Last August I was out in Archer City, watching a literary icon selling off the majority of his massive antiquarian book collection. I have some history out there, so I really wanted to be present for the auction, and to see the town transform the way Larry McMurtry had always hoped. (You can read my take here.) There were more people than I’ve ever seen in Archer City, including several individuals running around with cameras and microphones.
A year later, we have “Books: A Documentary.” Well, we sort of have it. You can see the preview above. There was a Kickstarter campaign for the film that raised more than $20,000, but unfortunately the all-or-nothing campaign was trying for $50,000–which means the filmmakers got nothing. There is now a second Kickstarter campaign, with a more modest (and already achieved) goal of $10,000. Some of the gifts for contributors include a personalized autographed hardcover edition of Lonesome Dove, a signed copy of “Brokeback Mountain: Story to Screenplay,” a sampling of books from what remains of McMurtry’s collection, and a personalized typed “Thank You” letter from McMurtry himself.
