documentary

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John Paul Wounded in '82 Stabbing by Priest

Testimony reveals pope sustained injuries, covered up by Rome, in attack at Fatima

(Newser) - Pope John Paul II was injured in a 1982 stabbing by a crazed priest, but the wound was kept secret until now, Reuters reports. The late pontiff was visiting a shrine in Portugal to give thanks for surviving an earlier assassination attempt when an ultra-conservative Spanish priest lunged at him...

Palin's First Press Tidbits Will Air on ABC Tonight

Gibson face-off to be featured on 20/20

(Newser) - Charles Gibson's interviews with Sarah Palin will be featured on a special prime-time edition of ABC's 20/20 tomorrow, reports AP. Gibson is traveling to Fairbanks and Wasilla, Alaska, for the first TV interviews with Palin since she was selected as John McCain's running mate. Excerpts will be shown on ABC's...

Man on Wire a Thrilling Act
 Man on Wire a Thrilling Act
movie review

Man on Wire a Thrilling Act

Reliving a time when the Towers weren't depressing

(Newser) - A Frenchman's daring high-wire walk between the Twin Towers nearly 35 years ago is chronicled in a documentary that feels "like a real-life heist picture," Dana Stevens writes in Slate. Man on Wire recounts Philippe Petit's 6-plus years of planning, his procurement of equipment and fake IDs, and...

Gonzo Gets It
 Gonzo Gets It 

movie review

Gonzo Gets It

'Mesmerizing' documentary tells story of Hunter S. Thompson

(Newser) - There’s a “fascinating history lesson” in the documentary Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson, “a lively collage of interviews and found materials,” writes A. O. Scott in the New York Times. The film cements the journalist's “place in the great American parade...

Gunnin' Sure to Score With Hoop Fans
 Gunnin' Sure to Score
  With Hoop Fans 
Review

Gunnin' Sure to Score With Hoop Fans

Beastie Boy produces shallow but pleasing documentary

(Newser) - Gunnin’ for That #1 Spot, the second documentary from Beastie Boy Adam Yauch, is no Hoop Dreams, but critics predict a slam-dunk with roundball and hip-hop aficionados. The film follows eight high school phenoms through a high-profile Harlem pick-up game and “offers a snapshot of the kind of top...

Ventriloquists Speak Up for Themselves

Well, maybe not. But the form is seeing more success these days

(Newser) - Ventriloquism has been on the outs since the '70s, but its fortunes are starting to turn, the Wall Street Journal reports. Symbolizing the resurgence of the vaudeville favorite is Terry Fator, a winner of NBC’s America’s Got Talent competition, who recently picked up a yearlong headlining gig at...

Joy Division Rocks, But Enough Already
 Joy Division Rocks,
 But Enough Already 
opinion

Joy Division Rocks, But Enough Already

Documentary offers a textbook-style look at the band

(Newser) - Joy Division, writes Nik Mercer for Anthem, “is one of those bands that gains significance exponentially as the years pass.” As testament to their place in pop music consciousness, recent years have seen three films on the band: 24 Hour Party People, focusing on their label and scene;...

Critics Pumped for Steroids Doc
 Critics Pumped for Steroids Doc 
movie review

Critics Pumped for Steroids Doc

Bigger, Stronger, Faster sifts through the pharmaceutical enhancements

(Newser) - The documentary Bigger, Stronger, Faster is drawing raves for its clear-eyed, nuanced look at the world of steroid users. Christopher Bell, a bodybuilder and onetime juicer, directs and narrates an "incisive and compulsively watchable look at America's love affair with steroids," Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly writes.

Spike Lee Plans Jordan Documentary

Director announces project at Cannes

(Newser) - You might remember Spike Lee's classic "Is it the shoes?" ads for Nike. But the director told a Cannes crowd he'll team up with Michael Jordan again for a different purpose: a documentary on the basketball legend, reports Variety. The NBA will finance the flick, which will feature unreleased...

Waltz Explodes at Cannes
 Waltz Explodes at Cannes 
movie review

Waltz Explodes at Cannes

After lousy 'Blindness' opening, Bashir shakes up festival

(Newser) - Now that's more like it. After a typically lousy opening—allegorical disaster Blindness—the Cannes Film Festival shook things up yesterday with Waltz with Bashir, a ferocious animated documentary from Israel recounting the 1982 massacre at Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. It’s “stunning,” writes Manhola Dargis in...

