Get upto 60% Discount
As we move into the streaming wars 2.0, expect the entertainment industry documentary to get even darker, even more specific, and even more essential. Because while fictional movies ask us to suspend our disbelief, these documentaries ask us to finally believe them .
No longer just a "making-of" featurette on a DVD extra, the modern entertainment industry documentary has evolved into a cutting-edge genre of investigative journalism, psychological horror, and tragicomic biography. From the explosive revelations of Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV to the tragic poetry of The Last Movie Stars , audiences cannot get enough of peeking behind the curtain.
Are you a fan of behind-the-scenes exposés? Do you prefer the technical docs (like Side by Side) or the scandal docs (like Quiet on Set)? Share your thoughts below.
We are already seeing the rise of the With the advent of virtual production (The Volume used in The Mandalorian ), a new documentary, "The Volume: A Virtual Revolution" (currently in production), promises to show how this technology is killing location shoots.
For a century, the studio system relied on glamour to control narratives. Today, a former Nickelodeon extra with an iPhone and a therapy bill can become the primary source for a documentary viewed by 20 million people.
This article explores the rise, the reckoning, and the radical honesty of the entertainment industry documentary, looking at why these films are changing how we consume media forever. For decades, documentaries about the entertainment industry were largely hagiographies. They were produced by the studios, for the studios. Think of the classic That's Entertainment! (1974), a loving, three-hour valentine to MGM musicals. It was glossy, authorized, and nostalgic. It sold a dream.
We watch these docs because we sense that the entertainment industry is the last feudal system in America—a place of lords, peasants, and jousting tournaments (box office weekends). We want to see how the castle really operates.