The team behind the original 1999 film The Blair Witch Project didn’t know about the plan for a new movie in the horror franchise until it was announced during Lionsgate’s CinemaCon presentation last week. But the filmmakers’ frustrations over their lack of involvement in the future of the series has been building for years.
“It’s bittersweet, honestly,” Ben Rock, production designer on the 1999 found-footage hit, tells The Hollywood Reporter about the planned reboot. He notes that no one from his film, including co-directors Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, was involved in any significant way in the 2000 sequel, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, or the 2016 follow-up. Rock hopes this will change for the current project that is in the works from Lionsgate and Blumhouse, but so far, no one from the 1999 movie had been contacted or given a chance to pitch, he says.
“I do think that what...
“It’s bittersweet, honestly,” Ben Rock, production designer on the 1999 found-footage hit, tells The Hollywood Reporter about the planned reboot. He notes that no one from his film, including co-directors Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, was involved in any significant way in the 2000 sequel, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, or the 2016 follow-up. Rock hopes this will change for the current project that is in the works from Lionsgate and Blumhouse, but so far, no one from the 1999 movie had been contacted or given a chance to pitch, he says.
“I do think that what...
- 4/15/2024
- by Ryan Gajewski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The breadth of Netflix’s catalog of true-crime docuseries is deep and wide, with truly something for everyone—or at least some type of murder for everyone. The best documentaries reveal the truth about more than just their primary subjects, and the 20 true-crime series here expose the rot at the core of many of our venerated institutions.
These shows shine a light on our flawed jury and appeals processes, with a recurring theme of corruption highlighted in patterns of forced confessions, police negligence, and prosecutors withholding exculpatory evidence. Of course, while all of them attempt to locate some semblance of “the truth,” not all of them provide a truly complete or objective picture. But that doesn’t make them any less compelling or, in some cases, downright infuriating.
Editor’s Note: This entry was originally published on September 28, 2021.
20. The Pharmacist
What starts out as a familiar true-crime tale about a...
These shows shine a light on our flawed jury and appeals processes, with a recurring theme of corruption highlighted in patterns of forced confessions, police negligence, and prosecutors withholding exculpatory evidence. Of course, while all of them attempt to locate some semblance of “the truth,” not all of them provide a truly complete or objective picture. But that doesn’t make them any less compelling or, in some cases, downright infuriating.
Editor’s Note: This entry was originally published on September 28, 2021.
20. The Pharmacist
What starts out as a familiar true-crime tale about a...
- 4/15/2024
- by Sal Cinquemani
- Slant Magazine
In professional wrestling, the concept of “Kayfabe” refers to an unspoken agreement between fans and performers to never acknowledge the fictional aspects of the sport. In the horror genre, we have something similar with the way Found Footage movies invite audiences to play along with the scares to enhance their viewing experience. And when it comes to Found Footage, no movie handled this blending of reality and fiction better than The Blair Witch Project, which was accompanied by an ingenious viral marketing campaign featuring websites, dossiers and even missing person posters.
Among this supplemental material was an infamous mockumentary known as Curse of the Blair Witch, which premiered on the Sci-Fi Channel and was instrumental in convincing audiences that the film’s footage was meant to be taken seriously. A year later, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 had its own lesser-known tie-ins with Ben Rock‘s The Burkittsville 7...
Among this supplemental material was an infamous mockumentary known as Curse of the Blair Witch, which premiered on the Sci-Fi Channel and was instrumental in convincing audiences that the film’s footage was meant to be taken seriously. A year later, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 had its own lesser-known tie-ins with Ben Rock‘s The Burkittsville 7...
- 4/11/2024
- by Luiz H. C.
- bloody-disgusting.com
Joe Berlinger’s hit Netflix “Crime Scene” franchise has expanded to Germany. “Crime Scene Berlin: Nightlife Killer” marks the first international local market produced version of the true crime doc series, which is being released globally on April 3.
“Nightlife Killer” is a German language docuseries that was produced in Berlin and managed by Netflix Germany. Berlinger served as an executive producer on the three-part series that reconstructs the case of several mysterious murders in Berlin’s nightlife that became nationally known as the “Coma Killer” in 2012. Like the three previous U.S. versions of the franchise, “Night Life Killer” explores not just a story of crime but how the geography and social values of the crime scene location contributed to the crime itself.
“We were looking for a crime story in a location whose history and social values contributed to the crime,” Berlinger says, who is in year four of a multi-year deal with Netflix.
“Nightlife Killer” is a German language docuseries that was produced in Berlin and managed by Netflix Germany. Berlinger served as an executive producer on the three-part series that reconstructs the case of several mysterious murders in Berlin’s nightlife that became nationally known as the “Coma Killer” in 2012. Like the three previous U.S. versions of the franchise, “Night Life Killer” explores not just a story of crime but how the geography and social values of the crime scene location contributed to the crime itself.
“We were looking for a crime story in a location whose history and social values contributed to the crime,” Berlinger says, who is in year four of a multi-year deal with Netflix.
- 4/3/2024
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
American Cinematheque Launches Major New L.A. Documentary Festival This Is Not a Fiction (Exclusive)
The American Cinematheque is kicking off a robust new Los Angeles nonfiction film festival dubbed This Is Not a Fiction, running from April 10-18. The festival opens with docuseries “Thank You, Good Night: The Bon Jovi Story,” with Jon Bon Jovi in-person at the Aero Theatre for the L.A. premiere screening.
The event will include in-person tributes to distinguished documentary filmmakers including Barbara Kopple, Joe Berlinger, Brett Morgen, Bill Morrison, Kirsten Johnson, Terry Zwigoff, Jeff Tremaine and Véréna Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor, as well as a virtual Q&a with Frederick Wiseman.
Other premieres will include “Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus,” “Power,” “Strong Island,” “Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg,” a restoration of “Lumumba: Death of a Prophet” and “Incident,” plus special presentations of Morgan Neville’s “Steve! (Martin) A Documentary in 2 Pieces” and “Girls State.” A celebration of the 15th anniversary of “30 for 30” will feature a panel...
The event will include in-person tributes to distinguished documentary filmmakers including Barbara Kopple, Joe Berlinger, Brett Morgen, Bill Morrison, Kirsten Johnson, Terry Zwigoff, Jeff Tremaine and Véréna Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor, as well as a virtual Q&a with Frederick Wiseman.
Other premieres will include “Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus,” “Power,” “Strong Island,” “Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg,” a restoration of “Lumumba: Death of a Prophet” and “Incident,” plus special presentations of Morgan Neville’s “Steve! (Martin) A Documentary in 2 Pieces” and “Girls State.” A celebration of the 15th anniversary of “30 for 30” will feature a panel...
- 3/19/2024
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
On January 24, by unanimous vote, Congress did something good for documentary filmmakers. It passed the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act (aka the Press Act). It’s a journalist-protection bill, but could easily have been called the Protect All Documentarians Act.
Press makes no mention of documentary filmmakers because they’re presumed: Federal courts uniformly include documentary filmmakers in their definitions of journalists. However, documentarians stand to be one of the bill’s biggest beneficiaries.
The Press Act prohibits the federal government from compelling documentary filmmakers to turn over their outtakes except in limited circumstances such as preventing terrorism or imminent violence. This bill protects source-identity information along with records, contents of communication, or information obtained or made in the course of work.
Notably, this would prevent technology providers from spying on documentarians with express restrictions on using phone, email, or other telecommunications providers to access a journalist’s communications.
Press makes no mention of documentary filmmakers because they’re presumed: Federal courts uniformly include documentary filmmakers in their definitions of journalists. However, documentarians stand to be one of the bill’s biggest beneficiaries.
The Press Act prohibits the federal government from compelling documentary filmmakers to turn over their outtakes except in limited circumstances such as preventing terrorism or imminent violence. This bill protects source-identity information along with records, contents of communication, or information obtained or made in the course of work.
Notably, this would prevent technology providers from spying on documentarians with express restrictions on using phone, email, or other telecommunications providers to access a journalist’s communications.
- 3/17/2024
- by Michael C. Donaldson
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Netflix has locked down rights to an untitled adult thriller spec from Michael Werwie, with Jason Bateman and Michael Costigan set to produce for Aggregate Films, sources tell Deadline.
