Addie Morfoot
Variety
New York, NY, United States
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Past articles by Addie:
Inside the Doc World Controversy Pitting Ken Burns Against His Peers
When PBS announced in 2017 that vaunted documentarian Ken Burns was hard at work on a four-part docuseries about Muhammad Ali, to debut in 2021, the news was greeted with much anticipation: one of the film world’s greats on the Greatest. The only hint of criticism came from some who thought Ali’s life was already […] → Read More
‘Everything’s Gonna Be All White,’ ‘Uprooted’ Filmmakers Struggled to Get Funding. Then George Floyd Died
Director Avril Z. Speaks and executive producer Matt McDonough spent the better part of five years pitching their upcoming Discovery Plus docuseries “Uprooted,” which investigates the 1986 unsolved hanging death of Keith Warren, a 19-year-old Black man from Silver Spring, Md. But nobody wanted the project. Then, after George Floyd was murdered in May 2020, […] → Read More
Telluride Documentary Filmmakers From Liz Garbus to Matt Dillon Preview Strong Slate
“The Show,” as the Telluride Film Festival programmers refer to its annual feature program, is back this year with a wide array of documentary award season contenders. Muhammad Ali, Arthur Ashe, Jacques Cousteau, Anthony Fauci, Francisco Fellove and the Velvet Underground are the subjects of various docus in this year’s lineup. The nonfiction lineup also […] → Read More
Nanfu Wang’s HBO Doc ‘In the Same Breath’ Will Test Audience Appetite for Pandemic Fare
Like the terror attacks on Sept.11, 2001, COVID-19 is a topic that will inevitably become the subject matter of hundreds, if not thousands, of documentaries over the next several decades. Even now, just 18 months after the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. began and during a time when the delta variant is making COVID cases […] → Read More
Are Self-Produced Projects Like Amazon’s ‘Val’ Documentaries, Memoirs or Sales Pitches?
Purists are worried that self-produced projects like Amazon's 'Val' will dilute the documentary genre. → Read More
Filmmaker Chris Smith on '100 Foot Wave,' Surfing and 'Tiger King'
Chris Smith talks with Variety about '100 Foot Wave,' surf photography, 'Tiger King' and finding his groove in documentaries again → Read More
Inside the Shark Week Vs. SharkFest Battle for Cable and Streaming Viewers
Discovery and National Geographic will stream new feature-length documentaries in this summer's Shark Week Vs. Sharkfest showdown. → Read More
‘The Jinx’ Ignited Demand for Lengthy Docuseries, but the Pendulum Is Swinging Back to Shorter Options
Doc buyers have learned that more installments are not necessarily better, as viewership declines over the course of long series → Read More
Hamptons Festival Mixes Online and Drive-In Screenings and Events
For the past 27 years the Hamptons Intl. Film Festival meant fancy cocktail hours, plenty of celebrity sightings and the unspooling of award season’s buzziest films. The 28th annual edition, like everything in 2020, will feel different. The Long Island-based fest, which runs Oct. 8-14, will be virtual and offer a select number of drive-in […] → Read More
How Editors Set The Tone for ‘Tiger King,’ ‘The Last Dance,’ ‘Beastie Boys Story’ in the First 10 Minutes
Just like the first page of a novel, a series’ or episode’s opening 10 minutes acts like a door. If executed successfully, it will make viewers want to run through that entrance, not just walk through it. Those 600 seconds have to not only grab hold of a viewer, but they also have to set […] → Read More
‘Becoming,’ ‘Hillary,’ ‘The Cave,’ ‘American Masters’ Documentarians on Capturing Their Formidable Subjects
Between 2008 and 2018, four documentary directors focused their lenses on a quartet of formidable women. Women who are remarkably similar, yet incredibly different. Who defy patriarchy and inspire change. Women whose names are Dr. Amani Ballour, Hillary Clinton, Ursula Kroeber Le Guin and Michelle Obama. While Clinton and Obama, two former first ladies, are […] → Read More
Russell Simmons Accusers Don’t Think Music Business Will Have Its #MeToo Moment
Drew Dixon, Sil Lai Abrams and Sheri Hines, three of the victims in "On the Record," talk about their experiences with Russell Simmons. → Read More
Tom Paul Talks Sound Mixing for Sundance’s Biggest Films
With Sundance 2020 wrapped, Tom Paul talks sound mixing the festival's biggest films, including "Hillary." → Read More
How Charlize Theron Helped Save Her ‘Bombshell’ Production
"Bombshell" producer and star Charlize Theron helped find a new backer when Annapurna backed out of the production, a PGA Award honoree → Read More
Norman Lear Award Recipient Marta Kauffman Got Her Start From the TV Icon
"Grace and Frankie" showrunner Marta Kauffman, co-creator of "Friends," plans on directing more in the future → Read More
Producers Guild Program Combating Sexual Harassment Kicks Into High Gear
Producers Guild co-presidents Gail Berman and Lucy Fisher are headed to the org’s annual awards celebration Jan. 18 with a big accomplishment under their respective belts: its anti-harassment progr… → Read More
Impact Partners Names Jenny Raskin Executive Director (EXCLUSIVE)
Jenny Raskin has been named executive director of documentary film funding company Impact Partners. → Read More
Why the Relationship Between Director and Editor Is Essential for Emmy-Nominated Docus
“The documentary editor works much like a writer would on a narrative feature," says "Free Solo" co-director Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi. → Read More
How Revisiting History Through the Modern Docu Lens Can Lead to Change
“If we all had a greater capacity for empathy — that would be the biggest change in the world there could be," says Moira Demos. → Read More
Oscar Documentary Nominees Break the Mold
Known as a notoriously unpredictable bunch, the Academy’s documentary branch has become rather predictable in the past two years. The evidence lies in the films they choose not to recognize come Os… → Read More