IS DEATH THE NEW REALITY SHOW?
IS FARRAH FAWCETT OUR JADE GOODY?
courtesy Windmill Entertainment/NBC
Nine million Americans tuned in to Farrah Fawcett's documentary, Farrah's Story on Friday night -- the story of the "Angel" who's suffering from cancer and doing it in front of the cameras.
Across the pond, the English had Jade Goody, who died just less than two months ago of cervical cancer -- and she went through it all, until the end, on camera. Goody made it clear that she was doing it for her sons so that she would have money to leave to them when she passed on. The nation was on the edge of their collective seat, following Jade until she died on March 22. Her funeral was like nothing England had seen since the death of their beloved Princess Diana.
With America's own sweetheart, Farrah Fawcett, in what appears to be the final stages of rectal cancer that has spread, the US audience is lapping up media coverage of Farrah, including her own first-person account of what she's going through. Which raises some questions ...
Can the public delve deep enough into an ill celebrity's personal life or is it never enough? Was it fair for Farrah to criticize photographers for snapping pix of her in a wheelchair at the airport upon returning from Germany for treatment if she produced a national broadcast with similar images airing just weeks later? Where is the money from Farrah's Story going? And most significantly ... Is death the new reality show???
X17online reached out to the co-producer of Farrah's Story, Chris Nevius, and got some answers. Click through to read the Q & A ...
X17online: Jade Goody, in England, was very public about allowing cameras into her life just before her death so that she could make money for her two sons’ trust fund. Will Farrah give her money to Redmond?
Nevius: It is not my place to comment or even know about those matters. And even if it were my place, I wouldn't address those issues because Farrah is alive. The hope that she will rally is what motivates everything I say and do with respect to her. I have to operate under the assumption that I still work for (and with) her. I remain accountable to her today as if she is 100% healthy and will be calling me up with questions or new ideas. I can't and won't speak about her in the past tense. Because she is not in the past tense.
X17online: Do you think it’s hypocritical of Farrah to be upset with paparazzi taking her picture at LAX when she was in a wheelchair but then allowing cameras to film her sick in bed?
Nevius: No, I don't think it's hypocritical for three reasons:
1) It's her illness and her decision as to when, how and if she wants to share her condition with the public.
2) Farrah coming or going through LAX is really the same as her coming or going to a doctor's appointment (it just so happens that her doctors are in Germany). And she should be allowed, as we all should, to go see her doctors in private without being hassled or having to sneak in and out through alternate entrances and back doors (in spite of the fact that she is a celebrity).
3) If by "sick bed" you're referring to that scene in the documentary with Redmond in chains, I'm not sure whether Farrah actually "allowed" that at all (it didn't seem to me that she was aware of either her son or the camera). But I cannot say this for an absolute certainty as I was not present and did not know that scene had even been filmed until about 10 days ago.
X17online: Was she really upset about how she appeared in those wheelchair photos (which were NOT taken by X17 nor published on X17online.com, by the way), or was she just worried it would ruin her ‘exclusive’ - her own documentary’s look at her in the same situation?
Nevius: It is never about an "exclusive" for Farrah when it comes to cancer. And it is not about vanity (that tends to go out the window when dealing with this disease). She has just never approved of these kind of pictures in general because they invasive and easily misinterpreted in that they can end up running in a tabloid and potentially giving the appearance of credibility to false stories that might run along side it (like being comatose or crippled etc). But even more so, as I said before, Farrah would just like to be able to come and go to the doctor (or home from the doctors in Germany via the airport) without stress and hassle, not to mention in private. If she later decides to give that privacy up in her project or for any other reason, then that too is her right.
> The Academy Finally Apologizes For Farrah Snub - Mar 10, 2010
> Farrah Fawcett Snubbed By Oscars' In Memoriam - Mar 08, 2010
> Farrah Leaves $6 Million To Druggie Son, Ryan Gets Nothing - Jul 28, 2009
> Farrah's Friends And Family Say Their Final Farewell - Jul 01, 2009
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