Plot details are under wraps. Falling under Aggregate’s first-look deal with Netflix across film and TV, the sale comes at a busy time for the company, which most recently set up comedy The Chaperone at the streamer, as a potential star vehicle for Bateman. Recently bringing in Amblin vet John Buderwitz to serve as VP of Film, the company also last summer teamed with Netflix in a bidding war over David Gauvey Herbert’s 2021 Esquire magazine article “Daddy Ball,” which is being developed as a limited series for Bateman to direct, star in, and co-ep alongside Costigan and Roxie Rodriguez.
The project comes to Netflix following Werwie’s scripting and exec producing and...
Plot details are under wraps. Falling under Aggregate’s first-look deal with Netflix across film and TV, the sale comes at a busy time for the company, which most recently set up comedy The Chaperone at the streamer, as a potential star vehicle for Bateman. Recently bringing in Amblin vet John Buderwitz to serve as VP of Film, the company also last summer teamed with Netflix in a bidding war over David Gauvey Herbert’s 2021 Esquire magazine article “Daddy Ball,” which is being developed as a limited series for Bateman to direct, star in, and co-ep alongside Costigan and Roxie Rodriguez.
The project comes to Netflix following Werwie’s scripting and exec producing and...
- 2/23/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Sheila Nevins has produced documentaries for most of her professional life. But at 84, she’s still notching career firsts.
Last month, Nevins added “Oscar-nominated director” to her résumé, having landed her first nod for co-directing the short “The ABCs of Book Banning” with Trish Adlesic and Nazenet Habtezghi.
Nevins’ first Oscars as a nominee take place at the same time she is wrapping up her run as the head of MTV Documentary Films. Nevins joined the company in 2019 after 38 years at HBO.
“I went there to raise the bar for the intellectual quotient of what MTV could produce in the documentary arena,” Nevins says. “I did highbrow and lowbrow at HBO, but when I got to MTV, I just did highbrow.”
On Nevins’ watch, MTV produced 40 docs and landed five Oscar nominations, including a feature doc bid this year for “The Eternal Memory.”
“Sheila Nevins is an extraordinary storyteller,...
Last month, Nevins added “Oscar-nominated director” to her résumé, having landed her first nod for co-directing the short “The ABCs of Book Banning” with Trish Adlesic and Nazenet Habtezghi.
Nevins’ first Oscars as a nominee take place at the same time she is wrapping up her run as the head of MTV Documentary Films. Nevins joined the company in 2019 after 38 years at HBO.
“I went there to raise the bar for the intellectual quotient of what MTV could produce in the documentary arena,” Nevins says. “I did highbrow and lowbrow at HBO, but when I got to MTV, I just did highbrow.”
On Nevins’ watch, MTV produced 40 docs and landed five Oscar nominations, including a feature doc bid this year for “The Eternal Memory.”
“Sheila Nevins is an extraordinary storyteller,...
- 2/14/2024
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Margaret Riley, the respected agent, manager and Lighthouse Management & Media partner who served as a producer on the Fox News drama Bombshell, has died. She was 58.
Riley died Tuesday at her home in Brentwood after a private battle with ovarian cancer, her friends Lainie Becky and Matthew Weinberg told The Hollywood Reporter.
Riley was a talent/literary manager at Brillstein Entertainment Partners from October 2006 through March 2016, when she joined Lighthouse Management & Media, which had just been launched by founder and CEO Aleen Keshishian.
“We are devastated by the loss of our colleague and friend Margaret Riley, who was a passionate advocate and champion for artists,” Keshishian said. “We share our deepest condolences and love with her family, friends and clients.”
Riley’s current and former clients over the years have included actors Mark Ruffalo and Bridget Moynahan; CSI creator Anthony Zuiker; directors Susanna Fogel, Stella Meghie and Rj Cutler...
Riley died Tuesday at her home in Brentwood after a private battle with ovarian cancer, her friends Lainie Becky and Matthew Weinberg told The Hollywood Reporter.
Riley was a talent/literary manager at Brillstein Entertainment Partners from October 2006 through March 2016, when she joined Lighthouse Management & Media, which had just been launched by founder and CEO Aleen Keshishian.
“We are devastated by the loss of our colleague and friend Margaret Riley, who was a passionate advocate and champion for artists,” Keshishian said. “We share our deepest condolences and love with her family, friends and clients.”
Riley’s current and former clients over the years have included actors Mark Ruffalo and Bridget Moynahan; CSI creator Anthony Zuiker; directors Susanna Fogel, Stella Meghie and Rj Cutler...
- 1/24/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Oscar-winning actress and producer Charlize Theron has teamed with veteran media executive and producer Dawn Olmstead, along with Charlize’s Denver & Delilah partners Beth Kono and Aj Dix, to form a new media venture.
Former Anonymous Content CEO and UCP President Olmstead will serve as CEO on the yet-untitled company, which will take over Denver & Delilah’s content slate. The new venture will also continue Denver & Delilah’s first-look feature deal with Universal as well as its TV agreement with HBO/Max, which is currently slated to end early next year.
In her role, Olmstead will work closely with Theron, Kono and Dix to develop and build upon the existing Denver & Delilah slate across film, TV and other areas of content and IP generation for global audiences.
The new company formalizes Olmstead’s longstanding relationship with Theron, Kono and Dix. As a producer, Olmstead worked with the trio on...
Former Anonymous Content CEO and UCP President Olmstead will serve as CEO on the yet-untitled company, which will take over Denver & Delilah’s content slate. The new venture will also continue Denver & Delilah’s first-look feature deal with Universal as well as its TV agreement with HBO/Max, which is currently slated to end early next year.
In her role, Olmstead will work closely with Theron, Kono and Dix to develop and build upon the existing Denver & Delilah slate across film, TV and other areas of content and IP generation for global audiences.
The new company formalizes Olmstead’s longstanding relationship with Theron, Kono and Dix. As a producer, Olmstead worked with the trio on...
- 12/15/2023
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Veteran entertainment lawyer and business strategist Jason Beekman has exited his role as VP and Head of Business & Legal Strategy at RadicalMedia to join director and former Imagine Documentaries showrunner Ryan Miller in co-founding new production company, Wise Child Studios.
Intended to marry the robust legal and business acumen of a larger studio with the distinguished creative vision and filmmaker-centric attention of a boutique shop, Wise Child will work with the industry’s best, from award winners to emerging talent, in the telling of thought-provoking and character-driven stories. The company is developing most of its projects from the ground up and will also handle post-production and sales for its titles.
Having already built a robust slate across scripted and non-fiction series, features, and podcasts, Wise Child’s projects in development include an investigative series with AMC; the feature doc Up the River about a 1972 concert at Sing Sing Prison,...
Intended to marry the robust legal and business acumen of a larger studio with the distinguished creative vision and filmmaker-centric attention of a boutique shop, Wise Child will work with the industry’s best, from award winners to emerging talent, in the telling of thought-provoking and character-driven stories. The company is developing most of its projects from the ground up and will also handle post-production and sales for its titles.
Having already built a robust slate across scripted and non-fiction series, features, and podcasts, Wise Child’s projects in development include an investigative series with AMC; the feature doc Up the River about a 1972 concert at Sing Sing Prison,...
- 11/15/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Most people don’t get a text from Bono in the middle of the night.
But Jon Kamen, the CEO, chairman and co-founder of RadicalMedia, found himself fighting off jet lag on a recent business trip to Japan as he fielded messages from the U2 frontman. That pair had worked together on the One campaign, the musician’s push to eradicate AIDS and poverty in Africa, and this time Bono needed help launching ticketing for the band’s upcoming residency at Las Vegas’ newly launched venue, the Sphere. Kamen assured him that there was someone on staff who could help him.
“I said, ‘let me call this guy and see if he can come up with something,'” he remembers. “We needed to turn this thing around in ridiculous time. I go to bed in Japan. Bono gives me a good recommendation for a restaurant in Kyoto. I’m dreaming of sushi,...
But Jon Kamen, the CEO, chairman and co-founder of RadicalMedia, found himself fighting off jet lag on a recent business trip to Japan as he fielded messages from the U2 frontman. That pair had worked together on the One campaign, the musician’s push to eradicate AIDS and poverty in Africa, and this time Bono needed help launching ticketing for the band’s upcoming residency at Las Vegas’ newly launched venue, the Sphere. Kamen assured him that there was someone on staff who could help him.
“I said, ‘let me call this guy and see if he can come up with something,'” he remembers. “We needed to turn this thing around in ridiculous time. I go to bed in Japan. Bono gives me a good recommendation for a restaurant in Kyoto. I’m dreaming of sushi,...
