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Take an egocentric German 'empressario' with plans to produce the biggest theatrical event in the history of showbiz; a (respected) film producer with grandiose plans for a film of the show (although he seems unsure of what sort of film); a string of squabbling choreographers; mysterious unseen 'backers' who suddenly cut the film's (this film's) budget by 80%; the producer's coquettish girlfriend Roy Lichtenstein; a gaggle of bumbling film executives and a German production manager who hates blacks. They are all working towards what appears to be little more than an appallingly tacky cabaret-style 'history of black music and dance', which is the basis for what director Nick Broomfield has coined a real life disaster movie. |
Yet below the obvious (and hilarious) record of events, lie at least two other films; one, a devastating account of the egotism, megalomania and spite that accompanies celebrity in the arts; the other a cunning manipulation of the material by the filmmaker, who, in salvaging the film project by placing himself at its centre, clearly disguises his own role in precipitating much of the on-screen chaos. A documentary text-book. More laughs than The Poseidon Adventure.
We hope to welcome Nick Broomfield to discuss the film.
See also: Doco Day schedule - middle pages/A King And His Movie/Lightning Over Braddock/Strangers In A Strange Land