One was born with partial facial paralysis.
The other grew up speaking Austrian-accented German, eventually transitioning to German-accented English.
If you were trying to concoct the archetypal Hollywood star in a lab, it wouldnt beSylvester StalloneorArnoldSchwarzenegger.
Arnold SchwarzeneggerNetflix
At first I said, What dont we already know?
And he said, I said the same thing myself.
SlyandArnold, both Netflix titles, are part of a slew of celebrity-oriented docs with Emmy ambitions.
Sylvester Stallone inSly.Netflix
The lengthy list extends toSteve!
Oh, and you could kick inBeckhamtoo, the four-part Netflix series about the English footballer.
To create something of substance.
Its about a person whos dealing with whatever their life has presented for them.
Then the point becomes, well, what makes this person unique?
Thats what Im interested in.
For his narrative about Stallone, Zimny fastened onto a recurring theme in his protagonists life rejection.
InArnold, Chilcott shows how Schwarzenegger overcame a childhood of abuse.
He had this dream…
He wanted to go from this little town in Austria to America.
That inspirational layer… is very interesting to me as a filmmaker.
It was a time when music and art and fashion were all coming together, Williams says.
They were the first influencers, way before there were cell phones or anything.
Any documentary, especially one about a celebrity, hinges on access.
How much time can you get with the person, and how deep can you go?
And of course, I was interested in that, Gibney recalls.
But the gift was when he called me up and said, Im making this new album.
Would you like to come watch me make it?
That was a gift because it was him in the present, working on something.
I had the privilege of having a front row seat, Bekele says.
I saw this man becoming busier than ever… and I wanted to just document it for archive.
Perry is not a producer of the documentary about him.
Nor is Schwarzenegger forArnold, nor Steve Martin for the Morgan Neville doc.
The artistic success of a celebrity-themed film often depends on the stars willingness to forego creative control.
Steve and I were in alignment, Neville says.
He said, Youre a filmmaker.
I chose you for a reason to collaborate on this.
You do what you do, and Ill be me.
So, you have to do whatever boundaries are comfortable for you.
Sly gave me the greatest gift as a filmmaker, he gave me trust, he says.
In the space of the room, I had no restrictions.
Members of the Oscar documentary branch displayed some reluctance to fully embrace celebrity-themed documentaries this past year.
They shortlisted Davis GuggenheimsStill: A Michael J. Emmy voters, however, havent spurned the genre.
That could spell good news for directors of this years crop of starry-eyed documentaries.
Its always the story behind the story, Chilcott says.
