Run DMC
Written, Produced & Directed by Jason Goodman
Doing Run DMC’s Bio took me back to my first few years in New York City, when I worked with The Fat Boys and was a witness to some of the early defining moments of Hip Hop. So I loved this show from the start, because most of the key players were willing to talk to us, and the show was very New York City-centric, which meant I didn’t have to fly anywhere to do it. That was all v. good.
But the best part of doing Run DMC was the drama. Many shows require me to hype relatively small matters into big plot points, but Run DMC didn’t need any hype. From alcoholism to drug abuse to mental illness to accusations of rape to career-threatening illnesses to murder to religious redemption, Run DMC had all the ingredients for good TV.
Click here to watch my favorite act. Click here to watch the whole show.
Biography: Run DMC • My Favorite Act • Written, Produced & Directed by Jason Goodman
Biography has been on the air since the 90’s, and the format is a well worn groove. But each show should have its own unique flavor, and establishing that flavor right at the top is one of the hallmarks of a well made documentary. That’s why Act 1 of Run DMC is my favorite act – I like the way it sets the pace.
Happy to say, I wasn’t the only one. Cory Robbins, who owned their record company, Profile Records, said this Biography was the best, most accurate film ever done on the band.
The second thing is about my interview with Chuck D, who still lives in the somewhat downscale Long Island house he was raised in. We got along great during the interview, and afterwards Chuck told me he had a rental car, and asked me if I would follow him to the return place and then give him a ride home while the crew was packing up. It was in April of 2008, and Obama and Clinton were still neck and neck after Pennsylvania, although any student of delegate math already knew that Obama had the nomination. But not Chuck D. That’s right, the guy who wrote an album called “Fear of A Black Planet” was for Hillary. I gave him shit about that all the way back to his house.
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[watch the whole show].
Biography: Run DMC • Written, Produced & Directed by Jason Goodman
Two things I remember most about this show. The first is about the budgets for these TV documentaries, which continue to go lower while the cost of footage and pictures has gone sky high. When we first put in a request for “Walk This Way,” the quote came back at $20,000 for 30 seconds of usage. My co-executive producer hit the roof, and was so mad about it that, even when they tried to negotiate later, he refused to even talk to them. So I had to make Run DMC’s Bio without a note of their most famous song.
