Updated with video: The California town of Paradise was home to about 26,000 people in November 2018 when a catastrophic wildfire reduced most of the town to ash. Ron Howard’s National Geographic documentary Rebuilding Paradise begins with footage of the community in flames.
“That opening sequence is far more harrowing than anything I’ve ever staged as a director of scripted movies,” Howard says during Deadline’s Contenders Documentary awards-season event. “Suddenly this beautiful town is destroyed…in a matter of three hours.”
As the title suggests, Rebuilding Paradise focuses not so much on the fire but the aftermath—the succession of challenges the community faced.
“There was one surprise after another for everyone in Paradise—all of the burnt trees that then had to be cut down because it wasn’t safe…There was benzine that had leaked into the water when the pipes heated up,” producer Xan Parker notes.
“That opening sequence is far more harrowing than anything I’ve ever staged as a director of scripted movies,” Howard says during Deadline’s Contenders Documentary awards-season event. “Suddenly this beautiful town is destroyed…in a matter of three hours.”
As the title suggests, Rebuilding Paradise focuses not so much on the fire but the aftermath—the succession of challenges the community faced.
“There was one surprise after another for everyone in Paradise—all of the burnt trees that then had to be cut down because it wasn’t safe…There was benzine that had leaked into the water when the pipes heated up,” producer Xan Parker notes.
- 1/10/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
The coronavirus pandemic pushed the release of a slew of narrative films into 2021, reducing the number of Best Picture contenders this Oscar season. But it’s a completely different story with documentary. Streaming platforms and other players didn’t hold back their nonfiction slate, and with the Academy relaxing qualification rules, the record for films in contention for Best Documentary is about to be shattered this year.
That makes this the perfect time to launch Deadline’s first Contenders Documentary, a virtual showcase of top nonfiction films this awards season. The event kicks off today at 8 a.m. Pt. Click here to register and join the livestream, and follow along for the day on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram via @Deadline and #DeadlineContenders. See the full schedule of panels below.
The Contenders Documentary program, featuring conversations with a raft of Oscar-winning and Oscar-nominated filmmakers including Alex Gibney, Liz Garbus, Ron Howard,...
That makes this the perfect time to launch Deadline’s first Contenders Documentary, a virtual showcase of top nonfiction films this awards season. The event kicks off today at 8 a.m. Pt. Click here to register and join the livestream, and follow along for the day on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram via @Deadline and #DeadlineContenders. See the full schedule of panels below.
The Contenders Documentary program, featuring conversations with a raft of Oscar-winning and Oscar-nominated filmmakers including Alex Gibney, Liz Garbus, Ron Howard,...
- 1/10/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
There’s been a lot of Oscar buzz for Ron Howard’s drama “Hillbilly Elegy” with Amy Adams and Glenn Close premiering Nov. 24 on Netflix. But thi Oscar winner is also a strong contender in Best Documentary Feature for his well-received film “Rebuilding Paradise.” It was unveiled in January at Sundance, released theatrically and digitally in July, and will air commercial free Nov. 8 on National Geographic.
The NatGeo premiere is on the second anniversary of the devastating Camp Fire that destroyed almost all of the picturesque town of Paradise, California and surrounding areas killing 85 people, uprooting 50,000 residents and destroying some 95% of the town’s structures including hospitals and schools.
In “Rebuilding Paradise,” Howard, who won Oscars for producing and directing 2001’s “A Beautiful Mind,” vividly captures the harrowing firestorm that took 10 days to contain; the bravery of the firefighters and police, the tragedy of lives and homes lost; and the...
The NatGeo premiere is on the second anniversary of the devastating Camp Fire that destroyed almost all of the picturesque town of Paradise, California and surrounding areas killing 85 people, uprooting 50,000 residents and destroying some 95% of the town’s structures including hospitals and schools.
In “Rebuilding Paradise,” Howard, who won Oscars for producing and directing 2001’s “A Beautiful Mind,” vividly captures the harrowing firestorm that took 10 days to contain; the bravery of the firefighters and police, the tragedy of lives and homes lost; and the...
- 10/29/2020
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
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