Trailer
If you've ever complained about difficult coworkers, spare a thought for documentary filmmaker Joe Berlinger. Most people have to deal with occasional office gossip or someone stealing lunches from the breakroom. Berlinger? He's spent decades navigating the ego's of rock legends, billion-dollar legal battles, and some of Amercia's most infamous criminals.
At this point, "awkward work meeting" probably means something entirely different to him.
Long before Netflix turned Joe Berlinger into one of the biggest names of true crime, he and filmmaker Bruce Sinofsky gave the world Some Kind of Monster- the documentary that proved even heavy metal gods have feelings...and spectacular interpersonal meltdowns.
Instead of glamours backstage parties, and sold-out stadiums, audiences got a front row seat to Metallica slowly imploding under the weight of fame, frustration, and decades of unresolved tension.
The solution?
Hire performance coach Phil Towle for a reported $40,000 a month to keep the band members from verbally (or physically) destroying each other.
Think about that for a second.
Most companies solve workplace conflict with a mandatory HR seminar and stale coffee, Metallica hired a man whose full-time job appeared to be convincing four millionaires not to quit speaking to each other.
During the film we watch James Hetfield leave for nine months of rehab, Lars Ulrich wrestle with everything from art auctions to band politics, and the group stumble through one emotional therapy session after another.
Then came Dave Mustaine.
The former Metallica guitarist. and frontman of Megadeth, delivered one of the documentary's most memorable moments as he openly discussed the lingering resentment of being fired decades earlier. It was uncomfortable, emotional, and fascinating-essentially group session with guitars.
Hey! I saw it, I'm a big fan of both bands. I mean talk about unresolved tension. Being a fan of both bands is exhausting...when I compliment one band, I feel I need to send the other an apology card.
Who knew heavy metal could produce this much introspection?
As if rock-star drama weren't enough, Berlinger eventually discovered that sometimes the biggest conflict isn't on camera-it's inside a courtroom.
His documentary Crude chronicled the environmental lawsuit involving communities in Ecuador and oil giant Chevron. The film itself became part of the legal battle when Chevron sought access to hundreds of hours of unused footage. Berlinger argued that, as a documentary filmmaker, his unpublished material deserved journalistic protection.
The court wasn't entirely convinced.
Judges concluded that because Berlinger had accepted editorial suggestions from lawyers representing one side of the case, he had blurred the line between independent journalist to participant. That distinction proved costly, weakening his claim to journalistic privilege.
It's one of those legal lessons no filmmaker wants to learn firsthand.
Moral of the story?
If the attorney says, "I've got a few editing suggestions," it might be wise to slowly back away from the final cut timeline.
Having survived Metallica's emotional civil war and a lengthy legal battle, Berlinger eventually settled into the world of true crime.
Because apparently that seemed less stressful.
His Conversations with a Killer series has explored infamous figures including Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy, combining archival footage with interviews and historical context to examine some of America's most notorious crimes.
Now the series concludes with Charles Manson, bringing Berlinger's long journey full circle-from documenting some of music's biggest personalities to examining one of history's most infamous "cult leaders".
Considering everything he's encountered over the years, one almost wonders whether if working on this felt calmer than sitting through another Metallica therapy session.
From Berlinger's Instagram.
"Format: A three-part documentary series
This is the fifth and final installment in the Conversations with a Killer true crime series.
Features rare prison phone recordings of Charles Manson that is "never-before-heard-audio.
Includes firsthand accounts from former "Manson Family cult members", law enforcement officials, and people close to the case.
Rather than building on the mythology of Manson, the series examines the specific systems of psychological manipulation and control he used during the 1969 murders in California."
So basically another documentary that puts the victims on the sidelines...with everything that has already been said before. I wonder if Stephanie Schram has come out of the woodwork to promote her alleged upcoming book?
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