In what could prove to be a new kind of celebrity-citizen journalism, Farrah Fawcett and NBC are promising viewers a behind-closed-doors, video-diary look at the one-time TV star's ongoing battle with cancer.
Using Fawcett's own narration and images shot by her and friend Alana Stewart with Fawcett's video recorder, the documentary will air from 9 to 11 p.m. May 15 under the aegis of NBC News. Fawcett and Stewart are co-producers of the film, titled Farrah's Story.
They have been shooting the story for 2 and 1/2 years, according to the network, and the film will chronicle both Fawcett's personal thoughts and emotions during that time, as well as journeys to medical establishments in Germany and the United States for treatment.
"This film is very personal," Fawcett said. "At the time, I didn't know if anybody would ever see it. But at some point, the footage took on a life of its own and dictated that it be seen."
According to NBC, viewers of the film will also see actor and long-time Fawcett companion Ryan O'Neal offering Fawcett support. O'Neal himself is is battling leukemia. Stewart, Fawcett. Jaclyn Smith, Kate Jackson, Farrah's father Jim Fawcett and her doctors also participate in the documentary. Stewart shot most of the video.
"This is an incredibly intimate and moving story about Farrah's struggle," NBC's Doug Vaughan, senior vice president of specials and alternative development, said in a statement. "Farrah wanted us to see the face of cancer and she wanted to set the record straight regarding her diagnosis, her treatment and her outlook on the future."
The measure of the documentary will be one of honesty. The ultimate question: Does it offer enough truth about Fawcett's personal struggle and the more universal narrative of all people who battle deadly illnesses to distinguish itself from her failed and self-absorbed efforts to chronicle her life previously in a reality TV series.
Either way, this is one video storytelling experiment I am eager to see.
(Above: Associated Press file photo of Farrah Fawcett in 2006 by Rene Macura)
