The Table (2011)

When you think of Hollywood you think of celebrities, glitter, glamour and of course, movies and television. It’s a world that appeals to a lot of people and some of them actually try to chase their dreams to make it big. Perseverance is important and even when you get your first big role or your script turned into a movie it isn’t a guarantee that you have secured your spot. It’s a hard world and keeping yourself motivated is a must. The Table is a documentary about a group of talented individuals (some who have made it, others who just started out) who do just that as they meet up every Thursday to help each other out. Director Ana Barredo decided to follow the group for a year and show just how inspiring this talented group of individuals is.

For nearly 20 years this group has been meeting each other every Thursday in various restaurants in L.A. It was started by Marc Zicree, who has a long list of writing credits to his name. He started out in cartoons and wrote stories for a lot of them in the eighties. If you grew up then chances are big that you have seen one of them as he wrote for The Biskitts, Blackstar, He-Man, Smurfs, The Get Along Gang, The Real Ghostbusters and many more. He then made the jump to other type of shows like Star Trek: TNG, Babylon 5 and Sliders. When he noticed that he knew a lot of talented people who didn’t get any chance in Hollywood he decided to start The Table and it’s been going ever since. Together with his wife he organises and hosts it and in those 20 years a lot of well-known people have been part of this group. Director Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy), actor Armin Shimerman (Quark in Deep Space Nine), Producer Chris Wyatt (Napoleon Dynamite) and actor George Takei (Star Trek) all tell about their experiences. The group is open to anyone who wants to visit and everyone gets a chance to speak about what they are doing and if they might need help something. For example there are photographers (some who have worked for National Geographic) that help actors with their head shots and writers that give each other advice. The beautiful thing is that they help each other out without asking for money. It’s all about helping each other out and it’s a concept that works.

I love watching documentaries that show what happens behind the scenes in one of the world’s biggest industries. Documentaries like Tales from the Script, Fantastic Flesh and The Brothers Warner are a joy to watch as they tell the viewer about the history of movies and the hard work that is done to achieve something. The Table can be added to this list as it shows that moving to Hollywood is only the start of your journey and that it takes a lot of luck, knowing the right people (and of course being talented) to get noticed. It shows a lot of interesting people and their stories are fascinating to listen to. Although I have no aspiration to get into movies myself this documentary really makes me want to visit this group if I ever happen to be in L.A, just to get inspired. These types of groups make the world a better place and The Table perfectly captures that.

Score: 7

Trailer:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYS5tevrFZU]