Donna Summer, Oscar Costs, Black Lives Matter Discussed by Documentary Filmmaker Roger Ross Williams at CPH:DOX
variety.comAddie Morfoot Contributor During a talk at Copenhagen’s CPH:DOX on Wednesday, Oscar-winning director Roger Ross Williams spoke about a wide variety of topics, including his latest documentary, “Love to Love You, Donna Summer,” how insanely expensive it is to garner a doc Oscar nomination, and why the racial reckoning that occurred in the nonfiction community after George Floyd’s murder is over.
Despite celebrity-driven docs being all the rage, Williams admitted that he usually rejects them. “I have so many celebrities who come to me about making a documentary (about their life),” the helmer told moderator Thom Powers. “It’s never worked out because if they are a living celebrity, who is very popular, they are all about control.
It’s a piece of propaganda about their image and their career. It’s not a documentary.” But when it came to making a docu about Summer, who passed away in 2012, Williams didn’t hesitate when the singer’s estate called. “I met (Summer’s daughter) Brooklyn Sudano, and she said to me, ‘I don’t want this to be a cookie cutter documentary.
I want this to be completely honest. I want to go to places that are uncomfortable for me and my family.’ And I was like, ‘Alright.
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