The Director's Idea

Chapter 22

Mary Harron: Celebrity and Banality

Introduction

Mary Harron has directed interesting series television such as “L Word” and “Homicide,” and she is now completing her third feature film. Unlike the other case studies in this book, she has only two feature film credits at the writing of this book, yet I feel that her films are so distinctive that I am concluding the book with an examination of her work in those two films because her director’s idea is so compelling. Mary Harron’s directors idea is to link celebrity and banality. I will discuss those two films, “I Shot Andy Warhol” (1995) and “American Psycho” (2000) shortly.

First, an explanation about celebrity and banality, her director’s idea. Other filmmakers have made films about ...