'Sly,' 'Arnold,' 'Steve!' and 'Maxine's Baby' lead Emmy documentary race

Netflix

One was born with partial facial paralysis, the other spoke German with an Austrian accent and then transitioned to English with a German accent.

If you tried to create the quintessential Hollywood star in a lab, you probably wouldn't get a Sylvester Stallone or an Arnold Schwarzenegger, but they have dominated the box office for over two decades, with a power rivaled only by the Clieglites of movie premieres.

The unlikely origins and unlikely success of these two action stars are told in an Emmy-nominated documentary. SlyA documentary series directed by Tom Zimny Arnolddirected by Leslie Chilcott.

“[EP] Allen Hughes is Arnold “Arnold entrusted me with the project,” Chilcott explains. “At first I said, 'What don't we know yet?' And he said, 'I said the same thing.' But then I started to think about how odd and unusual it was that Arnold had been successful in so many completely different areas: bodybuilding, acting and reigning as CEO of California State (or, as he famously pronounced it, Cal-Lee Fournier) from 2003 to 2011.

Of his portrait of Stallone, Zimny ​​says, “I didn't want to go in the traditional direction of covering Stallone's life, his films, chapter by chapter. I really wanted to explore the details of Stallone the person, the family man and the artist, to convey a sense of Stallone beyond his iconic portrayals and movie stardom, to get to the heart of his childhood, his expression as a young artist in New York and his journey.”

Sly and ArnoldBoth Netflix titles are part of a long list of celebrity documentaries in the running for an Emmy. Steve! (Martin): A two-part documentary and Supermodel (Both from Apple TV+) In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon From MGM+; King from Queens: The Run-DMC Story From Peacock, and Maxine's Baby: A Tyler Perry Story From Amazon MGM Studios. And you can kick off Beckham Similarly, it is a four-part Netflix series about British soccer players.

The prevalence of star-driven content at the Emmys reflects the reality of the documentary industry: that's what streaming platforms want. As Oscar-winning filmmaker Morgan Neville half-jokingly says, “People who buy documentaries love celebrities because they feel like they can build an audience without too much effort.”

Neville directed a documentary about Steve Martin, splitting it into two separate films: Part 1 was an archival-heavy investigation of the comedian's upbringing and stand-up career, and Part 2 was a vérité-style look at Martin's present-day life and career. For Neville, and filmmakers at his elite level, the challenge of working in the celebrity documentary field is unlocking a unique approach: making something with substance.

“Even if you make a movie about a celebrity, the movie isn't about the celebrity,” Neville says, “it's about a person facing all the challenges that life throws at them. In fact, the three least interesting things about making a movie are [movies] “When you talk about celebrities, it's sex, drugs, fame, because they're all the same. So the question is, what makes this person unique? That's what interests me.”

Zimny ​​has zeroed in on a recurring theme in Stallone's life: rejection. The film explores Stallone's difficult relationship with his father, which undermined his character, and the cold reception he received from Hollywood when he was trying to make it in the 1970s. Stallone's breakthrough came in the 1970s when he was in the midst of a 1980s film called “The Great Gatsby.” RockyHe insisted on playing the role, against the wishes of the film industry.

“He penned the character of Rocky, who is able to live a dream that he himself has never experienced. [in real life]“That sense of connection to family, success and hope that was surviving,” Zimny ​​says, “became the theme and structure of the documentary, showing how Sly incorporated his own life experiences into the story and translated them into iconic cinematic characters. Rocky and Rambo and consumablesIt's where you can connect with their journeys, their triumphs, and their desire to be more than what the world has to offer them, and overcome rejection.”

in ArnoldChilcott shows how Schwarzenegger overcame an abusive childhood and, although his father disapproved of his ambitions (Arnold's older brother Meinhard was a great asset to his parents), Schwarzenegger ignored the naysayers and doggedly pursued his big vision of success.

