News

The Stay in LA campaign is growing.

Five days after launching the campaign – designed to encourage more production to return to the city following the devastating wildfires – the group now has over 15,000 signatures to its petition.

This now includes A-listers such as Keanu Reeves and Bette Midler.

Rian Johnson, Patty Jenkins, Joey King, Zooey Deschanel, Joshua Jackson, Olivia Wilde, Alex Winter, Kevin Bacon, Connie Britton, Charlie Hunnam, Sian Heder and Jason Reitman are among the signatories to the grassroots campaign, which was launched by Alexandra Pechman and Sarah Adina Smith.

Pechman, who has written on series such as Syfy’s Channel Zero and Hulu’s Into The Dark, and Sarah Adina Smith, who has directed episodes of Apple’s Lessons in Chemistry and FX’s Legion, started the campaign with a group of about 30 filmmakers and showrunners including Nick Antosca, Julie Plec, Michael Sucsy, and Alex Winter in partnership with CA United,...

Erin Lee Carr’s documentary, Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara, emerges as a compelling exploration of identity and deception within the digital landscape. Carr, known for her incisive examinations of complex narratives, deftly navigates the unsettling story of Tegan Quin, whose image was hijacked by a shadowy figure known as “Fegan.”

This film surpasses the simple recounting of a catfishing scheme, delving into the broader implications of parasocial relationships and the often toxic dynamics of online fandom. The story unfolds like a chilling mystery, yet it serves as a poignant reflection on the emotional toll of betrayal.

Tegan and Sara, the Canadian indie rock duo, occupy a unique space in both music history and queer culture. Rising to prominence in the early 2000s, they became emblematic figures for a generation of young queer individuals seeking representation and community. Their openness about their identities resonated deeply, creating an intimate...

Jason Clarke has joined Patricia Arquette on the currently untitled limited series on the Murdaugh Family set at Hulu.

Clarke will take on the role as the family patriarch Alex Murdaugh, while Arquette will play Maggie Murdaugh. The show is based on the Murdaugh family story and draws from the reporting of journalist Mandy Matney, the creator of the ‘Murdaugh Murders Podcast.’

The series description reads; On the surface, Alex Murdaugh (Clarke) seems to have it all: wealth, status, and unchecked privilege in rural Hampton County, South Carolina where four generations of Murdaughs have built a sprawling legal dynasty. But when a deadly accident shines a harsh spotlight on Alex, his wife Maggie (Arquette), and their sons Buster and Paul, the almighty Murdaugh facade begins to crumble leading Alex to take increasingly desperate measures to preserve the family name and protect his own dark secrets.

Also in news – Tom Hardy,...

Jason Clarke has been cast in a lead role in Hulu’s upcoming limited series about the infamous Murdaugh family, Variety has learned.

Clarke will star in the currently untitled show alongside Patricia Arquette, whose casting was reported in September. Clarke will star as family patriarch Alex Murdaugh while Arquette will play Maggie Murdaugh. The show is based on the Murdaugh family story and draws from the reporting of journalist Mandy Matney, the creator of the “Murdaugh Murders Podcast.”

The official logline for the show states:

“On the surface, Alex Murdaugh (Clarke) seems to have it all: wealth, status, and unchecked privilege in rural Hampton County, South Carolina where four generations of Murdaughs have built a sprawling legal dynasty. But when a deadly accident shines a harsh spotlight on Alex, his wife Maggie (Arquette), and their sons Buster and Paul, the almighty Murdaugh facade begins to crumble leading Alex to...

Jason Clarke has signed on to portray real-life convicted killer Alex Murdaugh in Hulu’s Untitled Murdaugh Murders limited series opposite Patricia Arquette, who plays the family’s matriarch, Maggie.

From co-creator and showrunner Michael D. Fuller and Erin Lee Carr, the true-crime drama follows Alex Murdaugh, who on the surface seems to have it all: wealth, status, and unchecked privilege in rural Hampton County, South Carolina where four generations of Murdaughs have built a sprawling legal dynasty.

But when a deadly accident shines a harsh spotlight on Alex, his wife Maggie, and their sons Buster and Paul, the almighty Murdaugh facade begins to crumble leading Alex to take increasingly desperate measures to preserve the family name and protect his dark secrets.

In 2023, Alex Murdaugh was convicted of killing his wife and son Paul which took place two years prior. He was sentenced to two life sentences...

Canadian twin sisters Tegan and Sara Quin are known by their music moniker Tegan and Sara, a pop duo that took indie music by storm in the early to mid-2000s. Their dedicated fans have traveled the globe to get a glimpse of the sisters as they’ve consistently performed to overwhelming crowds after releasing ten studio albums.

They were also once the victims of a catfishing scandal that posed harm to some of their fans and to Tegan and Sara’s privacy.

“Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara” is a fascinating documentary that made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. Premiering Friday on Hulu, the film provides extensive background about the duo’s rise to fame and details the story of a hacker who catfished some of their fans and tried to take the singer-songwriters’ careers down. The movie is an investigative study into the...

This engrossing documentary from renowned director Erin Lee Carr takes viewers deep into the disturbing world of Lois Riess and the puzzling crimes that shocked a quiet community. Aired on HBO in late 2024, I’m Not a Monster goes beyond headlines to offer new insight into a case where reality proves stranger than fiction.

Lois seemed an ordinary grandmother from small-town Minnesota, but in 2018 she was accused of murdering her husband David. What began as a tragic tale soon twisted further when she was allegedly killed again while on the run.

Now prisoners to her own actions, Lois agrees to sit down with Carr and share her side of this unbelievable story. Across two intimate interviews, opposing sides of this woman emerge—is she a vicious killer or yet another victim of circumstances beyond her control?

Carr’s delicate yet probing style lays bare the complexities beneath the surface. Through...

Director Erin Lee Carr hates to use the term “brand” but that’s exactly what she’s cultivated when it comes to bizarre true crime stories. “People are like, ‘This horrible thing happened. Let’s call Erin Lee Carr,'” the documentarian told TheWrap.

It’s not surprising to see how Carr developed this reputation. She was behind HBO’s Gypsy Rose Blanchard documentary “Mommy Dead and Dearest” and “I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth v. Michelle Carter,” both of which went on to inspire the Hulu scripted series “The Act” and “The Girl From Plainville,” respectively. In 2021, Carr released Netflix’s “Britney vs Spears,” the same year the pop icon’s conservatorship was terminated. She’s also produced a Peacock documentary on Stormy Daniels, a Hulu docuseries on the Sherri Papini kidnapping hoax and an HBO documentary on journalist Kim Wall, who went missing after boarding Danish entrepreneur Peter Madsen’s submarine.

Before Tegan and Sara Quin were the chart-topping sister act known for their genre-defying queer sound, they were twins from Calgary, Canada just utterly excited that they’d won a local music competition. One of their prizes for the 1998 victory was a headline set at a nearby pub, where 300 people moseyed in to see the 17-year-olds play their set. Afterward, a handful of fans lined up to purchase cassette tapes the two had made. It was the first time they had ever signed autographs. And for Tegan, it was the...

Catfishing is not really new, and the term and the phenomenon—being tricked by someone online, usually posing as someone they are not— came into parlance with the 2010 documentary “Catfishing.” But catfishing was still new around 2011—the year pop duo Tegan & Sara were caught in a long-term, still-running catfish scam. Directed and produced by Erin Lee Carr, the filmmaker behind the doc “Britney Vs.

Continue reading ‘Fanatical’ Trailer: ‘The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara’; A Dark & Scary Tale Of Pop Star Stalking at The Playlist.

For years, fans of Tegan and Sara thought they had a unique online relationship with Tegan. They exchanged personal messages on Facebook and jokes. They felt like friends. Then they realized that wasn’t the case at all.

The trailer for the new documentary Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara — which premieres on Hulu on Oct. 18 — shows how somebody hacked into the personal information of the artists (who are sisters), including their mother’s medical history and used it to leverage relationships with their fans around 2011.

“I had become...

Max has picked up a new scripted law enforcement drama from Tomorrow Studios, a joint venture with ITV Studios known for “One Piece” and “Snowpiercer.”

The untitled project, which is being developed through a first look deal with Liz Garbus and Dan Cogan’s Story Syndicate and is loosely inspired by the life story of Geraldine Hart, follows a legendary FBI agent who returns to her hometown on Long Island to clean up mob corruption and quickly finds that the rot is even deeper and darker than she thought. Before long, she finds herself facing down nefarious entities from all sides.

In addition to Hart, Garbus and Cogan, the series is executive produced by Tomorrow Studios’ Marty Adelstein, Becky Clements and Alissa Bachner, Story Syndicate’s Nellie Reed, Eileen Myers, Anne Beagan and Anne Beagan Productions’ Stacey Sherman. Myers serves as writer on the project, while Garbus directs.

Hart most...

“Okay, who’s ready for a horrifying documentary?” asks director Erin Lee Carr at the Royal Alexandra Theatre Friday night. Her introduction to the world premiere of “Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan & Sara,” at the Toronto International Film Festival, is not hyperbole. Indeed, “Fanatical” is a horror and mystery rolled into one.

“If there’s one takeaway from the film, it’s to listen to your gut,” Tegan says later during the Q&a.

The film — out Oct. 18 on Hulu in the U.S. and Disney+ in Canada — is a painstaking investigation into what the Canadian indie-rock duo have endured behind the scenes for 16 years and counting. Carr and her team attempt to track down the identity of the person pretending via email and direct message to be Tegan Quin, otherwise referred to as “Fake Tegan” and “Fegan.”

