Documentary Filmmakers Dancing With The Stars To Grab The Attention Of Emmy Voters
deadline.comWhen Ryan White’s phone jolted to life the morning of July 12, buzzing with texts and calls, the filmmaker wasn’t expecting it.
Yes, it was Emmy nomination day, but no, he hadn’t counted on recognition for his Netflix documentary about Pamela Anderson.
Yet there it was, in black and white on the Emmys.com website: For Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special, Pamela, A Love Story, about the actress and former Playboy Playmate who swept from Canada onto television screens, magazine covers and scandal sheets in the 1990s. “I think if you went back two and a half years or three years, whenever I first met Pamela, I think we would’ve both burst into laughter if you had told us that we were going make an Emmy-nominated film,” White says. “That was not the goal at all.
And I don’t think either of us thought that was a possibility.” White’s surprise owes something to the perception of documentaries about pop culture icons — surefire audience magnets, but not necessarily awards fodder.
Read more on deadline.com