"Andre was always up for ridiculous stuff, but on this occasion he surprised Lee: he said no. I was 100% shocked, says Lee today. I actually got jealous because I assumed he must have organised to go with somebody else! But Andre had not made other colonoscopy plans. He just thought it was a crazy idea and for once, he was being sensible."
"Benna was excited. He had worked with Andre, a maverick advertising creative from San Francisco, on numerous projects. We'd go shoot with Ozzy Osbourne, or meet Eminem, or hang out with the guitar technician for the Rolling Stones. And somehow you'd tie that back to, like, Dove soap or something. The next day, on screen, Andre told him: I have cancer and I'll probably be dead in three years. Want to make a film about it?"
Andre Ricciardi declined a joint colonoscopy invitation from his friend Lee at age 50. Eighteen months later, blood in his stools prompted a colonoscopy that revealed stage 4 cancer. Andre and Lee contacted filmmaker Tony Benna and proposed making a documentary about Andre's prognosis and personality. Benna, who had worked with Andre on eccentric advertising shoots, agreed and aimed for a film that blended humor with emotional honesty rather than maudlin sentiment. The film highlights Andre's outrageous behavior, such as buying celebrity leather trousers, his wild appearance, and candid confrontation with mortality amid close friendships.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]