“He had a dream… he wanted to leave this small town in Austria and go to America. [The series] “I think this film came out at a time when we all needed a new type of story that said, 'The American Dream is still possible,'” Chilcott points out. “Others would say he was an unrealistic idealist to think he could become a world champion bodybuilder or one of the highest-paid actors with that accent. That layer of inspiration is really interesting to me as a filmmaker.”

SupermodelDirected by Larissa Biles and Oscar-winning filmmaker Roger Ross Williams, Star Wars: Episode I: Golden Wind not only chronicles the rise of Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford, and Linda Evangelista, but also paints a slice of cultural history of the '80s and '90s. “It was a time when music, art, and fashion all came together,” says Williams. “They were the first influencers, long before there were cell phones or anything.”

Documentaries, especially those about celebrities, are all about access. How much time can you spend with a person and how deep can you dig? Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney says: In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul SimonI received an invitation from Simon himself.

“He contacted me. He'd seen a film I'd made about Sinatra and asked if I'd be interested in doing a film about his career as a whole. Of course I was interested,” Gibney recalls. “But the gift was when he called me and said, 'I'm making a new album. Do you want to come and see me make it?' That was a gift, because he's working on something right now. And because the album is a meditation on faith and life and death, I thought it would be appropriate to go back and forth between moments from the earlier part of his career.”

Maxine's Baby: A Tyler Perry Story The project started out more as a video shot by co-director Gerila Bekele, Perry's longtime lover, than as a formal documentary project. “I had the privilege of having a front row seat,” Bekele says. “I saw this man getting busier than ever, and I wanted to document that and archive it. I realized there was a huge amount of information missing, especially about the history of the African-American community and the contributions that Tyler is making to American history.”

Perry is not a producer on the documentary about him. Neither is Schwarzenegger. Arnoldand Morgan Neville's documentary did not feature Steve Martin. The artistic success of a celebrity-themed film often hinges on the star's willingness to give up creative rights.

“Steve and I were on the same page,” says Neville. “He said, 'You're the director. I chose you to work with me on this for a reason. You do your thing. I'll just do my thing.'”

“In the type of film I do, [Schwarzenegger] “He didn't have approval rights, he wasn't a producer. But for any documentary filmmaker, whatever reason and whatever path you choose, there's always a trade-off to gain access: 'If you come to my house, I can tell you these stories.' So you have to maintain the boundaries that you're comfortable with.”

“The dirty little secret is that even if you have control over the film, you still want, and sometimes need, your subject to be happy,” Neville adds. “I can think of one or two examples where you've made a film with creative control, and the film fell apart because the subject wasn't happy. For example, if you're making a music film, you can have all the creative control you want, but at the end of the day, your subject has control over the music.”

Sylvester Stallone is SlyBut Zimny ​​says there were no limitations to what he could explore in the interview. “Sly gave me the greatest gift as a filmmaker: he gave me trust,” he says. “Within the space of the room, I had no limitations.”

Members of the Oscar documentary committee were reluctant to fully embrace celebrity-themed documentaries last year. They were hesitant to go all-in on the Davis Guggenheim Stills: Michael J. Fox films Matthew Heineman American Symphony Orchestraand The Man from Nowhere are both films about Grammy Award-winning musician Jon Batiste, but neither film was nominated when the Oscar nominations were announced.

But Emmy voters aren't neglecting the genre. Frank Marshall's Bee Gees: How to Heal a Broken Heart It was nominated for six Emmy Awards in 2021 and won one. Last year's Emmy nominations were: Pamela, a love storyabout Baywatch The beautiful Pamela Anderson. Mary Tyler Moore; Judy Bloom Foreverabout famous authors, and Cute Baby: Brooke Shields. Stills: Michael J. Fox films At the ceremony, which was postponed due to the strike, Guggenheim's work won four Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special and Outstanding Directing.

That could be good news for this year's aspiring documentary directors: If they win an Emmy, it will be recognition that they found a creative thread and had something fresh to say about a very famous figure.

“It's always about the other side of the story,” Chilcott says, “and there has to be a willingness to debate honestly, without salaciously or exaggerating the controversy, because nobody is in a perfect situation.”