- 10/4/2023
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Woodstock Film Festival has added Tony Goldwyn’s comedy drama “Ezra,” starring Bobby Cannavale and Robert De Niro to its 2023 lineup.
In the film, which made its world premiere earlier this month at the Toronto Intl. Film Festival, Cannavale stars as Max, a stand up comic who after recently blowing up his career and marriage is living with his father Stan (De Niro). When Max’s autistic son Ezra is expelled from yet another school, Max makes the controversial decision to take him on a cross-country road trip.
In addition to Cannavale and De Niro, “Ezra” stars Rose Byrne, Vera Farmiga, Whoopi Goldberg and Rainn Wilson. (Mister Smith Entertainment and CAA are handling sales.)
“I am so excited that the Woodstock Film Festival chose to screen ‘Ezra,'” says Goldwyn. “Woodstock is one of the coolest festivals in the country for a filmmaker. After such an enthusiastic reception at TIFF last week,...
In the film, which made its world premiere earlier this month at the Toronto Intl. Film Festival, Cannavale stars as Max, a stand up comic who after recently blowing up his career and marriage is living with his father Stan (De Niro). When Max’s autistic son Ezra is expelled from yet another school, Max makes the controversial decision to take him on a cross-country road trip.
In addition to Cannavale and De Niro, “Ezra” stars Rose Byrne, Vera Farmiga, Whoopi Goldberg and Rainn Wilson. (Mister Smith Entertainment and CAA are handling sales.)
“I am so excited that the Woodstock Film Festival chose to screen ‘Ezra,'” says Goldwyn. “Woodstock is one of the coolest festivals in the country for a filmmaker. After such an enthusiastic reception at TIFF last week,...
- 9/20/2023
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Welcome to the premiere episode of Doc Talk, our new podcast hosted by Oscar-winning writer-director John Ridley and Deadline’s documentary editor Matt Carey. We’re kicking off with a deep dive into a signature power of documentary: The capacity to right a grave wrong in the criminal justice system by freeing a wrongfully convicted prisoner. Only a handful of major nonfiction filmmakers has achieved this extraordinary feat, springing men and women who faced Death Row or life sentences.
We talk with Errol Morris (The Thin Blue Line), Joe Berlinger (the Paradise Lost trilogy), Amy Berg (The Case Against Adnan Syed and West of Memphis), and Deborah Esquenazi (Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four).
Morris shares his theory of why Randall Dale Adams — the man who almost certainly would have been put to death by the state of Texas if not for The Thin Blue Line — turned around and sued him.
We talk with Errol Morris (The Thin Blue Line), Joe Berlinger (the Paradise Lost trilogy), Amy Berg (The Case Against Adnan Syed and West of Memphis), and Deborah Esquenazi (Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four).
Morris shares his theory of why Randall Dale Adams — the man who almost certainly would have been put to death by the state of Texas if not for The Thin Blue Line — turned around and sued him.
- 9/12/2023
- by The Deadline Team
- Deadline Film + TV
It might seem contradictory that the rise of short video clip popularity coincided with the popularity of long form journalism, but Netflix may be the common factor. The streaming network didn’t invent true crime documentation, but it helped shape the style, and keeps a vast repository of the hottest cold cases.
Real-life crime stories are riveting, whether the watcher is concerned about avoiding such events or solving them. There is something for every taste, from feature-length documentaries to full series. Not all crimes are equal under the laws of public opinion, but these are some of the most dangerously addictive true crime offerings currently available on Netflix.
Making a Murderer (2015)
Moira Demos and Laura Ricciardi’s 10-part documentary on Steven Avery catapulted Netflix to the top of the True Crime streaming game. Making a Murderer spurred the fascination with the genre more than any other series. Avery served 18 years...
Real-life crime stories are riveting, whether the watcher is concerned about avoiding such events or solving them. There is something for every taste, from feature-length documentaries to full series. Not all crimes are equal under the laws of public opinion, but these are some of the most dangerously addictive true crime offerings currently available on Netflix.
Making a Murderer (2015)
Moira Demos and Laura Ricciardi’s 10-part documentary on Steven Avery catapulted Netflix to the top of the True Crime streaming game. Making a Murderer spurred the fascination with the genre more than any other series. Avery served 18 years...
- 9/8/2023
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Actor and producer Jonathan Lipnicki has joined production, post-production and distribution company Buffalo 8 as an executive producer.
Lipnicki made a mark with his performance alongside Tom Cruise in “Jerry Maguire,” before becoming the lead in the family franchise “Stuart Little.” He will soon be seen in the upcoming TBS show “The Joe Schmo Show,” Peter Pardini’s film “Man Goes on Rant” and Britt Robertson-led film “The Re-Education of Molly Singer.”
Lipnicki will play a key role in packaging and project development within Buffalo 8’s EP services division, identifying storytelling opportunities and bringing together top-tier talent based on his extensive relationships spanning Hollywood studio films through to the independent sector.
Founded in 2010 by Luke Taylor and Matthew Helderman, Buffalo 8’s credits include Netflix original film “Rodney King,” directed by Spike Lee, “Little Men” from director Ira Sachs, which played at Sundance and Berlin and Netflix documentary series hit “Conversations With a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes...
Lipnicki made a mark with his performance alongside Tom Cruise in “Jerry Maguire,” before becoming the lead in the family franchise “Stuart Little.” He will soon be seen in the upcoming TBS show “The Joe Schmo Show,” Peter Pardini’s film “Man Goes on Rant” and Britt Robertson-led film “The Re-Education of Molly Singer.”
Lipnicki will play a key role in packaging and project development within Buffalo 8’s EP services division, identifying storytelling opportunities and bringing together top-tier talent based on his extensive relationships spanning Hollywood studio films through to the independent sector.
Founded in 2010 by Luke Taylor and Matthew Helderman, Buffalo 8’s credits include Netflix original film “Rodney King,” directed by Spike Lee, “Little Men” from director Ira Sachs, which played at Sundance and Berlin and Netflix documentary series hit “Conversations With a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes...
- 6/22/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Gruesome tales of grisly murder. Horror stories of kids in cults. False confessions and authentic admissions.
True crime has taken over the documentary space, proving a reliable audience attractor for streaming platforms, network and cable channels. While it’s the most popular genre within nonfiction programming broadly speaking, whether that will translate to success with Emmy voters remains an open question. One thing’s for certain: there’s no lack of contenders — twisted tales dripping with blood.
Netflix leads the way with multiple suitors, among them Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes, the grim story of one of America’s most notorious serial killers, built largely around recorded interviews between Dahmer and one of his young defense attorneys in the early 1990s. It’s directed and executive produced by Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning filmmaker Joe Berlinger, one of the leading figures in documentary.
“As a storyteller, I thought the...
True crime has taken over the documentary space, proving a reliable audience attractor for streaming platforms, network and cable channels. While it’s the most popular genre within nonfiction programming broadly speaking, whether that will translate to success with Emmy voters remains an open question. One thing’s for certain: there’s no lack of contenders — twisted tales dripping with blood.
Netflix leads the way with multiple suitors, among them Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes, the grim story of one of America’s most notorious serial killers, built largely around recorded interviews between Dahmer and one of his young defense attorneys in the early 1990s. It’s directed and executive produced by Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning filmmaker Joe Berlinger, one of the leading figures in documentary.
“As a storyteller, I thought the...
- 6/3/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Every composer who scores a true crime series is dealing with ghosts. Their challenge is to help make a show riveting, dramatic — even entertaining — while trying not to exploit a real tragedy with real victims.
For Danielle Furst and Khari Mateen, the composers behind “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal,” an added challenge was writing music knowing that the families and friends of victims would likely be watching.
“Every time we were working on it, I was thinking about the parents,” says Furst, “listening to what was behind their testimonies and their story and wanting them to feel good about it.”
At the heart of “Murdaugh” is the death of Mallory Beach, a teenager whose death in a boating accident instigates a series of other calamities and murders.
“It was a big responsibility,” Furst says.
Then there are all the usual scoring considerations of tempo, orchestration and mood. Furst found a hurdy-gurdy,...
For Danielle Furst and Khari Mateen, the composers behind “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal,” an added challenge was writing music knowing that the families and friends of victims would likely be watching.
“Every time we were working on it, I was thinking about the parents,” says Furst, “listening to what was behind their testimonies and their story and wanting them to feel good about it.”
