This Machine News

Netflix Orders R.J. Cutler-Directed Docu Series Based On Book ‘Big Vape: The Incendiary Rise Of Juul’
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Netflix Orders R.J. Cutler-Directed Docu Series Based On Book ‘Big Vape: The Incendiary Rise Of Juul’

Netflix has ordered a documentary series based on Big Vape: The Incendiary Rise of Juul, the new Henry Holt book by Time Magazine correspondent Jamie Ducharme. Series will be directed and executive produced by R.J. Cutler, who’s coming off the Showtime docu Belushi and Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry for Apple TV+ and Neon. Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey will be exec producers for Amblin Television, alongside Elise Pearlstein and Trevor Smith for This Machine, and Ian Orefice and Rebecca Teitel for Time Studios.

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‘Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry’ Director R.J. Cutler On His Intimate Portrait Of Young Artist: “We See The Full Picture”
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‘Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry’ Director R.J. Cutler On His Intimate Portrait Of Young Artist: “We See The Full Picture”

Singer-songwriter Billie Eilish is not even out of her teens and she has already won awards in the Grammys’ top four categories: Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist. She’s achieved something else rare for someone her age—having a documentary made about her by a major filmmaker. Emmy winner R.J. Cutler went behind the lens for Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry, the Apple TV+ film that’s now in contention for Emmy consideration.

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Epix Lands R.J. Cutler & Imagine Documentaries’ ‘Murf The Surf’ On Jewel Thief Jack Roland Murphy
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Epix Lands R.J. Cutler & Imagine Documentaries’ ‘Murf The Surf’ On Jewel Thief Jack Roland Murphy

Epix has landed Murf the Surf, the four-part docuseries from Imagine Documentaries and R.J. Cutler’s This Machine, about the famed jewel thief Jack Roland Murphy. Cutler, the two-time Emmy winner who’s coming off the docus Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry and Belushi, wrote and directed the series. Epix has greenlit the true crime saga, which gets up and close and personal with America’s most infamous jewel thief. Cutler’s producing with his longtime producing partner Trevor Smith along with Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Justin Wilkes and Sara Bernstein for Imagine and Elise Pearlstein for This Machine.

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‘Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry’: How R.J. Cutler Captured “Poets Of Their Moment”
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‘Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry’: How R.J. Cutler Captured “Poets Of Their Moment”

Paul McCartney once told a Liverpool High School class that when it comes to songwriting, “‘I don’t know how to do this.” Of course, that’s only because songwriting comes so natural to him. While deconstructing songwriting might be a challenge to the great Beatle, sometimes there’s a lot to learn simply by watching the greats do it. And that’s the biggest takeaway in R.J. Cutler’s AppleTV+ documentary Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry.

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‘Dear…’ Nominated For Critics Choice Real TV Award
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‘Dear…’ Nominated For Critics Choice Real TV Award

“As the number of platforms continues to grow, the quality of unscripted television programming has skyrocketed, and we are thrilled to be able to recognize so much great work, especially at the end of a year when this content was needed more than ever,” said Critics Choice Association CEO Joey Berlin in a statement.

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How Did The Billie Eilish Movie Do?
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How Did The Billie Eilish Movie Do?

How did audiences respond to the Apple TV+ premiere of Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry, which premiered in over 100 countries and theaters? The streamer would not divulge specific numbers — they never do — but I can report that the film became the biggest hit title for young adult audiences that Apple has had so far across its slate of films and TV series.

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Lauded Docu Helmer R.J. Cutler Launches This Machine Production Shingle With Industrial Media Backing
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Lauded Docu Helmer R.J. Cutler Launches This Machine Production Shingle With Industrial Media Backing

As his superb Showtime documentary Belushi premieres next month and with Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry upcoming from Apple TV+, R.J. Cutler has launched the production company This Machine, with an investment from Industrial Media. Cutler sealed the deal with Industrial Media’s CEO Eli Holzman and President Aaron Saidman.

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