Beyond The Lens

Eric Newman's journey to the top of Showtime basketball was one of hard work and dedication. An accomplished basketball coach on the Nike circuit, Newman used an experience he had with Kobe Bryant at Rucker Park to springboard himself into the world of sports media. After grinding on the freelance market, Newman took his skills to Bleacher Report and then eventually to Showtime basketball where he helped create the mega popular podcast All The Smoke and directed the film we'll talk about today, Kevin Garnett: Anything is Possible….Eric's love for basketball and more specifically the Boston Celtics matched up well when the opportunity to direct a Doc featuring Kevin Garnett was presented to him.    We dive into the four pillars that helped guide his story and and he tells us why they made the decision not to include Stephon Marbury.  You won't want to miss a moment of this episode of Beyond the Lens presented by Diesel Films. 

Steve James needs no introduction. In my opinion, the most prolific sports documentarian of all time. He took his vision from the Cabrini Greens playground in Chicago to what became Hoop Dreams, the most successful sports doc of all time, the film that paved the way for the proliferation of Sports Films on HBO Sports, 30 for 30, and Netflix. James has since gone on to produce and direct a variety of films from Prefontaine to America to Me, an award winning docuseries on the education system in Chicago , but in this conversation we deep dive into the  Legendary Hoop Dreams…. Steve James' hoop dreams started on the courts of Hampton Va where he had his first experience with basketball and race.  From there he studied at James Madison University before his heart led him to follow his future wife to Southern Illinois.  Steve shares the films that inspired him when he first started and tells us how stories from his father helped pushed him to return home to make a film about a basketball icon who had gotten into some trouble in a bowling alley.  It is our pleasure to have Steve James on this episode of beyond the lens presented by Diesel Films.

Self taught and self-made, Rudy Valdez is a shooting star in the world of documentary filmmaking. After his sister was incarcerated for 15 years and separated from her 3 children for a first time, non-violent offense, Rudy Valdez picked up a camera & went on a 10 year journey documenting his family's fight for her clemency and return  back to her family. The culmination ended up being “The Sentence” a documentary which won the Audience Choice award at Sundance and was picked up by HBO. This experience has led Rudy on a wildly successful career and recently ESPN tabbed him to tell the extraordinary story of WNBA superstar Maya Moore who left the game in the prime of her career to rescue the love of her life who spent 23 years in jail on a wrongful conviction, for the film Breakaway …Rudy sat in the back of his high school drama class attempting to skate his way towards graduation.  Little did he know his teachers simple push would lead to his first steps in the entertainment world.  From that moment Rudy followed his heart and not his head and that became became the secret sauce to his filmmaking style.   In this episode of Beyond the Lens presented by Diesel Films, Rudy Valdez opens all the way and details turning points in his life as well as significant moments in his films.  For fans of the docuseries We are the Brooklyn Saints on Netflix, you will want to listen all the way until the end because Rudy gives us the goods.   Enjoy the pod

After a chance meeting with super producer Seth Gordon on his first film set as a production assistant, Clay Tweel quickly packed his bags and moved from Virginia to Los Angeles. In LA, Tweel honed his craft as a jack of all trades, he learned to edit and shoot, and Gordon quickly put him to work on what is now a cult classic, The King of Kong. Tweel took that experience, what he considers his masters degree in documentary filmmaking, and became a director himself. In 2014, a sizzle about Steve Gleason's fight against ALS was being passed around Hollywood in search of a director, and Tweel knew he was the man for the job….Clay Tweel is an enjoyable conversationalist.  His ability to draw parallels between his subject and everyday humans is his gift as a filmmaker.  I love how a game of ping pong helped seal his fate as the Director of the heart wrenching film, Gleason.  And how his father's famous client became an inspiration for the story.  Gleason has so many layers to it and we were lucky to have Clay join us to peel some back, on this episode of Beyond the Lens, presented by Diesel Films.

