Dawn Porter: Last News

Addie Morfoot Contributor Writers and actors aren’t the only people in Hollywood grappling with the impact generative artificial intelligence will have on the entertainment industry. Documentarians are also concerned about AI and what it means for the ethical standards and practices of nonfiction filmmaking.

Showtime’s four-part docuseries on the Supreme Court, Deadlocked: How America Shaped the Supreme Court, will premiere its first episode on September 22, amid a period of intense concern over the impact and integrity of the high court.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor The world of documentary, news and nonfiction content is as varied as the work done by Rachel Maddow, Dawn Porter and Roy Wood Jr. Those three are among the industry notables set to appear at Variety and Rolling Stone’s third annual Truth Seekers Summit, a daylong gathering for the nonfiction production sector to be held Aug. 2 at New York’s Second, an event location on 6th Avenue.

EXCLUSIVE: Lucy J. Mukerjee has joined Stanley Nelson and Marcia Smith’s media company Firelight Media, geared toward nonfiction cinema by and about communities of color, as the new director of its flagship Documentary Lab.

Addie Morfoot Contributor Busy documentarian Dawn Porter will debut her latest project, “The Lady Bird Diaries,” March 10 at SXSW. The all-archival doc, which will bow on Hulu later this year, relies on 123 hours of personal and revealing audio diaries that Lady Bird recorded during her the presidency of her husband, Lyndon Baines Johnson. The tapes, which were not publicly released until 2017, reveal the critical role the former First Lady played in LBJ’s White House as a close advisor and trusted political partner.Claudia Alta “Lady Bird” Johnson began her recording diary shortly after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in November 1963 and kept recording through her family’s departure from the White House in January 1969. Julia Sweig spent five years researching the diaries for her 2021 biography “Lady Bird Johnson: Hiding in Plain Sight,” which she turned into an eight-part podcast that formed the basis for Porter’s 90-minute docu.

Dawn Porter Dawn Porter is a filmmaker whose latest project “The Lady Bird Diaries,” an all-archival documentary about Lady Bird Johnson, former First Lady of the United States, will debut at the SXSW Film Festival. Her four-part docuseries “Supreme” explores the history of the United States Supreme Court and the legal battles that have shaped America. Porter’s other projects include the next installment of the civil rights series “Eyes on the Prize” for HBO. Throughout the month of February, Variety will publish essays from prominent Black artists, artisans and entertainment figures celebrating the impact of Black entertainment and entertainers on the world at large.

EXCLUSIVE: Joy Gorman Wettels is launching her own production venture and has struck a deal with Fifth Season.

EXCLUSIVE: Six finalists were announced today for the richest prize in documentary film—the 4th Annual Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film.

The Supreme Court has been under the lens in a major way after its landmark ruling to reverse Roe v. Wade last week.

“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”On June 23, 1972, this one sentence snuck into a larger section of the Education Amendments which was signed into law by president Richard Nixon. It was straightforward; no-nonsense jargon. And those 37 words were the result of a hard-fought battle for equality that helped level the playing field and attempted to remove sex discrimination from American life entirely. ESPN’s 37 Words, a four-part documentary series premiering June 21 (parts 1 and 2) and June 28 (parts 3 and 4), celebrates Title IX and how its ripple effects spewed into education access and college admissions; sports and extra-curricular activities; and even sexual harassment cases on campus.

Addie Morfoot ContributorThis year, podcasts have been the inspiration for narrative watercooler content including on “The Dropout,” “The Thing About Pam” “WeCrashed” and “Gaslit.”However, the trend is expanding; the nonfiction community is entering the audio space too, not necessarily to seek out ideas, but to highlight the work that goes into making documentaries.Docus including Apple’s “The Big Conn,” HBO’s “Allen v. Farrow” and ESPN’s upcoming Title IX doc “37 Words” all feature what has been dubbed “the companion podcast.” Described as a behind-the-scenes look into the making of a nonfiction films or series, companion podcasts are less of a marketing tool and more of a chance for storytellers to give insights into the process of researching, producing, shooting and editing their films.

Disney’s Onyx Collective and ABC News have jointly acquired Aftershock, which picked up the Sundance Film Festival’s U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Impact for Change upon its debut there last month. The latest from directors Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee will stream as an original film from Onyx Collective on Hulu in the U.S., on Star+ in Latin America, and on Disney+ in all other territories.

Marielle Heller (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood), Garrett Bradley (Time), Joey Soloway (Transparent), Andrew Haigh (Lean on Pete) and Dawn Porter (The Me You Can’t See) have been named as jurors for the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, taking place virtually from January 20-30.

Cirque Du Soleil is opening its doors to the cameras as it prepares to get back on the Las Vegas stage.

Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry have teamed up for the new Apple TV+  docuseries “The Me You Can’t See” which features in-depth discussions about mental health, including that of the Duke of Sussex.

Prince Harry let cameras film him during therapy all to help people better understand mental health.

Dawn O’Porter paid tribute to her late friend Caroline Flack two months after her tragic death.

Dawn O’Porter reminisced on the good times she had with Caroline Flack at Glastonbury festival.The 41-year-old shared a sweet throwback picture with her late pal and BBC Radio 1’s Gemma Cairney as they all smiled at the camera. She shared how the annual festival – which was cancelled this year due to the global pandemic – was where they had ‘the most fun’.‘Thanks @gemagain for posting this picture,’ the TV presenter wrote.