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PODCAST

The Dangerous Art of the Documentary

Double Elvis Productions, Tiller Russell

Filmmaker Tiller Russell (Waco: American Apocalypse, Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer, Operation Odessa, The Last Narc, The Seven Five) exchanges the camera for a microphone, sitting down with other documentary filmmakers for riveting, in-depth conversations about their most successful, iconic or recent films.

tv & film film interviews

All Episodes

42:27

Angela Patton & Natalie Rae (Daughters)

The Dangerous Art of the Documentary ·

2025/02/14

“Daughters” presents the story of four young girls as they prepare for a special Daddy Daughter Dance with their incarcerated fathers, as part of a unique fatherhood program in a Washington, D.C. jail. For most of the daughters, the dance will be the only time they will be able to touch or hug their fathers during sentences, some of which are as long as 20 years. Co-directors Angela Patton and Natalie Rae share with Tiller their experience meeting because of a TED talk (3:00), earning the trust of

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49:41

Dylan Reeve (Tickled)

The Dangerous Art of the Documentary ·

2025/01/31

In “Tickled”, a story stranger than fiction, journalist David Farrier and filmmaker Dylan Reeve uncover a strange tickling subculture. Delving deeper into the dark world of a tickling competition, they are with fierce resistance as they uncover a dark empire ensnaring and exploiting vulnerable young men. Dylan shares with Tiller how he and his co-director David Farrier blindly stumbled into this story (1:00), why they had to reshoot virtually everything (11:00, getting threats the deeper they went

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44:46

Gilad Baram (Koudelka Shooting Holy Land)

The Dangerous Art of the Documentary ·

2025/01/14

Gilad Baram is an Israeli photographer, visual artist and documentarian. His 2015 film “Koudelka Shooting Holy Land” follows iconic Czech photographer Josef Koudelka’s journey through Israel and Palestine as he captures the essence of that conflicted land. Tiller begins the discussion explaining how he thinks this film achieves rigorous artistic singularity (2:30), before Gilad shares why this was never meant to be a film (10:30), Koudelka’s surprising documentation of the West Bank border (20:00),

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34:53

Josh Greenbaum (Will & Harper | Netflix)

The Dangerous Art of the Documentary ·

2024/12/20

Director Josh Greenbaum’s latest documentary, “Will & Harper”, depicts an intimate portrayal of friendship, understanding and America as Will Ferrell and his recently transitioned close friend Harper Steele, former SNL head writer, embark on a cross-country road trip. Josh shares with Tiller the experience of being approached by Will and Harper with the initial film idea (2:30), Josh’s multi-step prep process (6:00), how he ensured the road trip felt authentic (12:30), finding acceptance in the most

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37:27

Alexandre O. Philippe (Lynch/Oz)

The Dangerous Art of the Documentary ·

2024/12/06

The themes, images, and cultural vernacular of Victor Fleming’s The Wizard of Oz continue to haunt David Lynch’s filmography. Is Lynch trapped in the Land of Oz? Through six distinct perspectives, Alexandre O. Philippe’s Lynch/Oz helps us reexperience and reinterpret The Wizard of Oz by way of David Lynch, delivering new appreciations of both. In his discussion with Tiller, Alexandre speaks about the allure of making films about films (2:00), his jazz-inspired approach to interviews (7:30), how he

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23:33

R.J. Cutler (Elton John: Never Too Late | Disney+)

The Dangerous Art of the Documentary ·

2024/11/15

PART TWO! Director R.J. Cutler returns to the show to discuss his two latest biopic documentaries, “Martha” and “Elton John: Never Too Late.” In Part Two, R.J. discusses with Tiller about how Elton John walked into his life (0:35), the theme of mortality in the film (4:30), exploring the most raw emotional moments of Elton’s life (12:00), and how Elton's relationship with John Lennon fundamentally changed his life (18:00).Produced by: Jacob Miller Executive Producer: Tiller Russell Music by:

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31:11

R.J. Cutler (Martha | Netflix)