After winning a BAFTA nomination for their first documentary, McQueen, a Greek tragedy about fashion designer Lee Alexander McQueen, Peter Ettedgui and Ian Bonhote turned their attention to another powerful subject, the Paralympics, its history, its challenges, and its awe inspiring athletes. Ettedgui, with his masterful writing and Bonhote with his dynamic visuals, made Rising Phoenix1 more than just a documentary but rather a cinematic masterpiece that cast the athletes not as disabled but as superheroes straight out of something you would see in the Marvel Cinematic Universe…. AJ - I'm going to keep it real with you, this doc was challenging for me to watch due to my own insecurities but after talking to Peter and Ian I realized that was their intention.   They wanted to open the viewers eyes to a topic many may have usually avoided.  And that's exactly what happened to me.  Ian and Peter have such great chemistry.  It shows in the film and in our conversation.  The transparency Ian shared with us was refreshing and Peter's attention to detail make it obvious why they make such a good team.

Not because it rhymes with his name, but John Dahl has literally done IT ALL at ESPN. Getting his first byline as a senior in high school at the Charlotte News, Dahl has been on a road to success since his teenage years on Tobacco Road. From Sports Century to The Last Dance, Dahl has had his hand in hundreds of documentary projects at ESPN, and today he will take us down memory lane. John's experience and unique insight comes shining through in this latest edition of Beyond the Lens presented by Diesal Films.  We don't focus on just one documentary instead we pepper john with questions about the vast array of docs he has been apart of during his long tenure at ESPN.  Be it The Two Escobars, The Last Dance or With Out Bias, John break down the role he played in bringing those and many other docs to life.  I really enjoyed hearing him discuss all of the friendships that he has developed over the year with personalities like Kenny Chesney.  

Andrea & Sean Fine met serendipitously working at National Geographic and fell in love over their passion for movies and storytelling.  The couple decided to leave Nat Geo and make their own films, and boy was that a good idea. Their first feature documentary War/Dance about Ugandan child soldiers, garnered their first Academy Award nomination, and then they hit the red carpet again in 2013 but this time they were victorious winning an Oscar for their short documentary, Inocente. Just recently, they took aim at the US Soccer Federation with their film LFG!, documenting the US Women's Soccer team's fight for equal pay….  Sean's keen eye for photography was a skill passed down from his grandfather to his father to him.  Andrea's gift of storytelling starts with her natural ability to connect with people.  Together they collaborate and form a great team, who has learned how to strike the right life balance between work and home.  It's a skill Sean witnessed firsthand by watching his parents create great content together.  In this episode of beyond the lens presented by Diesel films we focus on their films but the real lessons to be learned are in the journey.  It's an enjoyable conversation and we hope you like  it as much as we did.   

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Marquis Daisy's passion for hoops and hip hop motivated him to focus and achieve through higher education. Daisy headed north to prep school in New England and then to the Little Ivy, Williams College. His plan to be a teacher was derailed when he was offered  a Production Assistant job at HBO Sports. After 6 years at HBO, Marquis found himself working freelance on a  ESPN 30 for 30 film which led to him to a staff Producer position in ESPN's Original Films department….His relationship with fellow Williams College Alum and Last Dance Director Jason Hehir helped provide Marquis with the experience and confidence to know Directing films was his calling. His gift lies in his ability to capture the true essence of each subject by finding parallels from his own life experiences. This was best exemplified in what started as a 25 minute short film but turned into the critically acclaimed 30 for 30, Rand University   Marquis walks us through the process of starting this project with out Randy Moss but details how he was able to secure an interview by being in the right place at the right time.  He shares what it was like to work with the late great Michael K Williams and why an emotional Michael walked off set leaving Marquis worried he might not return.   And he shares with us what it was like partner with National Geographic for the March on Washington, Keepers of the Dream project.You will hear all of that and much more on this episode of Beyond the Lens presented by Diesel Films

