Currently unspooling across four episodes on HBO and continuing to stream on Max is The Synanon Fix, the latest true-crime catnip from the cable channel that’s not a juggernaut of the genre. And while the Sundance-debuting docuseries does involve the usual “suspects”, it’s also the latest HBO Original from director Rory Kennedy and writer Mark Bailey. Which means it’s less interested in lurid details and more focused on actual individuals with an optimistic vision who are drawn into — and failed by […]
The post “The Charismatic Leader Leads People, But What Toward?”: Rory Kennedy and Mark Bailey on Their HBO Docuseries The Synanon Fix first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “The Charismatic Leader Leads People, But What Toward?”: Rory Kennedy and Mark Bailey on Their HBO Docuseries The Synanon Fix first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 4/15/2024
- by Lauren Wissot
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Currently unspooling across four episodes on HBO and continuing to stream on Max is The Synanon Fix, the latest true-crime catnip from the cable channel that’s not a juggernaut of the genre. And while the Sundance-debuting docuseries does involve the usual “suspects”, it’s also the latest HBO Original from director Rory Kennedy and writer Mark Bailey. Which means it’s less interested in lurid details and more focused on actual individuals with an optimistic vision who are drawn into — and failed by […]
The post “The Charismatic Leader Leads People, But What Toward?”: Rory Kennedy and Mark Bailey on Their HBO Docuseries The Synanon Fix first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “The Charismatic Leader Leads People, But What Toward?”: Rory Kennedy and Mark Bailey on Their HBO Docuseries The Synanon Fix first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 4/15/2024
- by Lauren Wissot
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
"There were rules on which Synanon was founded, and those were solid, until they weren't." Another cult story. Max has revealed an official trailer for a fascinating documentary series called The Synanon Fix, from acclaimed doc filmmaker Rory Kennedy. This is the latest in the true crime doc subgenre about cults, which I will dub the "true cult" genre. This 4-episode doc series explores the rise & fall of the Synanon organization through the eyes of the members who lived it, from its early days as a groundbreaking drug rehabilitation program to its later descent into what many consider a cult. Obvious that it definitely was one. It recalls the story of a controversial heroin addiction program turned communal living center. Told through first person accounts of former members, this series is about the California rehab center called "Synanon", which grew from a groundbreaking drug rehabilitation program in the 1950s into...
- 3/25/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
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.
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.
- 3/21/2024
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Dorothy Street Pictures, the production company behind documentaries including “Pamela, a Love Story” and “Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story,” have tapped Lily Kaplan as their new head of development.
Kaplan joins the company’s New York office from Imagine Documentaries, where she will lead Dorothy Street’s transatlantic operation with a focus on growing their portfolio of high-end documentary films and series.
At Imagine, Kaplan worked on docs including “Downfall: The Case Against Boeing” for Netflix, “Judy Blume Forever” for Amazon Prime Video, “Bono & The Edge: A Sort Of Homecoming With Dave Letterman” for Disney+ and “The Super Models” for Apple TV+.
Lily Kaplan (courtesy of Dorothy Street Pictures)
Dorothy Street was launched by Julia Nottingham in 2018. It is backed by Sister, the company founded by Jane Featherstone, Elisabeth Murdoch and Stacey Snider.
“I am thrilled to join Julia and the team at Dorothy Street to help build out the premium documentaries slate,...
Kaplan joins the company’s New York office from Imagine Documentaries, where she will lead Dorothy Street’s transatlantic operation with a focus on growing their portfolio of high-end documentary films and series.
At Imagine, Kaplan worked on docs including “Downfall: The Case Against Boeing” for Netflix, “Judy Blume Forever” for Amazon Prime Video, “Bono & The Edge: A Sort Of Homecoming With Dave Letterman” for Disney+ and “The Super Models” for Apple TV+.
Lily Kaplan (courtesy of Dorothy Street Pictures)
Dorothy Street was launched by Julia Nottingham in 2018. It is backed by Sister, the company founded by Jane Featherstone, Elisabeth Murdoch and Stacey Snider.
“I am thrilled to join Julia and the team at Dorothy Street to help build out the premium documentaries slate,...
