Andrew Jarecki: Last News

The pulverized face of Steven Davis tells a terrifying story of conditions inside Alabama state prisons – his eyes swollen shut, his bruised flesh a deep purple.

Variety’s picks for the best films we saw there. A singularly powerful exposé of the inhumanity of the American prison system. Directed by Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman, the film looks at life inside several Alabama facilities, where it captures not just a culture of chronic abuse but of sanctified lawlessness.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic “The Alabama Solution” is one of the most powerful exposés of the inhumanity of the American prison system I’ve ever seen. Directed by Andrew Jarecki (“Capturing the Friedmans,” “The Jinx”) and Charlotte Kaufman, the movie is a scalding portrait of life on the inside that exerts a grip worthy of a thriller. It’s an investigative documentary, filmed over five years, much of it in and around the Easterling Correctional Facility in Southeast Alabama, that doesn’t merely show us the chronic abuse of prisoners.

Addie Morfoot Contributor The Sundance Film Festival has added two documentaries from directors Andrew Jarecki‘s and Bao Nguyen to its 2025 documentary lineup. Jarecki’s docu, titled “The Alabama Solution,” is about, per the film’s press release, “incarcerated men who defy the odds to expose a cover-up in one of America’s deadliest prison systems.” “The Alabama Solution” is the fourth project that Jarecki has debuted at Sundance. Twenty-two years ago, in 2003, the director’s inaugural film, “Capturing the Friedmans,” had its world premiere in Park City.

Jack Dunn Morgan Neville, the director of “Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in Two Pieces,” always loved movies and writing as a child, but when he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, he was unsure what to do with his interests. He thought “writing seemed serious” and “movies were too frivolous” to get into show business, but once he started his first documentary, “Shotgun Freeway: Drives Through Lost L.A.,” he knew he found his lifelong passion.

Filmmaker Andrew Jarecki knows that voice intimately. It has seeped into his consciousness — the distinctive New York rasp of Robert Durst, scion of a powerful New York real estate family and a man suspected of triple murder.

Addie Morfoot Contributor In our current tumultuous political climate, with the concept of truth seemingly tested daily, the future of democracy feels like it’s hanging in the balance. Variety and Rolling Stone will explore some of the ways the media industry is navigating the disinformation age during the fourth annual Truth Seekers Summit. CNN anchor and senior political correspondent Abby Phillip, Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney and Susan Zirinsky, president of CBS News’ See It Now Studios, are among the luminaries who will attend the Aug.

Some of the entertainment industry’s top filmmakers will go up against each other at the 76thEmmy Awards.

Alison Herman TV Critic No one could top the sensational ending to “The Jinx” — not even “The Jinx.” In 2015, the HBO true crime docuseries profiling New York real estate heir and alleged serial murderer Robert Durst shocked the world by catching Durst on a hot microphone making an apparent confession. “Killed them all, of course” was hardly a smoking gun from a legal point of view, but as television, those five words were the kind of stunning revelation that decades-old cold cases rarely provide.

Robert Durst has been a part of director Andrew Jarecki’s life for years.In 2005, the director began working on the 2010 film “All Good Things,” starring Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst, and was inspired by the life of Durst and the disappearance of his first wife, Kathleen McCormack.He then followed that up with the 2015 six-part HBO docuseries “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst,” which explored Durst’s connection to several murders and dramatically concluded with his hot mike admission, “Killed them all, of course.”The series garnered a host of awards and the storyline appeared to be over. However, in 2020, Durst stood trial for the 2000 murder of his good friend, Susan Berman, 55.Critics who had refused to talk to Jarecki for the first “Jinx” series were now testifying in the Berman trial — and he realized that there was another series in the making.“The Jinx: Part Two” debuted on Sunday.Durst was the eldest son of New York City real estate magnate Seymour Durst and first gained headlines for the unsolved 1982 disappearance of McCormack.Berman, one of Durst’s oldest friends who provided an alibi for him when McCormack went missing, was shot outside her home in 2000.Later that year, after being tipped off by his sister that the McCormack investigation had been reopened, Durst went into hiding and moved to Galveston, Texas, where he disguised himself as a mute woman.The following year, Durst was arrested after body parts belonging to his elderly neighbor, Morris Black, 71, were found floating in Galveston Bay.Durst skipped bail but was extradited.