Growing up in Los Angeles in the 1980's basking in the glow of the Showtime Lakers and the golden era of LA Sports, Jon Weinbach found himself glued to the LA Times reading the likes of Jim Murray and Gene Wojciechowski. Then At Yale under the watchful eye of his Sports Editor, Baseball's eventual boy wonder, Theo Epstein, Jon flourished as a writer for the Yale Daily News. After a short stint with the Wall Street Journal, Jon then transitioned to producing a show for ESPN called the Life, which propelled him into a career of creating iconic sports programming. For the last 9 years he teamed up with legendary producer, Mike Tollin under the banner Mandalay Sports & Entertainment…Jon explains why it was so important to him to tell the story of the 1992 Lithuania Men's basketball team in a wonderful documentary titled, The Other Dream Team.  He shares what it was like to write a track for legendary rapper Ice Cube for the ESPN 30 for 30, Straight Outta LA, and Jon tells us how they were able to get Michael Jordan to agree to participate in the Last Dance and how much influence Jordan really had.

 Growing up in what appeared to be a retirement community in North Miami Beach, Alfred Spellman quickly realized Miami was more than meets the eye. After meeting Billy Corben in his 9th grade production class, the duo went on to be the youngest filmmakers ever to reach Sundance and then went on to start rakontur, a Miami-based documentary studio. Perfecting their craft of what they call ‘synthesis journalism', Rakontur has created a legacy of exploring the corruption and drug trade in the Magic City with their epic trilogy, Cocaine Cowboys. Alfred's anecdotes held us captivated as he detailed the decision to turn down a request from ESPN and how that turned into a Primetime slot for, The U. He told us about the film Broke and shared how that story might have been told differently had some reluctant athletes participated, but what really had us floored was the story about being an 8th grader in the back seat of a car and how that experience led to the idea for the Cocaine Cowboys Kings of Miami documentary. Yeah, Rakontur is the perfect name for the company because they are skilled storytellers.  The Producer, will have your full attention on this episode of Beyond the Lens presented by Diesel Films.

When Chris Martin and Coldplay are your college roommates, you must have a charmed life and for director Mat Whitecross I'd say that's the case. After his award winning doc The Road to Guantanamo which put him on the map, Whitecross has never looked back. After knocking out the rock doc genre with the brilliant Oasis: Supersonic and a doc about his old buddies Coldplay, Whitecross turned his attention to a golden era in Boxing with the film titled “The Kings” for Showtime, a 4 hour masterpiece which we discuss in detail today…. As the son of political refugees Matt explains why it was important to him to blend the parallel stories of the 4 Kings of Boxing with the political leaders of that time.  We discuss in detail the benefits of audio interviews vs on camera interviews and he walks us through the process he underwent in attempting to shine a bright new light on the often overlooked boxing era squeezed in between Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson.   Mats unique style and perspective is ever present in the film and throughout our entire conversation in this episode of Beyond the Lens presented by Diesel Films.    

 After stops at NFL Films and Nascar Productions, Rory Karpf has become one of the biggest directors in the game. Karpf helmed 2 of the highest rated ESPN 30 for 30s of all time, I Hate Christian Laetnner and the Nature Boy, the intimate look at the wild life of Rick Flair. Karpf Is now the go-to director for Dana White and the UFC and he considers Shaq and Snoop good friends after directing their docu-series.   Rory has stories for days and you will hear several of them. From how ESPN decided to put him on camera for one of the most popular 30 for 30s of all time, the Nature Boy to why Christian Laettner's mom sent Rory a very nice card after initially requesting a title change for the film I hate Christian Laettner.  He tells us about the high school teacher who still works with him to this day, and talks about how he became good friends with the late Luke Perry.  It's a wide ranging conversation and we touch on a little bit of everything on this episode of Beyond the lens by Diesel Films.

