D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus are back for the second part of our career spanning retrospective of the legendary filmmakers on BYOD. ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS, THE WAR ROOM, KINGS OF PASTRY, STARTUP.COM, and their new project, UNLOCKING THE CAGE are shared with clips and insight from the brilliant documentary legends. The musical inspirations and artistic philosophy that are the cornerstones for their temple of visual art is all aired in this uncensored interview with Ondi Timoner.
Watch the first half of our interview with Pennebaker and Hegedus here:
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GUEST & FILM INFO:
D.A. (Donn Alan) Pennebaker is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of cinema verite filmmaking. In the early sixties, Pennebaker and his colleague Richard Leacock developed one of the first fully portable 16mm synchronized camera and sound recording systems which revolutionized filmmaking and helped to created the immediate style of shooting so popular today. In 1967, Pennebaker released the seminal film DON’T LOOK BACK, which followed Bob Dylan’s last acoustic concert tour in England. The film broke box office records and is considered a classic of both documentary and rock filmmaking.
Pennebaker’s next film, MONTEREY POP, was a record of the 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival that launched the careers of Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. A critical and commercial hit, Monterey Pop was the progenitor of a host of rock documentaries, from Woodstock to Pennebaker’s own KEEP ON ROCKIN’ which featured rock n’ roll legends Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, and Bo Diddley; and ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS, Bowie’s final Ziggy performance. Pennebaker’s television documentary COMPANY – The Original Cast Album, about the recording of the Stephen Sondheim musical’s cast album, includes Elaine Stritch’s infamous performance of “The Ladies Who Lunch.”
In 1976, the filmmaker began his long collaboration with his partner and future wife, Chris Hegedus. Together, they have co-directed a host of acclaimed films, including 1998’s MOON OVER BROADWAY and 1994’s THE WAR ROOM. The latter film, a behind-the-scenes look at Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign, received an Academy Award Nomination for Best Documentary and won the National Board of Review’s D.W. Griffith Award for Best Documentary.
Pennebaker’s most recent film is KINGS OF PASTRY, which follows the prestigious French pastry competition the Meilleurs Ouvier de France. It is co-directed by Hegedus and produced by Frazer Pennebaker and Flora Lazar. His subsequent projects include directing a live webcast of the National at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and promoting the new Criterion Collection edition of THE WAR ROOM. He continues to collaborate with other filmmakers through his non-profit organization, Living Archives.
ADD’L LINKS:
http://phfilms.com/
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http://thelip.tv/
BYOD Full Episodes Playlist:
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BYOD Short Clips Playlist:
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EPISODE BREAKDOWN:
00:01 THE WAR ROOM, and the 1992 election staff of Bill Clinton.
02:45 THE WAR ROOM, Clip: James Carville rallies the troops.
04:34 DA Pennebaker’s upbringing and his parents.
07:38 Understanding what makes an artist.
15:03 The early musical influences (78s and “race records”), and the power of filming musicians.
18:38 Working with Depeche Mode.
19:26 Filming ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS, “It was the sexiest thing you ever saw.”
25:44 STARTUP.COM, with Jehane Noujaim.
31:02 STARTUP.COM, Trailer.
32:21 Capturing partnerships–and dissolutions–in documentary.
39:30 KINGS OF PASTRY, and the pastry competition.
43:44 KINGS OF PASTRY, Clip: Competition highs and lows.
49:14 Philippe Rigollot and the stakes of the competition.
52:39 The greatest fear in a storied career.
56:31 A Kickstarter campaign and UNLOCKING THE CAGE.