Moore's $20M for Fahrenheit 9/11 Sequel Is Mainly Profit

Studios banking on maverick's popularity with film, budgeted to cost $7M

(Newser) - Who says documentary filmmaking isn’t profitable? Sources tell the New York Post that Michael Moore will receive $20 million in advance to produce the sequel to Fahrenheit 9/11, even though production costs are estimated at only $7 million. Studio Paramount Vantage may be willing to give Moore a $13...

Moore Preps 'Searing' Fahrenheit 9/11 Sequel

Will be out after presidential election

(Newser) - Rabble-rousing filmmaker Michael Moore is working on a sequel to his documentary Fahrenheit 9/11. The follow-up to his 2004 savaging of President Bush—the biggest-selling political documentary ever—will be "searing and provocative," he vowed, but gave few other details. The new film won't be released until after...

Docs Suffer Highest Suicide Rate

One-a-day average tops all professions

(Newser) - Depression among physicians sparks 300 to 400 suicides a year, the highest rate of any profession, Newsweek reports. While male suicides outnumber female 4 to 1 in the general population, the rate among male and female doctors is about the same. "Undiagnosed and untreated depression is the culprit here,...

Madonna's Gardener Directs Her AIDS Film

He caught her eye making 'amazing' home movies

(Newser) - Madonna tapped a director whose work she knew well for her new documentary about AIDS orphans in Malawi, People reports. Nathan Rissman "was my gardener. He was my carpenter," she said. And his home videos of her kids "were amazing."

Material Girl Gets Back in the Groove

Almost 50, Madonna has 2 films and a pop record on the way

(Newser) - Pushing 50, Madonna is still rolling out movies and tunes like a true blue star, Vanity Fair reports. And she is unfazed by nasty reviews for Filth and Wisdom, a feature that she directed starring a Ukrainian gypsy punk singer. “You have to get to a point where you...

Cobain Isn't Curt in New Documentary

Nirvana leader opens up on life and Love in unheard interviews

(Newser) - A new documentary tells the story of Kurt Cobain’s life in the singer’s own words, the Independent reports. Kurt Cobain: About a Son, on DVD this month, is constructed around 25 hours of previously unreleased interviews of the Nirvana frontman by journalist Michael Azerrad. Cobain, who committed suicide...

No Hoax Here: Prankster's Bio One to Watch
No Hoax Here: Prankster's Bio One to Watch
NEW RELEASE

No Hoax Here: Prankster's Bio One to Watch

Abel Raises Cain chronicles 'America's greatest living hoaxer'

(Newser) - Satirist Alan Abel has spent decades laughing at Americans who fell for hoaxes such as his "euthanasia cruises" and a school for training beggars. Abel Raises Cain, a documentary made by his daughter now out on DVD, is a "hysterical look at a gifted comic," even if...

Knut to Hit the Silver Screen
Knut to Hit the Silver Screen

Knut to Hit the Silver Screen

Documentary follows star bear cub from tiny fluffball to frightening teen

(Newser) - Once celebrity polar bear Knut got big and his fluffy fur gained a yellowish-gray tint, public attention turned to younger, cuter bears. But now the spotlight is back on the Berlin Zoo's most famous orphan, with the premiere of a new documentary called Knut and Friends, the Canadian Press reports.

Abu Ghraib Film: Too Soft on Abuses?

Documentary wins Berlin prize, criticism for 'morbid voyeurism'

(Newser) - Documentary-maker Errol Morris has often spoken truth to power, but his new film about the Abu Ghraib prison scandal may tread too lightly, Geoffrey Macnab writes in the Guardian. Though Standard Operating Procedure explores the infamous prison photos in gritty detail, Morris’ interview style—focusing mainly on implicated American soldiers...

'Google Man' Never Forgets
'Google Man' Never Forgets

'Google Man' Never Forgets

Cal-Irvine researchers examining his remarkable recall

(Newser) - Give Brad Williams a date—say, Jan. 1, 1962. He’ll tell you on that Monday his mother worked on the calendar while he watched To Tell The Truth. Sound amazing? Williams’ very rare detailed memory is called hyperthymesia, and University of California at Irvine scientists are studying his brain...

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