In my position as writer about film, I sometimes get to interview filmmakers and performers about their work. One man I’ve interviewed twice is Errol Morris, an amazing documentarian who alternates between making films about oddballs and films about political issues. Following you’ll find my latest interview with him about the nutty and apolitical new doc, “Tabloid,” followed by my 2008 profile of him for his prior film about the Abu Ghraib photo scandal, 2008’s “Standard Operating Procedure.”

First, the “Tabloid” story:

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Errol Morris may not be as famous as Michael Moore, but he’s had a profound influence on the documentary genre with 14 films over the past 33 years. While Moore places himself front and center as the entertaining and emotional heart of his films, Morris has largely remained off-camera, preferring to allow his compelling subjects to speak for themselves.

It’s Morris’ unique choice of subject matter, which he classifies as being either “oddball” or political,  and the striking visuals with which he surrounds his interview subjects that have made his films cinematic events for connoisseurs. In 2004, he won an Oscar for Best Documentary with his startling profile of former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara in “The Fog of War” and later returned to dead-serious wartime matters by exploring the circumstances behind the Abu Ghraib scandal with his last film, 2009’s “Standard Operating Procedure.” (more…)

**UPDATE** (7:36am PST): New of the World reports, “Mother of Michael Jackson’s children Debbie Rowe confesses he was not their father.”

Saturday night, Brian Oxman, former attorney to Michael Jackson told me that News of the World will report on Sunday that Debbie Rowe made claims just before Michael Jackson’s passing that he was not the father of her children and that she has made similar claims in the past.

Oxman explained that if Rowe has in fact made these claims that she is in violation of a confidentiality clause in an agreement that she signed which stated she would never talk about this issue.

“The contract says she would hold the birth of the children, the lineage, their parenting and how they were taken care of in confidence and not be disclosed in public to anyone,” said Oxman. “That agreement survives the death of Jackson. In other words, she’s still bound to keep all of these things confidential even though he’s passed away.”

Oxman, who handled the custody dispute between Jackson and Rowe said that Rowe has made conflicting statements about the lineage of her children.

“At one point she would say that Michael was the father, the next time she would say he was not the father. The number of contradictory statements coming from her was incomprehensible. I’d say Debbie, tell me straight is he the father and she’d say, yes he’s the father, and the next time she was upset she’d be yelling and screaming, he’s not the father!” (more…)