At the heart of “Murdaugh” is the death of Mallory Beach, a teenager whose death in a boating accident instigates a series of other calamities and murders.
“It was a big responsibility,” Furst says.
Then there are all the usual scoring considerations of tempo, orchestration and mood. Furst found a hurdy-gurdy,...
- 6/1/2023
- by Tim Greiving
- Variety Film + TV
The exits of film executives Lisa Nishimura and Ian Bricke from Netflix late on March 30 shocked the documentary and indie film world. Not only were they Netflix stalwarts — Nishimura joined in 2007, when it was a DVD business, and Bricke joined in 2011 — but also for how admired and how defining of a voice they’ve been at Netflix in the last decade.
“Both of them are the foundation of the kind of programming that is both commercial and also tasteful, and not just pure fodder for the masses,” one documentary producer who asked not to be named told IndieWire. “Lisa and Ian were the foundational DNA of Netflix as a company.”
IndieWire spoke to multiple sources who worked with Nishimura and Bricke and they all offered variations on the same theme: They’re great people with great taste who have done great work, and they’re shocked by the departures.
In a statement,...
“Both of them are the foundation of the kind of programming that is both commercial and also tasteful, and not just pure fodder for the masses,” one documentary producer who asked not to be named told IndieWire. “Lisa and Ian were the foundational DNA of Netflix as a company.”
IndieWire spoke to multiple sources who worked with Nishimura and Bricke and they all offered variations on the same theme: They’re great people with great taste who have done great work, and they’re shocked by the departures.
In a statement,...
- 3/31/2023
- by Brian Welk and Tony Maglio
- Indiewire
Metallica frontman James Hetfield will step outside of his wheelhouse to act in the upcoming Western thriller, The Thicket, according to Deadline. Based on Joe R. Lansdale’s like-titled book, the film also stars Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones) and Juliette Lewis. Hetfield’s role has not yet been revealed. Filming has begun in Calgary, Canada.
The film, which Tubi is producing, focuses on a kidnapping in West Texas. When a killer known as Cut Throat Bill (Lewis) abducts a girl, her brother hires a bounty hunter named Reginald Jones (Dinklage) to track her down.
The film, which Tubi is producing, focuses on a kidnapping in West Texas. When a killer known as Cut Throat Bill (Lewis) abducts a girl, her brother hires a bounty hunter named Reginald Jones (Dinklage) to track her down.
- 3/3/2023
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street is a documentary series directed by Joe Berlinger about the rise and fall of Bernie Madoff, who masterminded one of the largest scale Ponzi schemes.
In four episodes the figure of Bernie Madoff is explored. The man who led the biggest ponzi scheme on Wall Street, who managed 64 billion dollars, a business that played with hedge fund money, regular investors’ money and more. It was a business built on greed.
About the Series
In the center of this series we have this figure who represented the worst of the disaster of 2008, and who actually brought to light the truth at the base of a system that destroyed the mortgage system, and showed how rotten it was.
Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street (2023)
So, in the midst of the carnage there he was, Bernie Madoff, in December of 2008, following his own confession to his children,...
In four episodes the figure of Bernie Madoff is explored. The man who led the biggest ponzi scheme on Wall Street, who managed 64 billion dollars, a business that played with hedge fund money, regular investors’ money and more. It was a business built on greed.
About the Series
In the center of this series we have this figure who represented the worst of the disaster of 2008, and who actually brought to light the truth at the base of a system that destroyed the mortgage system, and showed how rotten it was.
Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street (2023)
So, in the midst of the carnage there he was, Bernie Madoff, in December of 2008, following his own confession to his children,...
- 1/4/2023
- by Veronica Loop
- Martin Cid - TV
Netflix viewers have been sharing their anger after watching the streamer’s number one documentary, Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields.
The series looks at how, since the early 1970s, dozens of bodies have been found on a stretch of fields about 25 miles southeast of Houston. Most of these bodies belong to young women and, despite the assistance of the FBI and local authorities, the vast majority of these cases remain unsolved.
Many viewers of the show have taken to Twitter to share their outrage at the police’s failure to bring the killer – or killers – to justice.
“Watched The Texas Killing Fields that s*** was F***Ed Up How Did They Let That Happen For So Long,” posted one person.
A second wrote: “Good lord!! Who saw Texas Killing Fields on Netflix? What the f*** was that? Why was the Pd so chill? Oh man, my heart goes out to all the parents.
The series looks at how, since the early 1970s, dozens of bodies have been found on a stretch of fields about 25 miles southeast of Houston. Most of these bodies belong to young women and, despite the assistance of the FBI and local authorities, the vast majority of these cases remain unsolved.
Many viewers of the show have taken to Twitter to share their outrage at the police’s failure to bring the killer – or killers – to justice.
“Watched The Texas Killing Fields that s*** was F***Ed Up How Did They Let That Happen For So Long,” posted one person.
A second wrote: “Good lord!! Who saw Texas Killing Fields on Netflix? What the f*** was that? Why was the Pd so chill? Oh man, my heart goes out to all the parents.
- 12/9/2022
- by Ellie Harrison
- The Independent - TV
Over a year after Bernie Madoff’s death – and a few weeks after the Ftx fiasco – the story behind the largest Ponzi scheme in history will be the focus of an upcoming Netflix docuseries.
Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street features interviews with “whistleblowers, employees, investigators, and victims,” as well as never-before-seen footage of Madoff’s video depositions.
The four-episode series, directed by documentarian Joe Berlinger, “reveals the genesis and, for the first time, the mechanics of Madoff’s fraudulent investment advisory business, uncovering how the fraud was not just...
Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street features interviews with “whistleblowers, employees, investigators, and victims,” as well as never-before-seen footage of Madoff’s video depositions.
The four-episode series, directed by documentarian Joe Berlinger, “reveals the genesis and, for the first time, the mechanics of Madoff’s fraudulent investment advisory business, uncovering how the fraud was not just...
- 12/8/2022
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
(Welcome to The Daily Stream, an ongoing series in which the /Film team shares what they've been watching, why it's worth checking out, and where you can stream it.)
The Series: "Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel"
Where You Can Stream It: Netflix
The Pitch: In 2013, 21-year-old Chinese-Canadian tourist Elisa Lam was found dead in a water tank on the roof of the Cecil Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles. Her disappearance and death was a mystery that made international news, though it later came out — once all the facts were in — that she had, in all probability, accidentally drowned while experiencing a bipolar episode.
In the meantime, compounded by a viral video with the last known footage of Lam, demonstrating erratic behavior on the hotel elevator, the case became an internet phenomenon. The first season of shows and podcasts like "True Detective" and "Serial" was just over the horizon in 2014, and this one,...
The Series: "Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel"
Where You Can Stream It: Netflix
The Pitch: In 2013, 21-year-old Chinese-Canadian tourist Elisa Lam was found dead in a water tank on the roof of the Cecil Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles. Her disappearance and death was a mystery that made international news, though it later came out — once all the facts were in — that she had, in all probability, accidentally drowned while experiencing a bipolar episode.
In the meantime, compounded by a viral video with the last known footage of Lam, demonstrating erratic behavior on the hotel elevator, the case became an internet phenomenon. The first season of shows and podcasts like "True Detective" and "Serial" was just over the horizon in 2014, and this one,...
- 12/8/2022
- by Joshua Meyer
- Slash Film
Click here to read the full article.
While politicians debate the rise of crime, there’s no debate that there’s been an explosion of true-crime documentary series on cable TV and the streamers. Interviews with serial killers, re-creations of bloody murders, combative-courtroom footage and carefully orchestrated eleventh-hour revelations have almost become cliché — even as viewers eagerly tune in for more.
But that was not always the case. Thirty years ago, documentarian Joe Berlinger, 61, and his longtime collaborator and co-director, the late Bruce Sinofsky, broke new ground with their feature, Brother’s Keeper. That film centered on the arrest and trial of a rural upstate New York man named Delbert Ward, who was accused of killing his brother William, and it became a blueprint for Berlinger’s unfiltered examinations of American tragedies with all the drama of fictional narratives.
Joe Berlinger
Brother’s Keeper won the audience award at the 1992 Sundance Film Festival,...
While politicians debate the rise of crime, there’s no debate that there’s been an explosion of true-crime documentary series on cable TV and the streamers. Interviews with serial killers, re-creations of bloody murders, combative-courtroom footage and carefully orchestrated eleventh-hour revelations have almost become cliché — even as viewers eagerly tune in for more.
