Showbiz411

The Academy documentary committee winnowed the huge list of eligible films from 2012 to these fifteen. This omitted a lot of popular films including one about songwriter/actor/nice guy Paul Williams (“Rainy Days and Mondays,” “We’ve Only Just Begun”) that everyone should see, and Amy Berg’s “West Memphis Three.” Also out is the popular “Queen of Versailles.” (The committee no doubt concurred that this material was better covered by Joe Berlinger’s three “Paradise Lost” films.) I do think “Ethel” doesn’t belong on the list. But “Bully,” “The Gatekeepers,” and “Chasing Ice” are all of immediate importance. My sentimental favorite is “Searching for Sugar Man.” Just the idea of Rodriguez getting on that stage would be tremendous. On the other hand, the kids from “Bully” have made a lasting impact on the culture all year long.

Here’s the list of finalists:

“Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry,” Never Sorry LLC
“Bully,” The Bully Project LLC
“Chasing Ice,” Exposure
“Detropia,” Loki Films
“Ethel,” Moxie Firecracker Films
“5 Broken Cameras,” Guy DVD Films
“The Gatekeepers,” Les Films du Poisson, Dror Moreh Productions, Cinephil
“The House I Live In,” Charlotte Street Films, LLC
“How to Survive a Plague,” How to Survive a Plague LLC
“The Imposter,” Imposter Pictures Ltd.
“The Invisible War,” Chain Camera Pictures
“Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God,” Jigsaw Productions in association with
Wider Film Projects and Below the Radar Films
“Searching for Sugar Man,” Red Box Films
“This Is Not a Film,” Wide Management
“The Waiting Room,” Open’hood, Inc.

Roger Friedman

Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News. Friedman previously wrote the Intelligencer column at New York Magazine, He writes for Parade magazine and has written for Details, Vogue, the New York Times, Post, and Daily News and many other publications. He is the writer and co-producer of a film about R&B Music called “Only the Strong Survive,” which was released by Miramax in 2003 and was a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals.