The Staircase’s Margie Ratliff, whose family nightmare became a TV sensation in the 2004 series, talks about a new film which looks at the ethics of ‘docu-tainment’
Some lives take on an uncontrollable life of their own. One of those belongs to Margie Ratliff, whose world changed the night before her 20th birthday when the woman she knew as her mother was discovered dead at the bottom of a steep staircase in the family home in Raleigh, North Carolina. The horrific events of that night in 2001 not only resulted in one of the most scrutinised court cases in American legal history, they also launched a new kind of global entertainment: the serial true-life crime documentary, the did-he-do-it?
Michael Peterson, a novelist and Vietnam war veteran and Ratliff’s adoptive father, was charged with the first-degree murder of his second wife, Kathleen. He protested his innocence, claiming Kathleen had fallen down...
Some lives take on an uncontrollable life of their own. One of those belongs to Margie Ratliff, whose world changed the night before her 20th birthday when the woman she knew as her mother was discovered dead at the bottom of a steep staircase in the family home in Raleigh, North Carolina. The horrific events of that night in 2001 not only resulted in one of the most scrutinised court cases in American legal history, they also launched a new kind of global entertainment: the serial true-life crime documentary, the did-he-do-it?
Michael Peterson, a novelist and Vietnam war veteran and Ratliff’s adoptive father, was charged with the first-degree murder of his second wife, Kathleen. He protested his innocence, claiming Kathleen had fallen down...
- 2/12/2023
- by Tim Adams
- The Guardian - Film News
Perhaps this is an experience you felt earlier this year. You walk into your local movie theater, eager to watch "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness." Maybe it's because it is Sam Raimi's first film since that time James Franco pretended to have an ounce of Frank Morgan's charisma. Maybe it's because you're still invested in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in some way, or perhaps you just thought the trailers looked cool. Either way, you've taken your seat. The trailers finish rolling, and the film has begun.
Then, after a few minutes of tension-building action, you see him. He's sitting next to Benedict Cumberbatch's titular wizard. He's wearing a tan suit, but most importantly, he's wearing the flattest, most skater boy-looking wig you've ever seen in your life. It looks horrible, but beautiful at the same time. You want to rip it off of his head,...
Then, after a few minutes of tension-building action, you see him. He's sitting next to Benedict Cumberbatch's titular wizard. He's wearing a tan suit, but most importantly, he's wearing the flattest, most skater boy-looking wig you've ever seen in your life. It looks horrible, but beautiful at the same time. You want to rip it off of his head,...
- 12/12/2022
- by Erin Brady
- Slash Film
HBO's true crime adaptation "The Staircase" continues to draw ire from those involved in the real-life story, as subject Michael Peterson has now shared any angry response via a series of emails to Variety. Peterson's defense attorney David Rudolf and three members of the real-life documentary team that's portrayed in the series -- director Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, producer Allyson Luchak, and editor Scott Stevenson -- all recently spoke publicly about their problems with the Colin Firth-led dramatization. Peterson's son, Todd, took to Instagram to explain his own issues with the series.
The case of Kathleen Peterson, whose 2001 death at the...
The post The Staircase: Michael Peterson Pens Furious Response to HBO Series That 'Trashed Me' appeared first on /Film.
The case of Kathleen Peterson, whose 2001 death at the...
The post The Staircase: Michael Peterson Pens Furious Response to HBO Series That 'Trashed Me' appeared first on /Film.
- 6/11/2022
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
HBO Max’s dramatization of The Staircase has rested its case — but did it answer all of our questions?
The finale opens in 2017, with Michael ready to make an Alford plea to voluntary manslaughter so he can avoid further jail time and still maintain his innocence. He sits down for an interview with Jean and jokes that he wants to talk about baseball — but we don’t hear what he tells Jean, only that he asks Jean to not tell Sophie about it until she sees the footage. In 2011, Michael’s kids prepare themselves for his retrial hearing (and Margie...
