And that's the compliment, isn't it? That you had a super crazy topical mind meld with a genius in another part of the world and they picked up the baton you dropped - and improved it. You were totally on the right track and that in itself means your instincts are still sharp.
I am collaborating on something entirely different than docu, but someone took something I had created long ago and improved the shit out of it - and you know what? It taught me way more about what I had created than had I stumbled through on my own. I love that sort of career-based wisdom. Sometimes it's hard won, and sometimes it's handed to you.
I feel like this is a very gracious and generous way of looking at this. And I'm sure you would have done amazing work with the material if it had worked out for you. Kudos to you!
Thanks, Debbie. There could not have been better hands for those tapes to fall into (if not mine!).
I think my treatment was a whole other thing; and I'm sad I didn't get to make it. But as to where it ended up, I'm glad they got to Joe so he could do his thing.
I'm glad you had that experience! Closure or catharsis or whatever you want to call it is such a rare and valuable thing. I think there's an additional irony here: had you not had this 'failure', you might not have had this great conversation with a filmmaker you idolize.
I'm in my own head a lot, and just speaking these things out loud to another person and having them not only listen but actually understand can be so powerful. That little self-critical voice can be so loud sometimes, and it's so easy for it to become all you hear. It's something I'm definitely still working on.
Of all the people for me to ramble onto about my "failure", I am glad it was the guy that "won"! Surreal. I mean, fuck, I was lucky to be in the room with a hero. A pinch yourself moment.
Damn. I never realized Dark Tourist was canceled and that was the primary reason it wasn't continued. I think — based on what info I'd found at the time, anyhow — I'd assumed that you simply chose not to continue it. Apologies for making that assumption.
That said, you certainly made a lasting impression on me with it. I started a research proposal a few years ago in college with dark tourism as my initial focus, and that evolved with the help of my communication studies professor into a study that focuses on racism in my hometown area (Appalachian region within VA, mainly). Dark Tourist was my inspiration, and while we were unable to get the study published in a journal that year, the survey our participants took changed some views on darker, racially motivated events that occurred in this area and most likely gave them something to at least contemplate.
Not sure where I'm going with this at this point, but I thought with this post you might like to know that your work helped give me, my comm professors and classmates, my friends and family, and a few anonymous Virginians a lot to think about. That blows about the Dahmer tapes, but I can imagine how meaningful your time with Joe Berlinger must've been.
It's OK! I didn't scream to the heavens NETFLIX CANCELLED IT, as it was more just a quiet "we are not making more" and I never really banked on making more anyway? We sketched out a season 2, but it was far from assumed. Feel very lucky I got to play with Netflix's cheque book in the first place tbh.
Till the day I die I will keeping getting emails and DMs going, "When is there a season 2?" It's the Netflix curse of having something on their platform... heh.
I am so, so stoked it motivated you to dive into a research prop. Which sounds like my Dahmer project - thought out, and not fully realised, but an exercise well worth going through. Kudos to you.
Wow, that was a cool story. Glad it kinda came full circle and you met him. Wild when you think sometimes about points in your life where things could've gone another way. Fun to think about, bad to get stuck on. Good on you man
Yeah, I got stuck on this one for awhile. With time, it faded - but that convo with Joe I feel very lucky to have had. Closure it kinda bullshit, I think, but this got me pretty close. Also, I just know how lucky I am to have had that conversation in the first place!
Glad a few Worms here have seen it. SUCH a powerful series of films. And a great rewatch if you're sick of the spate of shitty true crime stuff that envelopes us currently.
During my visit to NYC, I had a lot of conversations with my host about being happy for others in their success versus being bitter, but in terms of music and bands. Very interesting and complicated stuff. I found myself being very disappointed to learn that some of the musicians I love don't have the best attitudes and many have such strong alliances that they will back someone else in the name of loyalty even if pettiness is the name of the game.
I tend to think people just need space between each other or they need to just talk about it. And sometimes, both, because you need space to calm your feelings before you try to talk about it.
I am glad you got to meet this person and I am glad you're not bitter.
