Filmmaker Steve James burst onto the scene in 1994 with his iconic documentary, "Hoop Dreams", a film that is widely considered one of the great works of American nonfiction cinema. His latest film, "A Compassionate Spy", tells the incredible story of Manhattan Project scientist Ted Hall, who, fearing the post-war risk of a nuclear holocaust, shared classified nuclear secrets with the Soviets. In today's episode, Steve discusses with Tiller the lasting legacy of "Hoop Dreams" (2:30), why he's made films outside of the streamer system (5:15), why he chose to make "A Compassionate Spy" (10:35), trusting his gut instinct (17:50), the production plan for "A Compassionate Spy" (22:40), how Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" helped revitalize this time period for storytelling (34:40), and the shocking misconceptions he uncovered about WWII, Ted Hall, and the Military Industrial Complex (40:00).

Produced by: Jacob Miller

Executive Producer: Tiller Russell

Music by: James Carroll, Graham Tracey & Zydepunk

Distributed by: Jake Brennan & Brady Sadler, Double Elvis Productions

Kathryn Ferguson’s 2022 film “Nothing Compares” follows the career of celebrated singer Sinéad O'Connor through her rise to fame and explores the ways her iconoclastic personality led to exile from the pop mainstream. In today’s episode, Kathryn shares with Tiller the origin for the film (2:00), her writing process (10:00), interweaving archival with audio-only interviews (14:00), creating a visual iconography through original cinematic photography (20:45), screening the film for Sinéad (33:05), and honoring Sinéad’s legacy (36:30). 

Produced by: Jacob Miller

Executive Producer: Tiller Russell

Music by: James Carroll, Graham Tracey & Zydepunk

Distributed by: Jake Brennan & Brady Sadler, Double Elvis Productions

SNL directors and co-creators of the cult favorite Documentary Now! Rhys Thomas and Alex Buono join Tiller to discuss their mockumentary series starring Fred Armisen and Bill Hader, in which each episode is a masterful homage to a classic documentary film style. They reflect on their start at SNL (2:20), the blend of documentary and narrative storytelling (9:20), how much is improvised (13:50), the challenges of making totally unique episodes (20:30) how pressure lends itself to creativity (28:30), turning far-fetched hilarious ideas into reality (32:40), the benefit of having great writers (38:30), and how legendary documentarians have received their work (44:10).

Produced by: Jacob Miller

Executive Producer: Tiller Russell

Music by: Graham Tracey & Zydepunk

Distributed by: Jake Brennan & Brady Sadler, Double Elvis Productions

The two-part docuseries “San Francisco Sounds”, helmed by directing duo Alison Ellwood and Anoosh Tertzakian, celebrates the musical and artistic renaissance that exploded in the Bay Area from the mid-sixties into the mid-seventies. Featuring the music of Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead, Steve Miller, and many more, it’s a glimpse into a time and place that changed the world of music, love, and culture forever. Anoosh and Alison talk with Tiller about transitioning from editing to directing (2:00), the journey from “Laurel Canyon” to “San Francisco Sounds” (7:00), the benefit to using audio-only interviews (14:00), why it took over a year to make this movie (19:05), finding a fresh approach to telling the story of Janis Joplin (22:10), how they craft performances from their key interviews (25:08), the parts of the story that surprised them the most (30:20), and how money changes even the best art (34:00).

Produced by: Jacob Miller

Executive Producer: Tiller Russell

Music by: Graham Tracey & Zydepunk

Distributed by: Jake Brennan & Brady Sadler, Double Elvis Productions

Kartiki Gonsalves is the first Indian Film Director to have ever won an Academy Award in the history of India, which she received for her 2022 short film “The Elephant Whisperers”. Available on Netflix, this film follows a a couple in South India who devote their lives to caring for an orphaned baby elephant, forging a family like no other that tests the barrier between the human and the animal world. Kartiki shares with Tiller the experience of winning an Oscar (1:45), the origin of the film (5:30), the process of following her artistic instinct (11:05), intertwining the various love stories (16:40), finding the editorial structure (25:30), and the most special moment of the entire filmmaking process (31:00). 

