LETTERS
10 SUMMER 2019 MOVIEMAKER.COMREADERS ARE TALKING ABOUT...
“I’ve been a follower of
MovieMaker for 15 years
now. I thoroughly enjoy
reading every new article
and always feel inspired
after reading your various
stories and interviews.
I also appreciate how
the magazine supports
budding film talent. Over
the past 15 years, a lot has
changed, but my craze for
MovieMaker remains the
same.”
— Sai Sharma,
via e-mail“We had a great time at
Cine Gear Expo! Looking
forward to next year...
P.S. Olivia Wilde and those
cheekbones: They’ll be on our
coffee table for a hot minute.”
—Red Siren Entertainment,
via Twitter“SUCCESS IN
SUCCESSION”
BY MATTEO GARRONE
“Great piece on shooting
in sequence if casting
allows.”
— Matthew Ogborn,
via Twitter“JOURNALISM PLUS” BY PAULA BERNSTEIN
“Another fantastic article! So inspirational to see how
other directors deal with access issues and the toll
documentaries can take on those making them.”
— Jason Charnick, via Twitter “If we go by the criteria
outlined in this article,
Dan Reed has still failed
to do due diligence in
terms of research, inves-
tigation, and attempting
to report the truth. The
result? Slandering, libeling,
and defaming the dead,
which is wrong, in case
you’re wondering.”
— Yasmine Nour el Dine,
via Twitter“When detailing Leaving Neverland director Dan Reed’s documentary methods,
our article explains: ‘Before taking their stories as fact, Reed interviewed former detec-
tives and prosecutors from the two principal investigations into Jackson. He shot inter-
views with the LAPD and the Santa Barbara Sheriff ’s Department, which had investi-
gated Jackson, as well as the deputy DA, who was the main prosecutor in the 2005 trial.’
Our report is transparent about the fact that Reed ‘considered making a straightforward
investigative documentary using the footage, but decided to craft the film primarily out
of the interviews with Robson and Safechuck and their families.’ We did not, however,
uncover evidence that suggests Reed ‘admitted he did next to no research.’ Ultimately,
MovieMaker neither defends nor condemns Reed’s artistic choices. Rather, we have
outlined the approach of Reed and others to offer insight into the intensive process
and consequential decision-making that documentary moviemaking demands.”
— MM Editors“Dan Reed has admitted himself he did next to
no research into the stories of Wade Robson and
James Safechuck. He took the stories at face value and
ignored the fact that these men have been thrown out
of court twice for lying and have appealed a third time.
No interviews with the other side, and no evidence.
Moviemaking? Yes. Ethical journalism? Absolutely not.”
— Louise Blainey, via MovieMaker.com