Rating:

This book was published in 1992.

The freaky coincidence can be found on page 31. There's a full page picture of the inside of the airplane cockpit. Out of the plane's window you can see the World Trade Center. It's a drawing of the two towers, but there's no mistake about what it is.

The caption on the photo says "The World Trade Center is normally avoided both night and day by commercial aircraft."

The text within that chapter says:

"…'Just take a look out the window there. See anything familiar?'

'Why, Chuck, it looks like the World Trade Center!'

'That's right. Of course, we wouldn't normallly fly this low in

a 747. But like I said, for you the sky's the limit…'

'Before we start turning, though, it might be a good idea for you to check the altitude. The World Trade Center is about 1,350 feet tall, and the altimeter says -'

'I guess I better pull up a bit.'

'Otherwide your wing might hit the towers as you turn.'

'And that would be bad.'

'Yes, that would be very bad…'

Weird!

Rating:

Director/writer Michael Mongillo has done something I've always wished would happen: turn the tables on the paparazzi and/or tabloid reporters and have THEIR lives invaded and exposed, showing the skeletons in their closets. And while Being Michael Madsen turns out to be a mockumentary, there are still times when you forget about the faux part of it since actual facts about Madsen's life are intermixed with fiction. Whether or not you feel that completely works, there's no doubt you'll be hooked and go along with the ride. The full audience at the screening seemed to be willing and had a lot of fun. It's very apparent that when you have people putting together a film and enjoying doing that instead of it being just a "process" for them, something good will result.

The film sets up a scenario that a well-known tabloid's reporter/paparazzo Billy Dant wrote an article that Madsen killed a film extra (though no body was ever found), then gives us a background to Madsen's life and career, to then bring us back to the Dant situation. He then hires a three-person documentary crew to follow Dant and basically make his life hell. It was nice to see Mongillo regulars like Davis Mikaels (The Wind) as the camera guy, you just knew anything he was going to say in the rest of the film was going to make you laugh. Throughout all this we get interviews with Madsen's sister Virginia (who is absolutely amazing and very, VERY funny in her "seriousness") as well as friends Daryl Hannah, David Carradine, and Harry Dean Stanton (who got the entire theatre laughing by simply uttering one single word. Of course the documentary crew has its own inner conflicts, so things get mighty out of control very quickly.

Re-enactments of past situations were wonderfully performed in stiff, schlocky form, and I never imagined that a scene of a woman undressing could be so hysterically funny instead of erotic. That scene alone brought in some hearty laughs, along with Billy Dant getting bonked in the head with a boom mic.

Those that go in thinking this film is a real documentary will not be disappointed after realizing what's really going on, and those that already know the joke will still get a kick out of all the fun. The cast is having a great time (you can bet Paige Davis was having a grand time of it), and while some may say this is not a perfect film, its sheer entertainment makes it worth getting high marks. Some may say it's not a mass audience pleaser because of it poking fun at a particular part of the Hollywood scene, however that's not the case here since there's something for everyone. Fans of the Madsens, film insiders and officionados, and word of mouth can especially make this one a winner as well. Sit back with some snacks and enjoy! Be sure to stick through the credits for some surprises.

Michael Madsen says in the film: "There's one thing I can't live with: a flat-out lie." *WINK – WINK* !!

Rating:

Madsen (along with the others) leads the film in a mock interview detailing the events that led him to hiring his own team of filmmakers to catalog a paparazzi's life in the same way his life has been cataloged and intruded upon. The message here is that you can make anyone into the character you want them to be in the mass media and the general public will eat it up. As Madsen states in the film "If you read something enough times, you start to believe it's real."

What I find most humorous about it all is the way Madsen exploits this flaw in mass media while also doing the same with "Being Michael Madsen". The film is an exposition of tabloid distortion while it is really no different in-of-itself. We get to see the tables turned on the man spreading rumors about Madsen in what is presented as setting the record straight; really, it is only rewriting it. This is the beauty of the film in my opinion.

The documentary filmmakers in the story represent various aspects on film-making responsibility. In the film, they all become kind of accidental celebrities and tabloid subject matter. However, all 3 of them are left with different feelings about it. They started out as friends that basically took the job because it was a guaranteed gig. They wouldn't have to scrape and scramble so hard as 100% do-it-yourself filmmakers. The rift between them comes when they capture some shocking video that raises questions about their integrity. To me, this is the heart of the films message and the central question: Who does responsibility in media lie with? Is it up to filmmakers, is it up to the viewer or does it even matter?

There is a lot to like here.