But that was not always the case. Thirty years ago, documentarian Joe Berlinger, 61, and his longtime collaborator and co-director, the late Bruce Sinofsky, broke new ground with their feature, Brother’s Keeper. That film centered on the arrest and trial of a rural upstate New York man named Delbert Ward, who was accused of killing his brother William, and it became a blueprint for Berlinger’s unfiltered examinations of American tragedies with all the drama of fictional narratives.
Joe Berlinger
Brother’s Keeper won the audience award at the 1992 Sundance Film Festival,...
- 11/30/2022
- by Stacey Wilson Hunt
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Lily Collins, Charlie McDowell and Alex Orlovsky have partnered to launch Case Study Films, a production company that will look to tell compelling and outside-of-the-box stories through a commercial eye in both film and television.
Case Study will develop material internally and with outside filmmakers and talent, discovering, supporting and giving voice to the next generation of storytellers from all walks of life, as it generates projects for its principals.
The production banner has film financing capabilities through a strategic partnership with High Frequency Entertainment, which will afford it flexibility in deciding whether to produce and finance a project entirely in-house, or to find appropriate streamer or studio partners for it, depending on its scale.
Among the projects in development at Case Study is the Hulu limited series Razzlekhan: The Infamous Crocodile of Wall Street, co-produced by Scoop Wasserstein from New York magazine, which has Collins set to star, with McDowell directing.
Case Study will develop material internally and with outside filmmakers and talent, discovering, supporting and giving voice to the next generation of storytellers from all walks of life, as it generates projects for its principals.
The production banner has film financing capabilities through a strategic partnership with High Frequency Entertainment, which will afford it flexibility in deciding whether to produce and finance a project entirely in-house, or to find appropriate streamer or studio partners for it, depending on its scale.
Among the projects in development at Case Study is the Hulu limited series Razzlekhan: The Infamous Crocodile of Wall Street, co-produced by Scoop Wasserstein from New York magazine, which has Collins set to star, with McDowell directing.
- 11/16/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
In the decades since the release of Mary Harron's seminal horror-comedy "American Psycho," the film has been meme-ified to death. There's a page on Know Your Meme that breaks it down, tracking the way internet users have made gifs of Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) flexing in the mirror during sex, cracked jokes about his love of Huey Lewis and the News, and turned his axe-swinging violence into pithy reaction images about having a bad day at work.
Rewatching "American Psycho," it's easy to see why the film has resonated for so long: it's very good! Harron turned Bret Easton Ellis' horror novel into a biting satire of '80s yuppie culture, featuring a cracking performance from Bale that is downright zany at times. Crucially, its horror sequences are also very effective; Harron finds real tension in moments like the one involving Chloë Sevigny and a nail gun. The movie...
Rewatching "American Psycho," it's easy to see why the film has resonated for so long: it's very good! Harron turned Bret Easton Ellis' horror novel into a biting satire of '80s yuppie culture, featuring a cracking performance from Bale that is downright zany at times. Crucially, its horror sequences are also very effective; Harron finds real tension in moments like the one involving Chloë Sevigny and a nail gun. The movie...
- 11/12/2022
- by Eric Langberg
- Slash Film
The first trailer for “Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields,” a new true crime docuseries coming to Netflix this month, has been released.
The miniseries is the third in a series of “Crime Scene” documentaries for the streamer, which explore murder cases in different parts of the United States. Last year saw the series debut with two installments: “The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel,” which focused on the 2013 death of Elisa Lam at the titular Los Angeles hotel, and “The Times Square Killer,” which profiled serial killer Richard Cottingham.
“The Texas Killing Fields” turns its attention to a patch of land along the interstate between Houston and Galveston that gained its gruesome nickname for the number of dead bodies that have been discovered there. From 1971 to 2006, 30 dead people were found in the area, the majority of whom were young women, and very few of their murders have been solved.
The...
The miniseries is the third in a series of “Crime Scene” documentaries for the streamer, which explore murder cases in different parts of the United States. Last year saw the series debut with two installments: “The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel,” which focused on the 2013 death of Elisa Lam at the titular Los Angeles hotel, and “The Times Square Killer,” which profiled serial killer Richard Cottingham.
“The Texas Killing Fields” turns its attention to a patch of land along the interstate between Houston and Galveston that gained its gruesome nickname for the number of dead bodies that have been discovered there. From 1971 to 2006, 30 dead people were found in the area, the majority of whom were young women, and very few of their murders have been solved.
The...
- 11/9/2022
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
In this edition of The Silver Lining, we’ll be covering John Poliquin’s underrated sequel, Grave Encounters 2.
Maybe it’s the fear of madness, or perhaps it’s the uncomfortable history of how mental illness used to be treated, but there’s definitely something about psychiatric hospitals that makes them such a compelling location for scary stories. From Dracula to Shutter Island, there’s no shortage of horror yarns featuring spooky asylums, and one of the most entertaining of the bunch has to be the Vicious Brothers’ 2011 Found Footage flick, Grave Encounters.
Breaking online records when its trailer went viral and earning back nearly forty-five times its production budget despite a limited theatrical release, calling Grave Encounters a success is something of an understatement. That’s why it’s no surprise that the film soon spawned a sequel. However, by the time the project had been greenlit, the Vicious...
Maybe it’s the fear of madness, or perhaps it’s the uncomfortable history of how mental illness used to be treated, but there’s definitely something about psychiatric hospitals that makes them such a compelling location for scary stories. From Dracula to Shutter Island, there’s no shortage of horror yarns featuring spooky asylums, and one of the most entertaining of the bunch has to be the Vicious Brothers’ 2011 Found Footage flick, Grave Encounters.
Breaking online records when its trailer went viral and earning back nearly forty-five times its production budget despite a limited theatrical release, calling Grave Encounters a success is something of an understatement. That’s why it’s no surprise that the film soon spawned a sequel. However, by the time the project had been greenlit, the Vicious...
- 11/9/2022
- by Luiz H. C.
- bloody-disgusting.com
Audiences can’t get enough of Jeffrey Dahmer. Ryan Murphy’s Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story has taken the top spot on Netflix’s weekly streaming ratings once again, racking up 205.33 million hours of viewing time worldwide. This brings the show’s all-time total to 701.37 million hours since its debut last month, making Dahmer the second most-watched English-language series on Netflix.
Related Dahmer series cracks Netflix’s Top 10 most watched list
The second season of Bridgerton previously held the number two ranking with 656.26 million hours over its first 28 days. With over 700 million hours, Dahmer now takes the place of Bridgerton and sits behind the fourth season of Stranger Things, which has 1.35 billion hours viewed. When you factor in Non-English Netflix shows, Dahmer ranks fourth behind Squid Game (1.65 billion) and the final season of Money Heist (792 million), but Dahmer still has 9 days left of its 28 day window, so it could...
Related Dahmer series cracks Netflix’s Top 10 most watched list
The second season of Bridgerton previously held the number two ranking with 656.26 million hours over its first 28 days. With over 700 million hours, Dahmer now takes the place of Bridgerton and sits behind the fourth season of Stranger Things, which has 1.35 billion hours viewed. When you factor in Non-English Netflix shows, Dahmer ranks fourth behind Squid Game (1.65 billion) and the final season of Money Heist (792 million), but Dahmer still has 9 days left of its 28 day window, so it could...
- 10/11/2022
- by Kevin Fraser
- JoBlo.com
In its third week atop the Netflix Top 10, “Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” has become the streamer’s second most popular English-language series of all time. With 701.4 million hours viewed, the fictionalized (and heavily criticized) story about the infamous serial killer is topped only by “Stranger Things 4,” which has notched 1.35 billion viewing hours.
The limited series from Ryan Murphy and starring Evan Peters as the notorious murderer has been steadily dominating Netflix’s charts following its Sept. 21 release. Last week, the controversy-riddled show cracked the Most Popular List of English shows in ninth place after just 12 days with 496.05 million hours viewed.
Also Read:
Marvel Delays ‘Blade,’ ‘Fantastic Four,’ ‘Deadpool 3’ and ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’ Amid Release Date Shuffle
Netflix’s Most Popular List tallies each title’s viewing hours within the first 28 days of release. Depending on how viewership stacks up for “Dahmer” next week, the series could...