I have started watching mostly documentaries now. My parents got Netflix a few months ago and it started with Dark Tourist but I've been consuming a lot. I've watched a bunch of very heavy Nazi history stuff on Kanopy which is a thing I would never do if it weren't for today's political climate. I always hated the history of modern wars in school but I feel like I need to be smarter right now and I'm not the best at reading nonfiction. I've also watched a bunch of pop culture stuff; I know very little about influencers and cryptocurrency so I've been using the docs to fill in those holes in my knowledge. I don't like murder stories usually (my parents love those) but I do like stuff like American Greed. I used to watch American Greed a lot when I lived alone during lockdown and now I keep seeing docs about the same subjects that were on the show but with a lot more fluff. It made me realize just how much I liked that show. I remember there being an episode where the subject had actually seen the show before and learned how to do scams from it which I thought was interesting.
Anyway, if any of you wormfolk have any recommendations for docs I should watch, please let me know! I'm open to anything but I do enjoy pop culture, scams, and am forcing myself to pay more attention to un-sexy history.
Dunno if you're a podcast listener, but I would recommend Behind the Bastards as an approachable intro to a lot of the, well, shittiest bits of history you may not have learned in school.
This whole article is fascinating! And what a thrill to have befriended your hero. I feel like reaching out to people that inspire us somehow opens up future opportunities that we can’t even imagine. Keep up the good work! Arohanui x
Jackie, thanks! I think one good thing about getting older, with more stuff under your belt, is that it's way less scary to talk to heroes. Like, there is a tiny bit of common ground (in the case with me and Joe, we both have some grey hairs!)
PS I still think about seeing you guys on the trip on the ferry, such a nice day. Thanks for chatting. What a beautiful sunny day that was.
That is a pretty great bit of closure! The things you have made in the time since have been such a gift to all of us who follow your work...although I know this is a thing you'd like to have done, I'm sure grateful for the work you've put out in the meantime. We are a lucky crew to be on the planet at the same time as you!
I really enjoyed this, David. You may not have had the chance to make the documentary you envisioned, but there is still possibly enough story about Wendy to do a Flightless Bird about her. As a side note, I personally think you're way better looking than Zac Effron.
So, this is a silly little story but completely true. My boyfriend and I were at karaoke the other night and I noticed the karaoke host was quite handsome and told my boyfriend I thought so. He agreed and then said, he looks like David Farrier. Proof that it's not just my opinion.
I think we can all agree that David is hotter than Zac Efron and Netflix clearly missed out, am I right??
In all seriousness though, you should be proud of yourself for thinking of the idea in the first place! No doubt in my mind that you would have nailed it. Im glad you were able to get the closure you need. You've done pretty well since then though I think. Maybe you and Joe can collab on a future project together! :).
I admit, it's really nice to have been in touch with him, and for it to have all gone so well (partly due to that ice-breaker, I think!). So - stay tuned, I guess?!
Circling back real quick after listening to the FB interview, I absolutely adore how Rob takes a backseat during the talk with Joe and just let's you go. Its like how in the emo episode, it was solidly him because that's his wheelhouse. It was very telling how you both work together and understand each other. I feel like if there was a certain other cohost who shall not be named (take a guess 😉) that kind of understanding would not happen and the conversationwould fall flat and lose a lot of substance. So kudos to Rob for that! 🖤
What I just read was that Wendy's story is still there be told, if it wants to be. But that is such an awesome way to look at the story that never came to be.
David, I love you and I loved Dark Tourist. But, I have to agree with you that Joe Berlinger was the right guy to do The Jeffery Dahmer Tapes…Because, Paradise Lost is the best fucking true crime documentary ever made.
I'd watch a doc about documentarians! “Failures” and all, I think there is just as much importance in the pot stirring that leads to needle moving! Thank you for sharing more about this process!
I really admire how you were able to kind of come to terms with all of this. It takes a big person to be able to do something like that. I'm sorry things didn't pan out for you the way you hoped they would, but I really hope that something even better is coming in your future to make up for it.
And that's the compliment, isn't it? That you had a super crazy topical mind meld with a genius in another part of the world and they picked up the baton you dropped - and improved it. You were totally on the right track and that in itself means your instincts are still sharp.
I am collaborating on something entirely different than docu, but someone took something I had created long ago and improved the shit out of it - and you know what? It taught me way more about what I had created than had I stumbled through on my own. I love that sort of career-based wisdom. Sometimes it's hard won, and sometimes it's handed to you.
I feel like this is a very gracious and generous way of looking at this. And I'm sure you would have done amazing work with the material if it had worked out for you. Kudos to you!
