Back in '70s, filmmaker Craig Gilbert tried to make a breakthrough in television by following an ordinary family everywhere they go and capturing their flaw.
- March 23, 2011
AceShowbiz -
Way before Kim Kardashian and her family make the definition of reality TV blurry, America has tried out the approach on an ordinary family in early 1970s. HBO drops the first trailer to "Cinema Verite", a TV movie which tells the behind-the-scenes story of the groundbreaking documentary "An American Family".
It chronicles the lives of the Louds and catapulted the Santa Barbara family to notoriety while creating a new television genre: the reality TV series. It put the Louds in the spotlight as the parents (Diane Lane, Tim Robbins) struggled with their marriage while raising their children. In particular, Pat was criticized for her support of her openly gay son Lance (Thomas Dekker) at a time when homosexuality was rarely represented on television.
"Cinema Verite" gives a behind-the-scenes look at how the original PBS series was created by filmmaker Craig Gilbert (James Gandolfini). While he aimed to have an impact on culture, he also felt that the family's struggles were relatable to many Americans in a way that the Brady Bunch and the Partridge Family were not. The crew of Alan and Susan Raymond (Patrick Fugit, Shanna Collins) spent seven months filming the family in 1971 and were often at odds with Gilbert about what content was appropriate to film.
Film will be premiered on April 23 on HBO.
