Factual America – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode, Matthew sits down with acclaimed filmmaker R.J. Cutler to discuss his latest Netflix documentary, 'Martha'. Cutler offers fascinating insights into the making of the film, which chronicles the life and career of Martha Stewart, the iconic businesswoman and lifestyle guru.

Discover how Cutler gained unprecedented access to Stewart and her vast personal archives, and learn about the challenges he faced in capturing her complex story. The director shares his perspective on Stewart's visionary approach to business, her resilience in the face of adversity, and her impact on American culture.

Cutler also addresses Stewart's public critique of the documentary, offering a balanced and thoughtful response. This episode provides a deep dive into the filmmaking process, the art of storytelling, and the nuances of portraying a living legend.

Whether you're a fan of Martha Stewart, interested in documentary filmmaking, or curious about American cultural icons, this episode offers unique insights and behind-the-scenes details you won't want to miss.

Watch the episode at https://www.factualamerica.com

Unsolved murders, paranormal activity, and UFOs. Unsolved Mysteries, the iconic docu-series that was a staple of TV in the 80s and 90s is back on Netflix with Volume 5.

Joining Matthew Sherwood on Factual America is multiple Emmy nominated filmmaker Terry Dunn Meurer, the co-creator and producer of Unsolved Mysteries. She shares the secrets of Unsolved Mysteries’ success and why we have such a fascination with true crime and the unexplained.

The filmmaker also describes the different cases the new series investigates, how many cases on Unsolved Mysteries have been solved, and what it’s like working with law enforcement.

Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com

“Nobody knows what these body parts are used for or who is doing this, it’s the most unexplainable case I’ve ever seen.” – Terry Dunn Meurer

“Our focus is let’s solve this. Our job isn’t to judge law enforcement, our job is to help law enforcement solve these cases.” – Terry Dunn Meurer

Between 2001-19, head coach Bill Belichick created one of the most successful dynasties ever seen in American football. Under his leadership, the New England Patriots won a record equalling six Super Bowl titles. Guided by quarterback Tom Brady, the team also set a host of other NFL records, including most wins over a ten year period, longest regular season/play-off winning streak, and most consecutive divisional titles.

But this era of nearly unprecedented success did not come without a cost, and the franchise was rocked by a number of controversies. Chief among them were the Spygate and Deflategate scandals. Through it all, however, the team kept winning. Could no-one stop the Patriots? As it happened, only the Patriots themselves could, and that is exactly what happened.

In The Dynasty: New England Patriots, a ten-part docu-series now showing on Apple TV+, director Matthew Hamachek explores the rise and fall of the Belichick-Brady Patriot dynasty. How did it achieve greatness? This question is at the heart of the docu-series and opens Matt’s discussion with Matthew Sherwood. They discuss are what it was like interviewing Brady and the famously reserved Belichick, particularly when it came to asking them questions they would rather not answer. Other topics include the comparison to be drawn between the Patriots and Oscar winner Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight, and how you make a compelling documentary about a team whose success made them incredibly unpopular.

The Dynasty: New England Patriots is the fruit of 35,000 hours of archive footage and over 70 interviews with Patriot players and coaches from Bill Belichick and Tom Brady onwards. In this podcast, discover the ruthlessness, maniacal nature, and utter determination to succeed that made and maybe marred the New England Patriots’ dynasty.

Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com

“... everything about this story surprised me... you hear about the cheating scandals... you get the caricature of what these people are supposed to be, and then as you dig deeper and deeper and deeper, you realise that behind all the headlines, there's just so much more, and these people are so complex and nuanced.” – Matt Hamachek

Melissa Lucio is the only Hispanic woman to ever be sentenced to death in the state of Texas. She is currently facing her last appeal, having spent 13 years on death row. 

Her case, as well as the problems with the American justice system and the death penalty, are captured in the documentary The State of Texas vs. Melissa (2020). 

Having made its festival debut, the film has received great reviews and won multiple audience choice awards. Joining us is French-American journalist and filmmaker Sabrina Van Tassel, who directed, wrote and produced the film.

This is also a joint episode with Factual America's sister podcast, The Lone Star Plate, hosted by Patrick Scott Armstrong, who interviews famous Texans and explores compelling Texas stories. 

“I believe Melissa would already have been executed if I hadn’t made this film.” - Sabrina Van Tassel

Mary J Blige is a multi-platinum R&B and Hip Hop recording artist, a 9-time Grammy award-winner, and celebrated actress.

She is also the subject of a new Amazon Studios documentary that releases on June 25th, Mary J Blige’s My Life, that marked the 25th anniversary of the artist's acclaimed 1994 album, propelling her to international stardom.

Joining us to talk about Mary J Blige and the making of this documentary is the Academy Award-winning filmmaker Vanessa Roth, best known for her short documentary Freeheld (2007) and Netflix series Daughters of Destiny (2017).

She tells us about how Mary’s life inspired and influenced the My Life album and her music career, about the challenges of making music documentaries, as well as what it was like working with Amazon Studios. 

“Once you’re given the opportunity, you need to do the work.” - Vanessa Roth

The Tony and Pulitzer-Prize winning musical Rent celebrates the 25th anniversary of its Broadway premiere on June 15th.

The musical's message still resonates today, as captured by the HBO documentary Revolution Rent about the first commercial American production staged in Havana, Cuba in over 50 years.

