GIMME INDEPENDENCE

David and Albert Maysles, the cinema verite film makers (“Salesman,” “Gimme Shelter,” “Grey Gardens”) have been commissioned by the J. Paul Getty Trust to chronicle the next eight years in development of the J. Paul Getty Fine Arts Center. Their footage of the extension of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu, targeted to open in Brentwood in 1991, could be used for one or several films.

Said David Maysles: “Presumably, they are hiring us because of the kind of honest, quality films we make, and because of our ability to mix in with people so we can see how this monstrous project develops from start to finish.” He conceded that when he and his brother have accepted commissions from corporations in the past, they haven’t had final control of the films.

Getty trustees “always have the option of rejecting our work,” he said. “Hopefully, they want us for our independence.”