Michael J. Fox reflects on Davis Guggenheim documentary pitch

Michael J. Fox was contacted by several filmmakers to tell his story. But he chose Davis Guggenheim's pitch: due to his non-pity approach.

Speaking to the Museum of the Moving Image's 2023 Spring Awards, where he received a Lifetime Achievement Award on Tuesday, June 6, the Back to the Future actor said Guggenheim's pitch drew him in because "everyone else who approached Fox about making a documentary about his life would start "crying" before they got to him.

However, the actor said, "Davis got it – which is that this is my life, and I have so many great things in my life."

"I don't have a weepy, sad life. I have this thing that happened [to me] that really sucks, but put me in a position to do other things that were effective and have perhaps made things better."

Reflecting on his initial meeting with the filmmaker, Fox said, "He said, 'I've been reading your books and I realized, I want what you have.' And I said, 'You know I have Parkinson's?'

Fox-starring documentary Still is available to stream on Apple TV+.