LIVE!
With
Eva
Mendes,
David
Krumholtz,
Jay
Hernandez,
Andre
Braugher,
Katie
Cassidy,
Rob
Brown,
Monet
Mazur
Written
&
Directed
by
Bill
Guttentag
Over
the
decades
the
reality
show
concept
had
been
prevalent
in
fiction
and
motion
pictures
before
modern
televised
entertainment
concepts
made
Mark
Burnett
a
mogul
(with
the
likes
of
Survivor
and
The
Apprentice).
Books
like
The
Prize
of
Peril
and
The
Running
Man
from
the
'70s
and
'80s
were
turned
into
movies.
Both
these
had
people
chased
down
by
killers
on
live
TV
as
its
subject.
Series
7:
The
Contenders
had
a
similar
reality
TV
premise
in
the
late-'90s,
but
with
people
randomly
picked
to
knock
one
another
off
until
the
last
man
(or
woman)
is
standing.
Mocumentaries
have
also
become
commonplace.
Live!
incorporates
both
mocumentary
and
reality
TV,
expands
this
brand
of
televised
show
hysteria
into
the
studio
realm
where
numbers
is
all
that
counts,
and
cutting
edge,
controversial
programming
is
designed
to
cause
a
stir
and
make
a
fortune.
And
fortune,
greed
and
need
is
at
the
heart
of
it
all.
A
young
studio
exec
played
by
Mendez
get
together
with
her
team
to
devise
a
new
show,
and
they
come
up
with
Live!,
a
show
where
six
contestants
play
Russian
Roulette
live
on
TV
for
a
fat
prize.
The
conceptualizing
of
the
show,
turbulent
battle
with
lawyers
and
advisors,
and
the
demographically-,
emotionally-
and
strategic
contestant
selection
is
shot
like
a
documentary
in
the
making.
At
first
the
moviemaker
following
Mendez
around
tries
to
remain
objective,
but
soon
the
morality
of
issue
bleeds
through.
Besides
the
studio
out
to
keep
on
earning
and
showing
growth
to
their
investors
and
shareholders,
the
motivation
of
the
contestants
is
mostly
financial.
The
social
commentary
aspect
of
the
movie
is
blatant,
and
Live!
succeeds
on
many
levels,
except
for
some
very
specific
flaws,
practicalities
and
inevitabilities
which
we
know
in
the
back
of
our
minds
the
moviemakers
are
driving
towards.
3
/
C
-
Paul
Blom
1
2
3
4
5
6
A
-
B
-
C
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