The limited series from Ryan Murphy and starring Evan Peters as the notorious murderer has been steadily dominating Netflix’s charts following its Sept. 21 release. Last week, the controversy-riddled show cracked the Most Popular List of English shows in ninth place after just 12 days with 496.05 million hours viewed.
Also Read:
Marvel Delays ‘Blade,’ ‘Fantastic Four,’ ‘Deadpool 3’ and ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’ Amid Release Date Shuffle
Netflix’s Most Popular List tallies each title’s viewing hours within the first 28 days of release. Depending on how viewership stacks up for “Dahmer” next week, the series could...
- 10/11/2022
- by Natalie Oganesyan
- The Wrap
Plot: After Jeffrey Dahmer’s arrest, his defence team has the ghoulish task of recording hours of interviews with him as he describes the brutal murders he committed during his reign.
Review: Like so many other people, whenever I see a documentary about serial killers show up on Netflix, I binge it. While I’ve yet to dig into Ryan Murphy’s ultra-popular Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, I did check-out Joe Berlinger’s brutal documentary series, Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes. This is the latest instalment of what I can only assume is an ultra-profitable series for the streamer, with previous instalments focusing on Ted Bundy & John Wayne Gacy.
What makes these docs so disturbing is that they essentially allow the killers to tell their own stories. While Bundy was elusive until the end, Gary and Dahmer were boastful about their kills, relaying them in gruesome detail.
Review: Like so many other people, whenever I see a documentary about serial killers show up on Netflix, I binge it. While I’ve yet to dig into Ryan Murphy’s ultra-popular Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, I did check-out Joe Berlinger’s brutal documentary series, Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes. This is the latest instalment of what I can only assume is an ultra-profitable series for the streamer, with previous instalments focusing on Ted Bundy & John Wayne Gacy.
What makes these docs so disturbing is that they essentially allow the killers to tell their own stories. While Bundy was elusive until the end, Gary and Dahmer were boastful about their kills, relaying them in gruesome detail.
- 10/7/2022
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
The Knives Out sequel will be released in cinemas ahead of being made available on Netflix.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery follows the 2019 Oscar-nominated film, which stars actors such as Daniel Craig, Ana De Armas, Chris Evans and Jamie Lee Curtis.
The sequel will be released on Netflix, but the streamer has now announced plans for the film to be broadcast in 600 cinemas across the globe one month before it arrives online.
The film will show between 23 and 29 November, with tickets on sale on 10 October.
It had been rumoured for a while that the director Rian Johnson was keen for Glass Onion to be released in cinemas ahead of streaming.
“I’m over the moon that Netflix has worked with AMC, Regal and Cinemark to get Glass Onion in theaters for this one of a kind sneak preview,” said Johnson in a statement.
“These movies are made to thrill audiences,...
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery follows the 2019 Oscar-nominated film, which stars actors such as Daniel Craig, Ana De Armas, Chris Evans and Jamie Lee Curtis.
The sequel will be released on Netflix, but the streamer has now announced plans for the film to be broadcast in 600 cinemas across the globe one month before it arrives online.
The film will show between 23 and 29 November, with tickets on sale on 10 October.
It had been rumoured for a while that the director Rian Johnson was keen for Glass Onion to be released in cinemas ahead of streaming.
“I’m over the moon that Netflix has worked with AMC, Regal and Cinemark to get Glass Onion in theaters for this one of a kind sneak preview,” said Johnson in a statement.
“These movies are made to thrill audiences,...
- 10/7/2022
- by Megan Graye
- The Independent - Film
I literally stared into the abyss of evil and saw things most people shouldn’t see.” So Joe Berlinger, the director behind Netflix’s new Jeffrey Dahmer documentary, tells me over Zoom one sunny autumn afternoon. He is bespectacled with a grey beard and an avuncular whiff of Mandy Patinkin about him.
Through those glasses, Berlinger has seen more than his fair share of things most people shouldn’t. Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes, is out this Friday. It comes, very intentionally, two weeks after Ryan Murphy’s controversial dramatisation of events – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, starring Evan Peters – hit the streaming platform. The Dahmer Tapes rounds off a trilogy of serial killer documentaries Berlinger has released over the past three years. His first subject was the most famous – the “charming” murderer, Ted Bundy. Then came John Wayne Gacy, another nightmarish American killer who sometimes dressed...
Through those glasses, Berlinger has seen more than his fair share of things most people shouldn’t. Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes, is out this Friday. It comes, very intentionally, two weeks after Ryan Murphy’s controversial dramatisation of events – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, starring Evan Peters – hit the streaming platform. The Dahmer Tapes rounds off a trilogy of serial killer documentaries Berlinger has released over the past three years. His first subject was the most famous – the “charming” murderer, Ted Bundy. Then came John Wayne Gacy, another nightmarish American killer who sometimes dressed...
- 10/7/2022
- by Tom Murray
- The Independent - TV
Click here to read the full article.
At first, director Alex Gibney wholeheartedly embraced the influx of energy — and money — the streamers have increasingly pumped into the documentary space over the past decade. Selling to the growing platforms eager to bulk up their content libraries struck the Oscar-winning director of Taxi to the Dark Side and Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief as a creative windfall — a larger market for the kind of filmmaker-driven films that had previously found some success at the box office and HBO. His company, Jigsaw, could produce unique, entertaining titles in a traditionally underfunded field, told in stylistically distinct ways, and receive “greater monetary reward” to boot.
But then, a red flag: Gibney started to get notes from the streamers “that tried to scientifically rationalize the process,” he says: “‘Our algorithm states that by minute 10 you should do X, Y or Z.'” In the meantime,...
At first, director Alex Gibney wholeheartedly embraced the influx of energy — and money — the streamers have increasingly pumped into the documentary space over the past decade. Selling to the growing platforms eager to bulk up their content libraries struck the Oscar-winning director of Taxi to the Dark Side and Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief as a creative windfall — a larger market for the kind of filmmaker-driven films that had previously found some success at the box office and HBO. His company, Jigsaw, could produce unique, entertaining titles in a traditionally underfunded field, told in stylistically distinct ways, and receive “greater monetary reward” to boot.
But then, a red flag: Gibney started to get notes from the streamers “that tried to scientifically rationalize the process,” he says: “‘Our algorithm states that by minute 10 you should do X, Y or Z.'” In the meantime,...
- 9/16/2022
- by Mia Galuppo and Katie Kilkenny
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
If you’re looking for a fright this fall, Netflix has you covered. The streamer has unveiled its “Netflix and Chills” slate of new horror movies and TV shows coming to Netflix in October and beyond. This includes films like the witchy “The School for Good and Evil,” which debuts Oct. 19 and stars Charlize Theron and Kerry Washington. There’s also Tim Burton’s TV series “Wednesday,” which doesn’t yet have a release date but is a series-long spin on the Addams Family daughter starring Jenna Ortega.
And master of Netflix horror Mike Flanagan – the mind behind the “Haunting of Hill House” and “Bly Manor” shows as well as “Midnight Mass” – is back with his Christopher Pike adaptation “The Midnight Club,” which premieres Oct. 7. “The Nightmare Before Christmas” director Henry Selick also returns with a new film, “Wendell & Wild,” on Oct. 28.
Check out the full slate of new...
And master of Netflix horror Mike Flanagan – the mind behind the “Haunting of Hill House” and “Bly Manor” shows as well as “Midnight Mass” – is back with his Christopher Pike adaptation “The Midnight Club,” which premieres Oct. 7. “The Nightmare Before Christmas” director Henry Selick also returns with a new film, “Wendell & Wild,” on Oct. 28.
Check out the full slate of new...
- 9/6/2022
- by Adam Chitwood
- The Wrap
Netflix is set to spotlight the gruesome true crimes of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer for the third installment of "Conversations With a Killer" and the streamer already has a premiere date. Season three, titled "The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes," will debut on Oct. 7, according to Netflix. The three-part documentary is not to be confused with Netflix's other project, "Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story" from "American Horror Story"'s Ryan Murphy and Evan Peters.
Unlike the forthcoming limited series (which has yet to set a release date), "The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes" will feature "never-before-heard audio interviews between Dahmer and his defense team," which delve "into his warped psyche while answering these open questions of police accountability through a modern-day lens," per Netflix.
Related: Jessica Chastain Is Out to Catch Eddie Redmayne's Killer Nurse in This Netflix True-Crime Drama
The description for the series reads as follows: "When Milwaukee police entered the...
