notoriety of their own. Making a film about the ninnies involved was still more lamentable, and going to see it was almost as bad.
All the same, even those most aghast seemed unsurprised: no one can deny that obsession with stardom is rampant. Research has suggested that around 40% of adults expect to enjoy their 15 minutes of fame in some guise or other.
• Watch the trailer for Hawking
• News: Eddie Redmayne to play Hawking in film biopic
Our celebrity culture rarely goes long unbemoaned: earlier this summer, Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring prompted another round of handwringing. According to the disgruntled, it was absurd that the likes of Paris Hilton should be famous. It was even more absurd that people should steal celebrities' knickers, and in doing so achieve notoriety of their own. Making a film about the ninnies involved was still more lamentable, and going to see it was almost as bad.
All the same, even those most aghast seemed unsurprised: no one can deny that obsession with stardom is rampant. Research has suggested that around 40% of adults expect to enjoy their 15 minutes of fame in some guise or other.
- 8/16/2013
- by David Cox
- The Guardian - Film News
Remember when every new Bond film used to be a bit of a lark? Now things have got so gloomy that 007 can barely manage a flippant putdown. Is this new solemnity a sign of our times?
The rapture inspired by Skyfall in critics and public alike might have surprised Bond fans of the past. For the franchise's 23rd instalment lacks what some would have considered its quintessential ingredient.
What used to distinguish 007 from previous thriller heroes was his unique brand of ironic detachment. Ian Fleming's books demanded to be taken straight. The earlier films mocked their source material's vanity, as well as the thriller genre, love, death and Her Majesty's secret service. Their studied cheesiness mocked the mockery itself.
In Skyfall, Daniel Craig's Bond delivers a scattering of old-style quips, but the chronic flippancy from which they used to spring has disappeared. Indeed, the film's lack of larkiness...
The rapture inspired by Skyfall in critics and public alike might have surprised Bond fans of the past. For the franchise's 23rd instalment lacks what some would have considered its quintessential ingredient.
What used to distinguish 007 from previous thriller heroes was his unique brand of ironic detachment. Ian Fleming's books demanded to be taken straight. The earlier films mocked their source material's vanity, as well as the thriller genre, love, death and Her Majesty's secret service. Their studied cheesiness mocked the mockery itself.
In Skyfall, Daniel Craig's Bond delivers a scattering of old-style quips, but the chronic flippancy from which they used to spring has disappeared. Indeed, the film's lack of larkiness...
- 11/2/2012
- by David Cox
- The Guardian - Film News
The panel discussions at Sheffield Doc/Fest earlier this year included a 90-minute session on the ethically fraught territory of documentary fundraising. "Fund Your Doc, but at What Price?" was moderated by Claire Fox, director of the Institute of Ideas, and included Mette Hoffman Meyer of Denmark's Dr TV, critic Jennifer Merin, the BBC's Nick Fraser, and Alex Connock, from Shine UK. "All art is propaganda," Fraser reminded the audience, echoing George Orwell. Still, even shades of grey can create stark contrasts, and for filmmakers serious about keeping their work firmly outside the category of branded content, it is worth drawing distinctions. Though the group spent much time lamenting the often-unavoidable compromises in objectivity that come with accepting money from corporations, NGOs, charities, and other potentially slanted sources, from generalized frustration and discontent there emerged a number of insights useful to documentarians eager...
- 9/19/2012
- by Chris Pomorski
- Indiewire
With TV production budgets under constant pressure, filmmakers often have to seek finance elswhere. So, what are the options?
Documentary makers are increasingly able to tap into a growing number of funding sources beyond traditional broadcasters, including foundations, corporations and, increasingly, crowd-funding websites such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo. These crowd-funding websites are designed so many people can contribute small amounts towards projects that they think are important.
New sources of money are good news because more films can potentially be made, but the possible downside for filmmakers is the need to be vigilant about how funders might try to influence the editorial voice of their films.
BBC Storyville editor Nick Fraser is cautious about the new sources of monies for documentaries and worries that it comes with strings attached. He uses the example of legendary documentary makers Albert and David Maysles, who made the classic 1975 Grey Gardens film about an...
Documentary makers are increasingly able to tap into a growing number of funding sources beyond traditional broadcasters, including foundations, corporations and, increasingly, crowd-funding websites such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo. These crowd-funding websites are designed so many people can contribute small amounts towards projects that they think are important.
New sources of money are good news because more films can potentially be made, but the possible downside for filmmakers is the need to be vigilant about how funders might try to influence the editorial voice of their films.
BBC Storyville editor Nick Fraser is cautious about the new sources of monies for documentaries and worries that it comes with strings attached. He uses the example of legendary documentary makers Albert and David Maysles, who made the classic 1975 Grey Gardens film about an...
- 6/10/2012
- by Lucy Rouse
- The Guardian - Film News
At Sheffield Doc/Fest, a heated debate that pitched campaigning documentary features against films as impartial documents has thrown the future of the form in sharp relief
This year, the normally clubby atmosphere of Sheffield's documentarists' convention has been shaken by a genuine row. The intensity of the debate at the Campaigning Documentaries: The Thin Line Between Passion and Propaganda session reflects the seriousness of what's at stake. It's not just the future of the genre that hangs in the balance, but its very identity.
One side maintains that documentary-making must be open-minded, impartial and journalistic. Its purpose should be to help people understand, not to encourage them to emote. The other side insists that the whole point of documentary-making is to effect desirable change. Campaigning is to be relished, not shunned.
In the eyes of the journalists, committed films don't deserve to be called documentaries. They're propaganda, corporate video or advertising.
This year, the normally clubby atmosphere of Sheffield's documentarists' convention has been shaken by a genuine row. The intensity of the debate at the Campaigning Documentaries: The Thin Line Between Passion and Propaganda session reflects the seriousness of what's at stake. It's not just the future of the genre that hangs in the balance, but its very identity.
One side maintains that documentary-making must be open-minded, impartial and journalistic. Its purpose should be to help people understand, not to encourage them to emote. The other side insists that the whole point of documentary-making is to effect desirable change. Campaigning is to be relished, not shunned.
In the eyes of the journalists, committed films don't deserve to be called documentaries. They're propaganda, corporate video or advertising.
- 11/9/2009
- by David Cox
- The Guardian - Film News
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