A titan of our industry, Ross Greenburg walked into HBO in 1978 as a green 23 year old and walked out the door 33 years later with over 50 Emmy Awards and 8 Peabodys.  Greenburg's vision reinvented the sports documentary genre and he also created shows like Real Sports, Hard Knocks and 24/7. Ross will undoubtedly find himself inducted into the Broadcast Hall of Fame… Ross walks us through his journey from playing sports with Frank Gifford's son as a kid to negotiating contracts for Mike Tyson with Don King.  We talk about Real Sports, Hard Knocks, 24/7 and all of the franchises he helped establish at HBO Sports.  Ross tells us why he left HBO and explains what project he is working with them on now.  You will learn a lot on this episode of Beyond the Lens presented by Diesel Films.

Growing up in a blue collar town on the outskirts of Boston, Michael Tolajian's love of Larry Bird and the arts helped him get his big break at NBA Entertainment in the early 90s. After getting his masters at USC Fim School Tolajian jumped back into the world of Sports Television, directing what is hailed as one of the best 30 for 30's of all time, Once Brothers, and has gone on to be a top creative executive at the Pac 12 Network and Fox Sports. Michael details how a Civil War destroyed the once brotherly relationship between Drazen Petrovic and Vlade Divac. It's impressive to find out how he was able to get Vlade and Drazen's family to be so open and honest.  We then transition to a story you may not have ever heard of, Q Ball.  Well let's just say Michael went to San Quentin Prison and filmed the story of convicts who earn the right to hoop vs members of the Golden State Warriors staff.  I simplified it but it's much deeper than that and we get to hear all about it on this episode of Beyond the Lens. 

Hailing out of Woodstock New York, Zak Levitt's  love of basketball landed him a job in the Miami HEAT video room right next to future Hall of Famer Eric Spoelstra. Levitt than took his love of sports and storytelling to NBA Entertainment where long nights in the edit bay led him to become their lead director on some of their most formidable documentaries.Including the highly anticipated 20 year anniversary documentary on the Dream Team.  Zack tells us what it was like to work with 11 Hall of Famers to share their memories of the 1992 Olympic Experience in Barcelona.  We then transition to a documentary that I truly enjoyed on Julius the Doctor Erving.  This doc was more than just a biopic piece.  Zak was able to get the Doctor to open up about so much more than just basketball.  And lastly we touch on Zak's highly acclaimed 30 for 30 Bad Boys. On the Detroit Pistons teams for the late 80's and early 90's.  You won't want to miss a moment of the conversation on this episode of Beyond the Lens presented by Diesel Films.

Born and raised in the shadows of the Hollywood hills Brett Rapkin was destined to be a filmmaker. As CEO of Podium Pictures, he has created a deep track record of success in producing impact-driven sports films, from narrative to documentary. Most recently, Brett's The Weight of Gold, a documentary produced in partnership with Olympic legend Michael Phelps detailed the mental health challenges of elite athletes. It was selected to the SXSW Film Festival and acquired by HBO.  Brett shared with us the life changing event that led to the making of the Weight of Gold. He explained why Michael Phelps got involved in the doc and how he was able to get so many other Olympians to contribute.  Speaking on mental health made for a very open, honest and  enriching conversation on so many fronts.  We tackled it all here on Beyond the Lens.

A 3-time Peabody Award Winner, George Roy set the standard for documentary filmmaking during the Golden era of HBO Sports. Roy and his partner Steve Stern emerged from an illustrious production roster at MLB Productions to start their own shop, Black Canyon Productions.  In 1991 through a stroke of Yiddish luck (we'll get to that later) they created what many hailed as the greatest baseball documentary ever made, When It Was A Game for HBO and the rest was history…Roy's catalog is extensive and we get into several of his films including the Curse of the Bambino where he made an executive decision that surprised the powers that be at HBO Sports.   You won't ever guess which member of the 1992 Dream Team was involved in a moment on-set that George will never forget.  And we get into his latest work with the WWE Legends.  It's another great conversation on Beyond the Lens presented by Diesel Films. 