- 11/7/2023
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
Last Year’s Winner: “Boys State”
Still Eligible: No.
Hot Streak: Last year Apple TV+ won its first Emmy in the category, ending a three-year streak HBO had going for it.
Notable Ineligible Series: “Summer of Soul,” “Attica,” and “Writing With Fire” (all of which are ineligible for the Emmys after pursuing Oscars earlier this year)
This article will be updated throughout the season, along with all our predictions, so make sure to keep checking IndieWire for the latest news from the 2022 Emmys race. The nomination round of voting will take place from June 16 to June 27, with the official Emmy nominations to be announced on Tuesday, July 12. The Creative Arts Emmy Awards will be given out over two consecutive nights on Saturday, September 3 and Sunday, September 4, with an edited presentation on the ceremonies to be broadcast on Saturday, Sept. 10, at 8:00 p.m. Et on Fxx. Finally, the 74rd Annual...
Still Eligible: No.
Hot Streak: Last year Apple TV+ won its first Emmy in the category, ending a three-year streak HBO had going for it.
Notable Ineligible Series: “Summer of Soul,” “Attica,” and “Writing With Fire” (all of which are ineligible for the Emmys after pursuing Oscars earlier this year)
This article will be updated throughout the season, along with all our predictions, so make sure to keep checking IndieWire for the latest news from the 2022 Emmys race. The nomination round of voting will take place from June 16 to June 27, with the official Emmy nominations to be announced on Tuesday, July 12. The Creative Arts Emmy Awards will be given out over two consecutive nights on Saturday, September 3 and Sunday, September 4, with an edited presentation on the ceremonies to be broadcast on Saturday, Sept. 10, at 8:00 p.m. Et on Fxx. Finally, the 74rd Annual...
- 5/23/2022
- by Marcus Jones
- Indiewire
Rory Kennedy and Mark Bailey’s Moxie Films has partnered with Imagine Documentaries to develop and co-produce a slate of new nonfiction fare.
The partnership with the nonfiction division of Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment and Moxie Films is a multi-year agreement.
Headed by Sara Bernstein and Justin Wilkes, Imagine Documentaries recently co-produced Kennedy’s “Downfall: The Case Against Boeing,” which Bailey wrote and produced. The Netflix docu, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January, is an investigation of two Boeing 737 Max crashes that occurred within five months of each other in 2018 and 2019 that killed a combined 346 people. Netflix began streaming the docu on Feb. 18.
Kennedy and Bailey will develop and produce projects with the full resources of the label, which currently has its own first-look output deal with Apple TV Plus and a multi-picture arrangement with Imax for large-format content.
“This partnership enables Moxie...
The partnership with the nonfiction division of Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment and Moxie Films is a multi-year agreement.
Headed by Sara Bernstein and Justin Wilkes, Imagine Documentaries recently co-produced Kennedy’s “Downfall: The Case Against Boeing,” which Bailey wrote and produced. The Netflix docu, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January, is an investigation of two Boeing 737 Max crashes that occurred within five months of each other in 2018 and 2019 that killed a combined 346 people. Netflix began streaming the docu on Feb. 18.
Kennedy and Bailey will develop and produce projects with the full resources of the label, which currently has its own first-look output deal with Apple TV Plus and a multi-picture arrangement with Imax for large-format content.
“This partnership enables Moxie...
- 3/10/2022
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Talk to Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker Rory Kennedy (“Last Days in Vietnam”) and you see a throughline to her socially-conscious family. The last of Ethel and Robert F. Kennedy’s eleven children, Rory was born seven months after her father’s assassination. The Kennedys are a special breed, our American royal family in many ways, raised in wealth and privilege, close to power, but with a great civic pride and mission.
Kennedy looked closely at her family when she made HBO’s Oscar-shortlisted “Ethel,” dug into the world of chess in HBO’s “Bobby Fischer Against the World,” and won a Primetime Emmy for “Ghosts of Abu Ghraib.” Her latest film, “Downfall: The Case Against Boeing,” came out of Kennedy’s primal fear of flying. That was one reason why she closely tracked the unfolding news story of two back-to-back airplane crashes that took the lives of a total 346 passengers. On...
