Filmmaker Marshall Curry has turned his lens on The New Yorker for a new Netflix documentary, The New Yorker at 100, which delves into the history and inner workings of the esteemed magazine. Curry, who grew up reading his parents' subscription, spent a year sifting through archives and observing editorial meetings to capture the publication's unique culture.
The film features narration by Julianne Moore and appearances from contributors including Jesse Eisenberg and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. It follows staffers such as editor David Remnick, art editor Françoise Mouly, and war correspondent Jon Lee Anderson as they prepare the centennial issue and pursue stories, from a Syrian prison to a scoop on Trump administration surveillance.
Curry aimed to depict the pressure of deadlines but found the magazine's team operated with a calm self-assurance. 'I wanted to see people running around each other and saying, “We’ve got to get this thing done before the deadline!” But they don’t do that,' he said. This poise, he suggests, has helped The New Yorker remain relevant amid a shrinking print media landscape.
The documentary traces the magazine's evolution from a humorous publication founded by a high school dropout to a serious journalistic force, highlighting landmark pieces like John Hersey's report on Hiroshima and James Baldwin's essays. Curry noted the challenge of interviewing expert reporters, joking that Remnick was wise to his silence trick: 'Marshall, I know this trick, too.'
