#414 - The Documentarian

Editors have different styles, attitudes, opinions and approaches.
Editors are people, not machines; we don’t just push buttons, we bring a lifetime of emotions and thoughts and experiences to every edit.
But what is crucial for comedy is that editors laugh in the right places. It also helps to smell nice and be a pleasant person to be around a lot.
– Roger Nygard, Cut To The Monkey
Cut To The Monkey is a witty, practical, and insightful guidebook to editing (comedy), written by one of the masters of the craft, Editor Roger Nygard.
So I was intrigued and excited when Roger told me he was working on a new book. The Documentarian.
It hits the shelves of all good bookstores in four days on September 17th. Having had a sneak peek, it is a worthy addition to the pantheon of filmmaking books that are actually worth reading because they've been written by someone who actually knows what they're talking about.
Roger has birthed and sold four documentaries Trekkies, The Nature of Existence, The Truth About Marriage, and The Comedy Store. He has also directed TV series The Office and The Bernie Mac Show, and edited Emmy-nominated episodes of VEEP and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
So he knows what he's talking about.
My favourite part of the book?
It's actually the page-turning, blow-by-blow account of the sale of the documentary, which is unlike anything I've seen shared before.
It's a rollercoaster of emotions, egos, strategies, delays, and nervous mistakes that would provide an excellent roadmap for anyone selling their film in the Studio system.