TO GET UNDER the skin of former wild and crazy guy Steve Martin, documentarian Morgan Neville (20 Feet From Stardom) wanted to chart both his emergence as a stand-up superstar and his life today. “I just kept thinking, ‘These things feel different,’” he says, “‘so why don’t I let them be different?’” Rather than one film, the result is Steve! (Martin): A Documentary In 2 Pieces. Here’s how Neville used two distinct methods to find the ‘real’ Steve Martin.
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Part One deals with Martin’s rise as a comedian. For Neville, “It was this isolated, archival story of this man in time,” inspiring the filmmaker to document this period of Martin’s life through old clips and voiceover. Starting with hours of in-person audio interviews with Martin, Neville worked on the project with the star for two-and-a half years. ‘The thing that made the difference for me was that Steve was really willing to go there —our conversations just got deeper and deeper.”