Born into an entertainment family in Queens, New York Jonathan Hock was destined for a career in sports and film.  For over 10 years, Hock cut his teeth under the tutelage of the legend Steve Sabol at NFL Films, leading him back to Brooklyn where he started his own production company, Hock Films.  After producing the beloved And1 Mixtape Tour for 7 seasons, Hock made his first award winning documentary, Through The Fire, profiling Staten Island basketball phenom, Sebastian Telfair. Hock has gone on to direct the most 30 for 30's and has arguably the finest sports documentary CV of all time. Hock takes us behind the curtain and explains some memorable moments from his highly acclaimed documentary of Miracles and Men and he explains to us why it was so important for him to frame the Felipe Lopez story through the lens of immigration in the wonderful 30 for 30 called the Dominican Dream.  It was truly enjoyable conversing with someone with so much expertise.   I think you will enjoy it too on this episode of Beyond the Lens presented by Diesel Films.

On today's show we welcome Jim Fabio, a extraordinary documentarian who has won multiple emmy awards while serving as a Colonel in the Air Force Reserve overseeing the Combat Camera unit. In this conversation, we talk about why Jim was inspired to attend the Air Force Academy, how a downsizing of the military in the 90s derailed his hopes of becoming a pilot in the Air Force but then led to his award winning career and we focus the spotlight on his short film: Orangeburg: A Town, A Team, and an American Tragedy Watch the film here https://vimeo.com/363417940 & then listen to the Pod! 

In this episode we welcome Division 1 football player turned filmmaker Micah Brown. Micah tells us about his determination that earned him a Div 1 football scholarship at University of Kansas, he tells us about his year in Hollywood and then how a meeting with an ESPN executive motivated him to make his first documentary, Prison Fighters for Showtime.Micah shares with us how he was able to get the intimidating Chuck Liddell and Tito Oritz to be so forthcoming and vulnerable in his ESPN 30 for 30 Doc called Chuck and Tito. But before that film even came to fruition he walks us through the lunch meeting that changed his career forever.   And you Jayhawk fans will want to relive his infamous fake punt catch in the Orange Bowl. Needless to say that was not Beemer Ball's finest hour.  We cover all of that and much more.

Born & bred in the streets of New York City, Johnny Sweet's love of hip hop music and sports propelled him into a career in sports media. A Syracuse grad, Johnny paid his dues at ESPN before going out on his own where he has told stories for the NFL, Fox Sports, & Bleacher Report just to name a few. Johnny then directed 2 big time docs, one about Michael Vick and then the one we will talk about today, the Emmy Nominated Quiet Storm: The Ron Artest Story. Johnny breaks down every detail of the Malice in the Palace including stories you've probably never heard before.  He tells us how he was able to secure interviews for some of Ron's former teammates, including the late great Kobe Bryant.  And the former DJ shares with us his favorite 5 rappers of all time.

In this episode we welcome one of the finest storytellers in the non-fiction space, Kevin Shaw.  Kevin has won multiple Emmy Awards and the Edward R. Murrow Award for Sports Reporting Excellence, for a feature that he produced for the Big10 Network.  Kevin most recently worked alongside documentary legend Steve James on America To Me, which debuted at Sundance and is lauded as one of the greatest docu-series of all time. Kevin shares with us some of the advice his father gave to him working in the business. How his big break at ESPN almost never happened and what it was like to work with Bob Hurly Sr. on his film The Street Stops Here.   He's from the Chi so we had to dig into that a little bit too.www.dieselfilmsinc.com 

In this episode we welcome Jenna Contreras and Lauren Stowell. This dynamic duo behind the groundbreaking WNBA documentary 144 - has taken ESPN by storm. In just 9 short years Jenna has rose through the ranks of ESPN to be one of their lead feature producers. Lauren's work has garnered her 5 Emmys & is respected as not only one of the finest storytellers at ESPN but in the entire sports media industry. You can hear the passion in Lauren's voice as she told us about incorporating Brianna Taylor and Jacob Blake into the 144 documentary and Jenna took us behind the scenes of some of those emotional moments that would not have been captured if she and her camera crew of one had not been ready for it.  It was also cool to hear how they gave their editor creative freedom to immerse himself in the story and bring them back each scene to watch one at a time via Zoom.  I'm telling you,  these are two phenomenal women with great stories to share and It was our pleasure getting to speak with them. Watch 144 here: https://www.espn.com/espnplus/player/_/id/23038582-4041-4778-b29a-ff70604c578a  