The finale opens in 2017, with Michael ready to make an Alford plea to voluntary manslaughter so he can avoid further jail time and still maintain his innocence. He sits down for an interview with Jean and jokes that he wants to talk about baseball — but we don’t hear what he tells Jean, only that he asks Jean to not tell Sophie about it until she sees the footage. In 2011, Michael’s kids prepare themselves for his retrial hearing (and Margie...
- 6/9/2022
- by Dave Nemetz
- TVLine.com
Click here to read the full article.
Parker Posey and Michael Stuhlbarg play opposing counsel in HBO Max’s limited series The Staircase, which is based on the documentary of the same name that followed the trial of Michael Peterson following the 2003 death of his wife, Kathleen.
Because the trial itself was highly publicized at the time and was the focus of a docuseries from director Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, Posey and Stuhlbarg say they had plenty of material to work with in preparing for their roles as prosecutor Freda Black and Peterson’s defense attorney David Rudolf. While Black died in 2018, Rudolf made himself available to both actors to help gear up for the complicated courtroom scenes. Plus, both actors say, creator Antonio Campos supplied stacks and stacks of courtroom files and autopsy photos of Kathleen Peterson to assist.
Posey and Stuhlbarg talk to THR about what drew them to The Staircase,...
Parker Posey and Michael Stuhlbarg play opposing counsel in HBO Max’s limited series The Staircase, which is based on the documentary of the same name that followed the trial of Michael Peterson following the 2003 death of his wife, Kathleen.
Because the trial itself was highly publicized at the time and was the focus of a docuseries from director Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, Posey and Stuhlbarg say they had plenty of material to work with in preparing for their roles as prosecutor Freda Black and Peterson’s defense attorney David Rudolf. While Black died in 2018, Rudolf made himself available to both actors to help gear up for the complicated courtroom scenes. Plus, both actors say, creator Antonio Campos supplied stacks and stacks of courtroom files and autopsy photos of Kathleen Peterson to assist.
Posey and Stuhlbarg talk to THR about what drew them to The Staircase,...
- 6/9/2022
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Click here to read the full article.
UTA is lighting a fire for Ross Dinerstein and Campfire Studios.
The producer and his production company have signed with the agency for worldwide representation in all areas and he comes to the agency after having amassed dozens of scripted and unscripted credits, ranging from feature films to TV/streaming projects.
Dinerstein and Campfire’s current and most recent projects include HBO Max’s The Way Down and Heaven’s Gate: The Cult of Cults; Hulu’s WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a 47 Billion Unicorn; FX’s Hysterical and The Most Dangerous Animal of All; Magnolia Pictures’ A Glitch in the Matrix; CNN’s The Lost Sons; Netflix’s Voir, Neymar: The Perfect Chaos and John Grisham’s The Innocent Man, and Special.
Dinerstein has also produced eight Netflix Original features including Rattlesnake, an adaptation of Stephen King’s 1922, The Package, Rebirth,...
UTA is lighting a fire for Ross Dinerstein and Campfire Studios.
The producer and his production company have signed with the agency for worldwide representation in all areas and he comes to the agency after having amassed dozens of scripted and unscripted credits, ranging from feature films to TV/streaming projects.
Dinerstein and Campfire’s current and most recent projects include HBO Max’s The Way Down and Heaven’s Gate: The Cult of Cults; Hulu’s WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a 47 Billion Unicorn; FX’s Hysterical and The Most Dangerous Animal of All; Magnolia Pictures’ A Glitch in the Matrix; CNN’s The Lost Sons; Netflix’s Voir, Neymar: The Perfect Chaos and John Grisham’s The Innocent Man, and Special.
Dinerstein has also produced eight Netflix Original features including Rattlesnake, an adaptation of Stephen King’s 1922, The Package, Rebirth,...
