The life story of celebrated comedian, actor, author, musician and playwright Steve Martin gets the documentary treatment in the new Apple TV+ doc Steve! (martin): A Documentary in Two Pieces, out Friday, March 29. It’s from Oscar-winning director Morgan Neville, who talked to ABC Audio about why he wanted to profile the living legend.
“He’s somebody who does things that can be really silly and stupid or really smart,” Neville explains. “And I kind of love the fact that he does high culture and low culture and kind of can do it all.”
One thing Neville didn’t ever figure on Martin doing was agreeing to make a documentary about himself, since “Steve had turned down the idea of doing a documentary for years and years and years.”
But, says Neville, “I think maybe because of COVID and maybe because he’s happier now, word got out that he maybe would be willing to talk to a documentary filmmaker. And so I went to his house and we had lunch, and we talked about kids and art and New York and, and at the end of it, he was like, OK.”
Whether you know Martin from his standup or movies like The Jerk or Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Neville believes you’ll find the doc relatable, noting, “I feel like a lot of the film isn’t about the celebrity stuff, it’s just about the human stuff.”
“How to figure out your creative voice and how does it connect with the culture and what you’re trying to do, and how to stick to your guns about your originality. And then the emotional questions of like, you know, does success bring happiness? And how do you actually work through your issues with your parents?” he explains.
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