“I’m not so sure it’s that easy now, but back then it was impossible.
You had to go visit Fred.
“That’s certainly true of documentary.
Credit: Nafis Azad/SHOWTIME
They were few and far between.
They had very, very limited distribution.
If anything, we had television distribution.
Fred Wiseman’s films were distributed through public broadcasting.
I was fortunate enough, my first films went into theaters, but that was considered totally anomalous.
And in the intervening 40 years, [documentaries are] everywhere.
I’m not sure thatubiquitousis exactly the right word, but they’re ubiquitous.”
That ubiquity has helped bring Morris to a larger audience than ever.
“I still love filmmaking,” the director says.
“And I love the idea of mixing drama and documentary.
I love being able to explore new ways of telling true stories and exploring the medium.
And there is most certainly an element of the unpredictable and the spontaneous.”
More than four decades into his career, he’s not done innovating, either.
“And hopefully I can keep it up for a while longer.”
