I love good documentaries, and ever since I heard a high quality documentary about the work of Drew Struzan was in production I have been waiting to learn more. If you don’t know about Drew Struzan, check out this review of a book about him from an earlier article here at borg.com. So far, there is no apparent release date yet established. But the filmmakers have just released this trailer:
We reviewed Being Elmo documentary here several weeks ago, a great insight into the creator that worked and voiced the muppet Elmo for Sesame Street. Kevin Clash’s story really came through and made this an award-winning documentary. As non-fiction genre-related documentary films go, there is not a lot out there that is of the quality that you’d recommend it to others, especially those that aren’t fans of documentaries. The History Channel’s History’s Mysteries documentary of a lost aircraft called the Lady Be Good was just as intriguing as any murder mystery and should serve as a guide for compelling storytelling in non-fiction filmmaking. The public television documentary called The Proof, documenting the discovery of the solution to Fermat’s Theorem by Andrew Wiles was enormously compelling, despite its seemingly bland subject matter. Wouldn’t it be great if we had a documentary about genre-related interests that were as well made as these films?
I can’t make myself watch Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope. I’ve seen enough excerpts that make it clear that, despite the filmmaker’s claims, these were made by outsiders looking in more than insiders themselves who live and breathe, and more importantly, understand, their passion. Who wants to watch an outsider highlighting the fringe of the fan bases? I also was disappointed in Rod Roddenberry’s recently released Trek Nation documentary. First, there is nothing Trek Nation about Trek Nation. It should be called Son of Trek because the film is entirely about Rod and his attempt to understand his late father Gene, and little about why the nation or world is so passionate about Star Trek. It’s not a very fun show to watch, and actually ends up rather depressing. No one wants to view someone else’s daddy issues, no matter who the daddy or the son is. Folks who know Rod Roddenberry have good things to say about him, which makes it more unfortunate that his film makes him look a bit like an angry trust fund kid. And choice of material wasn’t thought out well. The documentary includes an interview with George Lucas that is painful to watch, and it comes off like it is an attempt at starting a Star Wars vs. Star Trek battle with Lucas himself. So there are good and bad documentaries, and finding and creating gems takes some work.
So looking at the trailer for Drew: The Man Behind the Poster, you can tell the filmmakers realized the importance of their subject, and they went to appropriate sources for their interviews. I have always wanted to hear what Harrison Ford thought of all the Star Wars and Indiana Jones and Blade Runner marketing that included his image. I love that we will get to hear Michael J. Fox talk about Struzan’s impact on his movies. Who wouldn’t want to get a look at the creative process behind such a legendary modern artist? And just look at the filmmakers who are interviewed for this film, including Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Guillermo Del Toro.
The only missing piece is a release date, but as soon as it is released I will update this with that information. It’s definitely a film we should all look forward to, and hopefully it will live up to this well-made preview.
C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com
