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DOCUMENTARIES WITH A POINT OF VIEW

Freakonomics Documentary in the Works

December 7, 2007 1:08 PM, by Theresa

Freakonomics book coverAccording to Variety, the best-selling book, Freakonomics, is being adapted into a documentary that will begin shooting in January for release next summer.

P.O.V. alums Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing (Boys of Baraka, P.O.V. 2006), Laura Poitras (My Country, My Country, P.O.V. 2006), and noted filmmakers Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me), Alex Gibney (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room), Eugene Jarecki (Why We Fight) and Jehane Noujaim (Control Room) have signed on to direct segments based on chapters in the book. The film will be produced by Chad Troutwine (Paris je t'aime) and Seth Gordon (The King of Kong).

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything hit bookstores in May of 2005. The book set out to "show that economics is, at root, the study of incentives—how people get what they want, or need, especially when other people need, or want, the same thing." Authors Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner explore the hidden side of economics, with each chapter looking at stories as disparate as the inner workings of a crack gang, the secrets of the Ku Klux Klan and the myths of campaign finance, to reveal the underlying economic principles in action.

The omnibus documentary project will involve each filmmaker or filmmaker team taking on a chapter and creating a 15-minute short, which will be edited together into a feature film. According to IGN.com:

Gibney has signed up to helm the section on cheating teachers and Sumo wrestlers, while Jarecki will cover the attribution of America's drop in crime to legal ruling Roe vs. Wade. The other directors are currently finalising (sic) their topics.

Freakonomics made the New York Times' 100 notable books of the year list in 2005 and ended up under many people's Christmas trees that year (including mine, and I'm embarrassed to say I haven't cracked it yet. I will now!) The book has sold over 3 million copies worldwide and inspired a blog on the New York Times website.

According to the Freakonomics blog, filmmakers Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing are looking for fans of the book to share their stories. Are you a freak for Freakonomics?

Tags: Documentary News, Morgan Spurlock

Posted by Theresa on December 7, 2007 1:08 PM | PermaLink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks ()

Comments

Hey,

I have a great link for a video profile on the documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock. Best known for his 2004 breakout film Super Size Me, he was recently at the SXSW film festival promoting his Oscar nominated film Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? Filmed in the Austin City Limits Studio, Spurlock talks about filmmaking, blogging and interactivity between the two mediums. Here is a link to the video from the website of the show Docubloggers on the PBS station KLRU in Austin, Texas. Enjoy!

http://www.klru.org/docubloggers/?p=262

OR

http://youtube.com/watch?v=7WN4hu63tzM

-Heidi

Posted by Heidi | March 28, 2008 12:45 PM

Cakewalk Sonar 4 Producer Edition software

Posted by FancyYork | August 20, 2008 12:02 AM

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