Tag Archives: Alfred Spellman

Frotcast 548 – Frotting meets Doc-ing, with Billy Corben and Alfred Spellman

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This week Matt and Vince welcome master documentarians Billy Corben and Alfred Spellman from Rakontur Productions to the Frot to discuss the latest in Florida F*ckery. Billy and Alfred have become the documentarians laureate of South Florida with their films 537 Votes, Screwball, Dawg Fight, Cocaine Cowboys, The U, and God Forbid (et. al). These days, they’re working on From Russia With Lev, a feature doc about shady Trump/Giuliani associate turned turncoat Lev Parnas, and A Sunny Place for Shady People, a series of mini documentaries with Dan Le Batard that will look at scandals around the Miami area. More importantly, they’re great talkers, so we pick their brains about Florida scandals, the documentary-industrial complex, and something that in four previous interviews I’ve always forgotten to ask Billy about, his past as a child actor.
Plus, Vince and Matt discuss The Curious Case Of Natalia Grace, the most messed up, infuriating docuseries ever made.

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Frotcast Bonus: Billy Corben And Alfred Spellman For ‘537 Votes’

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Normally this is the kind of thing I’d probably post on the premium feed for our Patreon subscribers (Patreon.com/Frotcast) but this interview seems, dare I say it… too important for that? Understanding what happened in 2000 in Florida, and specifically in Miami, and how it got us to where we are today seems like required viewing going into this election. That’s the subject of ‘537 Votes,’ the new documentary on HBO from director Billy Corben and his producing partner Alfred Spellman, whose films — Screwball, the Cocaine Cowboys movies, The U, Magic City Hustle… have largely all advanced the thesis that Florida and specifically Miami is a cautionary tale for the rest of America, culminating in their latest movie. In this chat, I pick their brains about why that is, how it came to be, and how they became the documentarian answer to Carl Hiaasen — making “Florida F*ckery” a genre all its own.

You can also read my profile of Billy and Alfred on Uproxx. Enjoy it and go vote even if it seems kinda pointless. 2000 was my first election and I voted even though it seemed kinda pointless then too but imagine how different things might be had it worked out a little differently.

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