Tonight, PBS will air a two-hour version of An American Family. The “Anniversary Edition” has been condensed from its 12-hour version by its original filmmakers, Alan Raymond and Susan Raymond, and debuts at 8 p.m. ET. If you haven’t yet seen the series that gave birth to reality television, which earlier this year was rebroadcast… continue reading
An American Family
Two-hour version of An American Family, edited by original filmmakers, will air on PBS
An American Family has been turned into a fictional film for HBO and has been rebroadcast on a few PBS stations, but now viewers nationwide will be able to watch the 12-hour series compressed into a two-hour version called An American Famiy: Anniversary Edition that was edited by Alan and Susan Raymond, the people who… continue reading
Craig Gilbert calls HBO’s American Family film “fallacious”; Louds paid by HBO to stay quiet
HBO debuted its film about the creation of An American Family, but the series’ producer has called the film’s plot fiction–and as usual, reality is more interesting and complicated. While the performances in Cinema Verite were strong, and the actors looked surprisingly like their real-life counterparts, I was somewhat disappointed by the film, which was… continue reading
An American Family will finally be rebroadcast this weekend, following HBO’s scripted film
This weekend, An American Family, the 1973 series that followed the Loud family and was the first unscripted, narrative TV show, comes back to life in the form of a scripted HBO film and a rebroadcast of the entire 12-episode original series, which has not been on TV for more than 20 years. It’s impossible… continue reading
HBO releases teaser trailer for Cinema Verite, the movie about An American Family
In April, HBO will debut Cinema Verite, a scripted film about the creation of the first unscripted, narrative documentary series: An American Family. It stars James Gandolfini as Craig Gilbert, the filmmaker who produced the series, and Tim Robbins and Diane Lane as Bill and Pat Loud. The network released a teaser trailer Tuesday, and… continue reading
James Gandolfini watches Real Housewives, and other insight from the cast of HBO’s An American Family movie
In a few months, HBO will once again fictionalize the creation of a famous work of nonfiction, although this time it’s the reality series that started it all: An American Family. The Sopranos’ James Gandolfini stars as Craig Gilbert, the producer who followed the Loud family for the 1973 PBS series, while Pat and Bill… continue reading
HBO turning An American Family into a fictional film
The first true reality series, An American Family, will become a fictional HBO film called Cinema Verite. Gavin Polone is executive producing the film, which has not yet been cast but was written “by ‘The Omen’ writer David Seltzer, with writing-directing duo Shari Springer Berman and Bob Pulcini (‘American Splendor’) on board to direct,” according… continue reading
An American Family’s 35th anniversary was this week
On Tuesday, with the TV-watching world focused on the debut of American Idol 7, a significant anniversary passed: It was the 35th anniversary of the debut of An American Family, the show that inspired The Real World, which in turn inspired most of what we now consider to be reality television. The series debuted Jan…. continue reading
American Family filmmaker: reality TV has “shoddy production values.
American Family filmmaker: reality TV has “shoddy production values. An American Family cinematographer and co-director Alan Raymond watched The Surreal Life at the prompting of his family, including his wife and co-American Family filmmaker Susan Raymond, and was “fascinated by what he considered the low-rent way the show was made,” The New York Times reports…. continue reading
documentary about Lance Loud, An American Family episode air tonight.
documentary about Lance Loud, An American Family episode air tonight. Filmmakers Alan and Susan Raymond followed the Loud family for the 1973 PBS series An American Family, and in 2001, they returned to film Lance Loud’s final days at his request. The result, “Lance Loud! A Death In An American Family”, debuts tonight at 9… continue reading
PBS plans “An American Family: The Final Episode” focusing on Lance Loud’s final days.
PBS plans “An American Family: The Final Episode” focusing on Lance Loud’s final days. Nearly 30 years after the series first aired, PBS will air a follow-up special, called An American Family: The Final Episode. It chronicles the final days of series star Lance Loud, who died in Dec. but first asked the series’ original… continue reading
new book explores An American Family “from conception to broadcast.”
new book explores An American Family “from conception to broadcast.” The first reality TV show, An American Family, which aired on PBS in 1973, is now the subject of an exhaustive book called An American Family: A Televised Life. Jeffrey Ruoff, a professor at Dartmouth, writes “the first … close, sustained look” at the show,… continue reading
PBS’ new American Family, debuting tonight, is not a reality TV show.
PBS’ new American Family, debuting tonight, is not a reality TV show. At first glance, PBS’ new show American Family, debuting tonight at 8 p.m. ET in most markets, looks like a follow-up to the 1973 An American Family, the first real reality TV show that followed the Loud family. While they share two words… continue reading
An American Family’s Lance Loud dies; came out during 1973 show.
An American Family’s Lance Loud dies; came out during 1973 show. One of the stars of the first dramatic, episodic, soap-opera like reality TV show died last Saturday. In 1973, 12 episodes of PBS’ An American Family followed the Loud family over a period of seven months. During the show, Lance’s parents separated, and Lance… continue reading
PBS may bring back “An American Family.”
PBS may bring back “An American Family.” The original reality TV show–PBS’ “An American Family,” which followed a single family for a year–is coming back to PBS, mostly because of the success of other similar shows this year, including PBS’ own “1800 House.” Also possible: An American version of the 1800 House, maybe called Frontier… continue reading