Kennedy looked closely at her family when she made HBO’s Oscar-shortlisted “Ethel,” dug into the world of chess in HBO’s “Bobby Fischer Against the World,” and won a Primetime Emmy for “Ghosts of Abu Ghraib.” Her latest film, “Downfall: The Case Against Boeing,” came out of Kennedy’s primal fear of flying. That was one reason why she closely tracked the unfolding news story of two back-to-back airplane crashes that took the lives of a total 346 passengers. On...
- 2/26/2022
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Talk to Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker Rory Kennedy (“Last Days in Vietnam”) and you see a throughline to her socially-conscious family. The last of Ethel and Robert F. Kennedy’s eleven children, Rory was born seven months after her father’s assassination. The Kennedys are a special breed, our American royal family in many ways, raised in wealth and privilege, close to power, but with a great civic pride and mission.
Kennedy looked closely at her family when she made HBO’s Oscar-shortlisted “Ethel,” dug into the world of chess in HBO’s “Bobby Fischer Against the World,” and won a Primetime Emmy for “Ghosts of Abu Ghraib.” Her latest film, “Downfall: The Case Against Boeing,” came out of Kennedy’s primal fear of flying. That was one reason why she closely tracked the unfolding news story of two back-to-back airplane crashes that took the lives of a total 346 passengers. On...
Kennedy looked closely at her family when she made HBO’s Oscar-shortlisted “Ethel,” dug into the world of chess in HBO’s “Bobby Fischer Against the World,” and won a Primetime Emmy for “Ghosts of Abu Ghraib.” Her latest film, “Downfall: The Case Against Boeing,” came out of Kennedy’s primal fear of flying. That was one reason why she closely tracked the unfolding news story of two back-to-back airplane crashes that took the lives of a total 346 passengers. On...
- 2/26/2022
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Exclusive: The documentary film team at Netflix might be popping champagne corks together right about now, if Covid didn’t inhibit the whole in-person office scenario. They’ve got a lot to celebrate.
For the third week in a row, The Tinder Swindler – the true-life story of a serial fraudster and the women he ensnared – has claimed the top spot on the Netflix list of its most popular films worldwide. It’s the first documentary to achieve that distinction. Not only that, another documentary cracked the Netflix top 10 this week, Rory Kennedy’s chilling expose Downfall: The Case Against Boeing.
“It’s incredible for our filmmakers, our documentarians,” Lisa Nishimura, Netflix’s VP Documentary and Independent Film, tells Deadline in an exclusive interview. “To be in a place where we have two of our films and two of our filmmakers in the top 10 of film — not just documentary film but...
For the third week in a row, The Tinder Swindler – the true-life story of a serial fraudster and the women he ensnared – has claimed the top spot on the Netflix list of its most popular films worldwide. It’s the first documentary to achieve that distinction. Not only that, another documentary cracked the Netflix top 10 this week, Rory Kennedy’s chilling expose Downfall: The Case Against Boeing.
“It’s incredible for our filmmakers, our documentarians,” Lisa Nishimura, Netflix’s VP Documentary and Independent Film, tells Deadline in an exclusive interview. “To be in a place where we have two of our films and two of our filmmakers in the top 10 of film — not just documentary film but...
- 2/25/2022
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
In the damning new Netflix documentary Downfall: The Case Against Boeing, the errors and oversights that led to two crashes are examined
For the vast majority of travelers, stepping foot on an airplane entails a tremendous act of near-blind faith. We control our own cars, trains operate on set tracks at ground level, but flying requires us to put total trust in the expertise of a complete stranger to operate a machine too complex for us to understand. Every time these gargantuan hunks of metal don’t plummet screaming from the sky towards a certain fiery doom, it feels like a miracle, even if that’s how the majority of flights play out. Rory Kennedy’s damning new documentary Downfall: The Case Against Boeing takes a close look at two incidents included within the small number of flights when things go wrong, and shows us the tragedy that strikes when...
