The $20,000,000 Club

When I first debuted the $20 Million club last summer, I figured that I would have to update it whenever another high-grossing doc burst upon the scene. That moment has happened, with the cursed Bieber movie. As an amateur journalist, I could not ignore this event, unfortunately. The newest entry to the $20 Million club, the cinematic masterpiece: Justin Bieber: Never Say Never.

The $20 Million Club
1. Fahrenheit 9/11: $119,194,771 (2004)
2. March of the Penguins: $77,437,223 (2005)
3. Justin Bieber: Never Say Never: $72,754,535 (2011)
4. Earth: $32,011,576 (2009)
5. Sicko: $24,540,079 (2007)
6. An Inconvenient Truth: $24,146,161 (2006)
7. Bowling for Columbine: $21,576,018 (2002)

Some other new faces in the Top 20 Domestic Box Office: Waiting for "Superman," Babies, Oceans, and Capitalism: A Love Story. This list favors newer documentaries since there has been a surge of doc interest of late, and because of inflation, which I certainly did not account for.

(click to enlarge)

Bieber's movie is still in the theaters, making money. Since I made the graph earlier today, its sales have gone up on Box Office Mojo by almost $3,000. Seeing as it happens to be the traditional tax day, I think I'm going to update this every April 15. That way, I won't have to break news when Bieber II comes out. I can't believe I've written Bieber this many times. I'm sorry.

Data from BoxOffice Mojo.com (link will be outdated).

2011 Oscar Nominations Announced

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the nominees for the 83rd Academy Awards. The King's Speech has "won" the most nominations, with 12. Co-hosting the ceremony will be Hollywood darlings James Franco and Anne Hathaway (the first time for each). The gala is slated for Sunday, February 27, 2011 at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles.

The nominees are:

Documentary (Feature)

• Exit through the Gift Shop Banksy and Jaimie D'Cruz
• Gasland Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic
• Inside Job Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
• Restrepo Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger
• Waste Land Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley

Documentary (Short Subject)

• Killing in the Name Jed Rothstein
• Poster Girl Sara Nesson and Mitchell W. Block
• Strangers No More Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon
• Sun Come Up Jennifer Redfearn and Tim Metzger
• The Warriors of Qiugang Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon

The $20,000,000 Club

Only 6 documentary films have cracked the $20 million mark at the box office. Data retrieved from BoxOfficeMojo.com;

1. Fahrenheit 9/11: $119,194,771 (2004)
2. March of the Penguins: $77,437,223 (2005)
3. Earth: $32,011,576 (2009)
4. Sicko: $24,540,079 (2007)
5. An Inconvenient Truth: $24,146,161 (2006)
6. Bowling for Columbine: $21,576,018 (2002)

A look at the top twenty:

(click to enlarge)

For some perspective, Fahrenheit 9/11 (as of the moment I type this) is the 332th highest grossing film of all time in the domestic box office with $119,194,771. This is eight spots below I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry at #324, which cracked the $120,000,000 mark.

Berlinger Must Hand Over Some Footage

In May, we here at DocZine reported on the lawsuit of multinational energy corporation vs. filmmaker. Chevron had brought suit against director Joe Berlinger in an effort to subpoena over 600 hours of unused footage from his 2009 film Crude, which itself was a film about a court case in which the Ecuadorian people sued Chevron (then Texaco) over the pollution of the Amazon Rain Forest. Chevron believed the outtakes from the film would expose corruption on behalf of the Ecuadorian legal team.

Chevron had won the case for the footage, but Berlinger was granted his request for an appeal in June.

Joe Berlinger (via filmmakermagazine.com)

Yesterday an appeals court ruled that Berlinger had to turn over some, but not all, of the footage. According to the LA times, “While the judges said a full opinion would follow, they did order that Berlinger give Chevron footage not appearing in ‘Crude’ showing counsel for the plaintiffs in the environmental lawsuit (who discuss trial strategy in the film); experts in the proceeding (some of whom Chevron has accused of partiality); and current or former Ecuadorean government officials (which the oil company says colluded with the plaintiffs' lawyers).”

Evidently this was a fair decision, as both sides seemed pleased with the compromise. Chevron got the footage they were looking for. Berlinger remarked, "We are extremely pleased with today's results."

For those that may be interested in yesterday's appeal proceedings, courthousenews.com has a detailed account.

Berliner Granted Appeal

Joe Berliner (via tonic)

The NY Times reports that Joe Berliner was granted a stay to the subpoenia issued on May 6 that would have forced the filmmaker to turn over more than 600 hours of unused footage from his film Crude to the Chevron corporation.

