REALITY OF REALITY

Justin Lacob has the dream job of many people in our business. He’s the Head of Development for XTR – a studio that helps filmmakers on their journeys to get their films made.  Justin also co-founded Documentary+, the Netflix of documentaries. Justin’s a veteran producer who got started on old school reality competition shows like America’s Top Model and ended up on the network side at Spike (which became Paramount) overseeing a gazillion episodes of Bar Rescue. At Paramount he was an Executive Producer with Jay-Z on the Emmy nominated documentary series, Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story, as well as on Gone: The Forgotten Women, directed by Academy Award nominated filmmaker Joe Berlinger.

https://www.xtr.com

https://www.docplus.com

https://medium.com/@justinlacob/the-entertainment-we-will-talk-about-most-in-2020-nonfiction-why-b3a0551ffe6d

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The Non-Fiction United group is fighting for better conditions for our industry: from fair pay to safe work environments. Today I have on the founder of the NFU, Johanna Vanderspool, who is a showrunner and director who’s worked on shows like the BET Awards and Undressed. She’s joined by Toni-Ann Lagana, a freelance producer who’s worked on shows like Dancing with the Stars and American Idol and Jason Martinez, a longtime director/producer who most recently produced Temptation Island during the pandemic.

We talk about how Covid-19 has shined a light on core issues in our business, how rates have changed (or haven’t changed) over the years and how the whole industry is set up like a “mafia family” (!)

For more on the NFU:

http://www.nonfictionunion.com

Toni Ann’s article in THR:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/reality-tvs-overburdened-and-underrepresented-workforce-guest-column?fbclid=IwAR1ywYu0pRWLBpOMvMd7cGs0b-R3mVYnpGJLhV0Zrd5s5u9z4ssYTUEkyS0

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Today on the podcast – a trio of development executives who go way back. They all sell shows for competing companies – but have strong friendships and rely on each other as sounding boards and support: Matt Shanfield  – EVP of Development at IPC,  Tom Huffman – EVP of original content at Pilgrim Media Group and Michelle Byars – VP of unscripted at ITV.

What are the trends and buzzwords these days in unscripted? What’s the best way to get a show sold straight to series? How do you  pitch in a pandemic and what do you pitch? Who are the best network execs in the biz? And is Real Screen a good place to sell shows? We get into it all and much much more. Enjoy!

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The new six part series Surviving Death on Netflix blew me away so I knew I had to talk to the Director and Executive Producer who also happened to be behind many other stellar films and series. Ricki Stern talks about what attracted her to the subject matter, how she chose the stories to profile and what she believes after immersing herself in the spirit world. We also get into some of Ricki’s other work like the Preppy Murder series on AMC, Surviving Jeffrey Epstein on Lifetime and one of my favorite all time docs, Joan Rivers: a Piece of Work.  

More on Ricki and her work:

http://www.breakthrufilms.org

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The two-part documentary Tiger on HBO/HBO Max requires a deep dive and who better to do it with than golfer extraordinaire and my husband Bryan Clobes. Bryan’s not only a gifted golfer (not biased – he actually is a 3 or 4 handicap – whatever that means) but a documentary fan who has great insight into the themes of Tiger’s life: his relationship with his parents, his rise, fall and rise again, his relationships and whether he’ll ever be the true GOAT of golf.

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On this very special episode, two of my all time favorite people talk about the transition from reality TV to real estate. Both Susan and Irina worked in television before switching careers to become realtors and own their own brokerage firm. They talk about why they made the move, what skills they learned in TV helped them become successful realtors and what’s it’s like to be partners in business and life.

Follow Susan and Irina on IG:

https://www.instagram.com/susanirinarealestate/

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Rosie Mercado is a true inspiration – a proud Latina woman who’s struggled with self esteem issues her whole life. When she decided to join the cast of Curvy Girls (now streaming on Peacock), she got serious about losing weight and changing her life. She talks about her journey to losing 240lbs, her new book and podcast “The Girl with Self Esteem Issues” and how she had another baby at 40 years old in the middle of a global pandemic!

Follow Rosie here:

https://www.instagram.com/rosiemercado/?hl=en

Watch Curvy Girls here:

https://www.peacocktv.com/watch/home/asset/tv/curvy-girls/8165907777727910112

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It’s our bi-annual end of year TV recap with my friend and TV blogger Brian Samuels. We’re talking about all the shows we’re watching and recommend. From The Queens Gambit to Murder at Middle Beach to Shark Tank, we tell you about everything we love from the last few months. And of course we’ll tell you what we love to hate watch (looking at you Emily in Paris) and what you definitely want to miss. Enjoy!

Brian’s blog:

http://tvuncovered.com

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Journalist, writer and podcast host Vanessa Grigoriadis joins me to talk about her new podcast Chameleon: Hollywood Con Queen about a con artist who fooled Hollywood players big and small for years with elaborate and often nefarious schemes. We also talk about her podcast about Ivanka Trump on Luminary which is very juicy and illuminating and discuss her book about men, women and consent on college campuses. Enjoy!

Listen to Chameleon: Hollywood Con Queen:

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/chameleon-hollywood-con-queen/id1532225667

Listen to the Ivanka podcast on Luminary:

https://luminarypodcasts.com/listen/new-york-magazine-in-partnership-with-transmitter-media/tabloid-the-making-of-ivanka-trump/863b4d44-41c5-42db-97be-3fae13885da1?country=US

Buy Vanessa’s book:

Check out Vanessa’s work:

http://www.vanessagrigoriadis.com

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You don’t want to miss the four part documentary THE REAGANS on Showtime directed by my guest Matt Tyrnauer. We do a deep dive about shattering the mythology around Reagan and his presidency and what it was like to produce this film in a pandemic. What is happening in politics today makes a lot more sense after you watch this amazing series. Plus, you’ll find out that global decisions about our democracy were being made by…an astrologer?! . All episodes are now available on Showtime and Showtime to Go!

https://www.sho.com/the-reagans

Follow Matt on IG:

https://www.instagram.com/tyrnauer/

Follow Matt on Twitter:

@mtyrnauer

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