Mariah Forbes
Intro to Media Arts
Assignment 12
Man On Wire Traditional Film?
Documentary to Movie
6-24-13
Man On Wire is an intriguing documentary looking into the work and passion of Philippe
Petit. It tells a story on its own. If it were to be converted into a traditional film, however, there
would be quite a few challenges. One would be the main character. We would need an actor with
a French accent who had a similar face as Philippe and walked on cables. This in and of itself
would be difficult. Another challenge for a storyteller would be the attention span of the
audience. The documentary is somewhat non-linear in time. The exciting, more “action-packed”
parts are spread out throughout the documentary to keep the audience watching. In a traditional
film, however, the audience would have to wait for those parts, putting up with the stories about
his childhood, discovery of his dream, planning and measuring, dialogue with his girlfriend, etc.,
before they even were able to see him walking between the two towers of the Notre Dame. They
would become bored if they watched Philippe personally meet all the characters who had a part
in his Twin Towers stunt. Some things I may be able to do better in a traditional film than the
documentary would be to get into the main character’s attitude and feelings about his passion. I
would be able to capture moments between himself and his girlfriend which would cause
sympathy and create an interest in his dreams. I could dramatize the guards’ presence more and
bring up the tension. Potential things I would do worse than in the documentary would be the
amazing views of the stunts and reminiscence. I doubt I could find someone who would be
willing to do the same things Philippe did on the lines, and I would be unable to capture his
routines as completely. I would also not have responses from people such as Alan, who
commented that his face was ageless, like the face of a sphinx.
If I was an executive, I would probably say no to the project. The documentary already
exists as an amazing story-telling medium and there are too many elements against the film. The
actors, the difficulty of producing a story line, and the cost would be enormous factors in an
executive giving such a movie a thumbs-down. Man On Wire is a beautiful documentary, but it
would not be easy or lucrative to turn it into a traditional film.