Beyond The Lens
Season 1 of Beyond The Lens will focus on Sports Documentaries. Seth Shapiro (Founder and EP of Diesel Films) and AJ Speaks (Sr. Producer, Miami HEAT) sit down with some of the industry’s best filmmakers. From Billy Corben discussing 'The U' to Steve James describing the riveting details behind his documentary, Hoop Dreams. Seth and AJ get the untold stories of how these docs are brought to life and pull back the curtain on all the challenges these filmmakers have to overcome from concept to completion. This is Beyond the Lens, from Diesel Films // www.dieselfilmsinc.com // info@dieselfilmsinc.com
Episodes
28 episodes
Eric Newman: Kevin Garnett Doc (Showtime)
Eric Newman’s journey to the top of Showtime basketball was one of hard work and dedication. An accomplished basketball coach on the Nike circuit, Newman used an experience he had with Kobe Bryant at Rucker Park to springboard himself into the ...
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Season 1
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Episode 27
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59:48
Steve James: Hoop Dreams
Steve James needs no introduction. In my opinion, the most prolific sports documentarian of all time. He took his vision from the Cabrini Greens playground in Chicago to what became Hoop Dreams, the most successful sports doc of all time, the f...
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Season 1
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Episode 26
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57:11
Rudy Valdez: Breakaway: The Maya Moore Story
Self taught and self-made, Rudy Valdez is a shooting star in the world of documentary filmmaking. After his sister was incarcerated for 15 years and separated from her 3 children for a first time, non-violent offense, Rudy Valdez picked up a ca...
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Season 1
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Episode 25
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53:12
Clay Tweel: Gleason
After a chance meeting with super producer Seth Gordon on his first film set as a production assistant, Clay Tweel quickly packed his bags and moved from Virginia to Los Angeles. In LA, Tweel honed his craft as a jack of all trades, he learned ...
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Season 1
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Episode 24
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46:11
Peter Ettedgui and Ian Bonhote: Rising Phoenix (Netflix)
After winning a BAFTA nomination for their first documentary, McQueen, a Greek tragedy about fashion designer Lee Alexander McQueen, Peter Ettedgui and Ian Bonhote turned their attention to another powerful subject, the Paralympics, its history...
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Season 1
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Episode 23
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1:02:40
John Dahl: ESPN Films Executive Producer
Not because it rhymes with his name, but John Dahl has literally done IT ALL at ESPN. Getting his first byline as a senior in high school at the Charlotte News, Dahl has been on a road to success since his teenage years on Tobacco Road. From Sp...
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Season 1
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Episode 22
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54:42
Andrea and Sean Fine: LFG (HBO Max)
Andrea & Sean Fine met serendipitously working at National Geographic and fell in love over their passion for movies and storytelling. The couple decided to leave Nat Geo and make their own films, and boy was that a good idea. Their f...
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Season 1
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Episode 21
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1:00:17
Marquis Daisy: ESPN 30 for 30 Rand University
Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Marquis Daisy's passion for hoops and hip hop motivated him to focus and achieve through higher education. Daisy headed north to prep school in New England and then to the Little Ivy, Williams College. His...
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Season 1
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Episode 20
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45:00
Jon Weinbach: The Other Dream Team, Straight Outta L.A., The Last Dance
Growing up in Los Angeles in the 1980’s basking in the glow of the Showtime Lakers and the golden era of LA Sports, Jon Weinbach found himself glued to the LA Times reading the likes of Jim Murray and Gene Wojciechowski. Then At Yale under the ...