Unlike the forthcoming limited series (which has yet to set a release date), "The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes" will feature "never-before-heard audio interviews between Dahmer and his defense team," which delve "into his warped psyche while answering these open questions of police accountability through a modern-day lens," per Netflix.
Related: Jessica Chastain Is Out to Catch Eddie Redmayne's Killer Nurse in This Netflix True-Crime Drama
The description for the series reads as follows: "When Milwaukee police entered the...
- 8/29/2022
- by Njera Perkins
- Popsugar.com
Ahead of Ryan Murphy’s Netflix series “Dahmer,” starring Evan Peters as Jeffrey Dahmer (first look up above), Joe Berlinger‘s true crime series “Conversations With a Killer” is back for a third season that will also profile Jeffrey Dahmer, Variety reports this afternoon.
“Conversations With a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes” premieres October 7, 2022.
Here’s the official synopsis for the upcoming three-part series…
“When Milwaukee police entered the apartment of 31-year-old Jeffrey Dahmer in July of 1991, they uncovered the grisly personal museum of a serial killer: a freezer full of human heads, skulls, bones and other remains in various states of decomposition and display. Dahmer quickly confessed to 16 murders in Wisconsin over the previous four years, plus one more in Ohio in 1978, as well as unimaginable acts of necrophilia and cannibalism.
“The discovery shocked the nation and stunned the local community, who were incensed that such a depraved killer...
“Conversations With a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes” premieres October 7, 2022.
Here’s the official synopsis for the upcoming three-part series…
“When Milwaukee police entered the apartment of 31-year-old Jeffrey Dahmer in July of 1991, they uncovered the grisly personal museum of a serial killer: a freezer full of human heads, skulls, bones and other remains in various states of decomposition and display. Dahmer quickly confessed to 16 murders in Wisconsin over the previous four years, plus one more in Ohio in 1978, as well as unimaginable acts of necrophilia and cannibalism.
“The discovery shocked the nation and stunned the local community, who were incensed that such a depraved killer...
- 8/29/2022
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
Netflix has set a third installment of Joe Berlinger’s “Conversations With a Killer” docuseries, this one focused on serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, Variety has learned exclusively.
Titled “Conversations With a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes,” the three-part series will launch Oct. 7 on the streamer.
Here is the official description for “Conversations With a Killer” season 3, per Netflix:
When Milwaukee police entered the apartment of 31-year-old Jeffrey Dahmer in July of 1991, they uncovered the grisly personal museum of a serial killer: a freezer full of human heads, skulls, bones and other remains in various states of decomposition and display. Dahmer quickly confessed to 16 murders in Wisconsin over the previous four years, plus one more in Ohio in 1978, as well as unimaginable acts of necrophilia and cannibalism. The discovery shocked the nation and stunned the local community, who were incensed that such a depraved killer had been allowed to operate within their city for so long.
Titled “Conversations With a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes,” the three-part series will launch Oct. 7 on the streamer.
Here is the official description for “Conversations With a Killer” season 3, per Netflix:
When Milwaukee police entered the apartment of 31-year-old Jeffrey Dahmer in July of 1991, they uncovered the grisly personal museum of a serial killer: a freezer full of human heads, skulls, bones and other remains in various states of decomposition and display. Dahmer quickly confessed to 16 murders in Wisconsin over the previous four years, plus one more in Ohio in 1978, as well as unimaginable acts of necrophilia and cannibalism. The discovery shocked the nation and stunned the local community, who were incensed that such a depraved killer had been allowed to operate within their city for so long.
- 8/29/2022
- by Jennifer Maas
- Variety Film + TV
Luminaries, legends, and thought leaders alike came together last Thursday (August 25th) for Rolling Stone and Variety’s annual Truth Seekers Summit, presented by Showtime Documentary Films. The one-day, live-streamed event featured keynotes and panel conversations that centered on the pursuit of truth.
Kicking off the summit, veteran, Emmy-winning 60 Minutes correspondent Leslie Stahl reflected on moments that marked her storied career, one in which she’s interviewed everyone from the likes of Margaret Thatcher to Donald Trump. Her keynote conversation was followed by a panel of more trendsetters behind the mic,...
Kicking off the summit, veteran, Emmy-winning 60 Minutes correspondent Leslie Stahl reflected on moments that marked her storied career, one in which she’s interviewed everyone from the likes of Margaret Thatcher to Donald Trump. Her keynote conversation was followed by a panel of more trendsetters behind the mic,...
- 8/29/2022
- by Tara Aquino
- Rollingstone.com
Exclusive: Peacock launches its first ever DocFest, an on-platform showcase highlighting a selection from the streamer’s top-tier documentary roster. The documentaries include Joe Berlinger‘s Shadowland, as well as projects exploring the accomplishments of Civil Rights activist Rosa Parks and the scandals of England’s Prince Andrew.
The six-week virtual festival will feature six brand new Peacock Original titles between September 14 and October 19, with new titles dropping every Wednesday. Peacock subscribers can find the documentaries via a dedicated collection on the streaming platform.
“Peacock continues its commitment to shining a spotlight on real-life stories deserving of a platform,” said Rod Aissa, EVP Unscripted Content, NBCUniversal, “We hope that the launch of DocFest will habituate audiences into coming to Peacock for their weekly fix of quality documentary content presented by some of the industry’s leading creatives.”
A full list of documentaries set for Peacock’s DocFest and details provided...
The six-week virtual festival will feature six brand new Peacock Original titles between September 14 and October 19, with new titles dropping every Wednesday. Peacock subscribers can find the documentaries via a dedicated collection on the streaming platform.
“Peacock continues its commitment to shining a spotlight on real-life stories deserving of a platform,” said Rod Aissa, EVP Unscripted Content, NBCUniversal, “We hope that the launch of DocFest will habituate audiences into coming to Peacock for their weekly fix of quality documentary content presented by some of the industry’s leading creatives.”
A full list of documentaries set for Peacock’s DocFest and details provided...
- 8/26/2022
- by Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
Variety and Rolling Stone announced today the final lineup for their Truth Seekers Summit, presented by Showtime Documentary Films, on August 25 in New York.
The summit coincides with the Truth Seekers journal, a collaboration between Variety and Rolling Stone. The special issue features a deep dive from Variety’s Addie Morfoot into the heated debate in the nonfiction community on the question of who — and who shouldn’t — have the right to tell the stories that involve historically marginalized communities. The story also delves into the rise of celebrity-financed biographical...
The summit coincides with the Truth Seekers journal, a collaboration between Variety and Rolling Stone. The special issue features a deep dive from Variety’s Addie Morfoot into the heated debate in the nonfiction community on the question of who — and who shouldn’t — have the right to tell the stories that involve historically marginalized communities. The story also delves into the rise of celebrity-financed biographical...
- 8/23/2022
- by Rolling Stone
- Rollingstone.com
The documentaries and nonfiction programs that are nominated at this year’s Emmy Awards chronicle a diverse range of stories that continue to show why these genres are an essential part of the new Golden Age of Television we are currently living in. The creatives behind five of this year’s Emmy contenders for documentary/nonfiction programming joined our recent Meet the Experts panel. The subjects tackled include how a financial arrangement controlled a worldwide pop star, the career of one of America’s greatest stand-up comedians, the relationship of television’s first power couple, big-wave surfers looking to catch the ultimate experience in Portugal and a world famous chef seeking to rethink how we supply food to people in need of relief.
In our panel discussion, we hear what these directors and producers have to say about finding out about their Emmy nomination this year, what it was like...
In our panel discussion, we hear what these directors and producers have to say about finding out about their Emmy nomination this year, what it was like...
- 8/11/2022
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
Exclusive: Swedish crime drama series The Truth Will Out is getting a U.S. remake from Paradise Lost director Joe Berlinger and Endemol Shine North America.
Berlinger, who has directed a slew of true crime documentaries and rock docs such as Metallica’s Some Kind of Monster, has teamed with the production company to direct and exec produce an English-language adaptation of the series, which is based on an idea from famed Swedish author and criminologist Leif Gw Persson.
Persson is best known in the U.S. as the author of the books that short-lived Fox series Backstrom, starring Rainn Wilson, was based on.
The series, known as Det Som Göms I Snö in Sweden, comes from Endemol Shine North America’s sister Swedish company Yellow Bird, which is similarly owned by Banijay.
The original launched in 2018 and follows a Stockholm police detective with a history of mental instability, and...
