Documentarian Frederick Wiseman Insists He Is Not ‘A Fly On The Wall’

“It’s an insulting term. Most flies I know aren’t conscious at all, and I like to think I’m at least 2% conscious. … I come across this thing as a matter of chance, and maybe occasionally good judgment. I take the risk of shooting it because I think it might be interesting – then my job as an editor is to decide what it is saying, whether I want to use it, in what form, and where I’m going to place it.”