Thanks, Debbie. There could not have been better hands for those tapes to fall into (if not mine!).
I think my treatment was a whole other thing; and I'm sad I didn't get to make it. But as to where it ended up, I'm glad they got to Joe so he could do his thing.
I'm glad you had that experience! Closure or catharsis or whatever you want to call it is such a rare and valuable thing. I think there's an additional irony here: had you not had this 'failure', you might not have had this great conversation with a filmmaker you idolize.
I'm in my own head a lot, and just speaking these things out loud to another person and having them not only listen but actually understand can be so powerful. That little self-critical voice can be so loud sometimes, and it's so easy for it to become all you hear. It's something I'm definitely still working on.
Of all the people for me to ramble onto about my "failure", I am glad it was the guy that "won"! Surreal. I mean, fuck, I was lucky to be in the room with a hero. A pinch yourself moment.
Damn. I never realized Dark Tourist was canceled and that was the primary reason it wasn't continued. I think — based on what info I'd found at the time, anyhow — I'd assumed that you simply chose not to continue it. Apologies for making that assumption.
That said, you certainly made a lasting impression on me with it. I started a research proposal a few years ago in college with dark tourism as my initial focus, and that evolved with the help of my communication studies professor into a study that focuses on racism in my hometown area (Appalachian region within VA, mainly). Dark Tourist was my inspiration, and while we were unable to get the study published in a journal that year, the survey our participants took changed some views on darker, racially motivated events that occurred in this area and most likely gave them something to at least contemplate.
Not sure where I'm going with this at this point, but I thought with this post you might like to know that your work helped give me, my comm professors and classmates, my friends and family, and a few anonymous Virginians a lot to think about. That blows about the Dahmer tapes, but I can imagine how meaningful your time with Joe Berlinger must've been.
It's OK! I didn't scream to the heavens NETFLIX CANCELLED IT, as it was more just a quiet "we are not making more" and I never really banked on making more anyway? We sketched out a season 2, but it was far from assumed. Feel very lucky I got to play with Netflix's cheque book in the first place tbh.
Till the day I die I will keeping getting emails and DMs going, "When is there a season 2?" It's the Netflix curse of having something on their platform... heh.
I am so, so stoked it motivated you to dive into a research prop. Which sounds like my Dahmer project - thought out, and not fully realised, but an exercise well worth going through. Kudos to you.
Thanks for such a thoughtful comment, Hal.
I too thought it was your decision not to continue Dark Tourist….Shame on Netflix.
I am sure they had data and numbers! I console myself that a bunch of stuff I adored also got canned by them, so I don't take it to heart too much!
Wow, that was a cool story. Glad it kinda came full circle and you met him. Wild when you think sometimes about points in your life where things could've gone another way. Fun to think about, bad to get stuck on. Good on you man
Yeah, I got stuck on this one for awhile. With time, it faded - but that convo with Joe I feel very lucky to have had. Closure it kinda bullshit, I think, but this got me pretty close. Also, I just know how lucky I am to have had that conversation in the first place!
I remember well the story of the West Memphis 3 and my feelings of outrage that someone twisted the facts to suit their purpose.
Thanks for your generous response to the Jeffrey Dahmer documentary , you really are a capital guy ( and hhot too)
Glad a few Worms here have seen it. SUCH a powerful series of films. And a great rewatch if you're sick of the spate of shitty true crime stuff that envelopes us currently.
During my visit to NYC, I had a lot of conversations with my host about being happy for others in their success versus being bitter, but in terms of music and bands. Very interesting and complicated stuff. I found myself being very disappointed to learn that some of the musicians I love don't have the best attitudes and many have such strong alliances that they will back someone else in the name of loyalty even if pettiness is the name of the game.
I tend to think people just need space between each other or they need to just talk about it. And sometimes, both, because you need space to calm your feelings before you try to talk about it.
I am glad you got to meet this person and I am glad you're not bitter.