For the vast majority of travelers, stepping foot on an airplane entails a tremendous act of near-blind faith. We control our own cars, trains operate on set tracks at ground level, but flying requires us to put total trust in the expertise of a complete stranger to operate a machine too complex for us to understand. Every time these gargantuan hunks of metal don’t plummet screaming from the sky towards a certain fiery doom, it feels like a miracle, even if that’s how the majority of flights play out. Rory Kennedy’s damning new documentary Downfall: The Case Against Boeing takes a close look at two incidents included within the small number of flights when things go wrong, and shows us the tragedy that strikes when...
- 2/22/2022
- by Charles Bramesco
- The Guardian - Film News
“Ghostbusters: Afterlife” (Sony/$5.99) leads all VOD charts for the third straight week since its price reduction. That’s two weeks longer than its hold on the top spot when it initially was released at $19.99 in early January.
Sony as a studio continues on a roll. This weekend “Uncharted” took in a stronger than expected $44 million in U.S./Canada theaters. Impressive as that was, it also is critical as the highest opening gross for a non-franchise or sequel release in over two years and it comes, like “Afterlife,” from a studio that has no direct streaming platform.
That makes its reliance on traditional strategies – first in theaters, then PVOD at a reduced but still sufficient six week period, later reduced price – before streaming critical. And they seem to be succeeding is the most important recent event in the evolving theater rebound story that is still unsettled.
“Afterlife” held off the...
Sony as a studio continues on a roll. This weekend “Uncharted” took in a stronger than expected $44 million in U.S./Canada theaters. Impressive as that was, it also is critical as the highest opening gross for a non-franchise or sequel release in over two years and it comes, like “Afterlife,” from a studio that has no direct streaming platform.
That makes its reliance on traditional strategies – first in theaters, then PVOD at a reduced but still sufficient six week period, later reduced price – before streaming critical. And they seem to be succeeding is the most important recent event in the evolving theater rebound story that is still unsettled.
“Afterlife” held off the...
- 2/21/2022
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
Chicago – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on Wbgr-fm on February 17th, reviewing “Downfall: The Case Against Boeing,” a new documentary that made its debut at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, and is streaming on Netflix beginning February 18th..
Rating: 4.0/5.0
The film is directed by Rory Kennedy, the youngest daughter of Robert F. Kennedy. In 2018, a Lion Airlines flight in Jakarta, Indonesia, mysteriously crashed into the sea shortly after takeoff. One year later, an Ethiopian Airliner did a similar dive into the earth. The commonality for both these crashes was the 737 Max, a best selling plane from the Boeing corporation. In a step by step exposé on the history of Boeing and the manufacture of the 737 Max, Kennedy unearths both the flaw in the plane and in its business model.
“Downfall: The Case Against Boeing” is streaming on Netflix starting February 18th. Written by Mark Bailey and Keven McAlester.
Rating: 4.0/5.0
The film is directed by Rory Kennedy, the youngest daughter of Robert F. Kennedy. In 2018, a Lion Airlines flight in Jakarta, Indonesia, mysteriously crashed into the sea shortly after takeoff. One year later, an Ethiopian Airliner did a similar dive into the earth. The commonality for both these crashes was the 737 Max, a best selling plane from the Boeing corporation. In a step by step exposé on the history of Boeing and the manufacture of the 737 Max, Kennedy unearths both the flaw in the plane and in its business model.
“Downfall: The Case Against Boeing” is streaming on Netflix starting February 18th. Written by Mark Bailey and Keven McAlester.
- 2/18/2022
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
This review of “Downfall: The Case Against Boeing” was first published on January 21 after the film’s premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.
“Downfall: The Case Against Boeing” is a work of impressive investigative cinema. But the most compelling aspect of Rory Kennedy’s damning documentary isn’t really about Boeing at all. It’s the intimation that this specific account of corporate malfeasance is just one chapter in a far bigger book.
Kennedy and writers Mark Bailey and Keven McAlester are no strangers to the stain of institutionalized corruption. She and Bailey, her husband, worked together on 2007’s Emmy-winning “Ghosts of Abu Ghraib”; all three made the 2014 Oscar nominee “Last Days in Vietnam.”
Their choice to focus so tightly on a micro-scenario here does strand us, occasionally, in the weeds of detail. But it’s tough to watch such a flatly incriminatory report without taking a macro view of society’s villains and heroes.
