"American Masters — Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You" Premieres 10/25, on DVD/BD Same Day

First Documentary About Legendary Showrunner, American Masters -- Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You, Premieres Nationwide Tuesday, October 25 on PBS Available same day on Blu-ray, DVD via PBS Distribution

Features Norman Lear, George Clooney, Jon Stewart, Amy Poehler, Mel Brooks, Lena Dunham, Carl and Rob Reiner, Russell Simmons and others.  Largely responsible for the explosion of bold American television in the 1970s, writer/producer Norman Lear's name is synonymous with the sitcom. The first documentary about the 94-year-old television legend, American Masters — Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You, premieres nationwide Tuesday, October 25 at 9 pm on PBS (check local listings). PBS Distribution will release the film on Blu-ray, DVD
the same day with additional bonus features.

With unprecedented access to Lear, his work and his massive personal archives, American Masters — Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You combines stories from his turbulent childhood and early career with his groundbreaking TV success (All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Good Times, Maude) and social activism. The documentary also features colorful stories from Lear's family, friends and collaborators, including John Amos, George Clooney, Alan Horn, Bill Moyers, Rob Reiner, Phil Rosenthal and Russell Simmons, as well as cinéma vérité moments with Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Jon Stewart, Amy Poehler and Lena Dunham Breaking down the fourth wall to create an evocative collage where past and present intermingle, Academy Award-nominated filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (Jesus Camp, 12^th & Delaware, DETROPIA for Independent Lens) reveal a psychologically rich man whose extraordinary contributions emerge from both his personal story and his own self-professed childlike view of the world. Just Another Version of You traces how a poor Jewish kid from Connecticut started writing for The Colgate Comedy Hour with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, created All in the Family and became one of TV's most successful showrunners. All character-driven, with theatrical sets and live audiences, Lear's TV series changed not only the face of national television but the content of national discourse. Bringing provocative subjects like war, poverty and prejudice to 120 million viewers every week, Lear proved that social change was possible through an unlikely prism – laughter – and created some of the greatest moments in television history.
 

"AMERICAN MASTERS: NORMAN LEAR: JUST ANOTHER VERSION OF YOU" Out on DVD/BD October 25

PBS Distribution announced today it is releasing “AMERICAN MASTERS: NORMAN LEAR: JUST ANOTHER VERSION OF YOU,” the first documentary about the 94-year-old television legend, on DVD and Blu-ray. Largely responsible for the explosion of bold American television in the 1970s, writer/producer Norman Lear’s name is synonymous with the sitcom. 

With unprecedented access to Lear, his work and his massive personal archives, “NORMAN LEAR: JUST ANOTHER VERSION OF YOU” combines stories from his turbulent childhood and early career with his groundbreaking TV success (All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Good Times, Maude) and social activism. The documentary also features colorful stories from Lear’s family, friends and collaborators, including John Amos, George Clooney, Alan Horn, Bill Moyers, Rob Reiner, Phil Rosenthal and Russell Simmons, as well as cinéma vérité moments with Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Jon Stewart, Amy Poehler and Lena Dunham.

“AMERICAN MASTERS: NORMAN LEAR: JUST ANOTHER VERSION OF YOU” will be available on DVD and Blu-ray October 25, 2016. The run time of this program is approximately 90 minutes. The DVD SRP is $24.99 and the Blu-ray SRP is $29.99. The DVD and Blu-ray include over 12 minutes of bonus features. The program will also be available for digital download.

Breaking down the fourth wall to create an evocative collage where past and present intermingle, Academy Award-nominated filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (Jesus Camp, 12th & Delaware, DETROPIA for Independent Lens) reveal a psychologically rich man whose extraordinary contributions emerge from both his personal story and his own self-professed childlike view of the world. The documentary traces how a poor Jewish kid from Connecticut started writing for The Colgate Comedy Hour with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, created All in the Family and became one of TV’s most successful showrunners. All character-driven, with theatrical sets and live audiences, Lear’s TV series changed not only the face of national television but the content of national discourse. Bringing provocative subjects like war, poverty and prejudice to 120 million viewers every week, Lear proved that social change was possible through an unlikely prism – laughter – and created some of the greatest moments in television history.

WNET Announces American Masters Pictures

Recently, at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, WNET, parent company of New York's public television stations THIRTEEN and WLIW21 and operator of NJTV, announced the launch of its first theatrical imprint, American Masters Pictures, for documentaries co-produced by the American Masters series, executive produced by Michael Kantor.

The first three films under the banner have their world premieres at Sundance: Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady's Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You (Day One), Louis Black and Karen Bernstein's Richard Linklater – Dream is Destiny (January 26) and Bob Hercules and Rita Coburn Whack's Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise (January 26). The three documentaries will have their exclusive U.S. broadcast premieres on PBS as part of the American Masters series with Lear and Angelou slated for fall 2016 . Cinetic Media negotiated the deal on behalf of the Linklater filmmakers.  No word on DVD or Blu-ray releases.

"When Michael approached me with the idea for American Masters Pictures, I thought it was a natural progression for the series, which has always worked with independent filmmakers," said Stephen Segaller, vice president of programming at WNET. "Our commitment to the independent film community is real and we want it to continue to thrive."