Tegan and Sara Quin, 43-year-old Canadian identical twins known for such...

NewFest has announced the full lineup for the 36th edition of the New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival.

The largest queer film festival in the U.S., it will include more than 140 new features, shorts and episodic projects from 31 countries in addition to legacy screenings.

The festival runs Oct. 10 to Oct. 20 in theaters in Manhattan and Brooklyn, as well as on NewFest’s on-demand platform until Oct. 22, with venues including the Sva Theatre, The LGBT Community Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music and Nitehawk Prospect Park.

The opening film on Oct. 10 is the N.Y. City premiere of Roshan Sethi’s “A Nice Indian Boy,” which had its world premiere at SXSW. The closing night selection is Jacques Audiard’s musical drama “Emilia Pérez,” which won the Cannes Jury Prize and the best actress award for Karla Sofía Gascón, Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, and Adriana Paz.

Erin Carr’s “Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara...

A new Hulu limited series based on the Murdaugh Murders case is confirmed to be in development. The show is set to follow the famous Murdaugh family from the Lowcountry region of South Carolina. For all the familys great legal and political influence, they were accused of being involved in a number of crimes that ranged from fraud to murder, all which came to a head when the fourth-generation son, Alex, murdered his wife Maggie and his son Paul, using multiple guns.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, a new crime thriller series about the Murdaugh family has been greenlit at Hulu and Academy Award winner Patricia Arquette has already been confirmed to star in the lead role in the limited series. The show was initially reported to be in development a couple of years ago, but with the confirmation of Arquettes casting, it has now officially been ordered to series.

Emmy Award winner Patricia Arquette will headline Hulu’s Murdaugh Murders limited series.

Per the official description, the untitled series “is based on Maggie (played by Arquette) and Alex Murdaugh’s stranger-than-fiction family drama, a riveting account drawing from countless hours of reporting by Mandy Matney – journalist and creator of the popular Murdaugh Murders Podcast – as well as exclusive, insider knowledge from years spent following the case.”

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After getting a taste of prestige true crime television with “The Act” and “Escape at Dannemora,” Patricia Arquette has set her next miniseries event at Hulu.

The streamer gave a limited series order to an “untitled Murdaugh murders” project on Friday. The show is “based on Maggie and Alex Murdaugh’s stranger-than-fiction family drama, a riveting account drawing from countless hours of reporting by Mandy Matney – journalist and creator of the popular ‘Murdaugh Murders Podcast’ – as well as exclusive, insider knowledge from years spent following the case,” per the official description.

In June 2021, Maggie and her 22-year-old son Paul were found murdered on their family’s South Carolina property. In a twist, it was discovered that patriarch Alex, who called in their dead bodies, was actually found guilty of the crime. Additionally, more murders have since been linked to the Murdaughs.

The case was previously examined in Netflix’s “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal” docuseries,...

Hulu will dramatize one of the most talked about criminal cases of the past few years.

The streamer has greenlit an untitled limited series based on the Murdaugh murders case. Emmy winner Patricia Arquette is set to star in the project as Maggie Murdaugh; the series comes from co-creators Michael D. Fuller and Erin Lee Carr and executive producer Nick Antosca.

The project is a reunion for Arquette and Antosca, who worked together on Hulu’s The Act (for which Arquette won an Emmy for best supporting actress in a limited series or movie). Like that series, the Murdaugh drama is produced by Antosca’s Eat the Cat banner and Universal Studio Group’s UCP, where Antosca and Eat the Cat have an overall deal.

The Murdaugh case — which saw Maggie’s husband, Alex Murdaugh, sentenced to life in prison for killing her and their son Paul — has already been...

Patricia Arquette is set for a lead role in the limited series about the Murdaugh family at Hulu, Variety has learned.

The show was first reported to be in development at Hulu in November 2022. With Arquette’s casting, it has now officially been ordered to series.

Per the official description, the series “is based on Maggie (Arquette) and Alex Murdaugh’s stranger-than-fiction family drama, a riveting account drawing from countless hours of reporting by Mandy Matney – journalist and creator of the popular ‘Murdaugh Murders Podcast’ – as well as exclusive, insider knowledge from years spent following the case.”

The Murdaugh family were powerful players in the Lowcountry region of South Caroline, wielding great legal and political influence. But for the better part of a decade, the family has been accused of involvement in a variety of crimes, ranging from fraud to murder. In addition to the “Murdaugh Murders” podcast, they have...

Patricia Arquette is set to star in a new as yet untitled Hulu limited series about the Murdaugh Murders from co-creator and showrunner Michael D. Fuller and co-creator Erin Lee Carr.

The series tells the story of Maggie and Alex Murdaugh’s “stranger-than-fiction family drama, a riveting account drawing from countless hours of reporting by Mandy Matney – journalist and creator of the popular Murdaugh Murders Podcast – as well as exclusive, insider knowledge from years spent following the case,” details a release from the streamer.