“Downfall: The Case Against Boeing” is a work of impressive investigative cinema. But the most compelling aspect of Rory Kennedy’s damning documentary isn’t really about Boeing at all. It’s the intimation that this specific account of corporate malfeasance is just one chapter in a far bigger book.
Kennedy and writers Mark Bailey and Keven McAlester are no strangers to the stain of institutionalized corruption. She and Bailey, her husband, worked together on 2007’s Emmy-winning “Ghosts of Abu Ghraib”; all three made the 2014 Oscar nominee “Last Days in Vietnam.”
Their choice to focus so tightly on a micro-scenario here does strand us, occasionally, in the weeds of detail. But it’s tough to watch such a flatly incriminatory report without taking a macro view of society’s villains and heroes.
- 2/17/2022
- by Elizabeth Weitzman
- The Wrap
This weekly feature is in addition to TVLine’s daily What to Watch listings and monthly guide to What’s on Streaming.
With nearly 500 scripted shows now airing across broadcast, cable and streaming, it’s easy to forget that a favorite comedy is returning, or that the new “prestige drama” you anticipated is about to debut. So consider this our reminder to set your DVR, order a Season Pass, pop a fresh Memorex into the Vcr… however it is you roll.
More from TVLineKelly Bishop's Mrs. Maisel Character Is Emily Gilmore 'On Steroids'Bel-Air Bosses and Jabari Banks Talk Reimagining Fresh Prince,...
With nearly 500 scripted shows now airing across broadcast, cable and streaming, it’s easy to forget that a favorite comedy is returning, or that the new “prestige drama” you anticipated is about to debut. So consider this our reminder to set your DVR, order a Season Pass, pop a fresh Memorex into the Vcr… however it is you roll.
More from TVLineKelly Bishop's Mrs. Maisel Character Is Emily Gilmore 'On Steroids'Bel-Air Bosses and Jabari Banks Talk Reimagining Fresh Prince,...
- 2/12/2022
- by Ryan Schwartz
- TVLine.com
Exclusive: UTA has signed Academy Award-nominated and Primetime Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Rory Kennedy for worldwide representation in all areas.
Kennedy has directed and produced more than 30 features, and runs Moxie Films with her husband and partner, writer-producer Mark Bailey. She is currently directing a feature documentary for Alexander Rodnyansky’s Ar Content which examines the parallels between the refugee crisis of 1939—which saw the western world refusing to take German Jews fleeing Nazi Germany—and the international community’s treatment of refugees today. She is also producing the film, which is currently in production, alongside Rodnyansky, Bailey, Judy Korin and Rosanne Korenberg.
Kennedy most recently helmed and produced the upcoming feature documentary Downfall: The Case Against Boeing for Netflix. The film, which focuses on the two tragic Boeing 737-Max crashes of 2018 and 2019, premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and will...
Kennedy has directed and produced more than 30 features, and runs Moxie Films with her husband and partner, writer-producer Mark Bailey. She is currently directing a feature documentary for Alexander Rodnyansky’s Ar Content which examines the parallels between the refugee crisis of 1939—which saw the western world refusing to take German Jews fleeing Nazi Germany—and the international community’s treatment of refugees today. She is also producing the film, which is currently in production, alongside Rodnyansky, Bailey, Judy Korin and Rosanne Korenberg.
Kennedy most recently helmed and produced the upcoming feature documentary Downfall: The Case Against Boeing for Netflix. The film, which focuses on the two tragic Boeing 737-Max crashes of 2018 and 2019, premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and will...
- 2/10/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
"They have, essentially, ignored the family's of the victims." Netflix has revealed a trailer for a provocative and chilling new documentary film titled Downfall: The Case Against Boeing, which just premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival a week ago. Following the premiere it's set to being streaming on Netflix in February. Critics have said this is the kind of film that will make you afraid of flying Boeing ever again, if everything in the news hasn't already made you concerned. It's executive produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard. Sundance's intro: the film is a "comprehensive investigation into the crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302. Families of the victims relate the human cost of these tragedies, while aviation experts and former Boeing employees reveal what went wrong at the company, offering damning evidence of lies, negligence, and cover-up." It "serves as a searing indictment of a once-principled...
