Documentary filmmaking is not an easy job. Those that are successful at it know the importance of choosing a subject that is both engaging and entertaining, a subject that an audience won't mind sitting and learning about for two hours. From the look of the first trailer, Freakonomics isn't taking that risk and, instead, covers everything you can possibly imagine.
Apple has premiered said trailer which is headed up by a supergroup of documentary filmmakers including Alex Gibney, Rachel Grady, Heidi Ewing, Morgan Spurlock, Eugene Jarecki, Seth Gordon exploring absolutely anything and everything. Based on the best selling book by journalist and economist pair Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, the film explores subjects as wide ranging as cheating in sumo wrestling to cash incentives for good grades. In summation, it looks like the first ADD-friendly documentary.
Check out the trailer below or in HD over at Apple.
Set to be released on October 1st, check below for the film's official synopsis.
Alex Gibney (Enron:The Smartest Guys in the Room, Casino Jack and the United States of Money) delivers a visually arresting look at the crumbling façade of Sumo wrestling and exposes searing and violent truths about this ancient and revered sport. Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) offers up a buoyant and revealing angle on the repercussions of baby names. Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing (Jesus Camp) balance levity and candor with their eye-opening profile of underachieving kids incentivized to learn with cold hard cash. Finally, Eugene Jarecki, who brought us the unforgettably powerful Why We Fight, investigates an unsettling theory to explain why crime rates dramatically dropped in the early '90s. Seth Gordon (The King of Kong) weaves the pieces together with brisk interludes, providing context and commentary from the authors. Freakonomics exposes the hidden side of everything, debunking conventional wisdom, and revealing what answers may come if one just asks the right questions.
