632. When Did We All Start Watching Documentaries?
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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).