I’d forgotten all about this until I got an e-mail from the site, but the guy that made the Wilco documentary is making a film about the typeface Helvetica, called, of course Helvetica.
Along with the 60s semi-classic Grand Prix, this has shot to the top of my DVD-want list (yes, even though it’s not been released yet) – and you know why. As soon as it goes in the machine, I’ll be watching the film with one finger on the pause button, waiting to see if a once-popular web quiz will make a brief appearance…
And the good thing about making a film about Helvetica is that you have ready made prequels and sequels. There’s a prequel in Helvetica’s forerunner, Akzidenz Grotesk, which I see as a coming-of-age drama set in late 19th century Germany, and Univers, possibly a classy French film about a big family who stays together though thick and thin. Or how about Recta and Mercator, a film about two competitors to Helvetica who had their day in the sun but are now undeservedly forgotten?
(For people who want to know what Recta and Mercator look like, here’s an image and my attempt at a .ttf of Recta. Mercator is a Dutch sans-serif by Dick Doojes that I spotted in a book called Dutch Type and is totally unknown to the internet, apparently.)
