Exploring the Motivations of Documentary Filmmaking

It used to be that making documentary films meant taking a vow of poverty (and obscurity). The streaming revolution changed that. Award-winning filmmaker R.J. Cutler talks to Stephen Dubner about capturing Billie Eilish’s musical genius and Martha Stewart’s vulnerability — and why he really, really, really needs to make a film about the New York Mets.

• SOURCES:
  • R.J. Cutler, filmmaker.

• RESOURCES:
  • Fight for Glory, documentary (2025).
  • Martha, documentary (2024).
  • "Reality Check: The Boom—or Glut—in Streaming Documentaries Has Sparked a Reckoning Among Filmmakers and Their Subjects," by Reeves Wiedeman (Vulture, 2023).
  • "Inside the Documentary Cash Grab," by Mia Galuppo and Katie Kilkenny (The Hollywood Reporter, 2022).
  • Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry, documentary (2021).

• EXTRAS:
  • “Ari Emanuel Is Never Indifferent,” by Freakonomics Radio (2023).