Yesterday afternoon before the Oscars, I watch one of the documentary nominees, "Exit Through the Gift Shop." I've always has a secret obsession with street art, so it was interesting to see the behind-the-scenes action covered for the first time. While the film profiled several U.S. artists, the main focus was on mystery U.K. artist Banksy. I have loved his work for years and the mystery surrounding him just makes it even more interesting. The movie starts out following the original filmer, Thierry. For a while Thierry is loved by the street artists for his passion and helpfulness. Banksy wants to help Thierry make a film about street art, so he even takes him under his wing. However, when Banksy finally sees Thierry's finished product and realizes this guy is not a film maker and his final output is horrendous. Banksy then recommends maybe Thierry tries his own hand at street art (so Banksy can take over the movie), which quickly spins out of control with Theirry's alter ego, Mr. Brain Wash. I loved all of the interviews with Banksy. He's completely honest with all of his thoughts and feelings. So brilliant! I wonder how Theirry's wife didn't divorce him through all this. I can't believe his art ended up fetching such high prices, although I bet he now has problems finding people to work for him. And I love the final note, that Banksy will never again help with a documentary on street art. The hype surrounding this last night at the Oscar's is that if "Exit Through the Gift Shop" won, Banksy would reveal himself. I kinda doubted he would, but the film lost to "Inside Job," so I guess we'll never know!
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