Addie Morfoot Contributor New York real estate scion Robert Durst has been at the forefront of Andrew Jarecki‘s mind for close to 20 years. In 2005, the director began working on “All Good Things,” a narrative film inspired by Durst and the 1982 disappearance of his first wife. That was followed by Jarecki’s 2015 HBO bombshell six-part docuseries “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst,” which uncovered evidence of Durst’s connection to various murders and concluded with Durst’s shocking hot mic admission, “Killed them all, of course.” Durst was arrested the day before the final episode thanks to the docuseries.

Rudie Obias editor If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. After premiering in Feb. 2015, “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst” has been an odd pop culture phenomenon.

admitting to multiple murders said he felt “sad” over the chilling TV moment.“The Jinx” director Andrew Jarecki reflected on the alleged 2015 confession ahead of the release of “The Jinx: Part Two,” which follows on from Durst’s ensuing arrest, conviction and 2022 death behind bars at age 78.“The journalist part of me was thinking, ‘This is one of the greatest moments of my life,’” Jarecki told the Financial Times. “But another part of me felt sad that this incredible charade this man had persisted with for years was all coming down to this terrible moment of truth.”Durst’s apparent confession came after filmmakers for the HBO series showed him a letter — written in his own hand — that seemed to implicate him in the murder of his friend, Susan Berman, the outlet said.

died in 2022 — but the bizarre story of the multimillionaire New York real estate heir turned murderer is still unravelling.On Wednesday, HBO dropped the first trailer for “The Jinx: Part Two,” the juicy continuation of the 2015 documentary series “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst” that explosively ended with his apparent confession.That program, by filmmaker Andrew Jarecki, combined a history of Durst’s decades of alleged misdeeds and a rare interview with the eccentric man.In the final episode, a hot mike caught Durst muttering “killed them all, of course” while in the bathroom — a seeming admission to the murders of first wife Kathleen Durst, California friend Susan Berman and Galveston, Texas, neighbor Morris Black that took place between 1982 and 2001.A Texas court ruled in 2001 that Black’s death occurred in self-defense — despite Durst beheading him while disguised as a woman named Dorothy Steiner — and he was acquitted. The shocking verdict led to The Post’s front page headline: “Run For Your Lives.”But in 2021, Durst was finally convicted of first-degree murder for shooting Berman at her Beverly Hills, California, home 21 years prior.

The brand new trailer for The Jinx – Part Two has debuted online, just a few weeks ahead of the docu-series’ continuation. We’ve embedded it below for you to watch

HBO has released the official teaser for The Jinx — Part Two, a new six-episode continuation of the Emmy-winning documentary series The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst that debuted on the premium net in 2015.

The trailer for The Jinx – Part Two has debuted online, just a few weeks ahead of the docu-series’ continuation.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor J.J. Abrams is taking a look back at “Felicity,” the beloved series he co-created that premiered 25 years ago, in a difference kind of rewatch podcast featuring guest appearances by the show’s stars, including Keri Russell, Scott Speedman and Scott Foley. “Dear Felicity,” from Abrams’ Bad Robot Audio and Spotify’s The Ringer, is set to debut Wednesday, March 13.

HBO is to further explore the crimes of Robert Durst.

Ethan Shanfeld The next chapter of “The Jinx” is headed to HBO. The network announced on Thursday that “The Jinx – Part Two” will air on HBO and stream on Max in 2024. The six-episode sequel to the hit 2015 miniseries, which investigated the crimes of Robert Durst, is currently in production from Andrew Jarecki.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor On New Year’s Day, Peacock dropped the first three episodes of its true crime series “Paul T. Goldman,” a documentary loosely based on Paul Finkelman’s semi-autobiographical self-published book. The show, utilizing reenactments and behind-the-scenes shots, has the eccentric Finkelman telling the story of his relationship with his second wife, whom he believed was living a double life as a prostitute, dating her pimp and running an international sex trafficking ring. It was directed by “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” director Jason Woliner, who brought an ambitious use of satire to the streaming platform. Finkelman’s unique delivery and distorted facts and his attempt to set the record straight in the form of a movie that he directs and writes himself, starring himself, creates an unconventional type of nonfiction storytelling. Still, Peacock and Woliner saw it as a documentary and decided to submit it for Emmys consideration in outstanding documentary or nonfiction series. However, not everything works out the way you hope.