The Dangerous Art of the Documentary Double Elvis Productions, Tiller Russell

Director Bao Nguyen’s new documentary “The Biggest 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 where they recorded the song (19:10), finding surprising characters in the unlikeliest places (26:00), and how they replicated the same filming look of the original music video, from using cheap TV doc crew lights to hunting down the same cameras used in 1985 (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

Artist-turned-filmmaker (and old friend of Tiller’s) Jill Magid joins the show to discuss her brilliant 2018 film “The Proposal”, which tracks her journey to recover the works of famed Mexican architect Luis Barragán from a Swiss bunker. Jill discusses with Tiller her artistic voyage from sculptor to filmmaker (3:40), her fascination with incorporating herself as a subject in her art (8:15), the project’s organic evolution from art proposal to feature film (15:00), learning the medium of filmmaking and she went along (20:20), editing the film in a freezing make-shift bunker (31:20), and her carefully crafted performance of “self” (35:00). 

Produced by: Jacob Miller
Executive Producer: Tiller Russell
Music by: James Carroll, Graham Tracey & Zydepunk
Distributed by: Jake Brennan & Brady Sadler, Double Elvis Productions

In his new film “Sly”, filmmaker Thom Zimny offers an intimate perspective of the great Sylvester Stallone by delving into his Hollywood successes, personal pitfalls, underdog story and its parallels with the characters he brought to life. In his conversation with Tiller, Thom discusses finding the rhythm of the film (5:45), the dream space of editing an archival-based film (9:10), letting the themes speak to him organically (15:00), the dramatic imagery of Sly moving homes (23:52), writing with visual grammar (29:38), and interviewing Sly for 7 hours (38:30).

Produced by: Jacob Miller
Executive Producer: Tiller Russell
Music by: James Carroll, Graham Tracey & Zydepunk
Distributed by: Jake Brennan & Brady Sadler, Double Elvis Productions

This one is from the vault. If you haven't seen Mad Hot Ballroom from director Marilyn Agrelo, stop now and go check it out. It's a classic and a masterpiece. Centered around a ballroom dancing competition for fifth grade dance teams in New York City elementary schools, Agrelo captures a genuine and life-affirming transformation as a group of children evolve from reticent novices to confident contestants versed in the Latin styles of foxtrot, merengue and rumba. Agrelo shares with Tiller the challenges of capturing the spirit of New York City (4:25), casting the right teachers and kid dancers (14:10), the mechanics of verité filming and simultaneous editing (21:22), the art of directing kids (28:50), being validated by local criminals (32:45), and the film's shocking critical reception (42:00).

Produced by: Jacob Miller
Executive Producer: Tiller Russell
Music by: James Carroll, Graham Tracey & Zydepunk
Distributed by: Jake Brennan & Brady Sadler, Double Elvis Productions

"The Space Race", a new film by directors Lisa Cortés and Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, profiles the pioneering Black pilots, scientists, and engineers who joined NASA to serve their country in space, even as their country failed to achieve equality for them back on Earth. From 1963, when the assassination of JFK thwarted Captain Ed Dwight’s quest to reach the moon, to 2020, when the echoes of the civil unrest sparked by the killing of George Floyd reached the International Space Station. In today’s discussion, Lisa and Diego share their paths to documentaries (1:40), their co-directing process (5:30), the injection of “Afro-Futurism” (12:00), the impact of George Floyd’s death on the International Space Station (21:48), and the experience of screening the film with the astronauts themselves (35:30).

Produced by: Jacob Miller
Executive Producer: Tiller Russell
Music by: James Carroll, Graham Tracey & Zydepunk
Distributed by: Jake Brennan & Brady Sadler, Double Elvis Productions

Season 3 kicks off with one of the great nonfiction filmmakers working today, Brett Morgen - the director, writer and editor of the film "Moonage Daydream", which explores David Bowie's creative, spiritual, and musical journey. In his discussion with Tiller, Brett shares how a speech impediment led him to make documentaries (2:45), determining the visual style for each film (6:25), the making of his 2002 film "The Kid Stays in the Picture" (9:10), the origin of "Moonage Daydream" (18:45), the two-year process of personally screening David Bowie's entire video archive (29:00), how Homer's "Illiad" inspired the structure of the film (37:50), when he knows a project is finished (45:30), and Sean Penn's single note that saved the film (49:20). 

Produced by: Jacob Miller
Executive Producer: Tiller Russell
Music by: James Carroll, Graham Tracey & Zydepunk
Distributed by: Jake Brennan & Brady Sadler, Double Elvis Productions