- 6/7/2022
- by Chris Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
While “The Staircase,” HBO Max’s dramatized re-telling of the 2004 true crime documentary, isn’t exactly a recreation, it’s easy to get confused between the fact and fiction of the two while watching them back-to-back.
David Rudolf — the real-life North Carolina defense lawyer who represented Michael Peterson after he was accused of killing his wife Kathleen — knows this, and he isn’t happy about it.
“I get it,” Rudolf told Variety. “And that’s the problem.”
The new series takes a bird’s-eye-view of the case, and includes the documentarians as characters in the story. Following the premiere of the new series on May 5, in a lengthy May 13 story in Vanity Fair, Rudolf and the documentary’s original filmmakers — director Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, producers Allyson Luchak and Matthieu Belghiti, and editors Scott Stevenson and Sophie Brunet — accused the new show’s creator, writer and director Antonio Campos, as well as co-showrunner Maggie Cohn,...
David Rudolf — the real-life North Carolina defense lawyer who represented Michael Peterson after he was accused of killing his wife Kathleen — knows this, and he isn’t happy about it.
“I get it,” Rudolf told Variety. “And that’s the problem.”
The new series takes a bird’s-eye-view of the case, and includes the documentarians as characters in the story. Following the premiere of the new series on May 5, in a lengthy May 13 story in Vanity Fair, Rudolf and the documentary’s original filmmakers — director Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, producers Allyson Luchak and Matthieu Belghiti, and editors Scott Stevenson and Sophie Brunet — accused the new show’s creator, writer and director Antonio Campos, as well as co-showrunner Maggie Cohn,...
- 6/1/2022
- by Sasha Urban
- Variety Film + TV
There’s a fundamental difference between Michael Stuhlbarg and his character in HBO Max’s “The Staircase,” Michael Peterson’s defense attorney David Rudolf.
“I would never put myself in a situation where I would be defending someone for their life,” Stuhlbarg told TheWrap. “So the idea of getting up in it within the justice system and to try to save someone from going to prison for the rest of their life, and the idea of taking on the weight of responsibility that comes with that is quite heavy.”
The limited series follows the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of novelist Michael Peterson’s (Colin Firth) wife, Kathleen Peterson (played by Toni Collette), who was found dead at the bottom of the staircase in her home in December 2001.
It’s assumed that, at some point in their careers, defense attorneys will defend clients who have actually committed the crime they are accused of.
“I would never put myself in a situation where I would be defending someone for their life,” Stuhlbarg told TheWrap. “So the idea of getting up in it within the justice system and to try to save someone from going to prison for the rest of their life, and the idea of taking on the weight of responsibility that comes with that is quite heavy.”
The limited series follows the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of novelist Michael Peterson’s (Colin Firth) wife, Kathleen Peterson (played by Toni Collette), who was found dead at the bottom of the staircase in her home in December 2001.
It’s assumed that, at some point in their careers, defense attorneys will defend clients who have actually committed the crime they are accused of.
- 5/13/2022
- by Katie Campione
- The Wrap
Scrolling through Michael Stuhlbarg’s filmography on Wikipedia, you’ll notice that quite a few of his roles are written in blue font, with hyperlinks that lead to other Wikipedia pages. The real-life characters he’s taken on include former New York Times executive editor Abe Rosenthal in “The Post,” Golden Age-actor Edward G. Robinson in “Trumbo,” and even disgraced pharmaceutical executive Richard Sackler on “Dopesick.”
But Stuhlbarg says his role as defense attorney David Rudolf on “The Staircase,” HBO Max’s adaptation of the true crime docuseries, was his hardest biographical challenge yet.
“I’ve played a lot of people who’ve actually lived, some of whom are still alive and some who are not,” Stuhlbarg told Variety. “I had played a criminal defense lawyer briefly on a ‘Law and Order’ episode once before, but never with the amount of depth or time or as much information to sift...
