Daniel makes stuff, and, in his spare time, writes about things like movies, kid culture, and geek stuff.
"Waiting For Superman"

The Hollywood Reporter interviews Bill Gates and David Guggenheim at Sundance, discussing with them their work in the new Guggenheim-directed documentary about education, called “Waiting For Superman”:

Gates, 54, sees [his participation in the documentary] as a way to teach Americans just how far the U.S. system has fallen and how to redeem it.

“There aren’t many movies about education, and it’s a complex problem to explain. So Davis, by taking some students and letting you get to them and their desire to go to a good high school, makes it really emotional, and that’s what only a great storyteller can do.”

Guggenheim focuses on everyday students who want a better education but can’t seem to get it. He talks to experts like Gates and Geoffrey Canada, chief executive of community organization Harlem Children’s Zone, and challenges the roles of administrators, teachers’ unions and others directly involved in U.S. education.

“This movie is a controversial movie because it deals with some uncomfortable truths about public schools. It doesn’t pull any punches … and it attacks even some of the progressive ideas,” Guggenheim told Reuters.

Can’t wait to watch it. It looks very much like it will be the U.S.-based sibling to Lord David Puttnam’s excellent U.K.-focused “We Are The People We’ve Been Waiting For” documentary.

Jan 24, 2010 :: Tagged under: , , , :: #