Alex Gibney on His Paul Simon Film and the Future of Doc Distribution: ‘It Would Be Grim If There Was Just One or Two Streamers and Nothing Else’
10.09.2023 - 00:25
/ variety.com
Addie Morfoot Contributor In his latest documentary “In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon,” Alex Gibney explores the singer-songwriter’s six-decade career. The Oscar winning director also captures Simon creating his latest album, “Seven Psalms,” which he made while losing hearing in his left ear. Although Gibney is mostly recognized for his rigorously researched investigative exposes (“Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room,” “Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief”), he is also skilled in creating portraits of cultural icons like Simon.
In the 209-minute docu Gibney relies on Simon as well as signifigant figures in his life including wife Edie Brickell, Lorne Michaels and Art Garfunkel, who can be heard via archival footage, to tell his story.
In 2019 Gibney premiered his Mikhail Khodorkovsky documentary “Citizen K” at TIFF. “In Restless Dreams” will debut at TIFF on Sept. 10.
Gibney is seeking distribution for the film.
Did you have final cut on this docu?
Yes. That was the arrangement we made going into it. I felt good about that.
Paul was generous enough to give me a lot of access, particularly to his creative process. But at the end of the day, the final shape of the film was my call.
Celebrity profile docs are all the rage today. How did you feel about jumping on that bandwagon?
When it comes to celebrity profiles, there’s a difference between when the filmmaker has control and when the celebrity does.
If the celebrity has control, then celebrity profile is one way of calling it. You could also call it a commercial. For every film that I do, I have to find something in the story that’s compelling as a story and leads you deeper, rather than it just being a presentation of clips of a performer.
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