American Cannibal: The Road to Reality (2006)

Directors:

Perry Grebin
Michael Nigro

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

This film documents the train-wreck production and sudden shutdown of American Cannibal, the reality TV show produced by the promoter behind the Paris Hilton sex tape.

Plot Keywords:

Contestant | Cannibalism | Head Injury | Coma | Writer

Cast

Sturgis Adams	...	Himself
Mitchell Allen	...	Himself
Chip Arndt	...	Himself
Kevin Blatt	...	Himself
Jill Boniske	...	Herself
Hannah Buchdahl	...	Herself
Kirsten Buschbacher	...	Herself
Trishelle Cannatella	...	Herself
Monique Capelta	...	Herself
Neil DeGroot	...	Himself
Keith Fenimore	...	Himself
Paul Frazier	...	Himself
Debra Ganz
Lisa Ganz	...	Herself
Jimmy Graham III	...	Himself
George Gray	...	Himself
Philip Gurin	...	Himself
Mark Itkin	...	Himself
Jon Kroll	...	Himself
Daniel Laikind	...	Himself
John Lehr	...	Himself
Dr. Richard Levak	...	Himself
David Lyle	...	Himself
Paul Dion Monte	...	Himself
Michael O'Sullivan	...	Himself
Daniel Petrie Jr.	...	Himself
Rick Ringbakk	...	Himself
Gil S. Ripley	...	Himself
Fred Risher	...	Himself
Dave Roberts	...	Himself
Rob Sharenow	...	Himself
B.J. Sigesmund	...	Himself
Frank Stallone	...	Himself
Linda Stasi	...	Herself
Karen Sternheimer	...	Herself
Bob Thompson	...	Himself
Ryan Westheimer	...	Himself
Lizz Winstead	...	Herself
Myles Yates	...	Himself

Also Known As:

American Cannibal (USA) (DVD box title)

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Filming Locations:

Caribbean Sea

Company:

Acme Pictures

Trivia:

The New York Times reported that many of the events in the film are created by the directors.

Edgy and Engaging

I got a chance to check out 'American Cannibal' at Tribeca, and was truly blown away. The film is a wild ride through the creative process of two writers forced to choose between artistic integrity and the ever-alluring charms of 'success' and all its pitfalls.

The documentary follows Gil Ripley and Dave Roberts, two hungry young TV writers who face their first encounter with the harsh realities of the business after a sitcom pilot they wrote is rejected by the networks. This failure sends them into a whirlwind of desperate pitching as they try to find a home for their new project: reality television. Through a series of hysterical pitches, their voyage takes them all the way from IFC to the seedy porn underworld of immorality czar Kevin Blatt (promoter of the infamous Paris Hilton sex tapes).

What follows is pure tragedy as the viewer has a ringside seat to the disaster of reality television. The laughs are continuous, as the two scribes are rooted in comedy writing and their real life back-and-forth exchanges blow away any scripted Hollywood buddy movie. Another stand-out is Kevin Blatt, the larger-than-life 'accidental pornographer' that serves as a major supporting character in the story. Blatt's presence (like many of the events the film captures) seems like a lucky accident for the filmmakers; from his first appearance onwards, his immorality is magnetic and his rants inspired. (I heard a fellow movie-goer describe him as the 'Tony Soprano of Porn.' Dead on.)

'American Cannibal' is brilliantly edited, sprinkled with morsels of cynicism from reality TV insiders. Viewers will be aghast at the behind-the-scenes grit of the industry, while simultaneously gripped by the personal arc of the two protagonists. I highly recommend this film and believe it stands as a prime example of edgy and engaging documentary film-making, maintaining a delicate balance between the sleazy, cut-throat spectacle of reality television and the endearing conflict of two writers just trying to get a break.