Berlinger, who has directed a slew of true crime documentaries and rock docs such as Metallica’s Some Kind of Monster, has teamed with the production company to direct and exec produce an English-language adaptation of the series, which is based on an idea from famed Swedish author and criminologist Leif Gw Persson.
Persson is best known in the U.S. as the author of the books that short-lived Fox series Backstrom, starring Rainn Wilson, was based on.
The series, known as Det Som Göms I Snö in Sweden, comes from Endemol Shine North America’s sister Swedish company Yellow Bird, which is similarly owned by Banijay.
The original launched in 2018 and follows a Stockholm police detective with a history of mental instability, and...
- 7/19/2022
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Rolling Stone and Variety announced today that they will be hosting the second Truth Seekers Summit, presented by Showtime Documentary Films. This year, the summit will expand to a hybrid event with an in-person luncheon and virtual livestream on Aug. 25. The invitation-only, in-person event will take place in New York City, while the content from the summit will be available live and on-demand for virtual registrants on an immersive platform.
The summit features keynotes and panel conversations highlighting excellence in documentary storytelling, the intersection between media and the fight for social justice,...
The summit features keynotes and panel conversations highlighting excellence in documentary storytelling, the intersection between media and the fight for social justice,...
- 7/12/2022
- by Rolling Stone
- Rollingstone.com
This year marks the 30th anniversary of Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky’s “Brother’s Keeper,” which, as Berlinger says, is “one of the granddaddies of the true-crime docu movement.”
It’s true that the 1992 film about the bizarre murder trial of Delbert Ward, who was accused of the “mercy killing” of his brother in rural upstate New York, was an early entrant in our collective societal obsession with the unscripted true-crime format, which in recent years has crossed over to the scripted side.
As one of the founding fathers of the format that has piqued our interest in true crime to the point where limited series including “Impeachment: American Crime Story,” “The Staircase,” “The Dropout,” “Inventing Anna,” “Dr. Death,” “A Very British Scandal,” and several more are all competing in the same Emmys’ cycle, Berlinger has some unique insight into the nonfiction-to-dramatized evolution.
“I can think of no other...
It’s true that the 1992 film about the bizarre murder trial of Delbert Ward, who was accused of the “mercy killing” of his brother in rural upstate New York, was an early entrant in our collective societal obsession with the unscripted true-crime format, which in recent years has crossed over to the scripted side.
As one of the founding fathers of the format that has piqued our interest in true crime to the point where limited series including “Impeachment: American Crime Story,” “The Staircase,” “The Dropout,” “Inventing Anna,” “Dr. Death,” “A Very British Scandal,” and several more are all competing in the same Emmys’ cycle, Berlinger has some unique insight into the nonfiction-to-dramatized evolution.
“I can think of no other...
- 6/14/2022
- by Jennifer Maas
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: A podcast about the disappearance and murder of a number of Grateful Dead fans is the latest audio series to be adapted for television.
Joe Berlinger, the filmmaker behind iconic rock doc Metallica: Some Kind of Monster and a slew of true-crime docuseries, has teamed up with Wheelhouse Entertainment to develop Dead and Gone as a scripted series.
The podcast, a true crime music mystery set in the world of Jerry Garcia’s psychedelic rock band, comes from To Live and Die in LA producer Tenderfoot TV and Disgraceland producer Double Elvis.
It tells the story of how the bodies of Mary Regina Gioia, 22, and Gregory Allen Kniffin, 18, two fans of the Grateful Dead, were found in the San Francisco Bay, beaten and shot to death in August 1986.
Thirty-one-year-old Ralph International Thomas, a Black man, was arrested and sentenced to death for the murders. He died in prison in 2014, after multiple unsuccessful appeals.
Joe Berlinger, the filmmaker behind iconic rock doc Metallica: Some Kind of Monster and a slew of true-crime docuseries, has teamed up with Wheelhouse Entertainment to develop Dead and Gone as a scripted series.
The podcast, a true crime music mystery set in the world of Jerry Garcia’s psychedelic rock band, comes from To Live and Die in LA producer Tenderfoot TV and Disgraceland producer Double Elvis.
It tells the story of how the bodies of Mary Regina Gioia, 22, and Gregory Allen Kniffin, 18, two fans of the Grateful Dead, were found in the San Francisco Bay, beaten and shot to death in August 1986.
Thirty-one-year-old Ralph International Thomas, a Black man, was arrested and sentenced to death for the murders. He died in prison in 2014, after multiple unsuccessful appeals.
- 5/9/2022
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Range Media Partners has signed Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Joe Berlinger.
As a pioneering crime and justice filmmaker, Berlinger’s early work is widely credited for having been the launchpad for the explosion in true crime storytelling. His work has drawn attention to social justice issues in the U.S. and abroad through his documentaries and landmark films such as the Sundance and DGA Award winner Brother’s Keeper, about an alleged 1990 murder in the town of Munnsville, New York which has influenced a generation of nonfiction filmmakers and HBO’s Paradise Lost trilogy, which resulted in the freeing of the wrongly convicted West Memphis Three after almost two decades in prison and earned Berlinger multiple Emmy and Peabody awards and an Academy Award nomination. Berlinger’s passion for using media to bring attention to the issue of wrongful conviction served as his inspiration for Wrong Man on Starz,...
As a pioneering crime and justice filmmaker, Berlinger’s early work is widely credited for having been the launchpad for the explosion in true crime storytelling. His work has drawn attention to social justice issues in the U.S. and abroad through his documentaries and landmark films such as the Sundance and DGA Award winner Brother’s Keeper, about an alleged 1990 murder in the town of Munnsville, New York which has influenced a generation of nonfiction filmmakers and HBO’s Paradise Lost trilogy, which resulted in the freeing of the wrongly convicted West Memphis Three after almost two decades in prison and earned Berlinger multiple Emmy and Peabody awards and an Academy Award nomination. Berlinger’s passion for using media to bring attention to the issue of wrongful conviction served as his inspiration for Wrong Man on Starz,...
- 5/3/2022
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings.
Anthology Film Archives
Robert Downey Sr’s best-known films—some of the funniest ever made—are showcased in a 35mm series, while Mekas and Méliès screen in Essential Cinema.
Museum of the Moving Image
Five films by Chantal Akerman play in the series “Your Loving Mother.”
Metrograph
“Metrograph Selects” offers Cassavetes and Rivette; while The Man in the Moon screens on Sunday. A new restoration of The Wobblies is also playing.
IFC Center
A Gaspar Noé retrospective is underway; the new restorations of Inland Empire and Mississippi Masala continue; Eraserhead, The Crow, and Re-Animator have late-night showings.
Roxy Cinema
Friday brings prints of Alphabet City and Wild Style, while In the Mood for Love and Love is Colder Than Death screen on 35mm this Saturday.
Film Forum
As the new Nights of Cabiria restoration continues, Jean-Jacques Beineix’s Diva plays on 35mm.
Anthology Film Archives
Robert Downey Sr’s best-known films—some of the funniest ever made—are showcased in a 35mm series, while Mekas and Méliès screen in Essential Cinema.
Museum of the Moving Image
Five films by Chantal Akerman play in the series “Your Loving Mother.”
Metrograph
“Metrograph Selects” offers Cassavetes and Rivette; while The Man in the Moon screens on Sunday. A new restoration of The Wobblies is also playing.
IFC Center
A Gaspar Noé retrospective is underway; the new restorations of Inland Empire and Mississippi Masala continue; Eraserhead, The Crow, and Re-Animator have late-night showings.
Roxy Cinema
Friday brings prints of Alphabet City and Wild Style, while In the Mood for Love and Love is Colder Than Death screen on 35mm this Saturday.
Film Forum
As the new Nights of Cabiria restoration continues, Jean-Jacques Beineix’s Diva plays on 35mm.
- 4/29/2022
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Continuing his efforts to chronicle every American serial killer in brutal, fetishistic, detail, Joe Berlinger’s new Netflix series “Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes” operates on the same wavelength as his 2019 “Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes” — obvious, lurid, and compulsively watchable. Ostensibly about the 60 hours of interviews made by Gacy while on death row, “Conversations” is oddly less interested in using his own words to psychoanalyze the former construction worker turned murderer.
Continue reading ‘Conversations With A Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes’ Review: A Superficial Look at the Infamous Serial Killer at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Conversations With A Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes’ Review: A Superficial Look at the Infamous Serial Killer at The Playlist.
- 4/26/2022
- by Christian Gallichio
- The Playlist
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