James Marsh

This chapter presents an interview with filmmaker James Marsh. Marsh began his career as a researcher and then a director for the BBC. His breakthrough documentary, Troubleman (1994), chronicled the last years of Marvin Gaye and his murder at the hands of his father. The King (2005) marked Marsh's move away from documentary into pure fiction and Man on Wire (2008) put his name on the map. The film tells the story of young Frenchman named Philippe Petit who stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between the twin towers of New York's World Trade Center on August 7, 1974. The interview covered...

This chapter presents an interview with filmmaker James Marsh. Marsh began his career as a researcher and then a director for the BBC. His breakthrough documentary, Troubleman (1994), chronicled the last years of Marvin Gaye and his murder at the hands of his father. The King (2005) marked Marsh's move away from documentary into pure fiction and Man on Wire (2008) put his name on the map. The film tells the story of young Frenchman named Philippe Petit who stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between the twin towers of New York's World Trade Center on August 7, 1974. The interview covered topics such as what is was about Man on Wire that caught his interest; how they gained Petit's consent and collaboration; and the conscious decision not to mention the events of September 11, 2001.