I have started watching mostly documentaries now. My parents got Netflix a few months ago and it started with Dark Tourist but I've been consuming a lot. I've watched a bunch of very heavy Nazi history stuff on Kanopy which is a thing I would never do if it weren't for today's political climate. I always hated the history of modern wars in school but I feel like I need to be smarter right now and I'm not the best at reading nonfiction. I've also watched a bunch of pop culture stuff; I know very little about influencers and cryptocurrency so I've been using the docs to fill in those holes in my knowledge. I don't like murder stories usually (my parents love those) but I do like stuff like American Greed. I used to watch American Greed a lot when I lived alone during lockdown and now I keep seeing docs about the same subjects that were on the show but with a lot more fluff. It made me realize just how much I liked that show. I remember there being an episode where the subject had actually seen the show before and learned how to do scams from it which I thought was interesting.
Anyway, if any of you wormfolk have any recommendations for docs I should watch, please let me know! I'm open to anything but I do enjoy pop culture, scams, and am forcing myself to pay more attention to un-sexy history.
If you watch any doc, please watch The Act of Killing.
Just transformative in regards to the form.
It's very, very heavy but if you are in the mood for heavy, please seek it out. It pushed what documentary is.
Oh, and The Staircase. The doc, not the narrative.
Just amazing access. Amazing series.
Dunno if you're a podcast listener, but I would recommend Behind the Bastards as an approachable intro to a lot of the, well, shittiest bits of history you may not have learned in school.
This whole article is fascinating! And what a thrill to have befriended your hero. I feel like reaching out to people that inspire us somehow opens up future opportunities that we can’t even imagine. Keep up the good work! Arohanui x
Jackie, thanks! I think one good thing about getting older, with more stuff under your belt, is that it's way less scary to talk to heroes. Like, there is a tiny bit of common ground (in the case with me and Joe, we both have some grey hairs!)
PS I still think about seeing you guys on the trip on the ferry, such a nice day. Thanks for chatting. What a beautiful sunny day that was.
It most certainly was!
That is a pretty great bit of closure! The things you have made in the time since have been such a gift to all of us who follow your work...although I know this is a thing you'd like to have done, I'm sure grateful for the work you've put out in the meantime. We are a lucky crew to be on the planet at the same time as you!
I really enjoyed this, David. You may not have had the chance to make the documentary you envisioned, but there is still possibly enough story about Wendy to do a Flightless Bird about her. As a side note, I personally think you're way better looking than Zac Effron.
Now now now, you don't need to start lying! (HE HANDSOME)
So, this is a silly little story but completely true. My boyfriend and I were at karaoke the other night and I noticed the karaoke host was quite handsome and told my boyfriend I thought so. He agreed and then said, he looks like David Farrier. Proof that it's not just my opinion.
I like that your boyfriend is supportive of your beliefs!
Just accept that you’re hot. You can do it! I believe in you! The Worms believe in you!
I think we can all agree that David is hotter than Zac Efron and Netflix clearly missed out, am I right??
In all seriousness though, you should be proud of yourself for thinking of the idea in the first place! No doubt in my mind that you would have nailed it. Im glad you were able to get the closure you need. You've done pretty well since then though I think. Maybe you and Joe can collab on a future project together! :).
I admit, it's really nice to have been in touch with him, and for it to have all gone so well (partly due to that ice-breaker, I think!). So - stay tuned, I guess?!
Circling back real quick after listening to the FB interview, I absolutely adore how Rob takes a backseat during the talk with Joe and just let's you go. Its like how in the emo episode, it was solidly him because that's his wheelhouse. It was very telling how you both work together and understand each other. I feel like if there was a certain other cohost who shall not be named (take a guess 😉) that kind of understanding would not happen and the conversationwould fall flat and lose a lot of substance. So kudos to Rob for that! 🖤
What I just read was that Wendy's story is still there be told, if it wants to be. But that is such an awesome way to look at the story that never came to be.
Cool that you got to meet the person who ran with an idea you had years ago. Looks like you had a blast!
David, I love you and I loved Dark Tourist. But, I have to agree with you that Joe Berlinger was the right guy to do The Jeffery Dahmer Tapes…Because, Paradise Lost is the best fucking true crime documentary ever made.
That it is. Gold standard. I don't think I would have ever thought about getting into docs myself if it wasn't for that fuckin' guy.
I'd watch a doc about documentarians! “Failures” and all, I think there is just as much importance in the pot stirring that leads to needle moving! Thank you for sharing more about this process!
I really admire how you were able to kind of come to terms with all of this. It takes a big person to be able to do something like that. I'm sorry things didn't pan out for you the way you hoped they would, but I really hope that something even better is coming in your future to make up for it.