- 2/2/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
The trailer for the new documentary from Netflix Downfall: The Case Against Boeing has just been released. The film, directed by Rory Kennedy, will be released on Netflix and in select theaters on February 28, 2022.
In the chilling documentary Downfall: The Case Against Boeing, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Rory Kennedy uncovers the negligence and corporate greed that led to two Boeing Max 737 plane crashes within the span of just five months. Guided by aviation experts, news journalists, former Boeing employees, the United States Congress, and the families of victims, the film reveals a culture of reckless cost-cutting and concealment at the once-venerated company. A fierce indictment of Wall Street’s corrupting influence, Downfall exposes larger questions about the perils of America’s corporate ethos and the staggering human cost.
About The Film Genre: Documentary Director: Rory Kennedy Written by: Mark Bailey & Keven McAlester Producers: Rory Kennedy, Mark Bailey, Keven McAlester, Amanda Rohlke,...
In the chilling documentary Downfall: The Case Against Boeing, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Rory Kennedy uncovers the negligence and corporate greed that led to two Boeing Max 737 plane crashes within the span of just five months. Guided by aviation experts, news journalists, former Boeing employees, the United States Congress, and the families of victims, the film reveals a culture of reckless cost-cutting and concealment at the once-venerated company. A fierce indictment of Wall Street’s corrupting influence, Downfall exposes larger questions about the perils of America’s corporate ethos and the staggering human cost.
About The Film Genre: Documentary Director: Rory Kennedy Written by: Mark Bailey & Keven McAlester Producers: Rory Kennedy, Mark Bailey, Keven McAlester, Amanda Rohlke,...
- 2/2/2022
- by Editor
- CinemaNerdz
The crash of two new Boeing airplanes exposes the aviation company’s history of corporate greed in the trailer for Downfall: The Case Against Boeing, a new documentary coming to Netflix on Feb. 18.
The film investigates the crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, both involving Boeing’s then-new Max 737 aircrafts. “Two crashes of brand new airplanes within five months of each other, that doesn’t happen in modern aviation,” someone states in the trailer.
Downfall director Rory Kennedy said in a statement to Rolling Stone, “Like so many people around the world,...
The film investigates the crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, both involving Boeing’s then-new Max 737 aircrafts. “Two crashes of brand new airplanes within five months of each other, that doesn’t happen in modern aviation,” someone states in the trailer.
Downfall director Rory Kennedy said in a statement to Rolling Stone, “Like so many people around the world,...
- 2/2/2022
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
February brings a Kanye West documentary, masked monsters and much, much more to Netflix. Below we’ve compiled a complete list of what’s new on Netflix in February 2022, and it includes the Kanye West documentary trilogy “jeen-yuhs,” which will roll out one part each week for three weeks starting on Feb. 16.
February also brings a brand new “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” movie to the streaming service on Feb. 18, and if it’s Valentine’s Day content you’re looking for, the second season of reality series “Love Is Blind” launches on Feb. 11 while the spinoff “Love Is Blind Japan” arrives on Feb. 8. New installments of the animated series “Disenchantment” and “Kid Cosmic” as well as “Steel Magnolias” and “Space Force” are also due in February, and the new Will Arnett comedy series “Murderville” launches on Feb. 3.
In terms of library titles, February brings the Tom Cruise-fronted “The Last Samurai,...
February also brings a brand new “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” movie to the streaming service on Feb. 18, and if it’s Valentine’s Day content you’re looking for, the second season of reality series “Love Is Blind” launches on Feb. 11 while the spinoff “Love Is Blind Japan” arrives on Feb. 8. New installments of the animated series “Disenchantment” and “Kid Cosmic” as well as “Steel Magnolias” and “Space Force” are also due in February, and the new Will Arnett comedy series “Murderville” launches on Feb. 3.
In terms of library titles, February brings the Tom Cruise-fronted “The Last Samurai,...
- 2/1/2022
- by Adam Chitwood
- The Wrap
The Sundance Film Festival closed its second virtual edition on Sunday, having fielded a few breakout new films and filmmakers, as well as some big sales.