Arquette will star as Maggie Murdaugh, a wife and mother whose husband Alex Murdaugh was convicted of her murder and that of their son Paul. The patriarch is currently serving two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. His attempt to get a new trial was denied in January.

Nick Antosca and Alex Hedlund for Eat the Cat will executive produce alongside with Mandy Matney. UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, is the studio.

The project reunites Arquette with Eat the Cat, Hulu and UCP following their collaboration on the limited series The Act. Arquette received the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress for her work on the project.

Arquette’s upcoming projects include The Last Disturbance of Madeline Hynde, opposite Jodie Comer and directed by Kenneth Branagh, and They Will Kill You, opposite Zazie Beetz. Her recent TV credits include Severance, High Desert and Escape at Dannemora, for which she won the Golden Globe, Critics Choice and SAG Awards.

She is repped by Gersh, 3 Arts Entertainment and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman.

Michael D. Fuller is repped by UTA, Grandview and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole. Mandy Matney is repped by UTA.

Erin Lee Carr is repped by UTA and Sloss Eckhouse Dasti Haynes. She has a first-look deal with UCP. Nick Antosca is repped by WME and Ginsburg Daniels Kallis. He has an overall deal with UCP.

Patricia Arquette has really been bitten by the true crime bug. The Severance actor is set to star in Murdaugh Murders, a new limited series from Michael D. Fuller and co-creator Erin Lee Carr. The series will be partially adapted from Liz Farrell and Mandy Matney's popular Murdaugh Murders Podcast,...

And the films just keeping on coming as the 49th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival has announced 20 movies to its official selection, taking its count to 278 titles.

Chief among them is Jason Reitman’s SNL opening-night pic Saturday Night, from Sony which will get its Canadian premiere in the filmmaker’s homeland. With that deduction, this must mean Saturday Night is going to Telluride.

And you thought Harry Styles was big at TIFF two years ago? Well, here comes Jacob Elordi with Daisy Edgar-Jones in On Swift Horses. The pic also stars Diego Calva. The Daniel Minahan-directed movie follows a woman and her husband who are about to begin a bright new life, which is upended by the arrival of his brother. She embarks on a secret life, gambling on racehorses and discovering a love she never thought possible.

Also, getting their North American premieres are Francis Ford Coppola...

The 49th edition of the Toronto Film Festival continues to announce more movies, with the festival on Tuesday unveiled its 2024 Centrepiece lineup that features 43 titles from filmmakers representing 41 countries. TIFF runs September 5-15 under its new sponsorship with Rogers.

In total, the list includes 18 world premieres from Algeria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Nigeria, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Singapore, Spain and the U.S..

The section is a reflection of TIFF’s spirit of providing an elevated platform for international cinema, acclaimed titles from festivals around the globe, premieres from Canadian and international talents, and the latest work from influential filmmakers.

Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, who made it to Cannes this past year with The Seed of the Sacred Fig after fleeing his home country, is at TIFF with not one but two movies. He’ll have The Seed of the Sacred Fig, but also a title he wrote,...

Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has unveiled the 43 features selection for the Centrepiece programme including world premieres for Algerian director Merzak Allouache’s feuding matriarchs comedy Front Row and Laura Piani’s romantic comedy Jane Austen Wrecked My Life.

Taking their place in the global cinema showcase alongside the latest work from 41 countries are features that have already impressed at festivals, such as Mohammad Rasoulof’s Cannes award winner The Seed Of The Sacred Fig, and Steven Soderbergh’s Sundance selection Presence.

The 18 world premieres include Iranian filmmaker Ali Samadi Ahadi’s human rights drama Seven Days written by Rasoulof,...

A drama about an Iranian human rights activist and a documentary about the hacking of queer indie pop duo Tegan and Sara are among the films that have been added to the lineup of the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, which unveiled its Centrepiece section on Tuesday to kick off a second week of programming announcements.

The 43 films come from filmmakers representing 41 countries, with 18 of the titles receiving their world premieres at TIFF. Those premieres include “Seven Days,” a film about an imprisoned Iranian activist directed by Ali Samadi Ahadi and written by Mohammad Rasoulof, a filmmaker who was himself sentenced to flogging and prison by Iranian authorities; “Jane Austen Wrecked My Life,” a romantic comedy from French writer-director Laura Piani; “The Legend of the Vagabond Queen of Lagos,” a debut from the Nigerian filmmaking group known as the Agbajowo Collective; and Erin Lee Carr’s “Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara,...

The 2024 Toronto International Film Festival has revealed its Centrepiece program lineup, with 43 films from 41 countries. The selections include 18 world premieres plus an array of festival favorites and winners from Cannes (“The Seed of the Sacred Fig“), Sundance (“Presence“), and more recently the 2024 Venice Film Festival (“April”). This year’s festival runs Thursday, September 5 through Sunday, September 15.