Stage director and filmmaker Andy Señor, Jr played Angel in the Broadway play, directed the Havana production, and co-directed Revolution Rent with Victor Patrick Alvarez.

Both join us to recall the experience of staging Rent in Cuba in 2014. They also discuss the intentions behind making Revolution Rent and the challenges they faced bringing the film to a worldwide audience.

Revolution Rent is debuting on HBO and HBO Max on June 15th.

"I've always told Andy that this is a sacred experience. As someone who's known a lot about the culture in Cuba, I could have went there and stirred the pot, but that's not why I was there. It was Broadway, it was Rent, it was Jonathan Larson's play, Andy was there, it was America and Cuba working together." - Victor Patrick Alvarez

Five years after the legendary Texas singer and songwriter Guy Clark passed away, his life and legacy is celebrated in a new documentary. Without Getting Killed or Caught brings Guy's colourful life and career to the big screen. 

The film is the brainchild of Grammy award-winning music producer, award-winning author, and documentary filmmaker Tamara Saviano. She and her partner in life Paul Whitfield are the co-directors and co-producers.

The film looks at Guy Clark’s life as he struggles to write poetic songs, while balancing a complicated marriage with his wife Susanna. It is also a story of Guy's friendship with another legendary Texas singer-songwriter, Townes Van Zandt, on whom Susanna forged a passionate dependence.

Tamara and Paul talk about what led them to make the documentary, how they gained access to Susanna’s diary and audio tapes, and which other films inspired them the most in their filmmaking. 

“They are so good at what they do, yet they remain so grounded and humble, and that attracts people to them.” - Tamara Saviano

Mike Tyson, the former heavyweight champion, is considered one of the greatest boxers of all time. Unfortunately, he is just as famous for his exploits outside of the ring as he is for his many knockouts.

The new docuseries Mike Tyson: The Knockout is currently streaming on ABC and Hulu. Senior Executive Producer for original non-fiction content at ABC News, Roxanna Sherwood, joins us to discuss the film. 

Roxanna shares how she collaborated with the Oscar-winning screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher and Grammy-winning composer Terence Blanchard to create a new approach to Mike Tyson's story.  She explains what it was like for Mike growing up, how he ended up in so many scandals, and why this story is relevant now more than ever.

“We are prone these days to shuffle things under the black and white. The grey has disappeared, but the truth is in the middle, the truth is grey.” - Roxanna Sherwood

00:14 - The trailer for Mike Tyson: The Knockout.
05:21 - The new context the documentary gives to Mike’s life.
08:54 - What it was like for Mike growing up in Brownsville, Brooklyn.
11:26 - First clip showing Brownsville in the 1970s and '80s.
13:40 - The difficulties Mike Tyson had as a boy.
16:48 - Second clip revealing the fortune Mike gained in a short period of time.
19:34 - The misguided trust Mike had in Robin Givens.
25:22 - Third clip looking at how Mike's lavish lifestyle turned self-destructive.
28:29 - Which knockout the title refers to.
30:43 - The rape committed by Mike Tyson and the subsequent trial.
37:36 - The importance of understanding unconscious bias and racism.
44:43 - Why this documentary is so relevant at the moment.
47:14 - How Geoffrey Fletcher and Terence Blanchard became involved with the film.
50:53 - The type of content ABC News will be making in the future.
53:30 - How to be a successful documentary filmmaker.
55:18 - What’s next for Roxanna.

Richard Melville Hall, better known to most of us as Moby, is an electronic music pioneer. In the 1990s he scored numerous top ten hits on the Billboard Dance Club chart and his album Play (1999) has sold over 12 million copies.

Even with all that success, Moby still found himself hitting rock bottom, contemplating suicide and wondering why he wasn't happy despite achieving everything he wanted.

Joining us is the director and writer of the Moby Doc, Rob Gordon Bralver. Rob teamed up with Moby to make a documentary about the musician’s life, activism and his struggles along the way in the quest for happiness.

Rob tells us how he got the opportunity to make this film and what it was like closely collaborating with Moby.

Moby Doc will be released online at the same time as Moby’s new album Reprise on May 28th.  

“There’s an element that’s meant to be a cautionary tale for not just aspiring artists, but aspiring anything. It’s seldom the road that you believed that it would be when you started.” - Rob Gordon Bralver

The Villages is a self-contained retirement community located in central Florida. Often referred to as a “Disneyland for Retirees,” it is home to over 130,000 seniors. The Villages offers residents a utopian version of a bygone America: wide, safe streets, perfectly manicured lawns, and countless activities all in the service of enjoying the golden years. 

Directed by filmmaker Lance Oppenheim, Some Kind of Heaven (2020) reveals cracks in The Villages' facade and explores life inside its palm-tree-lined streets, while challenging stereotypes around ageing.  

The film follows four residents for whom The Villages is not living up to its reputation. By aiming the camera lens at this usually closed-off community, Lance captures what The Villages is really like. What type of people live in these retirement villages? How did residents respond to Lance filming there? And why did Lance choose to delve into this bizarre world? 

Some Kind of Heaven is available on demand in the UK from May 14th 2021. 

“There’s something beautiful to the idea that no matter how old you get, you are still becoming.” - Lance Oppenheim