By Alicia Rancilio
NEW YORK (AP) --Eric Bana is bringing the popular true crime podcast "Dirty John" to TV with a weekly series on Bravo.
Bana plays John Meehan and Connie Britton plays Debra Newell, a couple in California who met online and fell in love. John claimed to be a doctor, just back from volunteering his services for Doctors Without Borders in Iraq.
Newell, who had already been married multiple times and had grown children, thought John was the man she had always been looking for. Her kids, however, immediately didn't trust him. As they make their concerns known, John succeeded in driving a wedge through Debra's family.
A Los Angeles Times reporter, Christopher Goffard, covered the story and turned it into a wildly successful, addictive podcast. Bana didn't tune in until he heard of the TV project.
"I downloaded and listened to all six very quickly and loved it," he said. "There were parts that I couldn't quite believe really happened."
While Britton spoke to the real Newell to play the part, Bana didn't have the opportunity to contact Meehan. He said he was fine with that and didn't go looking for ways to exactly replicate the man. He said he was most concerned with portraying how Debra could fall for him, and why it would be so hard for her to walk away.
"We need to see what Debra saw, we need to get a sense that the attraction and the relationship was real and genuine and wasn't a caricature so that was the tricky part, I think," he said.
Bana also thinks people will be drawn to the conflict between Debra and her family, because of Meehan.
"It plays into relationship dynamics within families, what advice we take and listen to and clashes we can have."
He said manipulators like Meehan are very calculated.
"These guys know what they're doing. This is not like a normal relationship. He's picking on his prey deliberately and targeting a particular type of personality. It's never a fair match and it's simple to judge for a lot of people, but I think the more research you do, the more you understand how someone stays with a person like that."
Sinners and Saints Adds Apple Pie To Its Branded Menu
Bicoastal Sinners and Saints--the multidisciplinary studio overseen by managing director/executive producer Heather Heller, and partners/EPs Yann Henric and Thomas Carroll--has added Apple Pie Tabletop to its roster for branded content. Known for its food and beverage content creation, Apple Pie comprises the husband-and-wife team of director/DP Gene Dubin and director/art director Alisa Volodina. In addition to representation, the move expands Apple Pie’s production capabilities through the combination of its centrally located full-service studio in New York and a newly established mobile studio in Los Angeles. Apple Pie recently teamed with Sinners and Saints on a Wienerschnitzel project created by Innocean.
“We believe that our dual studio strategy positions us uniquely in the competitive landscape of food and beverage storytelling,” said Heller. “By blending the artistry of the New York studio with the flexibility of our Los Angeles location, we can tailor our productions to meet the unique demands of each project, regardless of geography.”
“Working with Sinners and Saints in the demanding field of tabletop was an absolute pleasure,” shared Apple Pie Tabletop in a joint statement. “Warm welcome, unwavering support and dedication--everything a director can ask for. The entire experience was both enjoyable and rewarding. We will not miss an opportunity to collaborate with them again.”
“The first thing you notice is that Apple Pie has beautiful work,” Heller observed. “Having worked with them, I can say that Gene and Alisa are extremely meticulous and detail-oriented; their combination of talent and agility appeals to agencies and clients.” Also appealing to Heller is Apple Pie Tabletop’s brisk international... Read More