 In this episode we welcome Award Winning Director Anthony Smith who has been a driving force at NFL Media for the last 16 years. Among his important work in the Social Justice space for the NFL, Anthony has directed documentaries about Fritz Pollard, Nipsey Hussle and for this conversation we will go Beyond The Lens on his film about the dynamic Hall of Fame Running Back, Jim Brown, as part of the NFL Films documentary series A Football Life. Anthony was just nominated for 7 Sports Emmys Awards, an impressive feat.Anthony tells us how his military upbringing helped shaped his love of movies, what it was like being in the presence of the great Jim Brown and he shares some insightful advice for aspiring filmmakers. 

A living legend in the world of sports media, Aaron Cohen has won 30 National Sports Emmys and a record nine Dick Schaap Writing Awards. Cohen has helped produced some of the most iconic stories in sports, including HBO's Boxing and Hockey docuseries "24/7", NBC's Olympic Games Coverage, "The Fab 5", "Magic and Bird: A courtship of rivals", and "McEnroe Borg: Fire and Ice". In this episode, Cohen tells us about how his big break happened in the lunch room at ABC, the details of his directorial debut, and why working with Caitlyn Jenner was one of the most memorable experiences of his career.www.dieselfilmsinc.com info@dieselfilmsinc.com 

On today's show we welcome Sarah Moshman, Emmy Award winning filmmaker, TedX Speaker, and now a working Mom with 2 beautiful children. A champion of female empowerment, Sarah has focused her documentary career on shining a light on impressive women starting with The Empowerment Project, Ordinary Women Doing Extraordinary Things, and then she followed that film up with the documentary that we will discuss today, Losing Sight of Shore, where a small team of women rowed across the Pacific. Sarah tells us how she went from working on Dancing with the Stars to Directing Losing Sight of Shore, a cinematic achievement. She walks us through the point in the trip when it felt like it was all coming to an abrupt end but how how she was able to turn that into a positive that changed the entire direction of the film.  www.dieselfilmsinc.com info@dieselfilmsinc.com 

In this episode, we welcome documentary legend Billy Corben. As a college student at the Univeristy of Miami, Billy was the youngest director to ever premiere at Sundance with his film Raw Deal: A Question of Consent. Billy followed that up with Cocaine Cowboys, Miami's real life version of Scarface, which electrified viewers worldwide. With his foothold on the Magic City, Billy documented his alma mater's footall dynasty, The U, for ESPN's 30 for 30. He takes us back to when he was a child actor in Ron Howard's movie Parenthood and explains how that experience spurred his love of filmmaking.  He walks us through his pitch of the U to ESPN and details what it was like working with Uncle Luke to score the doc.  And you don't want to miss Billy tell us the film he would like to make about a certain NBA Front Office that has won a few championships.   www.dieselfilmsinc.com info@dieselfilmsinc.com 

A preview of what you are going to hear on Beyond The Lens! Season 1 of Beyond The Lens will focus on Sports Documentaries. Seth Shapiro (Founder and EP of Diesel Films) and AJ Speaks (Senior Producer, Miami HEAT) are your hosts and they will will sit down with the industry's best. We will have candid conversations with the filmmakers that are telling these great stories, from the directors and producers and the crew behind the scenes to the subjects that they focus on. You will learn what it takes to make a memorable sports documentary and you will hear the untold stories of how these films were brought to life and the challenges that these filmmakers had to overcome. We hope you are entertained and educated, this is Beyond The Lens from Diesel Films! www.dieselfilmsinc.com info@dieselfilmsinc.com