With the indie film box office in the doldrums, many of the most aggressive buyers were streaming giants, which have both an insatiable need for content and a desire to generate some awards buzz. While some of the movies received a more muted reception than in past years, when a standing ovation at Park City’s Eccles Theater was enough to trigger an all-night bidding war, there’s been no shortage of headline-making moments. Plus, a slow-burning sales market caught fire as Sundance came to a close, leaving some indie filmmakers the richer for their festival experience. Here are some key takeaways:
Peak Pandemic Politics
America has never felt more divided, and many of the films premiering at this year’s Sundance shine a light on that political chasm.
With the indie film box office in the doldrums, many of the most aggressive buyers were streaming giants, which have both an insatiable need for content and a desire to generate some awards buzz. While some of the movies received a more muted reception than in past years, when a standing ovation at Park City’s Eccles Theater was enough to trigger an all-night bidding war, there’s been no shortage of headline-making moments. Plus, a slow-burning sales market caught fire as Sundance came to a close, leaving some indie filmmakers the richer for their festival experience. Here are some key takeaways:
Peak Pandemic Politics
America has never felt more divided, and many of the films premiering at this year’s Sundance shine a light on that political chasm.
- 1/31/2022
- by Brent Lang and Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Filmmaker Rory Kennedy’s “Downfall: The Case Against Boeing” is perhaps the quintessential modern American tale. A prestigious company that had the most outstanding reputation in aviation, cultivated over several decades pissed that all away, and was responsible for the deaths of almost 350 people through cutting corners and taking shortcuts meant to maximize profits and appease shareholders. That feels like modern-day America in a nutshell: a country that appears to be coasting on the “greatest country on earth” laurels and slowly, and increasingly, losing its reputation and international standing by taking the quick and easy path, leading to disastrous results.
Continue reading ‘Downfall: The Case Against Boeing’ Review: Greed & Shareholder Concerns Over Safety, The American Way [Sundance] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Downfall: The Case Against Boeing’ Review: Greed & Shareholder Concerns Over Safety, The American Way [Sundance] at The Playlist.
- 1/31/2022
- by Rodrigo Perez
- The Playlist
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‘The American Dream and...
- 1/28/2022
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
When Lion Air Flight 610 crashed into the Java Sea 13 minutes after taking off from Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on October 29, 2018, most people assumed that whatever problem caused the disaster had nothing to do with the plane. Yes, it was a clear day and there was no evidence of terrorism, but a brand-new Boeing 737 Max wouldn’t just fall out of the sky. Surely the blame for such a catastrophe would never belong to the proud American company whose name has become synonymous with flying itself, but rather with the low-cost Indonesian carrier and/or the foreign pilot (Capt. Bhavye Suneja) it had hired to operate the aircraft that day, whose impeccable record and U.S. training were quickly obscured behind his brown skin and Indian name.
It was only when Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 plummeted to the Earth the following March that most people were able to see past their...
It was only when Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 plummeted to the Earth the following March that most people were able to see past their...
- 1/28/2022
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
On Oct. 29, 2018, Indonesian carrier Lion Air’s Flight 610 crashed into the Java Sea shortly after takeoff. Nineteen weeks later, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, headed to Kenya, also crashed, leaving a deep gouge in a field near the Addis Abba Bole Airport. All told, 346 passengers and crew were killed. Both planes were new Boeing 737-Maxes. “Downfall: The Case Against Boeing” — which premiered at the virtual Sundance Film Festival — is the riveting, often rending tale of those crashes and the jet that links them.
With the eloquent testimony of family members; aviation industry experts; former Boeing engineers and quality control employees, plus a squadron of commercial airline pilots — including, arguably the nation’s most trusted, Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger — director Rory Kennedy not only builds a case against Boeing but offers an object lesson in the tragic consequences of corporate greed and hubris.
When Boeing unveiled the retooled 737 Max, it promised airlines that the...
With the eloquent testimony of family members; aviation industry experts; former Boeing engineers and quality control employees, plus a squadron of commercial airline pilots — including, arguably the nation’s most trusted, Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger — director Rory Kennedy not only builds a case against Boeing but offers an object lesson in the tragic consequences of corporate greed and hubris.
When Boeing unveiled the retooled 737 Max, it promised airlines that the...