Crude documents a lawsuit against Chevron on behalf of the Ecuadorian people, who claim that the oil giant polluted their country's water. Chevron is seeking access to the footage that didn’t make the final cut of the film because they believe it may help them as they try to have the lawsuit dismissed.

In an interview with the Times, Maura Wogan, Mr. Berlinger’s counsel, said that if her client had not been granted this stay, “he would have been forced to turn over this material before the appeal was heard – he would have, in effect, lost his right to an appeal.”

A trial date has not yet been set for the expedited appeal, but one is expected by mid-July.

Joe Berlinger Versus Chevron

Joe Berlinger’s Crude (2009), which details a lawsuit between the Ecuadorian people and the oil corporation Chevron over the pollution of the Amazon Rain Forest, has found itself to be in the middle of a contentious lawsuit. Chevron recently brought suit against Berlinger, demanding to see all of the footage that didn't make it into the final cut of the film. Reuters reports that on May 6th, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered Berlinger to turn over 600 hours of raw footage from the cutting room floor to Chevron.

A still from Crude

The original case unfolded 17 years ago in Ecuadorian courts. Chevron (then Texaco) was found accountable for environmental damage in the country, and as a result faced liabilities of up to $27 billion. Chevron now believes that the unseen documentary footage may contain evidence of various transgressions on the part of the Ecuadorean legal team that may enable them to seek arbitration. Berlinger’s footage could be used as evidence against the Ecuadorians.

At issue here are one’s rights as a journalist. As an investigative documentary filmmaker, Berlinger should be granted Reporters’ Privilege under the First Amendment. Berlinger’s attorney, Maura Wogan, said that the ruling threatens "great harm to documentary filmmakers and investigative reporters everywhere."

…
An outcry from the documentary film community ensued, including a May 7 NY Times ArtsBeat blog post featuring quotations from an outspoken Michael Moore and a May 12 open letter from the International Documentary Association, signed by the IDA’s Board of Directors and over 150 filmmakers, including Alex Gibney, Michael Moore and Morgan Spurlock. An excerpt:

While we commend Judge Kaplan for stating "that the qualified journalists' privilege applies to Berlinger's raw footage", we are nonetheless dismayed both by Chevron's attempts to go on a "fishing expedition" into the edit rooms and production offices of a fellow documentary filmmaker without any particular cause or agenda, and the judge's allowance of said intentions. What's next, phone records and e-mails?

…
The Times reports that last Friday, May 21, Berlinger was granted an appeal by Federal Appeals Court Judge Denny Chin. A court date was set for June 8.

The line from the IDA letter regarding phone records and emails concisely highlights the issue at hand. A filmmakers footage is akin to a reporter's notebook. It is private, and it should be protected by the law.

The implications of this case can not be overestimated. If the footage from filmmakers can be open to a subpoena this easily, it will make certain documentary filmmakers think twice about undertaking range of projects of a political nature and it may intimidate whistle-blowers from coming forward to expose illegal activities. The doc film community eagerly awaits the developments of the trial.

Wildlife Docs May Violate Animal Privacy

British news outlet The Guardian recently pointed to a study that argues wildlife documentaries may infringe on animals' right to privacy. The author of the study, Brett Mills, is a lecturer in film studies at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England. He notes, "we can never really know if animals are giving consent, but they do often engage in forms of behavior which suggest they'd rather not encounter humans." His rationing seems flawed. Those animals that avoid human contact probably just have good survival instincts.

That being said, there is a worthy issue here. Filmmakers need to develop minimally invasive methods such as the use of hidden and minute cameras not only in order to protect the privacy of creatures, but also to ensure an accurate representation of what happens behind closed cave doors. Accuracy is vital because the footage can be used as research that may be used to help the animals in the future. But in the end, there are more pressing issues to take up - if anything, Mills should be fighting against those animal prisons that attract human gawkers throughout the world.

Trivial Tidbits:

• According to Box Office Mojo, March of the Penguins is the highest grossing wildlife doc, grossing a total of $77,437,223 after an opening weekend of $137,492 in 4 theaters
  

Tribeca Film Festival

The Tribeca Film Festival is nearly upon us. It runs from April 21 - May 2 in New York. There are 40 documentaries being screened at this year's fest. Here are a few that caught my eye;

• Feathered Cocaine about falcon smuggling in the Persian Gulf
• New American Soldier is the tale of three immigrants who enroll in the army in hopes of achieving UC citizenship. (Short Documentary)

RUSH

• RUSH: Beyond the Lighted Stage: the greatest band to come out of Canada...ever
• Straight Outta L.A., Ice Cube's film focuses on the Raiders move to LA in 1982
• Untitled Eliot Spitzer Film
• Visionaries takes a look at avant-garde cinema (it features Kenneth Anger and Ken Jacobs) and is sure to be a treat on the big screen

Currently solely "premium pass" and package deals are available. On April 13th, you can purchase tickets exclusively with an American Express card. Then on April 18 those residents who live downtown (address below Canal Street) can purchase tickets. Finally, on April 19, tickets go on sale to the rest of us.

Trivial Tidbits:

• The festival was founded by Jane Rosenthal, Craig Hatkoff, and Robert De Niro in 2002 in an effort to revitalize the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan after 9/11
• Racing Dreams won Best Doc Feature in 2009

Tribeca Cinemas Presents: Doc Series 2010

The following press release is from Tribeca Cinemas:

Tribeca Cinemas Presents: Doc Series 2010

"From the team behind the Tribeca Film Festival, Tribeca Cinemas Presents: Doc Series is an exciting new series of interesting, innovative and thought-provoking documentary films. Join us every other Monday night at Tribeca Cinemas for another must-see film."

February 22, 2010: Dark Days
March 8, 2010: Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison
March 22, 2010: Nerdcore Rising
April 15, 2010: Shooting Beauty
May 10, 2010: Devil's Playground
May 24, 2010: Smile 'Til It Hurts: The Up With People Story

Tickets are $10, $8 for seniors and students with a valid ID and can be purchased online.

All TC Doc Series screenings start at 7:30 pm at Tribeca Cinemas, 54 Varick Street (at Laight, one block south of Canal).

2010 Oscar Nominations Announced

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced this year's Oscar nominations in the annual predawn ceremony in Los Angeles. Presumably much of the buzz will be focused on Meryl Streep's record 16th Oscar nomination for Julie & Julia, or AMPAS's decision to nominate ten films for Best Picture (they really couldn't pare that list down any further?!?). However, Doczine is focused on the following two categories;

Documentary Feature:
Burma VJ
The Cove
Food, Inc.
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
Which Way Home

Documentary Short:
China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
Music by Prudence
Rabbit à la Berlin

Hollywood legends Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin are slated to host the March 7, 2010 ceremony.

Trivial Tidbits:

• The only song from a documentary film to win an Original Song Oscar is “I Need to Wake Up” by Melissa Etheridge from the film An Inconvenient Truth in 2006 (the film itself also won in the Documentary Feature category).

ODDSAC

The much anticipated film by Animal Collective, titled ODDSAC, will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2010. While I don’t think I can convince anyone that this is a doc, even based on the loosest definition of documentary film (I would not expect anything like Behind The Music: Animal Collective), I couldn’t resist posting a quick article.

ODDSAC sounds more like an art house installation. According to the Sundance description of the film, it incorporates mystical characters, “to form themes and a distinct vision, rather than following a traditional plot and dialogue.” The film sounds visually stunning. I can easily picture Geologist painting day glo onto 16 mm film.

That article also mentions the film’s use of flicker effects to produce phosphenes, the psychedelic visuals that occur by rubbing your closed eyes. Experimental filmmakers have always been fond of this technique, as it produces a different visual experience for each member of the audience.

Collaborator Danny Perez has directed the film. Avey Tare's sister, Abby Portner, has contributed artwork for the band in the past, and also directed their "In The Flowers" music video. No word on her involvement in the project.

I’ll be far from Park City, Utah when this is screened. But anyone who is going to Sundance with a hankering for avant-garde film should look into a screening of ODDSAC. Oh yeah, and the soundtrack is a guaranteed winner.

Sundance 2010

The Sundance Film Festival is nearly upon us, which means that we will soon be introduced to a slew of world-class independent documentary films. Here are some titles that caught my eye.

16 films in the U.S. Doc Competition were selected from 862 submissions. Among them:

• 12th & Delaware – A look at a single intersection in Fort Pierce, Florida that houses an abortion clinic on one side and a pro-life group on the other.
• Casino Jack & The United States of Money – An examination of the world of lobbyist Jack Abramoff that sounds like the real life version of Thank You For Smoking.
• Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child – A depiction of the graffiti artist and underground icon.
• Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work – This biopic that looks underneath the caricature of Rivers is sure to please the masses (also - nice work on the pun title).
• Restrepo – The filmmakers integrate themselves with the Second Platoon in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley in this intense and unprecedented observation of the front lines of war.

