Jason Isbell Thought He Was Making a Movie About Music and Ended Up With One About Marriage, Too

thewrap.com:

A version of this story about “Jason Isbell: Running With Our Eyes Closed” first appeared in the Race Begins issue of TheWrap’s Emmy magazine.The latest installment in the HBO Max Music Box series created by Bill Simmons, “Jason Isbell: Running With Our Eyes Closed” finds director Sam Jones (“Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off,” “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco”) following the writing and recording of singer Jason Isbell’s 2020 album “Reunions.” But the film is about far more than one of the gifted musician and writer’s best albums, delving into his self-destructive days with drugs and alcohol and his marriage to fellow singer Amanda Shires, a charged creative and personal partnership that nearly fell apart while Jones’ cameras were rolling.Sam, why a film about Jason Isbell?Sam Jones: He was on my interview show (“Off Camera With Sam Jones”), and once I chatted with him, I felt like not only did he have an interesting story, but he was good at telling it.

So I flew to Nashville and I asked him a couple hours before he went on stage at the Ryman. He was very receptive and open to the terms and conditions, which were basically, “You just gotta trust me and let me do my thing.” I imagine, Jason, that you didn’t know what that would entail.Jason Isbell: Sam asked me if I would be into making a documentary about the making of the “Reunions” album.

I figured it would just be a documentary about a bunch of people in the studio making a record. I think Sam probably thought that, too, in the beginning.

But it turned out to be more than that. It turned out to be a huge pain in the ass. But also, I think, a pretty good story to tell.Was it difficult to keep your focus when you had cameras in the studio while.