They Shoot Movies, Don't They?

After an injury derailed his potential baseball career, Tom Paulson turned to moviemaking, became a darling of the film-festival circuit, and ultimately landed a contract with a major studio. Although Paulson brings in his first feature on time and on budget, studio execs balk at providing finishing funds unless he relinquishes creative control of the project. Rather than do that, the filmmaker attempts to raise the necessary financing from friends and family, caught in the grip of an obsession that takes its toll on the relationship with his girlfriend Adele. Viewers are led to believe that Paulson has allowed director Frank Gallagher to chronicle all of this, but in fact They Shoot Movies, Don't They? is nothing more than an unusually convincing mockumentary, which offers an inside look at the backbiting, ego-baiting, duplicity, and mendacity that characterizes studio filmmaking today. Gallagher and his partner, Tom Wilson (who plays Paulson), obviously pored over dozens of documentaries—and, most likely, HBO's Project Greenlight—to make certain that the film had just the right style and tone, and they've nailed it, perfectly conveying the desperation of someone watching his or her dream slip away. Though it contains some hilarious sequences, the film isn't consciously funny; there's more fact than fiction here and the truth about Hollywood is far less amusing than one might suspect. Highly recommended. (E. Hulse)