I continued my media-doc themed day on Saturday afternoon at the A&E IndieFilms/Actual Reality party for The September Issue, followed by a screening of the film. R.J. Cutler’s documentary is an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at the production of the September issue of Vogue magazine, the largest issue in the magazine's history.
THE PARTY
Met up with IDA Board President Eddie Schmidt at the party, which was held in a groovy lounge space at the Village at the Yard. I worked at Cutler’s company, Actual Reality Productions, many moons ago as an associate editor on series such as The Residents, so the party turned into a bit of an ARP mini-reunion for me. It was fantastic to see my old comrades such as Eliza Hindmarch (producer, The September Issue) and Mary Lisio (co-producer, The September Issue) involved with such a high profile project.
Hindmarch, Lisio and A&E IndieFilms' Molly Thompson (executive producer, The September Issue) had just come from the noon public screening of the film, which was a complete mob scene due to the fact that Ms. Wintour was there in person. Apparently, she was quite candid during the Q&A about the fact that she did NOT agree with Cutler about some of the choices he made with the film. Luckily, Cutler had negotiated final cut as part of his deal.
PARK CITY TRANSPO SURVIVAL
One thing I’ve definitely learned this fest is that whenever possible, walk instead of shuttle. Initially I was a bit leery of walking down Kearns Blvd. in the dark to get from the party to the screening at the Yarrow (just to be clear – I wasn’t worried about being attacked – just about face-planting on the ice). The lovely locals at the party coat check who advised me were correct, though – walking was a heck of a lot faster than attempting to find a shuttle going in the right direction.
THE SCREENING
Full disclosure: The September Issue was one of the docs I’d been most looking forward to seeing at Sundance, and not just because of my previous ARP history. While I don’t normally consider myself a girly-girl, for some reason whenever The Devil Wears Prada shows up on cable, I find myself powerless to change the channel. I’ve also become somewhat addicted to Tyra Banks’ fierceness on America’s Next Top Model. I'm not proud of these things. But sometimes ya' gotta just give in to the pretty. So a doc about Anna Wintour, the legendary editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine for the past 20 years? Sign me up!
I’d been hearing good things about the film all day, and the screening did not disappoint, although the documentary was different than I expected (I intentionally did not read the production notes beforehand). I thought I was going to see a hard-hitting expose on Wintour, but instead, the true ‘star’ of the film is creative director Grace Coddington, who has worked beside Wintour throughout her tenure at Vogue. The relationship between creator and curator makes for rich subject matter.
Apparently, Coddington originally wasn’t thrilled about being on-camera. Her first words to Cutler and his crew were, “Get away from me.” But the former model-turned-stylist eventually opens up, revealing her creative process and frustrations with the issue as her spreads are edited down. I loved seeing how she put together a fashion shoot inspired by the 1920’s, how her research and vision translated into the actual photos. She’s a true artist, and for some reason, I found it comforting to know that behind the pages of the glossy, hi-falutin' magazine, there is the beating heart of a real, warm human being attempting to make her vision a reality.
Wintour is a much tougher nut to crack. She is fascinating to watch – the bob, the cute upturned nose, the eyes that can communicate a death sentence with a glance...that is, when she deigns to take off her dark glasses. I’m sure these comments have just killed my chances of ever being a Vogue cover girl...I have a feeling Ms. Wintour does not take kindly to the word "cute" being applied to her.
Throughout the film, small moments add up to give the audience a sense of what might drive the editor-in-chief. Despite being hailed by her colleagues as "the Pope of the Church that is Vogue” and "the Madonna of the fashion world," those closest to Wintour don’t seem quite as impressed. Her daughter declares that she doesn’t want to work at Vogue because she thinks one shouldn’t take fashion too seriously, and Wintour says that she believes her politically and socially involved siblings are “amused” by what she does.
The September Issue reminds us why shows like Project Runway and my aforementioned addiction, The Devil Wears Prada, are so popular – it’s fun to watch pretty people, charismatic personalities and gorgeous clothing. It's rude to stare at models on the street, so the chance to do so uninterruped for 90 minutes is a treat. The doc was shot by the Emmy-nominated cinematographer Bob Richman (DP, Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, My Architect: A Son’s Journey), who does a great job of capturing the glamour of the fashion world.
One of my favorite sections of the film is when the Vogue team goes to Europe to do the couture and cover shoots. There are beautiful shots of Grace wandering around Paris, talking about the fact that she was advised early in her career to always look up and out at the world around her for inspiration. Likewise, Cutler and his team have done a great job of observing the world they set out to document and finding the real stories within it, rather than imposing a pre-determined idea of Vogue and its creators onto their film.