Directed by Marshall Curry (an Oscar-winning shorts filmmaker) and narrated by Julianne Moore, The New Yorker at 100 tells the fairly straightforward but no less interesting tale of both the current staff of the illustrious magazine spending months putting together its 100th anniversary issue as well as the history of the publication, including the turning-point moments, stories and writers who elevated the magazine from an extension of the Algonquin Round Table to one of the most esteemed journalistic and fiction outlets ever created.
Giving the filmmaker unprecedented access to its newsroom (under the current editorship of David Remnick), we’re given a rare look at what it takes to put together an issue every week, from pitch meetings to the legendary fact-checking process to the last looks at the galleys before printing begins. For anyone obsessed with detail-oriented work and the meticulous procedure that goes into producing any great work (hand goes up), this film is a dream. We see how the cartoons are narrowed down from thousands of submissions per week to actually paying for only 10 to 20 per issue. We’re given interviews with a parade of writers who regularly write for the publication, while also getting to know the invaluable work the long-time office manager does in maintaining The New Yorker’s archives.
Director Curry also dives into the long history of the magazine and discusses particular seismic shifts in its reputation as it published pieces that no other news outlet would ever spend the time or resources to cover (the story about the true after-effects of the World War II-ending atomic bombs in Japan is devastating and shocking). The documentary also provides commentary from a host of familiar faces who are just fans of the magazine and explain how they read it religiously—some even swear to read it cover to cover every week, which is of course, impossible.
But the most captivating portions of the film are just watching the highly refined process of piecing together each issue and how Remnick takes the time to oversee every element in what appears to be a even-tempered manner, despite the constant deadlines and time constraints. It’s almost impossible not to get sucked in. I’ve had two roommates in my lifetime whom, while I would not consider them hoarders, nevertheless had stacks of The New Yorker almost to the ceiling because they wanted to read every word in every issue and refused to get rid of them until they had. This film helps me understand why those two are not unique in the world.
The film is now streaming on Netflix.
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