“Hollywood at Home with The Creative Coalition” Featuring Award-Winning Documentarian Rory Kennedy
Los Angeles, CA (September 27, 2023): The Creative Coalition is thrilled to announce the latest episode of its hit podcast series, “Hollywood at Home.” Hosted by The Creative Coalition’s CEO, Robin Bronk, this episode offers listeners a unique and insightful glimpse into the world of documentary filmmaking with acclaimed documentarian Rory Kennedy. Rory’s thought-provoking and impactful documentaries tackle some of the most pressing social and political issues of our time. Her work includes American Hollow, Last Days in Vietnam, and Ethel, a poignant tribute to her mother, Ethel Kennedy. Rory’s dedication to storytelling has earned her numerous accolades, including Emmy Awards and Academy Award nominations.
In this exclusive episode of “Hollywood at Home,” listeners will have the opportunity to hear Rory Kennedy share her personal experiences, challenges, and triumphs in the world of documentary filmmaking. From her early days behind the camera to her most recent projects, Rory’s journey is both inspiring and enlightening. Tune in and join the conversation with Rory Kennedy and host Robin Bronk as they delve into the world of documentary filmmaking, Hollywood, and beyond.
Hollywood at Home is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and more.
Listen now at:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/getting-real-with-guest-rory-kennedy/id1521900273?i=1000629182890
For planned coverage, please link to:
http://thecreativecoalition.org/podcast
Highlights from Hollywood at Home featuring Rory Kennedy:
On her first documentary, Women of Substance: “What I realized is that newspaper articles were saying, ‘crack mothers having crack babies,’ and painted this picture of these women who really didn’t care about their children. But the vast majority, nine out of 10 of them, had tried to get treatment. I thought, ‘I should try to get these women to Capitol Hill, but that’s complicated, but I could get a camera and bring it into living rooms and document their stories.’”
On making the Emmy Award-nominated documentary, Ethel, about her own mother: “After the film premiered at Sundance, and I asked her, ‘why did you say yes?’ And she said, ‘well, because you asked me.’
On interviewing Ethel Kennedy: “When you’re in a situation, you don’t necessarily ask all the questions that you would ask, like, as a kid growing up in my family, with my mother. You don’t sort of just one day stop and ask some of the harder questions about what it was like growing up, or what it was like when my mother and father were young and falling in love, or what it was like when they had seven or eight kids in the house, and it was the Cuban Missile Crisis, and my father was at the White House every day, and we were on the brink of nuclear war. And so being able to sit down with her for 12-14 hours and talk to her about these things — what was the relationship between daddy and Jack like; and what was her relationship with Jackie? It was kind of fascinating and sweet to be able to hear her insights.”
On the inspiration for making the Emmy Award-winning Ghosts of Abu Ghraib: “The photos appeared on the cover of The New York Times coming out of Abu Ghraib… it was so shocking and upsetting, I couldn’t really get it out of my head.”
On getting access for Ghosts of Abu Ghraib: ”It was a question of getting access to the guards who had committed these atrocities. It was important to me to talk to the prisoners. And that was complicated because they were in Iraq, and we were at war. And then it was pretty impossible to get to Iraq at that time. So we ended up flying them out of the country and meeting them elsewhere— meeting them in Turkey in a hotel room.”
On the challenges of making Ghosts of Abu Ghraib: “Talking to people who were really tortured, and they were tortured by Americans. It’s traumatic stuff, and it’s ugly, and it’s very upsetting and deeply disturbing…you’re sitting across from them, and so shocking to all of us who lived in America, that we had the capability of committing that level of atrocities. There was a sense that Americans don’t do this.”
One changing policy via her film Pandemic: Facing AIDS: “Sen. [Patrick] Leahy came up to me afterwards saying, ‘I had no idea,’ and then he got legislation passed, which led to millions and millions of dollars going to Africa. And he said, ‘it was because of your film that this happened.”
More about Hollywood at Home:
Hosted by The Creative Coalition CEO Robin Bronk, “Hollywood at Home” brings listeners intimate portraits, key moments of discovery, and “art and soul” conversations with iconic entertainment industry personalities from the big screen to the boardroom, from L.A. to D.C. Listen now at http://thecreativecoalition.org/podcast.
Previous guests include Sheryl Lee Ralph (“Abbott Elementary”), Marlee Matlin (“CODA”), Jason Alexander (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”), Alan Cumming (“Schmigadoon!, “The Good Wife”), Patricia Heaton (“Everybody Loves Raymond,” “The Middle”), Eric McCormack (“Will and Grace”), Willie Garson (“And Just Like That…”), Colman Domingo (“Euphoria”), Kerry Ehrin (“The Morning Show”), Wendi McLendon-Covey (“The Goldbergs”), Ken Olin (“This is Us,” “Thirtysomething”), Anthony Rapp (“Star Trek: Discovery”), Julie Taymor (“The Lion King”), and Alfre Woodard (Clemency,” “Luke Cage”), among others.
More about The Creative Coalition:
Founded in 1989 by prominent members of the creative community, The Creative Coalition is the premier nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) social and public advocacy organization of the arts and entertainment community. The Creative Coalition is dedicated to educating, mobilizing, and activating its members on issues of public importance. The Creative Coalition also creates award-winning public service campaigns, including #RightToBearArts, to promote the efficacy of the arts. Actor Tim Daly serves as the organization’s President. For more information, visit https://thecreativecoalition.org.
Media Contact:
Lauren Peteroy
lauren.peteroy@scenariopr.com
424-303-3861
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