\u201cThey\u2019re making a documentary [on] literally every human being that existed!\u201d declares talk-show host Jiminy Glick, the bloviating alter ego of actor Martin Short, during the wink-wink end credits of \u201cMarty, Life Is Short\u201d \u2014 the Netflix doc about, yes, Martin Short. Sure, Glick is notoriously hyperbolic, but is he that far off the mark?<\/p>\n
Maybe not, if you consider that of the 10 Emmy nominees for documentary or nonfiction special or series this year, seven are celebrity-oriented. Perhaps even more telling: All five directing nominees in the doc\/nonfiction space helmed celebrity-centric works.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a kind of perfect storm of the streaming services needing to find content and buzzy projects, the appetite of audiences, and filmmakers who\u2019ve been able to figure out interesting angles about celebrities,\u201d says Alexandria Stapleton, director and an executive producer of the Netflix series \u201cSean Combs: The Reckoning,\u201d<\/a> which brings an investigative bent to the subgenre. She adds, \u201cThe concept of the celebrity documentary is like a giant umbrella, and there are just so many lanes of what that can mean.\u201d<\/p>\n Sara Bernstein, president of Imagine Documentaries and a producer on \u201cMarty, Life Is Short,\u201d notes, \u201cWhat used to be more niche programming has become more what you could almost call docu-entertainment programming. And I think that comes with a desire for the widest audiences possible.\u201d<\/p>\n But this boom brings its own challenges. \u201cHow do you surprise audiences with these projects?\u201d Bernstein asks. \u201cAnd how do you let audiences see something different about these high-profile personalities than what they already think they know?\u201d<\/p>\n Much of that depends on whom the filmmakers choose as their celebrity focus \u2014 and why.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the most important part is the willingness of the subject,\u201d says Stapleton. \u201cAre they really willing to \u2018go there\u2019 and be real and to have an authentic story told? People don\u2019t necessarily want to watch a commercial for that person.\u201d<\/p>\n Regarding this selection process, Rebecca Miller, director and executive producer of \u201cMr. Scorsese,\u201d<\/a> Apple TV\u2019s series on filmmaker Martin Scorsese, asks herself, \u201cIs there enough there, enough depth to really explore? Because what I tend to do is go deep into the work and find the person in the work \u2014 and the work in the person. And how those two things come together.\u201d<\/p>\n But there is an X factor. \u201cIn the end, these things are just blind instinct,\u201d says Miller. \u201cYou have a formless hunch, and you move toward it. It\u2019s a mystery, really, why we\u2019re attracted to certain subjects.\u201d<\/p>\n A development that has helped draw more top celebrities to the documentary process is the improved production values for these projects.<\/p>\n