13 Films were selected for the World Cinema Doc Competiton. Among them:

• Sins of My Father – After infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar was murdered in 1993, his son, Juan Escobar, redefined his identity and moved to Buenos Aires to escape his father’s legacy.
• Fix ME – Filmmaker Andoni is searching for serenity while living in a land plagued by war: the Palestinian city of Ramallah, located 6 miles north of Jerusalem.
• Secrets of the Tribe – In the 1960s, anthropologists flooded the Amazon to study the Yanomami Indians, a tribe untouched by the modern world. Decades later, both the content and the very ethics of their research is still hotly debated.

The 2010 Sundance Film Festival takes place from January 21 to 31, 2010 in Park City, Utah.

Trivial Tidbits:

• The festival was originally called the Utah/US Film Festival when it began in Salt Lake City in 1978.
• In 1991, it was renamed the Sundance Film Festival, after chairperson Robert Redford's character The Sundance Kid from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Tribeca Cinemas Presents: Docs on the Shortlist

As any true docfan already knows, AMPAS has released their "short list of 15 documentaries" that are contenders for the five Oscar nomination slots. For those that may have missed them on the silver screen, Tribeca Cinemas has announced that they will be screening six of these films in January. The lineup is as follows:

Friday, January 8, 2010: Which Way Home and Food, Inc.

Saturday, January 9, 2010: Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders; Soundtrack for a Revolution; The Cove; and Under Our Skin

I just purchased my tickets for The Cove. Maybe I'll see you there!

Errol Morris Honored

Renowned documentary filmmaker Errol Morris was honored with the Career Achievement Award by the International Documentary Association earlier this month.

Phillip Glass, who has composed a number of Morris’ works, presented his friend with the award. "He absolutely redefined what our description of what a documentary film could be. He made the rules, he changed the landscape. He overhauled a whole genre of filmmaking," Glass noted. "Naturally at the beginning he was vilified for his efforts. Now he's glorified for that same work. Vilified, glorified - what more could an artist hope for?"


Morris won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for his 2003 film Fog of War. *SPOILER ALERT* However, his most influential film may be The Thin Blue Line (1988), a film that examines the 1976 murder of a police officer in Dallas, Texas. A man named Randall Dale Adams was falsely convicted of the crime. Morris' work led to the review of Adams' case and his release from prison.

This award comes as Morris is still active in his craft. The 61 year old director is currently working on a project about a group of cryonics aficionados. This project won't be reviewed here however; the documentary icon is trying his hand in narrative film.

Trivial Tidbits:

• Morris received his BA in history from The University of Wisconsin-Madison.

82nd Oscars "Best Doc Feature" Short List

Last week The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released their short list of 15 films that will be considered for the “Best Documentary Feature” award at next year’s renowned ceremony. Eighty nine films had originally qualified for consideration.

The next phase will take place during the early morning (5:30 a.m., PST) of February 2, 2010, when 5 of the following 15 films will be graced with nominations:

• “The Beaches of Agnes,” Agnès Varda, director (Cine-Tamaris)
• “Burma VJ,” Anders Østergaard, director (Magic Hour Films)
• “The Cove,” Louie Psihoyos, director (Oceanic Preservation Society)
• “Every Little Step,” James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo, directors (Endgame Entertainment)
• “Facing Ali,” Pete McCormack, director (Network Films Inc.)
• “Food, Inc.,” Robert Kenner, director (Robert Kenner Films)
• “Garbage Dreams,” Mai Iskander, director (Iskander Films, Inc.)
• “Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders,” Mark N. Hopkins, director (Red Floor Pictures LLC)
• “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers,” Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith, directors (Kovno Communications)
• “Mugabe and the White African,” Andrew Thompson and Lucy Bailey, directors (Arturi Films Limited)
• “Sergio,” Greg Barker, director (Passion Pictures and Silverbridge Productions)
• “Soundtrack for a Revolution,” Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman, directors (Freedom Song Productions)
• “Under Our Skin,” Andy Abrahams Wilson, director (Open Eye Pictures)
• “Valentino The Last Emperor,” Matt Tyrnauer, director (Acolyte Films)
• “Which Way Home,” Rebecca Cammisa, director (Mr. Mudd)

Louie Psihoyos’ The Cove is an early front runner, having already won a handful of awards including the audience award for best documentary at Sundance and the audience award for best feature at the Nantucket Film Festival. The activist film has been praised for its resounding message.

One glaring omission is that of Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story, the summer blockbuster of documentaries that grossed over $14 million. The Documentary Branch Screening Committee may have felt that, despite the topical relevance, Moore’s voice is tired and his structure lacked innovation.

The 82nd Academy Awards will be held in Los Angeles on Sunday, March 7, 2010.