Per TIFF, Centrepiece honors “and celebrates global cinematic achievements, inviting audiences to immerse themselves in a dynamic array of contemporary films. The programme is a reflection of TIFF’s commitment to providing an elevated platform for international cinema, acclaimed titles from festivals around the globe, highly anticipated premieres from Canadian and international talents, and the latest work of influential filmmaking luminaries.”

The 2024 Centrepiece selection has been programmed by Jason Anderson, Kelly Boutsalis, Diana Cadavid, Robyn Citizen, Giovanna Fulvi, Nataleah Hunter-Young, June Kim, Dorota Lech, Jason Ryle, and Norm Wilner.

Per the festival, “Notable world premieres include ‘Front Row,...

Steven Soderbergh’s spooky ghost story Presence — starring Lucy Liu, Chris Sullivan and newcomer Callina Liang — will receive its international premiere as part of the Centerpiece sidebar at the 2024 Toronto Film Festival.

Soderbergh first screened Presence at Sundance earlier this year, some 35 years after the debut of his breakout film, Sex, Lies and Videotape, in Park City. In all, TIFF’s Centerpiece section, previously known as Contemporary World Cinema, unveiled 43 films from 41 countries on Tuesday.

There’s world premieres for Marcelle Lunam’s rom com Addition, starring Teresa Palmer and Joe Dempsie; Erin Lee Carr’s documentary Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara, a Hulu title about the Canadian pop duo falling victim to identity theft; French director Laura Piani’s Jane Austen Wrecked My Life, with a Frederick Wiseman cameo; Sofia Bohdanowicz’s Measures for a Funeral, written by actor Derah Campbell; and Algerian director Merzak Allouache’s Front Row,...

Hulu has ordered a documentary on a catfishing scheme that entrapped fans of a popular Canadian indie rock duo.

Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara, directed by true-crime specialist Erin Lee Carr, will debut October 18 on the streaming platform. The film revolves around Tegan and Sara Quin, gay twin sisters from Calgary, Alberta, who formed a rock band that attracted devoted followers, many of them from the LGBTQ+ community. But in 2011, Tegan’s personal computer files were hacked, setting off a calamitous chain of events.

“This is a sprawling yet intimate story of how Tegan’s identity was stolen and weaponized in a complex catfish scheme to ensnare members of this community,” states a release from Hulu, triggering a “severe ripple effect of mistrust, anxiety and self-doubt.”

The film, from Story Syndicate and Carr Lot Productions, attempts to identify whoever is responsible for concocting the scheme.

“Tegan enlists documentary...

Hulu has picked up the documentary “Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara,” which will launch Oct. 18 on the streamer. Produced by Story Syndicate and Erin Lee Carr’s Carr Lot Prods., the film focus on a long-running catfishing scheme that has impacted fans of Canadian indie rock band Tegan and Sara.

The doc follows what happened when Tegan Quin (who performs with sister Sara Quin) was hacked in 2011 and her personal files exposed. From there, her identity was stolen and used in a complex catfish scheme to defraud the band’s fans and the community that had developed around Tegan and Sara.

“Tegan and Sara ascended to global fame as one of the most influential queer indie rock bands of their generation,” the documentary’s synopsis noted. “They worked hard to cultivate an inclusive and passionate fanbase around the world. Listeners were drawn to the duo’s beautifully confessional lyrics,...

Hulu announced Tuesday it will release Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara, a new documentary investigating the 2011 file hacking of musical duo Tegan and Sara. The feature will hit the streamer in October.

“Tegan and Sara ascended to global fame as one of the most influential queer indie rock bands of their generation,” a release reads. The Canadian duo “worked hard to cultivate an inclusive and passionate fanbase around the world,” with many fans turning to the band’s community as “the only safe space to come out and be queer during a time when few bands would declare allyship, let alone celebrate their own queer identity.”

In 2011, Tegan’s personal files were hacked, and her identity was stolen in what became a complex catfishing scheme.

“The film is an examination of the severe ripple effect of mistrust, anxiety, and self-doubt that resulted from Fegan’s (Fake Tegan) actions,...

In its first week of availability on Hulu, “Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini” reached 3.6 million views.

This marks the most-watched Hulu docuseries ever, according to the streamer, which calculates views by dividing the total amount of time a project is watched by its runtime.

As exclusively reported by Variety, the most recent title Hulu touted as its nonfiction record-holder was “Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story,” the 2022 docuseries about the 1972 kidnapping of seven-year-old Steven Stayner. An exact number of views was not provided, though the streamer did share at the time that it calculated its rankings based on each title’s first month of viewership, rather than its first week as with “Perfect Wife.”

“Perfect Wife,” which premiered on June 20, tells the story of the 2016 Sherri Papini kidnapping hoax. The official logline reads, “Keith and Sherri Papini’s seemingly idyllic family life is shattered when Sherri...

Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini explores the wild tale of Sherri Papini’s 2016 disappearance, her return, and her false kidnapping claims being exposed years later. Her now ex-husband, Keith Papini, tells his side of the story for the first time and reveals how Sherri’s lies affected him and their family. TV Insider spoke with the documentary’s filmmakers, Erin Lee Carr and Michael Beach Nichols, as well as executive producer Allison Berkley about the biggest questions we had after watching the three-episode docuseries. How many times was Sherri contacted about participating in the documentary? Sherri did not participate in the documentary. At the end of the third episode, the filmmakers noted that Sherri was contacted several times, but she never responded. “I was in charge of basically trying to get in contact with Sherri,” Carr told TV Insider. “I really thought I was going to do it.

If Eminem’s catchy new single “Houdini” has you Googling Sherri Papini, well, allow Hulu to act as a second source of information.

The Disney streamer is diving into the Papini case with a three-part docuseries titled “Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini” from filmmakers Erin Lee Carr, Michael Beach Nichols, and executive producers Rob Ford, Allison Berkley and Joseph Freed of Marwar Junction Productions.

The basics of the case are well known: In November 2016, Sherri Papini went for a jog and vanished from the northern California neighborhood where she lived with her husband Keith. This triggered a frenzied search and worldwide headlines.

But as “Houdini” spoils for you, her “kid-nappin’/never did happen.”

Papini was found alive on a Sacramento Highway 22 days later, claiming that she was abducted and tortured by two Hispanic women. She had some brutal-looking injuries she said she received at the hands of her kidnappers,...

Stormy Daniels Doc Finds UK Buyer

The Stormy Daniels doc from the producers of Britney vs Spears and Judd Apatow has landed a UK buyer. Paramount-owned Channel 5 has secured exclusive first-run rights to air Peacock’s Stormy, telling the in-her-own-words story of the woman currently embroiled in a legal tussle with former Potus Donald Trump. Produced by Sarah Gibson and Erin Lee Carr, Stormy offers an intimate look behind the scenes as the former adult movie star navigates her roles as a mother, an artist and an advocate striving to reinvent herself while contending with the explosive revelation that shook her life five years ago. Apatow is exec producing alongside Emmy Award-winning Sara Bernstein and Meredith Kaulfers from Imagine Documentaries. Daniels is currently involved in a very public legal battle with Trump over alleged hush money paid for her silence about an alleged sexual liaison years earlier. “Bringing...

Stormy Daniels Doc Finds Global Distribution

Blue Ant Studios (Canada’s Drag Race) has taken worldwide distribution on Stormy, an in-depth documentary about the life of Stormy Daniels coming on the day of Donald Trump’s hush money trial. Daniels made headlines in 2018 when The Wall Street Journal reported that, just before the 2016 U.S. presidential election, she was paid $130,000 to stop her disclosing an affair she and Trump allegedly had in July 2006. Trump’s trial takes place from today in New York. Peacock’s Stormy is produced by Emmy-nominated Erin Lee Carr and producer/director Sarah Gibson (Orgasm Inc: The Story of One Taste), who were also behind the Britney vs. Spears explosive doc. “Our team is thrilled to have international rights for this sought-after documentary produced by two renowned filmmakers who specialize in portraying the stories of women...

Storm Warning

“Stormy,” a documentary about former porn star Stormy Daniels, has been picked up by Blue Ant Studios for international distribution.

The launch was announced on Monday, the same day that former U.S. president Donald Trump begins a criminal trial in New York for allegedly covering up hush money payments to Daniels.

“Stormy,” offered as two one-hour episodes or a two-hour feature, is produced by Emmy-nominated producers Erin Lee Carr and producer-director, Sarah Gibson (“Orgasm Inc: The Story of One Taste”) who previously made the documentary, “Britney vs. Spears.”

The film is executive produced by Judd Apatow of Apatow Productions alongside Sara Bernstein and Meredith Kaulfers from Imagine Documentaries. Emelia Brown also serves as producer. “Stormy” is currently streaming on Peacock in the U.S.

Hcm Prizes

“The Gospel of the Beast,” directed by Sheron Dayoc, was named winner of the Golden Star Award for best Southeast Asian...

The South by Southwest debut of “Stormy” was not your typical Imagine Documentaries premiere.

About adult film star Stormy Daniels’ alleged affair with former President Donald Trump, the film drew an eclectic crowd that included porn stars and “Muppet” director-producer Frank Oz, who sat in the same row as Daniels and her entourage made up mainly of buff bodyguards. Dogs sniffed Austin’s Stateside Theater prior to the screening. After it unspooled, Daniels spoke to the SXSW audience, revealing that she first met “Stormy” exec producer Judd Apatow when he hired her for a small part in his 2005 film “40 Year-Old Virgin.” When she was a no-show due to a death in the family, Apatow sent her flowers and rescheduled her shoot date.

