Stormy Daniels and Judd Apatow Bring a Personal and Political Doc to SXSW: ‘F— Trump’

variety.com:

Addie Morfoot Contributor 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, and the effect it had on her life.” Onstage, Daniels revealed that she first met Apatow 20 years ago when he hired her for a small part in “40 Year-Old Virgin” — though she didn’t show up for her shoot date due to a death in her family. “I thought he would replace me,” Daniels told the SXSW audience.

Instead, Apatow sent flowers and rescheduled the shoot. Most of “Stormy” was shot in 2018, after Trump had already assumed the presidency but while the Daniels scandal was still hanging over him.