Filmmakers Collaborative

11/12/2025

"...'Death by Lightning,' a four-part limited series now streaming on Netflix, styles itself as “a true story about two men the world forgot”: Garfield, who would become the twentieth President of the United States, and Charles Guiteau (Matthew Macfadyen), his eventual assassin.

The show’s creator and writer, Mike Makowsky, sets the action firmly in the post-Reconstruction era: the Civil War casts a long shadow, and Garfield’s chief obstacle in the election is not his Democratic opponent but a cynical operator within his own party whose influence stems from the spoils system.

Yet Makowsky’s irony- and anachronism-laced retelling makes the story modern."

The new Netflix miniseries makes the 1881 killing of President James Garfield feel thrillingly current.

11/11/2025

Veterans Day is the perfect day to watch The Green Box Film! And be sure to check out our Making Media Now podcast chat with the film's co-directors.

11/10/2025

"...After Oscar-nominated director Rory Kennedy heard about the 2021 accidental on-set shooting death of “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and the subsequent involuntary manslaughter charges brought against Alec Baldwin, she reached out to the “30 Rock” star about making a documentary.

Kennedy was interested in chronicling what justice was going to look like for Baldwin.

'It became clear that questions of accountability and justice couldn’t be separated from the forces of celebrity, media scrutiny, and Alec’s complicated public image,' says Kennedy. 'I personally found myself questioning what justice truly means in a case like this, and whether, under these circumstances, a fair trial was even possible.'..."

Rory Kennedy's Alec Baldwin Doc is the polar opposite of TLC's "The Baldwins," taking a more unvarnished look at the actor and his trials.

11/10/2025

"...The head of the BBC and the British broadcaster's top news executive both resigned Sunday after criticism of the way the organization edited a speech by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The BBC said Director-General Tim Davie and news CEO Deborah Turness had both decided to leave the corporation.

Britain's public broadcaster has been criticized for editing a speech Trump made on Jan. 6, 2021, before protesters attacked the Capitol in Washington.

Critics said that the way the speech was edited for a BBC documentary last year was misleading and cut out a section where Trump said that he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully."

The BBC said that director-general Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness have resigned after criticism of the broadcaster's editing of a speech by U.S. President Donald Trump.

11/08/2025

"...Ratings for the Comedy Central show have surged. Viewership over the past four months is more than double 2023, the last year the show had a new season, according to Nielsen.
..In the central plot, Mr. Trump is expecting a baby with a cartoon Satan. The use of Satan is a callback to the show’s glory days, in the late 1990s, when the devil was in a relationship with Saddam Hussein.
..Unlike many other comedy shows, 'South Park' has never had a consistent political orientation. Its creators have long been described as 'equal opportunity offenders,' skewering both the left and the right. In recent years, 'South Park' has criticized liberal hobbyhorses.
..Since the Trump episodes began, said Mr. Stone, who was speaking from New York, strangers have repeatedly approached him to praise the show, and, he added, they are not the sort of people who would normally watch 'South Park.'

“It’s not that we got all political,” said Trey Parker, one of the show’s creators. “It’s that politics became pop culture.”

11/07/2025

"...Tucked away in the 'Pluribus' credits, it reads, 'This show was made by humans.' It’s an important reminder as Big Tech continues to infiltrate Hollywood, and the trillion-dollar companies behind shows like 'Pluribus' are also driving the future of AI.

'I hate AI,' Gilligan says with a chuckle. 'AI is the world’s most expensive and energy-intensive plagiarism machine. I think there’s a very high possibility that this is all a bunch of horsesh*t. It’s basically a bunch of centibillionaires whose greatest life goal is to become the world’s first trillionaires. I think they’re selling a bag of v***r.'

Vince Gilligan and Rhea Seehorn unpack the first two episodes of 'Pluribus' and slam AI: 'Silicon Valley' has 'f---ed up the world.'

11/07/2025

"...GBH announced Thursday that it is eliminating 15 positions, with some of the affected employees leaving immediately and others staying on through December 2025 or January 2026.

The cuts include jobs in kids’ projects, finance, marketing and technology, according to GBH President and CEO Susan Goldberg.

'The loss of federal funding continues to ripple through our business,' Goldberg said in a statement.

'We’re grateful for their contributions and that of our entire staff as we reimagine our work to meet this unprecedented moment and transform our business for the future,' Goldberg added. 'We remain committed to our mission and the communities we serve, while also feeling appreciated by our audiences.'

The layoffs follow Congress’s clawback and the demise of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting

11/06/2025

Haven’t listened to our most recent episode yet?

🎙️ In this clip, filmmakers Vicki Hughes and Holly Stadtler reflect on the real-life romance at the heart of The Green Box—a young couple falling in love on the eve of WWII, clinging to hope as duty pulls them apart. The Green Box Film

📦 Based on Jim Kurtz’s search for the father he never knew, The Green Box is a story of love, sacrifice, and the legacy left behind.

📺 Premiering this November on PBS for Veterans Day and the 80th anniversary of WWII’s end.

🎧 Hear the full conversation now: https://fcmakingmedia.podbean.com/e/the-green-box-a-tale-of-war-heroism-and-a-sons-quest-to-know-his-father/

11/06/2025

The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.

"...We are now witnessing what the historian Richard Rhodes termed “public man-made death,” which, he observed, has been perhaps the most overlooked cause of mortality in the last century. Brooke Nichols, the Boston University epidemiologist and mathematical modeller, has maintained a respected tracker of current impact.

As of November 5th, it estimated that U.S.A.I.D.’s dismantling has already caused the deaths of six hundred thousand people, two-thirds of them children."

The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.

11/05/2025

NEW EPISODE OUT NOW

🎙️ On this episode of Making Media Now, host Michael Azevedo speaks with documentary filmmakers Vicki Hughes and Holly Stadtler about The Green Box: At The Heart of War—a moving film based on Jim Kurtz’s memoir about uncovering the life of the father he never knew. The Green Box Film

✈️ 2nd Lt. Robert Kurtz died in WWII when Jim was just 2 years old. For over 50 years, silence and grief kept his father’s story buried—until Jim began to dig.

🎬 Narrated by Martin Sheen, the film blends war chronicle, romance, mystery, and personal reflection into a powerful tribute to love, loss, and legacy.

📺 The Green Box airs on Boston’s GBH Nov 4 at 4PM, on GBH World Nov 8, and on PBS stations nationwide throughout November in honor of Veterans Day and the 80th anniversary of WWII’s end.

🎧 Tune in now for the story behind the film: https://fcmakingmedia.podbean.com/e/the-green-box-a-tale-of-war-heroism-and-a-sons-quest-to-know-his-father/

11/04/2025

"...Cheney’s career on the national political stage was expansive even before he became widely regarded as the most powerful vice president in history. He served as chief of staff to President Gerald Ford in the 1970s, and then as Wyoming’s congressman for more than a decade.

As secretary of defense under President George H.W. Bush, Cheney played a key role in shaping the 1990-91 Gulf War in response to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait.

But as FRONTLINE | PBS examined in a number of acclaimed documentaries, including 2006’s The Dark Side and 2007’s Cheney’s Law, it was under President George W. Bush, in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, that Cheney became one of the most influential and controversial figures in U.S. politics."

Cheney pushed to expand executive power and was a key force behind the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. FRONTLINE chronicled his influence in multiple documentaries.

11/04/2025

Airing today on GBH, and throughout the country on other PBS stations throughout the month.

List airings provided.