From the time of its birth, the baby boomer generation (1946-1964) has significantly and uniquely changed our world. 2014 marks an important shift in American culture, as the last boomers turn 50. AMERICAN MASTERS "The Boomer List," premiering nationwide Tuesday, September 23, 2014 on PBS, tells the story of this influential generation through the lives of 19 iconic boomers—one born each year of the baby boom: 1946 - Tim O’Brien, Vietnam vet / author; 1947 - Deepak Chopra, M.D., New Age guru; 1948 - Samuel L. Jackson, actor; 1949 - Billy Joel, singer-songwriter; 1950 - Steve Wozniak, co-founder, Apple Computer; 1951 - Tommy Hilfiger, fashion designer; 1952 - Amy Tan, author; 1953 - Eve Ensler, playwright; 1954 - Julieanna Richardson, founder, The HistoryMakers; 1955 - Maria Shriver, journalist; 1956 - Kim Cattrall, actor; 1957 - Virginia Rometty, CEO, IBM; 1958 - Ellen Ochoa, Director, Johnson Space Center; 1959 - Ronnie Lott, athlete; 1960 - Erin Brockovich, environmentalist; 1961 - Peter Staley, AIDS activist; 1962 - Rosie O’Donnell, entertainer; 1963 - David LaChapelle, artist; and 1964 - John Leguizamo, actor.
Quiz: Have You Met the Boomer Generation?
What is the baby boomer generation? Who are they? "The Boomer List" tells the story of this influential generation through the lives of 19 iconic baby boomers. Take this quiz to find out how much you know about some of the boomers featured in the film!
Intimate interviews by filmmaker/photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders ("The Black List," "The Latino List," "The Out List") focus on these individuals’ exceptional achievements, struggles and identities, sharing the experiences of these extraordinary Americans and the history they lived through and often created. Subjects illuminate the key movements and changes that shaped the world during the baby boom years, discussing the environment; arts and entertainment; science; civil, LGBT and women’s rights; law; politics; public service; sports; the military; technology and media.
“When I learned about this year’s boomer milestone, I came up with the idea for 'The Boomer List,'” says Greenfield-Sanders, whose past films include "About Face: Supermodels Then and Now" and AMERICAN MASTERS "Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Heart." “The film captures the boomer generation’s dynamic spirit through 19 distinct ‘American Masters’ who had a profound effect on our world.”
“'The Boomer List' is a celebration of this generation’s impact on American culture. It is impossible to encapsulate in just a few words, but thanks to the talent both on camera and behind the lens, this remarkable film offers an incredible chorus of voices that somehow captures the zeitgeist of this era,” says Michael Kantor, executive producer of AMERICAN MASTERS.
A DVD will be released via Perfect Day Films, and Greenfield-Sanders’ 19 large-scale master portraits of the film’s subjects will be featured in a companion coffee table book (Luxury Press), both available October 1, 2014. His portraits will also be part of an exhibition at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. “The Boomer List: Photographs by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders” opens September 26, 2014, and will be on display through July 5, 2015.
"The Boomer List" is a production of Another Perfect Day in association with THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC’S AMERICAN MASTERS for WNET. Timothy Greenfield-Sanders is director. Music by Neal Evans. Charlie Watt Smith is editor. Graham Willoughby is director of photography. Betsy Berg, Ingrid Duran, Michael Kantor, Susan Lacy, Catherine Pino and Michael Slap Sloane are executive producers. Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, Tommy Walker and Chad Thompson are producers. For AMERICAN MASTERS: Junko Tsunashima is supervising producer, Julie Sacks is series producer and Michael Kantor is executive producer.
The Boomer List - Trailer
"The baby boomer generation (1946-1964) has significantly and uniquely changed our world. 2014 marks an important shift in American culture
The Powerful Memory of Music
"Serving in Vietnam and the music of the era are inextricably linked for veteran and author Tim O'Brien (b. 1946). "One of my most powerful memories of Vietnam has nothing to do with bullets and firefights
Steve Wozniak: Why He Built His First Computer
"Steve Wozniak (b. 1950) co-founder
Erin Brockovich Is Not Waiting for Superman
"Though Erin Brockovich herself is a famous advocate
John Leguizamo on Being a Latino Actor
""Every audition I would go to
Julieanna Richardson on Sexism and Racism
"In this outtake
David LaChapelle on Being Gay in 1970s and 1980s
"Artist David LaChapelle (b. 1963) was bullied for being gay
Eve Ensler on Women and Their Bodies
""So much of patriarchy and capitalism has been about taking women in particular out of their bodies
Maria Shriver: Know Your Own Power
"Journalist Maria Shriver (b. 1955) relays a conversation she had with her accomplished mother
Filmmaker Interview with Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
"American Masters: The Boomer List is the latest in Timothy Greenfield-Sanders' "list series" which he calls his "portraiture come to life." Premiering Tues.
