We need an extended cut
Why is Billie not featured in any way? The granddaughter is left as a mystery, floating in the background.
shareI don't think she needed to be in it much more than she was; apparently the original focus of the documentary was Debbie's retirement, with that being widened to show more of the relationship between Carrie and Debbie. I guess Billie was off doing her own thing - I don't think she even lived with Carrie so it would've diluted the documentary to bring her into it. I thought it was already slight in places without featuring Billie or the extended family.
I wonder if it might have been different if Carrie & Debbie had passed away during the filming/editing process, maybe they would've broadened the focus into more of a celebration or memoir of their lives. It's a bittersweet watch either way.
Debbie Reynolds almost died during filming I think, I believe at some point she had a stroke(2012? or 2013?) which wasn't discussed for whatever reason. Even if she(Reynolds or Fisher) forbade it from being shown, a simple text on the screen in the second act explaining what happened would have made her gaunt appearance,disorientation and sudden lack of energy later in the documentary less disturbing and understandable.
Therefore there's probably tons of extra footage that never made it to final cut, perhaps some too personal to share. I think in order for anything to change, Todd Fisher and Billie Lourd will have to jointly decide on it. Otherwise, they may respect the wishes of their recently deceased loved ones and archive the extra footage with no intention of it being shown to the public eye.
"Adding sound to movies would be like putting lipstick on the Venus de Milo."-MaryPickford
From this story it sounds like she had a small stroke in 2015, I'm not sure whether that would place it during/soon after filming for Bright Lights. Or whether she'd already had one in 2012/2013.
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/carrie-fisher-opens-mother-debbie-reynolds-frail-health/story?id=39195202
Either way, I agree that her ill health felt disturbing to watch without real explanation. Although I understand why they would want to focus on the positive moments like the club shows and SAG award.
The behind the scenes footage totally changes my feelings about both their appearances on-stage for the SAG award though. And my lasting impression of the documentary is just.... sadness. The scenes of Debbie trying to perform and entertain for the cameras despite her low energy and ill health, and Carrie's continual concern for her (and the coke drinking and smoking, and her optimism for filming more Star Wars films which she'll never complete) were pretty heartbreaking.
Yet we have multiple minutes with Todd, showing off the car from Knight Rider and singing, both of which add nothing. Todd may be a great guy in real life, but to be honest he's a bore.
Also, what's left behind from these two women is Billie. She is a product of both of them.
I suspect they visited his home because he was in a lot of the footage showing Carrie as a child, and backstage at Vegas and the SAG awards, so they had to explain a little more about who the guy in the baseball cap is.
I did find it interesting that his living room was filled with posters of his mother's and sister's films... even as an adult living (mostly?) out of the public eye he's still chosen to surround himself with their achievements, rather than his own. Did he feel like he was living in their shadow? Maybe it would've been better to dig into that more, or leave it out entirely. (Should add I don't really know anything about him or his wife outside of this documentary). The only thing I felt his scenes added were a sense that he had some similar quirks and eccentricities to Carrie, which I guess is inevitable given their upbringing.
Also, what's left behind from these two women is Billie. She is a product of both of them.True, and if it were a different documentary, exploring more of Carrie's life and legacy (which is a documentary I'd love to see), then Billie would have a bigger part in that. But in this one it would've taken more time away from Debbie/Carrie. I do think this would be very different if had still been in production/post-production when they both passed away rather than already waiting for broadcast at HBO. It felt unsatisfying and a little too irreverent given the context. share
I read an interesting story and I may be getting this wrong, that apparently Carrie thought about flying to New York instead of Los Angeles to work on the post-production of the documentary but decided to fly directly to Los Angeles from London instead. If true, that's very interesting since I wonder if her cardiac arrest episode would have happened. If she hadn't died, I believe she would have continued to work on the post-production of the documentary this month since it's been reported she wanted to tinker with it more before March, 2017. Debbie Reynolds would have been still alive and "survived celebrity deathlist 2016" but I'm pretty sure she would have eventually died of a stroke sometime in 2017. So in a sense Debbie's death was probably 15-6 months sooner than it would have been without stress. However, what do I know? It's entirely possible these two could have easily lived 5 years longer together, though I believe Debbie Reynold's was suffering from what looked to be early stage dementia and seemed on the verge to becoming a shell of her former self.
"Adding sound to movies would be like putting lipstick on the Venus de Milo."-MaryPickford
That's pretty sad to think about, if something as simple as a change of flight could've avoided both deaths happening the way they did. My assumption is it was a matter of time until Carrie had heart issues, but perhaps if it'd happened at home, or... well, anywhere but a plane, she might've received paramedic assistance sooner and the outcome would've been different. Who knows. Debbie did seem to be on a steady decline though, I agree even without Carrie's death it was inevitable in the near future.... but that's understandable at 84!
It's a shame Bright Lights ends before Carrie started promo for The Force Awakens... she seemed reinvigorated by that. More roles in smaller projects, prepping a new one-woman live show, the new book and book tour, filming for Episode 8, an alleged pivotal role in Episode 9 which will need to be re-written... probably speaking more from my own experience here, but the last couple of years seemed to cement her in the public eye as an international treasure as she is now, not just for Leia 30+ years ago. Especially given how mischievous she was during all the promo for The Force Awakens, usually running rings around the interviewers and derailing their efforts to get her to answer the usual boring questions. The documentary doesn't capture any of her career resurgence and (apparent) enthusiasm for it all.
NO. Documentary film BRIGHT LIGHTS began in earnest from April 2016 filming and much had changed since especially Debbie Reynolds ill-health and daughter Carrie's anguish and anxiety for her mother while she was being re-vived for another Star Wars sequel trilogy in 2014 as Princess General Leia Organa and a weight-loss regime with personal trainer and nutrionist over 12 months before filming in late may-early June 2014.
Originally was Carrie & Todd Fisher's idea to document the life, career of their mother Debbie.
Nothing is as it seems, nothing is just one thing and nothing is ever just over there;
Todd Fisher is indeed an excellent guy, and he can sing very well as sister Carrie. Talent genes are within that family, Todd chose not to be an entertainer but work behind the scenes.
Hope explains
Nothing is as it seems, nothing is just one thing and nothing is ever just over there;
Todd definitely seemed like the guy in the shadows....I hope is a happy guy...
share