Behind the Scenes: Shooting The Great Buster — Peter Bogdanovich’s Venice Award-Winning Documentary

[UPDATE — JUNE 2026]

On January 6, 2022, we lost Peter Bogdanovich at the age of 82. The Great Buster would prove to be his final film, which makes working on it feel even more special in hindsight. He was a singular talent and a true scholar of cinema history, and I’m grateful to have spent time in his orbit. This revised post consolidates everything I’ve written about the film over the years into one place.

The film ranks among my proudest achievements even though my cinematography is very simple. Given Buster Keaton and Peter Bogdanovich’s role in the evolution of cinema, taking a more groundbreaking to the visual language could’ve been an interesting approach. That being said, Peter firmly insisted we keep the interviews simple so as to not distract from the profound words of our A-list subjects and the indelible images that Buster crafted, which would occupy a large portion of the film’s runtime.

Who was I to second guess Peter’s instinct?

The film should be required viewing for all filmmakers as it brilliantly illustrates the work of a pioneering director and actor. You can currently stream it for free on Kanopy with an LA County or LA Public Library card, or purchase it on Blu-Ray, DVD, or Amazon streaming.

How It Started

The film’s Co-Producer, Charles V. Bender, recommended me for the job after we collaborated on Natalie Avital’s documentary feature, 3 Hikers, back in 2014. The first step in the hiring process involved meeting the film’s producer, Roee Sharon Peled, at Maru Coffee in Los Feliz on June 7, 2017. We got along swimmingly and I shared several references to help secure the position. As an eastsider, I pass by Maru with relative frequency and it still stirs warm feelings even though I haven’t stepped back inside (I don’t drink coffee).

The most stressful moment came when I biked to Beverly Hills to meet Peter at Brett Ratner’s mansion. It’s not everyday that you’re in the presence of acclaimed filmmakers. Please keep in mind that this meeting took place before widespread allegations against Brett surfaced and I fondly knew him as the Director of Rush Hour. We later conducted an interview with him at the house but it didn’t make the final cut.

As much of a Tom Petty fan that I am (I attended his penultimate concert at the Hollywood Bowl a few months later), Peter is the documentarian who informed us that we needed a four-hour film about the man! Expectations were certainly high for this project in tackling another legend in Buster. I admittedly hadn’t seen much of his Keaton’s work, but sold Peter on my ability to deliver a great image quickly and our meeting wasn’t very long.

The Shoot

After landing the gig, I had to keep the details of such an exciting project secret for more than a year. In the meantime, I perfected what I call the “NDA IG Post.” As it sounds, it’s a way to demonstrate that you’re working on something interesting without actually sharing anything of substance.

We shot our first interview on July 12, 2017 at our primary location: The Pacific Design Center. If you listen to my episode of Jordan Brady’s Respect The Process podcast, it may sound like we shot most of the film exclusively in that theater. While we did spend a good chunk of time at the Silver Screen Theater, what I meant to say is that we searched high and low throughout the building to avoid repeating shots in any room we could access.

The most memorable moments came from visiting the homes and offices of some of our subjects.

Like visiting Mel Brooks in his Culver Studios office. His films have always meant a lot to me and he genuinely tried to make a connection with me as I placed the lav on him. He asked how my parents settled on the name Dustin and I told him it was after a character on the TV show Dallas. He paused, and let out a big knowing guffaw. He cracked a bunch of jokes and created the perfect atmosphere on set. Nobody is more deserving of an EGOT than Mr. Brooks.

Shooting inside of Quentin Tarantino’s personal home theater also meant a lot to me. My parents brought me to see Pulp Fiction in the movie theater around my 13th birthday and it inspired me to want to make films. One would assume that working with all of these legendary filmmakers could lead to some clashes on set. If I remember correctly, Quentin was the only one who had notes on our setup and he requested that we shift our frame to feature a different part of the room. I immediately looked to my boss, Peter, who he deferred to Quentin’s judgement. Rafi Jacobs–who assisted me with camera and lights–and I quickly repositioned the gear to minimize his waiting time.

I’m forever grateful for the opportunity to have worked with such titans of industry. The final interview roster is pretty remarkable and watching Peter guide their interviews are memories that I’ll long cherish. I wish I could report that I had lengthy conversations with Peter, but the reality is that he often came to set as I put the finishing touches on the shot and he didn’t linger afterwards. Sure there were a few lunches together, but I generally find it difficult to bond with my crew within work hours. I’m singularly focused on the tasks at hand. I wish we grabbed a martini together after work like they used to do. Speaking of old Hollywood, I always smile hearing Peter’s silky voice refer to movies as “pictures.”

One of the more awkward set-ups had to be when we jammed Bill Hader into the narrow entrance to the theater. We cruely repeated this on the other side with Jon Watts. My most commendable accomplishment on this project was squeezing so many unique looks within a limited location.

The Gear

One of the selling points I made to Roee to theoretically help land me the job and keep costs down was the fact that I owned all the necessary gear. Around this time, I found myself booking more mulitcam work. The prospect of 10 guaranteed rental days presented me with the perfect excuse to finally pull the trigger on a second FS7 and add a wireless lav to my kit. When shooting with an erratic schedule that sometimes involved last minute shoots, I offered production peace of mind knowing that I could load up my wagon with little advance notice. The additional camera has been a great aid for my subsequent documentary work.

For lighting, I brought two 2′ 4Bank Kino Flo lights and two Aputure Light Storm LS 1c LED 1×1 panels. On this doc, I occasionally rigged the 2′ units next to each other to extend the wrap of the key further and strung a piece of diffusion (usually 251) across them to unite them as essentially one 4′ fixture. I needed to keep my kit contained since we had to move fast and often entered delicate locations.