“I thought he would replace me,” Daniels, who would go on to appear in “Knocked Up” for the filmmaker, told the crowd, with director Sarah Gibson standing nearby.

Five years ago, Stormy Daniels found herself in the bizarre position of being one of the most ostensibly powerful, yet simultaneously vulnerable, women in America. The former porn star found herself in a nationwide tabloid maelstrom when it was reported that she had had a very brief sexual relationship with then-President Donald Trump in 2006, after the two had met at a golf-pro tournament in Lake Tahoe. (Daniels says it was one single encounter, and that it was consensual, albeit unpleasant.) It was later revealed that his attorney, Michael Cohen,...

Stormy Daniels made headlines after an alleged 2016 encounter with former President Donald Trump. Rumors circulated about what happened between them and bold claims were made about who Stormy really was. However, she hasn’t had the chance to share her side of the story until now. Peacock’s new Stormy Daniels documentary, “Stormy,” gives her a platform to speak out and bring the truth to light. It premieres on Peacock on Monday, March 18. You can watch with a subscription to Peacock.

How to Watch Stormy Daniels Documentary 'Stormy' When: Monday, March 18, 2024 Where: Peacock Stream: Watch with a subscription to Peacock. Sign Up$5.99+ / month peacocktv.com About Stormy Daniels Documentary 'Stormy'

Since Stormy Daniels’ name first went public, there have been many attempts to show who she is. Reporters, lawyers, and politicians have claimed to know the truth about her and what she does. Now, she finally...

This article appears in the SXSW 2024 issue of Den of Geek magazine. Check out all of our SXSW coverage here.

Grand Theft Hamlet is about as absurd a mash-up as its title would have you believe. It’s a documentary about Sam Crane and Mark Oosterveen, two actors left jobless at the height of the pandemic who decide to put on a live-streamed production of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet in Grand Theft Auto Online.

Partway through the film, which was shot entirely in-game, as Sam is rehearsing the play’s famous “To be or not to be” speech on the beaches of Los Santos, a masked player walks up and calls him a bitch over chat, utterly unmoved by the iconic soliloquy. Other rehearsals are interrupted by helicopters and shootouts, all fitting encapsulations of the stark juxtaposition at the heart of the documentary. But GTA and Shakespeare may not be...

Stormy Daniels cried and laughed during the SXSW world premiere of “Stormy,” a Peacock documentary about the porn star who made national headlines when it was revealed that Donald Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen paid her $130,000 to keep quiet about her alleged affair with the former president.

“Fuck Trump,” Daniels said onstage following the March 8 screening.

Directed and produced by Sarah Gibson, “Stormy” delves into how Daniels navigated motherhood and her career while grappling with the aftermath of her alleged sexual relationship with Trump.

Judd Apatow, who executive produced the doc via his Apatow Productions, described the 110-minute film as both a “political documentary and a character study.”

“A lot of footage was being shot as everything was happening with Trump during his presidency,” Apatow said while introducing the film at Austin’s Stateside Theater. “You get a fly-on-the-wall view of what it was like for her as the story exploded,...

Stormy Daniels skipped the red carpet Friday but took the stage briefly after a screening of documentary Stormy, which had its SXSW premiere on the festival’s opening night. She was emotional, often wiping away tears, as she embraced director Sarah Gibson and talked about how important the film is to her. But she displayed her trademark defiance too, closing with a parting shot — “And f*ck Trump.”

“Thank you Sarah for doing this with me and telling such a great story,” she said. “As a filmmaker, your transitions were amazing. And you didn’t use too many shots that made me look fat. So thank you.”

Judd Apatow is an executive producer for the film, which premieres on Peacock later this month.

“I met Judd, I think it was 2004. And not very many people know this story, but I stood in line and auditioned for a bit part in...

The saga of Stormy Daniels vs. Donald Trump probably seems like a story you already know. Yet the new documentary Stormy intimately delves into the actress-director’s turbulent battle with the former president and brings to life her day-to-day reality behind all those sensationalized headlines. It shines a light on Daniels’ fateful meeting with Trump in 2006, inadvertently becoming a scandalized household name in 2018, the downfall of her legal champion turned fraudster attorney Michael Avenatti, her financially devastating defamation case and more.

Below, the film’s director and producer Sarah Gibson (Orgasm Inc: The Story of OneTaste) and producer Erin Lee Carr (Britney vs Spears) discuss their film (trailer below) which is set to have its world premiere at the South by Southwest Film & TV Festival on Friday. Together, they make a case for Daniels’ story being more relevant than ever.

“Stormy’s story is timeless because what happened to Stormy...

Peacock has released the first trailer for its Stormy Daniels documentary, which reveals plenty of never-before-seen footage showing Daniels’ roller-coaster life amid her legal sparring with Donald Trump.

