Let’s be honest; those of us who knew ex-Twin Cities Reader editor and current New York Times media writer David Carr knew he was cinematic even then. But we figured it would be one of his books or screenplays getting made, not a documentary in which he stars.

We’re on the cusp of “Page One: A Year Inside the New York Times,” which was originally supposed to have Carr as the sole focus, but somehow got stretched out beyond his supernova. Monday’s Daily Beast features an entertaining preview. The trailer (above; alternate link here) doesn’t do justice to Carr’s Pacino-like saltiness; Beast writer Nicole LaPorte does a better job of capturing it:

When one of Vice Magazine’s young Gonzo executives tells Carr that Vice has been reporting on the lack of toilets in Liberia (resulting in humans defecating on the beach), but the Times wants to write about “surfing,” Carr shoots back: “Just because you put on a fucking safari hat and looked at poop doesn’t give you the right” to attack the paper of record. …

Later in the interview, Carr blasts: “I don’t do corporate portraiture. What the fuck is going on with your partnership with CNN?”

“My daughter, when she saw (the film), she said, ‘You look like a thug,’” Carr told The Daily Beast at a dinner on Main Street following the premiere.

Leaning back in his chair, a striped woolen scarf thrown cavalierly around his neck, Carr frowned. “I don’t like how mean I am in the movie.”

As his memoir, “Night of the Gun” convincingly illustrates, Carr can do a pretty good hard guy when he wants; my guess is there’s a bit more pleasure in the performance, whatever the regrets.

Magnolia Pictures and Participant Media have purchased the rights and it’s expected to be released later this year.

[Hat tip: Romenesko.]