This year at the Sundance Film Festival, there were two movies about Christine Chubbuck, the Florida reporter who shockingly committed suicide live on-air in 1974. “Christine” starring Michael C. Hall and Rebecca Hall, approached the material in a more straightforward manner, but it was “Kate Plays Christine” that intriguingly added a meta-movie approach, and the experimental drama is gearing up to hit the big screen.
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Directed by Robert Greene, and led by Kate Lyn Sheil (“House Of Cards,” “Listen Up Philip“), the film is an exploration behind the process of building a drama around the story, following the led actress as she dives into her preparation to play Chubbuck. Here’s the official synopsis:
What does it mean to tell somebody else’s story? In this ingenious blend of documentary and psychological thriller, Robert Greene (ACTRESS) follows Kate Lyn Sheil (House of Cards, LISTEN UP PHILIP) through her creative process as she prepares for her next, tragic role: Christine Chubbuck, a Florida newscaster who committed suicide live on-air in 1974. As Kate investigates (and ultimately becomes obsessed with) Chubbuck’s story, she discovers that little is actually known about the real woman (even though her story was the inspiration for the classic Hollywood film NETWORK).
Through their collaboration, Robert, Kate and cinematographer Sean Price Williams (HEAVEN KNOWS WHAT) raise questions surrounding the sometimes unstable boundaries between performance, the authentic self and the storytelling impulse. KATE PLAYS CHRISTINE is as much about unraveling a mystery as it is a document of the creative process.
“Kate Plays Christine” opens on August 24th. [Vulture]
