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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Trust with his subject takes R.J. Cutler’s Billie Eilish film to a new level of intimacy
The Los Angeles Times Trevor Smith The Los Angeles Times Trevor Smith

Trust with his subject takes R.J. Cutler’s Billie Eilish film to a new level of intimacy

interchangeable. But producer-director R.J. Cutler went back to the source to inspire his Apple TV+ project “Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry.” The two-hour, 20-minute film, which premiered in February, tracks the teenage Eilish and her older brother Finneas as they write and record her debut album in a now-famous cramped bedroom studio. The camera follows closely as Eilish performs a string of concerts and eventually triumphs at the Grammy Awards amid all the stress and insecurities of adolescence, amplified by eruptive stardom.

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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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Netflix Lands Martha Stewart Documentary From ‘Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry’ Director R.J. Cutler
Variety Trevor Smith Variety Trevor Smith

Netflix Lands Martha Stewart Documentary From ‘Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry’ Director R.J. Cutler

Netflix has emerged the winner of a bake-off for a documentary about the life and times of media mogul Martha Stewart. Oscar-nominated director R.J. Cutler had been shopping a sizzle reel of the all-access look at the history of America’s preeminent hostess in recent weeks. Netflix closed the deal late last week, according to insiders.

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Frame & Reference Podcast: ‘Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry’ DP Jenna Rosher
Trevor Smith Trevor Smith

Frame & Reference Podcast: ‘Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry’ DP Jenna Rosher

On todays episode of the Frame & Reference Podcast, Kenny talks with Jenna Rosher about DP'ing the new documentary “Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry.” In this new Apple TV+ show we get an intimate look at Billie Eilish’s journey as she navigated life on the road, on stage and at home all while creating her debut album. Jenna has shot a number of music documentaries including “Dave Matthews Band: Stand Up” and “Inside Out: Trey and Dave Go To Africa” as well as the documentary “Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind.”

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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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Billie Eilish Shows Off Her Real Life in Trailer for Emotional New Documentary
Trevor Smith Trevor Smith

Billie Eilish Shows Off Her Real Life in Trailer for Emotional New Documentary

Billie Eilish is giving fans a look at her real life. The celebrated songstress is taking viewers inside her home and her family in an emotional documentary, Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry. The second trailer for the Apple TV+ documentary dropped on Tuesday, and revealed more of what fans can expect to see from the powerful and revealing film that examines the young singer-songwriter's meteoric rise to fame.

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Little Known Facts: R.J. Cutler
Trevor Smith Trevor Smith

Little Known Facts: R.J. Cutler

Little Known Facts is a weekly podcast hosted by stage and film actress Ilana Levine. With over 250 interviews to date with today’s most successful artists, Levine engages her celebrity guests in intimate conversations that are hilarious, vulnerable, revealing and inspiring. Episode 224: R.J. Cutler is an award-winning producer and director who has made some of the most significant documentaries of the past quarter century.

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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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‘Belushi’ Trailer: R.J. Cutler’s Showtime Doc Offers a Deep Dive Into a Comedy Icon
Trevor Smith Trevor Smith

‘Belushi’ Trailer: R.J. Cutler’s Showtime Doc Offers a Deep Dive Into a Comedy Icon

Showtime has unveiled the trailer for R.J. Cutler’s upcoming “Belushi” documentary, which will offer a deep dive into the life of American icon John Belushi and feature previously unheard audiotapes. Per Showtime, the documentary will examine Belushi’s extraordinary life in the words of his collaborators, friends, and family, including Dan Aykroyd, Jim Belushi, Penny Marshall, Lorne Michaels, Carrie Fisher, Chevy Chase, Harold Ramis, Jane Curtin, Ivan Reitman, and his high school sweetheart and later wife Judy Belushi.

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