The Dangerous Art of the Documentary ·

2024/10/31

PART ONE! Director RJ Cutler returns to the show to discuss his two latest biopic documentaries, “Martha” and “Elton John: Never Too Late.” In Part One, RJ will share with Tiller how he and Martha first connected (3:00), creating a film around a potentially unreliable narrator (9:00), why Martha was the only on-camera interview in the film (12:00), how he prepared Martha to be vulnerable (14:30), why nothing surprises him when making documentaries (18:30), and what it means to be in search of

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27:57

Edmund Stenson (Blink | Theaters & Disney+)

The Dangerous Art of the Documentary ·

2024/10/04

Directors Daniel Roher and Edmund Stenson’s latest film “Blink”, the follow-up to their Academy Award winning feature “Navalny”, follows a family taking their three children on an epic journey to see the beauty of the world before they lose their eyesight to an incurable condition. Edmund joins Tiller to discuss the nuances of capturing cinematic moments with verité (3:30), editing scenes in your mind as you film them (9:00), how to decide what to shoot as a team (13:00), how his editing background

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52:27

Maciek Hamela (In The Rearview)

The Dangerous Art of the Documentary ·

2024/09/20

Maciek Hamela’s minimalist debut film, “In the Rearview” is an expansive road trip through the Russian invasion of Ukraine that drove more than 15 million refugees — more than one-third of Ukraine’s population — in out of their homes and country. In this film, Maciek drives a van of Ukrainian refugees as they encounter numerous military checkpoints while trying to make their way to Poland. Maciek shares with Tiller how and why he made this film (2:00), his thought process in framing the film as a

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52:38

Nenad Cicin-Sain (Kiss the Future | Paramount+)

The Dangerous Art of the Documentary ·

2024/09/06

Director Nenad Cicin-Sain’s latest film “Kiss the Future” covers the incredibly dire yet uplifting stories of underground art and music, which culminated in a live concert by the band U2, during the brutal four-year siege of Sarajevo. Nenad opens up about about his connection to Sarajevo and researching this story (2:30), creating a war film first and a concert film second (12:45), what made Matt Damon such a great producer (18:30), the path to filming interviews in a bombed out former Red Cross

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42:09

Fisher Stevens (Beckham | Netflix)

The Dangerous Art of the Documentary ·

2024/08/22

Actor, Producer, and Director Fisher Stevens is the creative force behind Netflix’s Emmy-nominated docuseries “Beckham”, which follows David Beckham's rise from humble working-class beginnings to football stardom, as well as all his personal turbulence along the way. Fisher shares with Tiller why he pivoted from acting to documentaries (2:00), the backstory behind his unlikely partnership with the Beckhams (7:30), building trust with David (12:00), figuring out the story structure in the edit

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50:46

Sam Jones (Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off | Max)

The Dangerous Art of the Documentary ·

2024/08/09

Director, photographer, interviewer, and yes, amateur skateboarder Sam Jones reflects on the winding journey of directing “Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off”, a definitive, no-holds-barred look at the life and iconic career of skateboarding’s greatest to ever do it. Tiller and Sam discuss why Tiller is envious of Sam’s career (2:45), the backstory behind Sam’s debut documentary from 2002 about the band Wilco (9:50), how Tony Hawk truly lives as hard as he can (21:00), Sam’s decision to make the

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49:37

Jeff Zimbalist (Skywalkers: A Love Story | Netflix)

The Dangerous Art of the Documentary ·

2024/07/26

Director Jeff Zimbalist returns to the podcast to discuss his second feature film of the year, “Skywalkers: A Love Story”, a thrilling tale about a daring couple that performs acrobatics atop the world’s last super skyscraper. Jeff talks with Tiller about blending the genres of heist and romance (3:30), why this film had to be independently financed (11:00), interweaving the themes of love, risk and trust (17:00), directing Angela and Ivan’s camerawork on top of skyscrapers (27:00), how the presence

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44:06

Jeff Zimbalist (How To Come Alive With Norman Mailer)

