What sounds crazier than comedian Dave Chappelle throwing a block party in Brooklyn?
How about director Michel Gondry filming it? When Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) saw Mos Def, Kanye West, and the reunited Fugees on the bill, he was sold. As you’d expect, the resulting film – Block Party, due in March – is like no rockumentary you’ve ever seen. Gondry gave Wired a backstage pass. – Scott Thill WIRED: A documentary seems like a departure for you. GONDRY: I looked at it as a challenge. When I shoot musicians in videos or actors in movies, my job is to break down that layer between them and the camera. In documentaries, you have to do the same. You just need a certain time and intimacy for the camera to become invisible – you have to run the camera much longer. Because you were filming reality, not a scripted performance, you couldn’t really control the movie’s plot. When did you find the story? We were just supposed to shoot the concert in New York. But then we handed out tickets in Dave’s hometown of Cleveland, and I followed him with the camera. At fi
