This Week:
Watergate: Blueprint for a Scandal is back with new episodes on Sunday.
Plus, an exciting opportunity for aspiring filmmakers.
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A conversation about Watergate with former Nixon White House counsel John Dean |
Last week, CNN Original Series hosted a premiere screening of Watergate: Blueprint for a Scandal in partnership with the National Archives Museum in Washington, D.C. The night concluded with a special conversation featuring CNN’s Jim Acosta and Nixon’s White House counsel John Dean.
If you weren't able to attend, don't worry. Here are some highlights from their conversation about the Watergate scandal and the inspiration behind the series. This conversation has been edited for clarity.
ACOSTA: Why is [the story of Watergate] so relevant now?
DEAN: It's impossible to look at Watergate today without calculating into your thinking the Trump Administration. And I think that's done very nicely in the series. The timing couldn't be more perfect with the January 6 committee about to launch hearings.
The Watergate hearings first began in May of '73, and they were something of a bust. They really were not very successful because they put together very low-level staff that didn't know much and they just explained organizational things. And it was pretty boring for a lot of people. So, it didn't catch a lot of attention. But then it did get going.
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ACOSTA: Did this country learn its lessons from Watergate?
DEAN: For about ten years, Watergate had a real impact. There was something called post-Watergate morality. That prevailed for about ten years. Several professions were changed by Watergate, like journalism. Before Watergate, presidents were pretty much assumed to be given the benefit of the doubt if they were doing the right thing. Post-Watergate, it's pretty much assumed they're doing the wrong thing and they better prove how they got it right. So, that's a major shift in coverage of that high office.
ACOSTA: What do you hope to see — in light of everything that we've been through with Watergate — during the January 6 hearings?
DEAN: I think it will start slow. I think that you really can only stage these hearings to a degree. It will be the unexpected. And it will be my hope that they have witnesses who have quietly come forward and are ready to tell us things we need to know.
And I'll be deeply disappointed if one or more lawyers doesn't come forward in these hearings and say, here's the way it unfolded.
ACOSTA: Why?
DEAN: Because I think there's a special duty for lawyers to honor the rule of law, to talk about democracy. We've had some justices who talked about this subject over the years, the special responsibility. It's just unique with the bar, and the bench that they take concern about democracy. And as the fourth episode of this documentary will show, there's pretty widespread concern about what's going to happen to our democracy if we don't pay more attention to it.
Want to hear more? You can watch their entire conversation at the event here.
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A deeper look at the Watergate break-in |
Watergate burglar James McCord, a former CIA agent, created the link between the White House and the 1972 Watergate break-in. Watch how investigators traced that link back to President Richard Nixon.
Involving McCord wasn't the only mistake the burglars made while trying to break-in, bug and photograph documents in the Democratic National Committee offices at the Watergate complex in Washington, DC. They actually made a series of mistakes that lead to their capture and Nixon's ultimate resignation.
You can read more about everything that went wrong here.
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Learn more about the debate over gun control |
After the devastating events in Uvalde, Texas, and more than 230 mass shootings across the nation this year, the conversation about how to curb gun violence in the United States has once again been thrust into the spotlight. The same question is asked again and again: Why isn't more being done?
The CNN Film, The Price of Freedom, which premiered in 2021 and covers events through that year, explores how the NRA, originally a nonpartisan sporting enthusiasts’ organization, evolved into a politically influential force that has shaped American policy and culture for more than five decades. The film traces how the organization has responded to major inflection points in American history, recasting crime waves, political assassinations, mass shootings, and landmark legislative moments as opportunities to expand greater access to guns.
To learn more about the history of the gun control debate in the US, you can watch the film on HBO Max. Afterward, you can learn more about how you can get involved in the fight against gun violence here.
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Working on your own documentary project? Apply for our 3rd Annual Docuseries Intensive |
The Film Independent + CNN Original Series Docuseries Intensive is a three-day remote workshop that will give filmmakers the tools and access needed to develop and present their nonfiction series to potential collaborators working in the series space.
Through executive and peer mentorship, workshopping and fostering industry connections, Fellows will walk away with a deeper understanding of how the business works, as well as having tangible next steps to move their projects forward. The program will elaborate on a range of topics, and each filmmaker or filmmaking team will receive a $3,500 stipend to utilize as they see fit for their docuseries project.
Who Can Apply?
The Film Independent + Original Series Docuseries is open to emerging or mid-career filmmakers/filmmaking teams (directors, producers, editors and show runners) from communities typically underrepresented in the media industry, who have worked or would like to work in the docuseries space. Filmmakers who have worked in features (fiction or nonfiction) and are looking to transition to the episodic format are encouraged to apply.
Applicants must apply with a docuseries project in development and be based in the US.
How to Apply
To be considered, qualifying filmmakers must complete an online application via the Film Independent Artist Development applications site before June 23. The application will require:
- A logline and synopsis
- A summary of topic and artistic approach
- A proposed timeline, audience, and distribution and marketing strategy
- Bios of key cast and crew
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A link to view a past or current work sample
Selection Process and Criteria
Film Independent and CNN Original Series are seeking filmmakers possessing uniqueness of vision, career goals and a spirit of giving back to the community, and whose projects explore original, provocative subject matter. A maximum of ten filmmakers/filmmaking teams and their projects will be selected to participate in the three-day intensive, which is slated to take place September 21-23, 2022.
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