David Russ man-o-man --- I wish I could swear here because my brain is spinning. Why haven't people rallied around this? Why haven't more critics been vocal about this? Kurt Loder names it best Doc of 2007 (I agree) and Kurt Loder is probably the only good thing left at MTV. But It really is something special and after reading about it it makes it more amazing to me. This movie was steered by the camera, by the writers, the so called guinea pigs of the film. Finally a movie that calls into question everything wrong with documentaries and entertainment and news and the hyper tech we're being buried by. Rent this film. It's like a meta-meta-meta film wrapped up in a performance art piece that no one knew they were apart of. I've never seen anything like it. Really. Period. The end.

JeniferFingerfoods I think this move is terribly smart and actually it is very brave. A documentary about how fake "reality" is... So is this movie real? Is it fake? I believe that's the point. Utterly clever. And if Kevin Blatt is made up, then whoever created that character should either win an Oscar or be place in an insane asylum. He is unbelievable, in a good, entertaining and disgusting way. After watching the movie, we listened to much of the DVD commentary and it is fascinating... Yes, the directors set much of the events in motion but let it play itself out -- and they admit to the fact that they bent and twisted some of the scenes. Everyone knows Michael Moore does it, he's been sued over it, but has he ever admitted it? I did read a review that called the movie a Blair Witch type of film. American Cannibal is too clever. However i wonder if this calling into question and shining the light on truth in documentaries or truth in reality shows? Maybe both. I really don't know but fantastic.

Robert Leigh I saw the film at Tribeca on recommendation of a friend. Good recommendation! I love the documentary space, and like many I'm sure often find truth stranger than fiction.The film documents the journey of two writers in their effort to find work and to bring their ideas to the big (or little) screen. The documentary changes directions multiple times - it seems impossible to imagine that the filmmakers could have ever guessed the path these writers might take, or how it would unfold. A dynamic pitching duo, the two find opportunity in the interest of one Kevin Blatt, a porn promoter. Blatt becomes interested in one of their ideas, a rather off-color, semi-sexual reality TV show. In a quick twist of fate, his interest moves focus to another idea - one the writers had pitched maybe more as a joke. It is so radical in form and function (or even unimaginable), the writers are a bit taken back themselves, not sure they even WANT to pursue such an endeavor.But it is work - and it is provocative work. And so the production ramps up, gets funded, and begins to form. A cast of colorful characters are involved: Kevin Blatt, with his impossible-to-deny underworld charisma, Gil and Dave, the writers, with their own emotional charged, thoughtful, excited, exhausted personalities. The segment producer of the pilot, Myles, a memorable and somewhat robust, verbose, and off-the-wall existence (maybe typical for segment producers), George Gray, well-known for his work on the weakest link, being his standard high energy reality TV show host self; Neil DeGroot, acting as director of the pilot, traveling along his own emotional roller-coaster alongside the production; and finally, the cast of characters - those who audition for the show and those who are chosen - who run the gamut for Survivor-esquire reality TV contestants, and are wild and wacky and motivated and willing to do ANYTHING to get on TV.What transpires within this melting pot of characters, set within the context of a reality TV pilot that is so unbelievable it will make you do a triple-take, is, at minimum, entertaining, interesting. But I guess what makes this doc rank highly for me is that it is IMPORTANT. Seeing producer after producer comment on the nature of reality TV, and then watching this pilot go from idea on a napkin to production on a faraway island - poses vivid questions concerning how far popular culture has come, and to what point reality TV (being a symptom of popular culture?) has arrived - and to what point it may go still in the future.I highly recommend the film. It is well-executed, and certainly full of comedy, and so is entertaining on its own. But you may find yourself leaving the theater thinking long and hard too. Making you laugh and think at the same time is kinda hard, and this doc definitely does both.

daniel-alterego I got a chance to check out 'American Cannibal' at Tribeca, and was truly blown away. The film is a wild ride through the creative process of two writers forced to choose between artistic integrity and the ever-alluring charms of 'success' and all its pitfalls.The documentary follows Gil Ripley and Dave Roberts, two hungry young TV writers who face their first encounter with the harsh realities of the business after a sitcom pilot they wrote is rejected by the networks. This failure sends them into a whirlwind of desperate pitching as they try to find a home for their new project: reality television. Through a series of hysterical pitches, their voyage takes them all the way from IFC to the seedy porn underworld of immorality czar Kevin Blatt (promoter of the infamous Paris Hilton sex tapes).What follows is pure tragedy as the viewer has a ringside seat to the disaster of reality television. The laughs are continuous, as the two scribes are rooted in comedy writing and their real life back-and-forth exchanges blow away any scripted Hollywood buddy movie. Another stand-out is Kevin Blatt, the larger-than-life 'accidental pornographer' that serves as a major supporting character in the story. Blatt's presence (like many of the events the film captures) seems like a lucky accident for the filmmakers; from his first appearance onwards, his immorality is magnetic and his rants inspired. (I heard a fellow movie-goer describe him as the 'Tony Soprano of Porn.' Dead on.)'American Cannibal' is brilliantly edited, sprinkled with morsels of cynicism from reality TV insiders. Viewers will be aghast at the behind-the-scenes grit of the industry, while simultaneously gripped by the personal arc of the two protagonists. I highly recommend this film and believe it stands as a prime example of edgy and engaging documentary film-making, maintaining a delicate balance between the sleazy, cut-throat spectacle of reality television and the endearing conflict of two writers just trying to get a break.