Where Are the Experts?

posted in: The Film | 0

Dear Filmmaker,

Are you interviewing experts who are critical of your subjects’ work? If yes, who? If no, why not?

N.E.

Dear.N.E.

This is an excellent question. I am not interviewing experts. I decided early on that though the projects are important, no question, in many ways they are beside the point. The real story of A Life’s Work is the human urge to do something lasting, to contribute to something larger than ones’ self. Introducing talking heads who extoll the theories of Paolo Soleri, or critics of SETI, for example, detracts from that story and puts the focus of the film on the nuts and bolts of the project. The film then becomes more journalistic, and I’m not interested in that at all.

Senator_Richard_Bryan
Senator Richard Bryan (D-NV)

That being said, I hope to include footage of a certain senator who was instrumental in eliminating SETI from the federal budget back in the early 90s (SETI was under the aegis of NASA), forcing them to regroup and seek funding from the private sector. This is a major event in the SETI story, and tells us a lot about the tenacity of Jill Tarter and her colleagues.

Thanks for the question.

If you have a question for the filmmaker, just leave it as a comment. If I use your question, I’ll send you an origami animal of some kind.

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