the Eyes of Scott Robbins | About the Film

THE EYES OF SCOTT ROBBINS is a full-length fakeumentary about a man diagnosed with cancer and given six months to live. The film's production went to tremendous lengths to present a true-to-life story about a disease that affects more than 29,000 people every year.

Filmmaker Jason Smith set out to tell more than just another sad story. Having lost relatives to both breast cancer and lung cancer, Smith wanted to give viewers a realistic, first-person account of what it is like to go through cancer treatment as a patient. He spent five years meeting with more than 60 cancer patients, survivors, doctors, caregivers and family members, weaving their experiences into the screenplay that would become "The Eyes of Scott Robbins."

Actor Kenneth Alan Williams ("ER," "Will & Grace") portrays the title character, a 35-year-old documentary television producer whose life is suddenly derailed by a cancer diagnosis. The level of realism required by the role of Scott Robbins was more than just an acting challenge – it was a physical one as well. Cancer and cancer treatment exact an all too familiar toll on a body, and Williams aimed to match it. When his character went through intense radiation treatments, Williams knew a bald wig wouldn't hold up to scrutiny and opted instead to shave his head. He also began a strict diet for the shoot, essentially starving himself to depict the weight loss of a cancer patient.

Smith filmed "The Eyes of Scott Robbins" entirely on location. With the help of Producer Ross Kaiman, he centered the production at the Loma Linda University Medical Center. The cast and crew were given unprecedented access to treatment centers and medical facilities that had never before been seen by cameras, including the sanctity of the surgical recovery area, which had, up to this point, refused video access. Actors filmed alongside real-life patients. Doctors and nurses regularly became part of the film.

Several scenes were filmed documentary style, with working doctors and nurses who were asked to ignore the cameras and treat Williams exactly as though he were an actual cancer patient. They answered his questions and mimicked procedures as if they were doing the real thing. They put Williams in X-ray and CT scan machines, prepped him for radiation, and gave him a real MRI.

The filmmakers employed groundbreaking technologies to create the film’s unique “perspective.” When the main character is diagnosed with cancer, his friend attaches a tiny mini-camera to the side of his glasses, so that he can film the experience himself. Much of the movie is shown from this point-of-view, seen literally through the Eyes of Scott Robbins. This never-before-attempted process came with a whole new set of technical difficulties, but star Kenneth Williams rose to the challenge of being and "actor/cameraman."

Emotional and uplifting, "The Eyes of Scott Robbins" is also peppered with educative moments that clarify complex processes like chemotherapy and radiation. The lead character is a workaholic who produces cable TV specials for "The Past Channel," so in his desperation to make sense of his treatment, he uses documentary techniques and clips from his old shows to demonstrate confusing concepts. The spread of cancer through the body is compared to dandelion seeds carried on the wind. Chemotherapy's gruesome assault on the system is explained using scenes from a "Scottish War" reenactment special.

"The Eyes of Scott Robbins" is the stirring, funny, humanizing and ultimately inspiring story of a man who finds meaning in his last days. It is a rare film that realistically depicts the impact of cancer, a too-little discussed disease that impacts us all. And it's a story of laughter, heart, and the fiercely personal impulse to record, remember -- and really live -- life in the face of death.