Synopsis: Both hero and villain, tireless civil rights advocate and purveyor of pornography, the always controversial Larry Flynt is the subject of Joan Brooker-Marks' documentary. Delving beyond Flynt's political career, the film offers an intimate glimpse into the publisher's personal life, including the assassination attempt that left him paralyzed, and his first wife's battle with AIDS. Ultimately, Brooker-Marks delivers the full, unvarnished story of one of America's most unlikely defenders of civil liberties.

IDA: How did you get started in documentary filmmaking?

Joan Brooker-Marks: I have always had a passion for documentaries, and was given the opportunity to follow four elderly women who played mah-jongg every Thursday afternoon. It seemed the perfect "first" film in that it was intimate, in New York, where I live, and thus not too expensive. Fortunately, it was well received and I was given a tremendous amount of encouragement to continue on.

IDA: What inspired you to make Larry Flynt: The Right to be Left Alone?

JBM: I strongly believe that the First Amendment is unequivocal, and as unpleasant as that can be sometimes, I think it is absolutely vital for a healthy democracy. I also felt that Larry had contributed more to the preservation of free speech than any single individual in the last three decades. I was also aware that many people often devalued these contributions because he was (and is) a pornographer. But in fact, none of us is any one thing, and that includes Larry Flynt. He has led a layered and complex life—perhaps outside of the margins that many people consider "normal," but I don't feel that his chosen profession minimizes what he's done for his country, nor does it make him any less a patriot.

IDA: What were some of the challenges and obstacles in making this film, and how did you overcome them?

JBM: The traveling was difficult because I brought my crew and equipment to Los Angeles from New York. I think we made some 20 trips to the West Coast in under a year, and air travel is not particularly easy these days. But the most daunting issue I faced in making the film was dealing with the archival material. I had no idea what I was getting into, and the process of ordering screeners and subsequently licensing footage was completely overwhelming. I think we have almost 250 archival clips, and managing and organizing the material was a Herculean task. I was also fearful about getting licensing approval because the subject matter was Larry Flynt. I wasn't at all sure how the major networks would respond. But we were very fortunate and were helped tremendously by both CBS and NBC, as well as others, who very patiently guided me through the process. The cost was also prohibitive and I wasn't prepared for that, but we managed to muddle through. Never again, however.

IDA: How did your vision for the film change over the course of the pre-production, production and post-production processes?

JBM: Larry often speaks to college audiences, and we thought we would shape the film around one of his trips and his interaction with students. However, the more time I spent with him, the more expansive the possibilities became, and so the film reinvented and redefined itself, combining both the past and present, culminating in what we believe is a more in-depth study—a mosaic of Larry Flynt, the man. This presented tremendous challenges in the editing process because there was no inherent beginning, middle and end. Creating the film's architecture, maintaining its integrity and keeping it interesting was a very difficult and delicate process. I was fortunate to be working with an amazing and very gifted editor.

IDA: As you've screened Larry Flynt: The Right to be Left Alone—whether on the festival circuit, or in screening rooms, or in living rooms—how have audiences reacted to the film? What has been most surprising or unexpected about their reactions?

JBM: The most consistent reaction to the film is that people come away re-informed about Larry Flynt. Many people say they see him in a different light. Most amazing is the response from younger men and women; to them Larry is an icon and a true American hero; that continues to astound me. Of course at every screening we have our detractors, people who despise Larry so much they consider the film anathema and believe that it has no right to be shown, much less made. As a director, it's not a pleasant thing to be confronted with, and as a woman, I've been accused of the worst kind of treachery with respect to women's rights. I don't see it that way, but it comes with the territory...that territory being Larry Flynt.