The documentary Catfish may not have stirred up the zeitgeist that everybody expected, despite critical acclaim and a massively overdone publicity campaign. But the film, which made my own Top Ten Films of 2010 list, was still a fascinating look at the gap between public personas and, you know, fact in the internet age, whether or not it was real. And yes, that’s a real question: the film is so perfectly structured that many, including Morgan Spurlock and Zach Galifianakis, think it’s a complete crock. Filmmakers Ariel Shulman and Henry Joost insist that Catfish was 100% real, a claim that might be tested with their next film, Paranormal Activity 3.
Oh yes, there’s going to be a Paranormal Activity 3. Try to restrain your enthusiasm, or at least bask in your own ambivalence.
Schulman and Joost are directing the narrative feature (likely in a pseudo-documentary format, like the other films in the franchise) from a script by Christopher B. Landon, who previously contributed screenplays to both Paranormal Activity 2 and Disturbia. The question is: if Catfish was real, can these two filmmakers make lightning strike without the benefit of happenstance? And if Paranormal Activity 3 is a solid film, will it just contribute to the argument that the filmmakers are fully capable of faking their first movie?
Time will tell. Thanks to Bloody Disgusting for the story.
Crave Online will be back with more Paranormal Activity 3 news after we finish doing the dishes, taking out the trash, making our beds… You know, normal activities.
