Queen of stark prose, noted snappy dresser, and Margot Tenenbaum haircut possessor Joan Didion might be getting a new title: DOCUMENTARY SUBJECT. But in true cold, Didion style, it looks like Didion’s story will be told in the uncritical, “Authorized Biography” style. The news came out yesterday at, appropriately, Vogue, where Didion started her career in journalism. It’s going to be called “We Tell Ourselves Stories in Order to Live,” because, OF COURSE:
“We tell ourselves stories in order to live” is one of Joan Didion’s most resonant lines and it is now also the name of a documentary in progress about her life. The movie is being made by her nephew, Griffin Dunne, the longtime actor and filmmaker, together with the documentarian Susanne Rostock.
That’s right. Joan Didion’s nephew is making a documentary about her. Joan Didion’s nephew, whose recent directorial credits include a few episodes of The Good Wife. People like that show, right? And regardless of who she’s talking to, Joan Didion is always a fascinating lady. There’s a Kickstarter here, if you care, although I have a hard time imagining that the child of Dominick Dunne needs much help with funding.