- 1/27/2022
- by Lisa Kennedy
- Variety Film + TV
Academy Award–nominated director Rory Kennedy (“Last Days in Vietnam”) returned to the Sundance Film Festival this year with a searing investigation into how corporate America prioritized profits over people in the documentary “Downfall: The Case Against Boeing.”
Kennedy and screenwriters Mark Bailey (who is married to Kennedy) and Keven McAlester meticulously scrutinize the corporate oversight that eventually led to two fatal crashes of Boeing’s 737 Max jets within 5 months of each other in October 2018 and March 2019, causing a total of 346 fatalities.
“I really wanted to know what happened and who was responsible for these crashes, and also to try to make a film where we could learn enough to prevent something like this from happening again,” Kennedy told Steve Pond at TheWrap’s virtual Sundance studio.
Through interviews with pilots, family members of the victims, politicians like Rep. Peter DeFazio (who led a Congressional investigation into the crashes), former...
Kennedy and screenwriters Mark Bailey (who is married to Kennedy) and Keven McAlester meticulously scrutinize the corporate oversight that eventually led to two fatal crashes of Boeing’s 737 Max jets within 5 months of each other in October 2018 and March 2019, causing a total of 346 fatalities.
“I really wanted to know what happened and who was responsible for these crashes, and also to try to make a film where we could learn enough to prevent something like this from happening again,” Kennedy told Steve Pond at TheWrap’s virtual Sundance studio.
Through interviews with pilots, family members of the victims, politicians like Rep. Peter DeFazio (who led a Congressional investigation into the crashes), former...
- 1/26/2022
- by Jacquelinne Mejia
- The Wrap
In “Downfall: The Case Against Boeing,” director Rory Kennedy investigates two Boeing 737 Max crashes that occurred within five months of each other in 2018 and 2019 that killed a combined 346 people. Guided by aviation experts, news journalists, former Boeing employees, the U.S. Congress and the families of victims, Kennedy’s Netflix doc reveals a culture of reckless cost-cutting and corporate concealment driven by Wall Street greed. This is Kennedy’s sixth time attending Sundance with a film.
You teamed with Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s production house Imagine Entertainment on this project. Did they bring this project to you or was this film your idea?
It was my idea. I had been following the story and was I interested in it for a whole range of reasons, so just before the pandemic I decided to make it.
What interested you about the topic?
Well, we all fly, right? When we book our plane tickets,...
You teamed with Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s production house Imagine Entertainment on this project. Did they bring this project to you or was this film your idea?
It was my idea. I had been following the story and was I interested in it for a whole range of reasons, so just before the pandemic I decided to make it.
What interested you about the topic?
Well, we all fly, right? When we book our plane tickets,...
- 1/25/2022
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
The 35 feature documentaries heading to this year’s Sundance Film Festival address a wide array of issues, including the U.S. maternal-mortality crisis (Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee’s “Aftershock”); the battle over control of women’s bodies (Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes’ “The Janes”); corporate greed (Rory Kennedy’s “Downfall: The Case Against Boeing”); and climate change (Rachel Lears’ “To the End”).
But this year’s nonfiction lineup also includes several portrait documentaries: Kanye West (“jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy”), Bill Cosby (“We Need to Talk About Cosby”), Sinéad O’Connor (“Nothing Compares”) and Princess Diana (“The Princess”) are among the many famous and infamous figures being explored.
Clarence “Coodie” Simmons and Chike Ozah’s “jeen-yuhs” is arguably the most anticipated doc heading to Park City. The three-parter boasts 21 years of never-before-seen footage from the rapper. Simmons says after meeting West 20-some years ago, he realized that “this dude was...
But this year’s nonfiction lineup also includes several portrait documentaries: Kanye West (“jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy”), Bill Cosby (“We Need to Talk About Cosby”), Sinéad O’Connor (“Nothing Compares”) and Princess Diana (“The Princess”) are among the many famous and infamous figures being explored.
Clarence “Coodie” Simmons and Chike Ozah’s “jeen-yuhs” is arguably the most anticipated doc heading to Park City. The three-parter boasts 21 years of never-before-seen footage from the rapper. Simmons says after meeting West 20-some years ago, he realized that “this dude was...
- 1/19/2022
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
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