Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel
Encyclopedia
Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel is a 2010 documentary film
directed by Brigitte Berman about Hugh Hefner
, creator of Playboy magazine. Berman previously directed the Academy Award-winning documentary Artie Shaw: Time Is All You've Got
.
and Victor Solnicki. Neither Hefner nor his company had any formal role in the making of the documentary though he gave the filmmakers considerable access. The documentary filmed from 10 January 2008 to 31 August 2008 in Ontario
.
. in only four theaters for three days grossing $10,000—$2,500 per theater.
The film received mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
reports that 59% of 54 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 6.4 out of 10. Metacritic
, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gives the film a score of 55 based on 16 reviews.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
directed by Brigitte Berman about Hugh Hefner
Hugh Hefner
Hugh Marston "Hef" Hefner is an American magazine publisher, founder and Chief Creative Officer of Playboy Enterprises.-Early life:...
, creator of Playboy magazine. Berman previously directed the Academy Award-winning documentary Artie Shaw: Time Is All You've Got
Artie Shaw: Time Is All You've Got
Artie Shaw: Time Is All You've Got is a 1986 documentary film about clarinetist Artie Shaw. It was written, directed and narrated by Brigitte Berman. It won Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, tying with Down and Out in America....
.
Selected cast
The documentary includes clips and interviews with:- Hugh HefnerHugh HefnerHugh Marston "Hef" Hefner is an American magazine publisher, founder and Chief Creative Officer of Playboy Enterprises.-Early life:...
- Josh WhiteJosh WhiteJoshua Daniel White , better known as Josh White, was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor, and civil rights activist. He also recorded under the names "Pinewood Tom" and "Tippy Barton" in the 1930s....
- Dizzy GillespieDizzy GillespieJohn Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
- Sammy Davis Jr
- Joan BaezJoan BaezJoan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
- Jim BrownJim BrownJames Nathaniel "Jim" Brown is an American former professional football player who has also made his mark as an actor. He is best known for his exceptional and record-setting nine-year career as a running back for the NFL Cleveland Browns from 1957 to 1965. In 2002, he was named by Sporting News...
- Dick CavettDick CavettRichard Alva "Dick" Cavett is a former American television talk show host known for his conversational style and in-depth discussion of issues...
- Pat BoonePat BooneCharles Eugene "Pat" Boone is an American singer, actor and writer who has been a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He covered black artists' songs and sold more copies than his black counterparts...
- Susan BrownmillerSusan BrownmillerSusan Brownmiller is an American feminist, journalist, author, and activist. She is best known for her pioneering work on the politics of rape in her 1975 book Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape, Brownmiller argues that rape had been hitherto defined by men rather than women; and that men use,...
- Gene SimmonsGene SimmonsGene Simmons is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, actor, and rock bassist. Known as "The Demon", he is the bassist/vocalist of Kiss, a hard rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s.-Early life:...
- Jenny McCarthyJenny McCarthyJennifer Ann "Jenny" McCarthy is an American model, comedian, actress, author, activist, and game show host. She began her career in 1993 as a nude model for Playboy magazine and was later named their Playmate of the Year. McCarthy then parlayed her Playboy fame into a successful television and...
- Mike WallaceMike WallaceMichael Wallace may refer to:*Mike Wallace , television correspondent**The Mike Wallace Interview, his TV series*Mike Wallace , American historian...
- Dick GregoryDick GregoryRichard Claxton "Dick" Gregory is an American comedian, social activist, social critic, writer, and entrepreneur....
- Tony CurtisTony CurtisTony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama...
- Shannon TweedShannon TweedShannon Lee Tweed is a Canadian actress and model. One of the most successful actresses of mainstream erotica, she is identified with the genre of the erotic thriller...
- Jesse JacksonJesse JacksonJesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...
- Tony BennettTony BennettTony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
- James CaanJames CaanJames Caan is an American actor. He is best known for his starring roles in The Godfather, Thief, Misery, A Bridge Too Far, Brian's Song, Rollerball, Kiss Me Goodbye, Elf, and El Dorado...
- David SteinbergDavid SteinbergDavid Steinberg is a Canadian comedian, actor, writer, director, and author. At the height of his popularity, during the late 1960s and early 1970s, he was one of the best-known stand-up comics in the United States...
- George LucasGeorge LucasGeorge Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
- Ruth WestheimerRuth WestheimerRuth Westheimer is an American sex therapist, media personality, and author. Best known as Dr. Ruth, the New York Times described her as a "Sorbonne-trained psychologist who became a kind of cultural icon in the 1980s...
- Bill MaherBill MaherWilliam "Bill" Maher, Jr. is an American stand-up comedian, television host, political commentator, author and actor. Before his current role as the host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher hosted a similar late-night talk show called Politically Incorrect originally on Comedy Central and...
- Pete SeegerPete SeegerPeter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
Production
It was also produced by Berman, along with Peter RaymontPeter Raymont
Peter Raymont is an award-winning Canadian filmmaker and producer and the president of White Pine Pictures, an independent film, television and new media production company based in Toronto...
and Victor Solnicki. Neither Hefner nor his company had any formal role in the making of the documentary though he gave the filmmakers considerable access. The documentary filmed from 10 January 2008 to 31 August 2008 in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
.
Release and reception
The film opened on 30 July 2010 in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. in only four theaters for three days grossing $10,000—$2,500 per theater.
The film received mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reports that 59% of 54 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 6.4 out of 10. Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gives the film a score of 55 based on 16 reviews.
External links
- Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...