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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1:10:01
Alfred Spellman: Cocaine Cowboys
Growing up in what appeared to be a retirement community in North Miami Beach, Alfred Spellman quickly realized Miami was more than meets the eye. After meeting Billy Corben in his 9th grade production class, the duo went on to be the you...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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1:03:40
Matt Whitecross: The Kings
When Chris Martin and Coldplay are your college roommates, you must have a charmed life and for director Mat Whitecross I’d say that’s the case. After his award winning doc The Road to Guantanamo which put him on the map, Whitecross has never l...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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1:05:43
Rory Karpf: "The Nature Boy" & "I Hate Christian Laettner"
After stops at NFL Films and Nascar Productions, Rory Karpf has become one of the biggest directors in the game. Karpf helmed 2 of the highest rated ESPN 30 for 30s of all time, I Hate Christian Laetnner and the Nature Boy, the int...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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1:11:05
Ross Greenburg: Sports TV & Film Icon
A titan of our industry, Ross Greenburg walked into HBO in 1978 as a green 23 year old and walked out the door 33 years later with over 50 Emmy Awards and 8 Peabodys. Greenburg’s vision reinvented the sports documentary genre and he also ...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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1:00:24
Michael Tolajian: Once Brothers & Q Ball
Growing up in a blue collar town on the outskirts of Boston, Michael Tolajian’s love of Larry Bird and the arts helped him get his big break at NBA Entertainment in the early 90s. After getting his masters at USC Fim School Tolajian jumped back...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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51:39
Zak Levitt: The Dream Team, The Doctor & Bad Boys
Hailing out of Woodstock New York, Zak Levitt’s love of basketball landed him a job in the Miami HEAT video room right next to future Hall of Famer Eric Spoelstra. Levitt than took his love of sports and storytelling to NBA Entertainment ...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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1:00:40
Brett Rapkin: The Weight of Gold, HBO
Born and raised in the shadows of the Hollywood hills Brett Rapkin was destined to be a filmmaker. As CEO of Podium Pictures, he has created a deep track record of success in producing impact-driven sports films, from narrative to documentary. ...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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1:00:18
George Roy: Master Documentarian
A 3-time Peabody Award Winner, George Roy set the standard for documentary filmmaking during the Golden era of HBO Sports. Roy and his partner Steve Stern emerged from an illustrious production roster at MLB Productions to start their own shop,...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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56:13
Jonathan Hock: ESPN 30 for 30 Legend
Born into an entertainment family in Queens, New York Jonathan Hock was destined for a career in sports and film. For over 10 years, Hock cut his teeth under the tutelage of the legend Steve Sabol at NFL Films, leading him back to Broo...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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59:51
Jim Fabio: Orangeburg, An American Tragedy
On today’s show we welcome Jim Fabio, a extraordinary documentarian who has won multiple emmy awards while serving as a Colonel in the Air Force Reserve overseeing the Combat Camera unit. In this conversation, we talk about why Jim ...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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47:32
Micah Brown: ESPN 30 for 30, Chuck and Tito
In this episode we welcome Division 1 football player turned filmmaker Micah Brown. Micah tells us about his determination that earned him a Div 1 football scholarship at University of Kansas, he tells us about his year in Hollywood and then ho...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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54:17
Johnny Sweet: A Quiet Storm, The Ron Artest Story
Born & bred in the streets of New York City, Johnny Sweet’s love of hip hop music and sports propelled him into a career in sports media. A Syracuse grad, Johnny paid his dues at ESPN before going out on his own where he has told stories fo...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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49:03
Kevin Shaw: The Streets Stop Here, The Bob Hurley Sr. Story
In this episode we welcome one of the finest storytellers in the non-fiction space, Kevin Shaw. Kevin has won multiple Emmy Awards and the Edward R. Murrow Award for Sports Reporting Excellence, for a feature that he produced for the Big1...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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1:07:04
Jenna Contreras and Lauren Stowell, 144: Life Inside the WNBA Bubble
In this episode we welcome Jenna Contreras and Lauren Stowell. This dynamic duo behind the groundbreaking WNBA documentary 144 - has taken ESPN by storm. In just 9 short years Jenna has rose through the ranks of ESPN to be one of their lead fea...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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1:20:58
Anthony Smith: Jim Brown, A Football Life
In this episode we welcome Award Winning Director Anthony Smith who has been a driving force at NFL Media for the last 16 years. Among his important work in the Social Justice space for the NFL, Anthony has directed documentaries about Fr...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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49:10
Sarah Moshman: Losing Sight Of Shore
On today’s show we welcome Sarah Moshman, Emmy Award winning filmmaker, TedX Speaker, and now a working Mom with 2 beautiful children. A champion of female empowerment, Sarah has focused her documentary career on shining a light on impressive w...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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58:33