A new docuseries “Magic City: An American Fantasy” directed by Canadian rapper Drake recently debuted at SXSW to an excited crowd at the legendary strip club in Atlanta, GA, Magic City, which the project is named for and focused on.
In spite of the affirming reception, the series does not yet have a distributor or platform, according to Variety. After the premiere of the first episode in the three-part documentary, producer Cole Brown and director Charles Todd asked the audience, “Was there anything too explicit to put in the documentary?”
“We wanted to walk a fine line with nudity, in particular — where you can’t make a documentary about a strip club and not have any nudity, it just isn’t true to form — and you’re trying to tell the true story,” says Brown. “At the same time, we didn’t want it to be salacious, gratuitous. We wanted to use it in such a way that you’re getting an image of what this place is. But if you go to Magic City, you see all the anatomy.”
“You can’t make a documentary about a strip club and not have any nudity, it just isn’t true to form.”
– Cole Brown, producer of “Magic City: An American Fantasy”
As the log line for the “Magic City” doc introduces: “In 1985, phone salesman Michael Barney — friends call him Mr. Magic — puts his slick-talking gift to work, opening a small strip club in Atlanta. He plays DJ, bartender and bouncer while his only dancer separates men from their money. But soon, the celebrities arrive. Athletes from Michael Jordan to Shaq clamber to the club, DC The Brain Supreme mints an iconic hit record from the DJ booth and Outkast tests songs by watching the girls dance. Within a few years, Magic City would become the most famous strip club in Atlanta, and soon, the world. But when Mr. Magic gets sent away to federal prison, the empire he’s built may crumble.”
Gigi Maguire, who is one of the subjects in the doc, backed up Brown’s point about “not being salacious and not being vulgar” with a story about why she decided to appear nude for the “Magic City” doc, despite having left that chapter of her life behind.
“I am 12 years retired from Magic City, but y’all all just seen my titties,” says Maguire. “And during that day when we were doing our studio filming, I had no idea that they were going to request this. And I remember them coming to me like, listen, we have this scene and we don’t know how you’re gonna feel, but here’s the vision. And I’m like, ‘Y’all want to see my titties? OK!’”
“I remember them coming to me like, listen, we have this scene and we don’t know how you’re gonna feel, but here’s the vision. And I’m like, ‘Y’all want to see my titties? OK!’”
– Gigi Maguire, dancer in “Magic City: An American Fantasy”
In explanation, she continues: “I did not feel in any way that it was done in a sexual context. I understood the vision of the artistic value of what they were trying to achieve and I had no problem with agreeing to show these titties. Strip is art, and the art is being celebrated, clearly.”
“Strip is art, and the art is being celebrated, clearly.”
– Gigi Maguire, dancer in “Magic City: An American Fantasy”
In addition to producing the project, Drake is also featured in the documentary to share his experiences from Magic City alongside rapper and athlete celebrities, such as Shaquille O’Neal, Killer Mike, T.I., Nelly and Big Boi.
Additional executive producers for the doc include Bayan Joonam, Brown, Gertz, Dupri, Adel “Future” Nur, Peter Nelson, Devin Chanda and Alex Kaplan.
Read the original story on Variety.
Featured photo from Flickr.
