Buy:brainee
01-16-08, 04:59 PM
Anyone else catch this? Kind of a low-profile documentary that played at a few festivals (doesn't even have a DVD release), but got its cable debut on Showtime a couple of days ago. When I saw the title browsing through my online guide, and the notice it was a documentary :whofart: , I had to give it a shot.
It's an odd thing. Starts off like a typical "struggling Hollywood" story, following a couple of writers around as they try to pitch scripts. Then veers into "Project Greenlight" territory when one of their ideas is picked up for production, and is made into a reality tv series. And it ends (mild spoilers that are given away in every review, but I'll spoilerize just to be safe): heading into "Blair Witch" country, when something horrible happens during the shooting leaving you questioning the "reality" of the entire piece.
Reviews are mixed, but as a fan of stuff like "Project Greenlight" I enjoyed it. Especially when they got into making the reality tv show, since that's something I haven't seen before (not reality tv, but an in-depth look at the mechanics of putting one together). The writers, Gil and Dave, are likable, and its interesting to see their artistic integrity and friendship challenged as the project develops. The other main character, Kevin Blatt - a producer whose claim to fame is the Paris Hilton sex tapes, is also an interesting guy. Kind of sleazy, but by no means a villain. The resolution leaves a bit to be desired (major questions are left unanswered), but the movie was only 90 minutes long and I found it very worthwhile viewing.
BTW, "American Cannibal" is the name of the reality tv show. The idea was initially a throw-away joke in the pitch - an answer to the question about just how far reality tv shows can go. Think of it as a more extreme version of Survivor (with more "Fear Factor" gross-out stuff) crossed with a "Joe Schmoe Show" situation where the producers are deceiving the contestents (except not comedic like "Joe Schmoe"). The idea is that the contestents would start to get the idea that they'd be starved to the point of cannibalism to survive - and the island the game takes place on has a history of cannibalistic tribes.
Some super-spoilery comments: The ending is that one of contestents is seriously injured - in fact, the doc drops heavy hints that she's dead and family/friends hushed up. Even more, the death seems to be the result of an assault by another contestent - a guy cast because the producers thought he seemed borderline crazy and would be good at pushing buttons. It's a little unclear what happens to cause the injury in the doc (she hypoglycemic, yet there's blood and just can see some odd activity in the background in one shot). Though a youtube video posted by someone that seems to be associated with the production ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHPrG0d_JP8 ) shows the assault pretty clearly. That makes me think this has to be a "mockumentary" - something like this wouldn't happen (even for a low-level reality show) without making the news. And looking back, there are several signs that point to the whole doc being scripted. A couple comic moments are a bit over-the-top. A framed Godard picture falls in the writer's apartment while discussing their venture into reality tv - which seems a pretty blatant symbol of their eroding artistic intentions. The initial story pitch was for a show called "Virgin Territories", which would be kind of a take-off on the Howard Stern bit where male virgins compete to lose their virginity to a porn star. That's believable enough, but they kept stressing that the virginities of the men would be "medically certified" - which has to be a joke. Not to mention the fact that a show where you drive contestents to cannibalism just wouldn't fly. And there's an over-the-top party with naked women dancing around with tampons hanging out - one writer leaves the building in disgust, while the other guts it out and stays. It just felt scripted. Also, there was clear foreshadowing of the ending. Discussions about how its just a matter of time before reality tv goes too far and kills someone.
The makers of the doc are sticking to their guns and claiming its all real. But I don't believe it. Still appreciate the movie thinking that - the pretense was put together well, and I was completely buying it until the end of the movie.
It's an odd thing. Starts off like a typical "struggling Hollywood" story, following a couple of writers around as they try to pitch scripts. Then veers into "Project Greenlight" territory when one of their ideas is picked up for production, and is made into a reality tv series. And it ends (mild spoilers that are given away in every review, but I'll spoilerize just to be safe): heading into "Blair Witch" country, when something horrible happens during the shooting leaving you questioning the "reality" of the entire piece.
Reviews are mixed, but as a fan of stuff like "Project Greenlight" I enjoyed it. Especially when they got into making the reality tv show, since that's something I haven't seen before (not reality tv, but an in-depth look at the mechanics of putting one together). The writers, Gil and Dave, are likable, and its interesting to see their artistic integrity and friendship challenged as the project develops. The other main character, Kevin Blatt - a producer whose claim to fame is the Paris Hilton sex tapes, is also an interesting guy. Kind of sleazy, but by no means a villain. The resolution leaves a bit to be desired (major questions are left unanswered), but the movie was only 90 minutes long and I found it very worthwhile viewing.
BTW, "American Cannibal" is the name of the reality tv show. The idea was initially a throw-away joke in the pitch - an answer to the question about just how far reality tv shows can go. Think of it as a more extreme version of Survivor (with more "Fear Factor" gross-out stuff) crossed with a "Joe Schmoe Show" situation where the producers are deceiving the contestents (except not comedic like "Joe Schmoe"). The idea is that the contestents would start to get the idea that they'd be starved to the point of cannibalism to survive - and the island the game takes place on has a history of cannibalistic tribes.
Some super-spoilery comments: The ending is that one of contestents is seriously injured - in fact, the doc drops heavy hints that she's dead and family/friends hushed up. Even more, the death seems to be the result of an assault by another contestent - a guy cast because the producers thought he seemed borderline crazy and would be good at pushing buttons. It's a little unclear what happens to cause the injury in the doc (she hypoglycemic, yet there's blood and just can see some odd activity in the background in one shot). Though a youtube video posted by someone that seems to be associated with the production ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHPrG0d_JP8 ) shows the assault pretty clearly. That makes me think this has to be a "mockumentary" - something like this wouldn't happen (even for a low-level reality show) without making the news. And looking back, there are several signs that point to the whole doc being scripted. A couple comic moments are a bit over-the-top. A framed Godard picture falls in the writer's apartment while discussing their venture into reality tv - which seems a pretty blatant symbol of their eroding artistic intentions. The initial story pitch was for a show called "Virgin Territories", which would be kind of a take-off on the Howard Stern bit where male virgins compete to lose their virginity to a porn star. That's believable enough, but they kept stressing that the virginities of the men would be "medically certified" - which has to be a joke. Not to mention the fact that a show where you drive contestents to cannibalism just wouldn't fly. And there's an over-the-top party with naked women dancing around with tampons hanging out - one writer leaves the building in disgust, while the other guts it out and stays. It just felt scripted. Also, there was clear foreshadowing of the ending. Discussions about how its just a matter of time before reality tv goes too far and kills someone.
The makers of the doc are sticking to their guns and claiming its all real. But I don't believe it. Still appreciate the movie thinking that - the pretense was put together well, and I was completely buying it until the end of the movie.