In 1982, when Rob Weide was 23, he was obsessed with two things: Kurt Vonnegut and making a movie. He decided to merge the interests. Weide wrote a fan letter to his idol and proposed making a documentary about the literary giant. For some reason, Vonnegut said yes. Weide started shooting the film in 1988—he joined Vonnegut for his 60th high school reunion in Indianapolis; spent dozens of intimate afternoons at his home in Buffalo, New York; and went on the press tour for his final novel, Timequake. Out of this footage came a friendship, but not a film. Now, 33 years after the first recording and 14 years after the author’s death, Weide has finally finished the project. The documentary looks not only at the literary figure, but at the relationship between filmmaker and film subject. It’s a two-in-one: a straightforward documentary of Vonnegut’s life, directed by Weide, and a documentary about Weide trying to turn the footage into a film, directed by Don Aargott. —J.D.