I primarily used the Canon EF 24-70mm 2.8L II on A camera and the Canon EF 70-200mm 2.8L IS II on B cam. We used a pair of Sony FS7 cameras with the Metabones EF Speed Booster adaptor for a full frame field of view and an extra stop of light. I rate the FS7 at 1600ISO to give a little extra boost to the sensor. There were a fair number of setups that allowed me to use my Canon EF 50mm 1.4 prime, but it heavily depended on the location. Looking at the vast array of lenses that I own now, I wonder how much sexier the image could’ve looked had I employed nicer glass. Unfortunately, I couldn’t realistically upgrade my lenses at the same time that I added a second camera body to my arsenal. The L-series trinity of lenses, which also includes the 16-35mm 2.8 pair really well with the FS7 particularly for docs. I later made my first serious lens investment in February 2018 with a set of Contax Zeiss rehoused primes.

Venice and Telluride Film Festivals

The Great Buster premiered at two of the world’s finest film festivals just 4 days apart in 2018: Venice and Telluride. I had the immense honor of travelling to Italy along with Charles to introduce the film at its world premiere on the second day of the festival in front of 446 people on August 30th. The packed house at Sala Giardino reacted well to the film and we immediately garnered very favorable reviews.

Charles and I fielded a short Q&A following the film. Peter held court on the final day of the 45th Annual Telluride Film Festival in Colorado for our domestic premiere on September 3rd.

On September 8, I got hit by a barrage of messages upon exiting a yoga class. We just won The Venice Classics Award for Best Documentary on Cinema at the closing ceremony of the 75th Biennale di Venezia! The honor is particularly sweet considering the Venice Film Festival was the first film festival in history back in 1932. Unfortunately, nobody from the film remained in Italy long enough to accept the award.

The Festival Run

After Venice and Telluride, Buster played North America’s oldest film festival in Chicago. We also screened at festivals in Deauville, Grand Lyon, Mill Valley, and the 24th Annual Los Angeles Film Festival at the Culver City ArcLight on September 23rd. The Los Angeles screening location is noteworthy because the film that directly lead me to Buster had its premiere there as well!

Deadline ran this story along with a link to our newly released theatrical trailer. The critics published very favorable reviews including The New York Times, New Yorker, and Entertainment Weekly. We are currently 94% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

Theatrical Release and Beyond

The Great Buster enjoyed a limited theatrical run starting on October 5, 2018 at New York’s Quad Cinema (Peter attended select showtimes opening weekend) and October 19th at the Nuart in Los Angeles before expanding further.

The film was subsequently available on American Airlines flights — one of only six docs available to watch for free. I had the pleasure of catching it on two separate flights in the Spring of 2019. I’ve always said that movies are more enjoyable when watched on a plane because you have a captive audience.

Podcasts

While there wasn’t a large press tour involved for the film, Peter sat down with fellow director and DGA Special Projects Documentary Series Subcommittee Chair Chuck Workman to discuss Buster on the DGA Podcast in April 2019 following a Los Angeles screening.

Several years later, I found myself discussing the project in detail when I trekked to the True Gentleman Headquarters in Santa Monica on February 20, 2024 to record an episode of Jordan Brady’s podcast. While I’m pleased with the result, I regret to share that there were a few unintentional factual inaccuracies. Please forgive me for any other brain farts I may have let slip during our 90-minute conversation. Malcolm Gladwell made a wonderful podcast about the failings of memory. After you listen to my episode, I highly recommend you listen to that one from Revisionist History as well.

Where to Watch Today

The film is available on a variety of platforms. Most notably, you can watch it for free on Kanopy with an LA County or Public Library card. A large network of libraries include Kanopy’s services so be sure to check if you’re eligible. Cohen Media Group also uploaded several of Keaton’s classic films to the platform — Steamboat Bill, Jr. (Peter’s favorite), Sherlock Jr., Seven Chances, and Battling Butler. We featured these newly restored 4K transfers in the documentary and they’re absolutely stunning.

The comedy of Buster Keaton is a great way to lift your spirits. I hope you (re)watch some of his work.

Crew

Director / Writer
Peter Bogdanovich

Producers
Peter Bogdanovich
Charles S. Cohen
Roee Sharon Peled
Louise Stratten
Charles V. Bender — Co-Producer
Bill Berg-Hillinger — Co-Producer

Cinematographer
Dustin Pearlman

Editor
Bill Berg-Hillinger

Colorist
Joel Ides

Camera
Rafi Jacobs — Camera Assistant
Carl Alvin Octoman — Camera Assistant (Pick-up Shoot)

Sound
Dan Snow — Sound Supervisor
Alex Weiss — Re-recording Mixer / Sound Editor
David Barnaby — Sound Editor

Hair & Makeup
Melvone Farrell

Music
Chris Robertson — Music Supervisor
Drew DeAscentis — Music Editor

Featuring

Peter Bogdanovich (narrator), Mel Brooks, Quentin Tarantino, Werner Herzog, Dick Van Dyke, Bill Hader, Cybill Shepherd, Johnny Knoxville, Carl Reiner, Nick Kroll, Jon Watts, French Stewart, Richard Lewis, Ben Mankiewicz, Bill Irwin, Norman Lloyd, Paul Dooley, Leonard Maltin, Jim Curtis, James Karen, Patricia Eliot Tobias, and Bob Borgen.