Who Needs Sleep? (2006): Oscar Winning Haskell Wexler’s Docu about Workaholic Culture (Hollywood on Hollywood per Hollywood)

September 26, 2021 by

Who Needs Sleep? (2006)

Photo: Courtesy of Outpost Studios
Haskell Wexler (1922–2015) is known for many movies he had shot, such as Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975).

He is considered to be one of the  industry’s most influential cinematographers  according to an International Cinematographers Guild survey.

Later in his career Wexler devoted himself to documentary filmmaking.

Dealing with the issues of sleep deprivation and long hours on the job was a passion project for cinematographer Haskell Wexler after the 1997 death of a camera assistant, who fell asleep at the wheel after a 19-hour workday.

The movie examines the specific pressures of working in Hollywood as well as the general trend of work culture in America.

To investigate just how big the workaholic problem is Wexler probes into medical findings, interviews with experts in the field as well personal accounts to build a picture of how 24/7 work culture, not only in Hollywood but all over the U.S.

 

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