“Every time I stood up I got kicked down even harder, and I hit rock bottom,” Daniels says in the trailer below, which includes Daniels reading a death threat on her phone. “I just wanted to stand up for myself. I won’t give up because I’m telling the truth.”

The footage also includes Daniels reacting in real time to discovering her celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti was stealing from her book proceeds. “Michael Avenatti betrayed me in every way,” she declares. “You’re in prison, bitch!”

The project, Stormy, is directed and produced by Emmy nominee Sarah Gibson (Orgasm Inc: The Story of OneTaste) and executive produced by Erin Lee Carr (Britney vs Spears), along with Judd Apatow, Sara Bernstein and Meredith Kaulfers.

Stormy Daniels is out of fucks to give and ready to discuss it all — Donald Trump, Michael Avenatti, the media, and much more — in the new trailer for Stormy, a documentary premiering March 18 on Peacock.

Directed by Sarah Gibson, the film will examine Daniels’ personal and public life as she aims to reinvent herself after five years of chaos. Daniels famously became a central figure in American politics after it came out that Donald Trump allegedly directed a hush money payment to her before the 2016 election to cover up an allegation of a past affair.

We’re getting a first look at the Stormy Daniels original documentary, Stormy. Peacock has released a teaser trailer (see below) and announced a March 18 premiere date for the project, directed and executive produced by Emmy-nominated Sarah Gibson (Orgasm Inc: The Story of OneTaste).

The official description: “Stormy delves into the life and times of Stormy Daniels, as she shares her story and account of events that have become part of American history … the film takes the audience behind the curtain as Stormy navigates being a mother, an artist, and an advocate working hard to reinvent herself, while still grappling with the bombshell that went off in her life five years earlier. From reporters to lawyers to politicians, many have attempted to define Stormy Daniels. Stormy tells the unvarnished truth about an unlikely American icon — this time, in her own words.”

Stormy is directed and produced by Gibson. Two-time Emmy-nominated filmmaker Erin Lee Carr,...

From director and producer Sarah Gibson, the Peacock Original documentary Stormy delves into the life and times of Stormy Daniels, as she shares her story and account of events that have become part of American history. Produced by Erin Lee Carr, and executive produced by Judd Apatow, Sara Bernstein and Meredith Kaulfers (Imagine Documentaries), the film takes the audience behind the curtain as Stormy navigates being a mother, an artist, and an advocate working hard to reinvent herself, while still grappling with the bombshell that went off in her life five years earlier.  About The Documentary:Premiere Date: Monday, Mar 18, 2024  Director: Sarah ... Read more...

Peacock has released a first look teaser and announced a premiere date for its Stormy Daniels documentary.

The project, Stormy, is directed and produced by Emmy nominee Sarah Gibson (Orgasm inc: The Story of OneTaste) and executive produced by Erin Lee Carr (Britney vs Spears), along with Judd Apatow, Sara Bernstein and Meredith Kaulfers.

The description: “From director and producer Sarah Gibson, the Peacock Original documentary Stormy delves into the life and times of Stormy Daniels, as she shares her story and account of events that have become part of American history … the film takes the audience behind the curtain as Stormy navigates being a mother, an artist, and an advocate working hard to reinvent herself, while still grappling with the bombshell that went off in her life five years earlier. From reporters to lawyers to politicians, many have attempted to define Stormy Daniels. Stormy tells the unvarnished truth about...

A documentary on Stormy Daniels, the porn star who made national headlines when it was revealed that Trump lawyer Michael Cohen paid her $130,000 to keep quiet about her alleged affair with the former president, is coming to Peacock next month.

“Stormy,” directed and produced by Emmy-nominated helmer Sarah Gibson, premieres on the streamer on March 18. Gibson is known for her work on documentary films and series including Netflix’s “Orgasm Inc: The Story of OneTaste,” which she co-directed, and “Britney vs. Spears,” which she produced.

“From reporters to lawyers to politicians, many have attempted to define Stormy Daniels,” the doc’s official description reads. “‘Stormy’ tells the unvarnished truth about an unlikely American icon — this time, in her own words.”

Erin Lee Carr, director of “Britney vs. Spears,” serves as a producer on “Stormy.” Judd Apatow is an executive producer via his Apatow Productions, alongside Sara Bernstein and Meredith Kaulfers for Imagine Documentaries.

Back in the halcyon days of the early 2020s, when we were optimistic about the vaccines and our new President and the general health and stability of superhero franchises, there was a meme called the yassification trend. It basically entailed taking photos of prominent historical figures — Alexander Hamilton, for instance, or Kramer from Seinfeld — and running them through a filter that made them look heavily Botoxed, contoured, and filtered, like your most insecure friend’s Stories from her vacation.

The yassification trend was funny in that it was clearly skewering...