Produced by: Jacob Miller

Executive Producer: Tiller Russell

Music by: Graham Tracey & Zydepunk

Distributed by: Jake Brennan & Brady Sadler, Double Elvis Productions

Editor Chris Passig’s latest work, HBO’s “Telemarketers”, follows the 20-year journey of two telemarketers as they vow to expose the scam behind the American telemarketing industry. This three-part documentary takes you from an anarchic, seedy New Jersey call center filled with booze, drugs, and debauchery to the halls of the United States Senate as the world's unlikeliest journalists uncover a deep, nation-wide billion-dollar racket. Tiller speaks with Chris about how the series evolved from years of raw tapes into an HBO series with high-profile EPs (5:05), constructing multiple cohesive storylines in the edit (11:00), his shared background with director Sam Lipman-Stern (15:15), developing Sam and Pat Pespas’s friendship on screen (20:00), screening the series for Pat (25:10), pacing the series (28:35), the lead characters’ borderline stupid bravery (32:30), clarifying the complexity of the scam without including outside experts (37:20), and the reverberating effect of the series in the world (41:10). 

Produced by: Jacob Miller

Executive Producer: Tiller Russell

Music by: Graham Tracey & Zydepunk

Distributed by: Jake Brennan & Brady Sadler, Double Elvis Productions

Actor, writer, producer, director, and loving nephew. Griffin Dunne is the only man who could have directed "Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold", an intimate insight into the remarkable career and tragic struggles his aunt, literary icon Joan Didion. The 2017 film is a touching tribute which includes a trove of archival materials as well as an interview with Didion herself, one of her last appearances before her death in 2021. In this episode, Griffin shares with Tiller his reflections on the title of the film (1:50), how he convinced Joan to trust him with her legacy (5:12), amassing his cast of interview subjects (12:26), his tonal inspirations for the film (16:35), Joan's defining reaction to the acid-dropping five-year-old from "Slouching Towards Bethlehem" (23:38), his experience sharing the film with Joan (27:04), and her lasting legacy with new generations (32:41). 

Produced by: Jacob Miller

Executive Producer: Tiller Russell

Music by: Graham Tracey & Zydepunk

Distributed by: Jake Brennan & Brady Sadler, Double Elvis Productions

The role of the Producer is complex, challenging, and ever-changing. Simon Chinn is a double Oscar-winning Producer who is responsible for some of the most successful feature documentaries of recent years, including “Man on Wire”, “Searching for Sugar Man”, and “LA92”. Simon shares with Tiller his thoughts on producing his first feature “Man on Wire” (1:48), pitching the film to director James Marsh and star Philippe Petit (10:00), the keys to building a prolific career as a documentary producer (26:30), the challenge of sustaining excellence (34:45), and the future of nonfiction (40:45). 

Produced by: Jacob Miller

Executive Producer: Tiller Russell

Music by: Graham Tracey & Zydepunk

Distributed by: Jake Brennan & Brady Sadler, Double Elvis Productions

Jeff Tremaine is the king of “Jackass”. As director, writer, and producer, he shepherded the hilarious daredevil phenomenon not only onto TV screens in 2000, but into 8 feature films, including the spinoff “Bad Grandpa” and 2022’s “Jackass Forever”. Yet behind the pranks, stunts, and pure Jackass-ery, there is a mastery of documentary filmmaking. Perhaps better than anyone else, Jeff has embodied the phrase “a method to the madness”. In his discussion with Tiller, Jeff reflects on the skateboard origins of Jackass (4:30), his “development” and “preproduction” processes (8:30), getting the first movie greenlit with MTV (16:00), finding new cast members for “Jackass Forever” (24:10), the hidden art of editing Jackass movies (32:45), how certain stunts go from funny to “crazy town” (44:00), his stress level while shooting (49:07), and what’s next in his post-Jackass career (54:40). 

Produced by: Jacob Miller

Executive Producer: Tiller Russell

Music by: Graham Tracey & Zydepunk

Distributed by: Jake Brennan & Brady Sadler, Double Elvis Productions

Director Julie Cohen, best known for her Oscar nominated film “RBG”, crafts a moving and eye-opening exploration of intersexuality in her new theatrical release, “Every Body.” By focusing on the lives of three intersex individuals – actor and screenwriter River Gallo, political consultant Alicia Roth Weigel, and Ph.D. student Sean Saifa Wall – Cohen foregrounds the ways the medical establishment and popular culture have historically denied the complexity of intersexuality by insisting on the existence of only two sexes. Julie speaks to Tiller about the incredible story that became the genesis of her film (3:30), finding her three star characters (10:00), society’s intolerance for gender ambiguity (18:03), her method of simultaneous filming and editing (26:31), and screening the film for the intersex community (29:01).

Produced by: Jacob Miller

Executive Producer: Tiller Russell

Music by: Graham Tracey & Zydepunk

Distributed by: Jake Brennan & Brady Sadler, Double Elvis Productions