The Dangerous Art of the Documentary ·

2024/07/06

Director Jeff Zimbalist’s latest film, HOW TO COME ALIVE WITH NORMAN MAILER, explores the rollercoaster life of America’s most controversial and bestselling author of the 20th Century, Norman Mailer. Prophet, hedonist, violent criminal, literary outlaw, and social provocateur, Mailer’s ideas about love, anger, fear, and courage cut to the core of human nature, are more relevant than ever today, and point to a prescription for waking ourselves up, shaking free of society’s expectations, and coming

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32:32

Alex Gibney (In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul...

The Dangerous Art of the Documentary ·

2024/06/22

Academy and Emmy Award winning director Alex Gibney, head of the prolific doc studio Jigsaw Productions, has a new film about an old legend, Paul Simon. “In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon”, is a look back on Paul Simon's extraordinary six-decade career as well as an intimate glimpse into his creative process as he is in the studio creating his newest album, Seven Psalms. In his discussion with Tiller, Alex reflects on capturing both the practical and mystical method of Paul’s creative

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46:21

Gabriela Cowperthwaite (The Grab | Amazon & Apple)

The Dangerous Art of the Documentary ·

2024/06/13

Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s newest film, “The Grab”, is an earth-shattering revelation. Over six years in the making, it follows the incredible work of an investigative journalist who uncovers the money, influence and alarming rationale behind covert efforts to control the most vital resource on the planet. In her discussion with Tiller, Gabriela reflects on her journey of starting to go down this treacherous rabbit hole (1:00), making a complicated global plot feel like a digestible, present

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47:18

Rory Kennedy & Mark Bailey (The Synanon Fix | Max)

The Dangerous Art of the Documentary ·

2024/05/31

Acclaimed filmmakers Rory Kennedy and Mark Bailey join Tiller to discuss their latest hit documentary “The Synanon Fix”, a four-part series that tracks the rise and fall of an organization that began as a rehab for heroin addicts and devolved into an egalitarian community that mandated vasectomies, shaved heads, partner swapping, bizarre social experiments, and ultimately, child abuse and attempted murder. Rory and Mark share how they’ve balanced marriage, co-parenting and running a film company

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54:27

Avi Belkin (Mike Wallace is Here | Max)

The Dangerous Art of the Documentary ·

2024/05/17

Director Avi Belkin’s masterful 2019 film “Mike Wallace is Here” offers an unflinching look at the legendary reporter, who interrogated the 20th century’s biggest figures in his over fifty years on air. Unearthing decades of never-before-seen footage from the 60 Minutes vault, the film explores what drove and plagued Wallace, whose storied career, marked by aggressive reporting style and showmanship, was entwined with the evolution of journalism itself. In his discussion with Tiller, Avi reflects on

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45:24

Chris Hegedus (The War Room | Max, The Criterion...

The Dangerous Art of the Documentary ·

2024/05/02

Renowned cinema verité filmmaker Chris Hegedus, along with her late husband and co-director D.A. Pennebaker, was nominated for an Academy Award in 1993 for “The War Room”, a fleet-footed and entertaining documentary following the brainstorming and bull sessions of Bill Clinton’s crack team of campaign consultants, especially James Carville and George Stephanopoulos, who became media stars in their own right. In her discussion with Tiller, Chris reflects on first getting connected with Pennebaker

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43:53

Bao Nguyen (The Greatest Night in Pop | Netflix)

The Dangerous Art of the Documentary ·

2024/04/18

Director Bao Nguyen’s new documentary “The Greatest Night in Pop” chronicles the dreamlike recording session for “We Are the World,” the 1985 charity single sung by a motley crew of America’s biggest pop stars. In his conversation with Tiller, Bao reveals why he questioned if he was the right person to tell this story (3:00), his journey to find the long sought-after archival footage (8:40), the practice in ‘80s nostalgia (15:00), why he insisted on filming interviews at the same studio in Hollywood

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86 results

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