The First Reality Show: An American Family

This Movie Made Everyone Mad

HBO produced the film Cinema Verite which was a movie about the original An American Family show. Diane Lane was Pat, Tim Robbins was Bill, James Gandolfini played Craig Gilbert (the creator of the show) and Thomas Dekker played Lance Loud. The movie is presented in various chapters, sectioning off each part of the family’s lives.

The movie shows a behind-the-scenes look at how the filming effected the family. Particularly, how filming aided in bringing many of the family’s already existing issues to light, causing a very public rift. The film was nominated for many awards and ended up winning an Emmy and a Writers Guild Award. Both the Louds and Craig Gilbert were unhappy with the movie.