Up! (No, Not That One)

Last week we lamented the death of Michael Apted, who made the iconic Up documentary series in Britain. Now that he's gone, the participants are thinking about continuing without him:

Now, in addition to the 11 remaining participants — one regular, Suzy Lusk, opted out last time and another, Lynn Johnson, died — Apted’s longtime collaborators are also pondering the fate of a project that has spanned their professional lives.

Claire Lewis, who started as a researcher on “28 Up” and later became a lead producer, said that Apted had always been “very proprietorial” about the series. But she recalled that on the press tour for “63 Up,” as it became clear that the director was becoming more frail and forgetful, he told a Q. and A. audience, “I suppose she could do it,” gesturing to Lewis.

“I could carry it on,” Lewis said, adding that it would come down to the subjects’ assent and the health of the crew. The cameraman, George Jesse Turner, and sound engineer, Nick Steer, have been with the program since “21 Up,” from 1977; the editor, Kim Horton, joined for “28 Up.”

I'd like to see them continue, although is it too cynical to wonder if they're thinking that Apted's death will be the publicity they need to kick this one up a notch for more ca$$$$h? Just like when Harper Lee's lawyers insisting that the turd they squeezed out of her on her deathbed, Go Set a Watchman, would "make a great film!" grrrrrrr.