When Christian Taylor, a writer on HBO’s wildly popular Six Feet Under, agrees to let a British Television crew follow him for a series about Brits working in Hollywood, he finds that his true calling may be in the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas’ Stage and not in the harsh world of Hollywood show business.

Lindy Heymann and her documentary crew first meet Christian while Six Feet Under is shooting on location in Las Vegas.  Christian is an intelligent and young writer/producer who is part of the creative team behind the series.

Unbeknownst to Christian, who is miked, Lindy and her camera crew are able to listen in when Executive Producer Alan Ball calls Christian into his trailer.  Ball tells Christian that his contract will not be renewed for the following season.  With an explanation that is succinct and cold, Ball suggests that Christian may be better suited to a hospital or legal drama.

In a state of shock and denial, Christian disappears from the set and from the reality which Lindy and her crew have been documenting.  After flying back to Los Angeles to track Christian down, the British crew discover that Christian has chosen to stay in Las Vegas and is renting a room in the suburbs from veteran Showboy Erich Miller.

Unaware that his firing has been recorded, Christian decides to fulfill his obligation to the documentary piece.  He tells the crew that he is remaining in Las Vegas over the summer to research an “action film” that he is writing.  Rather than call Christian on his lie, Lindy convinces Christian that the research Christian is “performing” has a lot more to do with his own personal issues and dreams than any film script.

From strip-mall dance studios to the stages of Vegas’ top shows, from Siegfried & Roy to Whoopi Goldberg, Lindy's crew observes Christian’s bizarrely erratic passion-fueled journey to become a Showboy.  On the way, he encounters a cast of wild and wonderful characters who are the true life and soul of Vegas.

At times, we wonder if Christian is having a nervous breakdown.  Is fulfilling our dreams always possible?  What life crisis would force us to confront the reality of changing our lives? 

Showboy boldly asks the question:

2002 

SHOWBOY AND THE BIRTH OF FACTION FILMMAKING

Showboy is Faction Filmmaking.  Faction is not a hybrid of genres - it isn’t an ironic “mockumentary,” a straight-forward news package, nor a literal take-off on a reality-based story.  Faction is an art form; a fun and smart reality type of filmic style that draws upon the rawness and immediacy of ‘documentary’ production techniques  to create the story - leaving audiences questioning what is real and what isn’t.  The ultimate result is the creation of a ‘genuine’ emotional experience felt by the actors that registers with the audience.

Though faction filmmaking takes inspiration from the Dogme ’95 Production Vows of Chastity (Dogme ’95 is an influential Danish film movement profiled in depth in Hollywood Reporter, March 5, 2002), its real history comes from an already distinct and well-defined school of thought.  In fact, the dandified, indelible author, Truman Capote, made popular the term “faction” as a way to describe his 1958 novel, In Cold Blood.  For the novel, Capote used a fiction-writing sensibility to investigate the real murders of a small Kansas family.  It was the first non-fiction novel. Part fact, part fiction.

To make Showboy, the filmmaker’s agreed to immerse themselves in the Vegas world as “Method” filmmakers: setting out to allow the process of making the film create the story.  “This was often a terrifying process because we didn’t have the luxury of improvisation to fall back on,” says writer/actor/co-director Christian Taylor.

Christian had not really been fired from Six Feet Under, yet the crew had to believe the ‘lie’ in order to truly understand as well as support Christian’s ‘real’ dream of becoming a dancer.  

As Christian Taylor “the writer,” struggled to become Christian Taylor “the dancer,” the crew had to play and act as a documentary crew would.  The film was thus made in the field.

This ‘chaotic’ format was given structure with a story written by Christian, Lindy and Jason.  Certain ideas and scenes were planned and choreographed, including the beginning and the end.  What happened in between was left to fate and chance, thus giving the film a spontaneity that perhaps might have been missed if produced another way.

There are no actors in the film, making the portrayal of people and events a delicate balance for the filmmakers.  “Our intention was never to ‘mock’ anyone or anything…rather to allow the true beauty and eccentricities to shine through,” says writer/producer Jason Buchtel.  In this sense, Christian’s ‘character’ serves a mirror by which the people and moments  in the film come to be reflected.

For the makers of Showboy, The tragic-comedy that resulted from their faction filmmaking-style was possible because everyone committed to the film, and everyone took the journey.