But Stuhlbarg says his role as defense attorney David Rudolf on “The Staircase,” HBO Max’s adaptation of the true crime docuseries, was his hardest biographical challenge yet.
“I’ve played a lot of people who’ve actually lived, some of whom are still alive and some who are not,” Stuhlbarg told Variety. “I had played a criminal defense lawyer briefly on a ‘Law and Order’ episode once before, but never with the amount of depth or time or as much information to sift...
- 5/12/2022
- by Sasha Urban
- Variety Film + TV
[Warning: The below contains Major spoilers for Season 1, Episodes 1-3 of The Staircase.] HBO Max‘s The Staircase may tackle a case that’s familiar to many true-crime aficionados, but the drama featuring an all-star cast pulls back the curtain on the story happening behind the scenes. This includes the working relationship between accused killer Michael Peterson (Colin Firth) and his lawyer, David Rudolf (Michael Stuhlbarg). As new evidence emerges or damning details surface, David is there to have his client’s back, but it impacts more than just his work. Below, Stuhlbarg opens up about embodying a key player in this case and the challenges of bringing a real-life figure to the small screen. (Credit: HBO Max) You play David Rudolf, Michael Peterson’s lawyer. What should viewers anticipate from this version of the real-life figure? Michael Stuhlbarg: The difference that you would find in our project is it’s more of an exploration of the people who got ...
- 5/9/2022
- TV Insider
The mystery surrounding the death of Kathleen Peterson has been a hot topic for over 20 years.
Netflix attempted to lift the lid on what led to the tragic death in its docuseries, The Staircase, but many pivotal components didn't make it to the final edit.
HBO Max's drama series The Staircase offers a more informed approach to the details of the case.
Five of the eight episodes were screened for critics before the premiere, and the show's best aspect is how it examines all possibilities.
The series confidently highlights the weeks leading up to Kathleen's death, the case against her husband, Michael Peterson, and plenty of shocking details about those in their orbit.
Unless you paid close attention to the case as it played back in the early 2000s, there is probably a lot you don't know about it.
Then again, the people who took the Netflix series as...
Netflix attempted to lift the lid on what led to the tragic death in its docuseries, The Staircase, but many pivotal components didn't make it to the final edit.
HBO Max's drama series The Staircase offers a more informed approach to the details of the case.
Five of the eight episodes were screened for critics before the premiere, and the show's best aspect is how it examines all possibilities.
The series confidently highlights the weeks leading up to Kathleen's death, the case against her husband, Michael Peterson, and plenty of shocking details about those in their orbit.
Unless you paid close attention to the case as it played back in the early 2000s, there is probably a lot you don't know about it.
Then again, the people who took the Netflix series as...
- 5/4/2022
- by Paul Dailly
- TVfanatic
Exclusive: Audible has acquired the rights to crime podcast Abuse of Power, from David Rudolf, the lawyer behind Netflix and Canal+’s The Staircase, Sonya Pfeiffer and Campfire Studios, and has ordered a further two seasons.
Deadline revealed last year that the lawyer and his wife had teamed up with The Innocent Man producer Campfire Studios, the Wheelhouse-backed business run by Ross Dinerstein, had launched the Abuse of Power series in association with Acast.
Now, the Amazon-owned audio service has picked up the rights and is extending the franchise.
The second season of the show, which you can listen to a trailer below, will see the criminal defense duo dive deep into The State of Florida vs. Krishna Maharaj case. The six episode series will launch exclusively on Audible on November 25.
The case follows British-Trinidadian businessman Krishna ‘Kris’ Maharaj, who was arrested in 1986 in Miami for a brutal double homicide.
Deadline revealed last year that the lawyer and his wife had teamed up with The Innocent Man producer Campfire Studios, the Wheelhouse-backed business run by Ross Dinerstein, had launched the Abuse of Power series in association with Acast.
Now, the Amazon-owned audio service has picked up the rights and is extending the franchise.
The second season of the show, which you can listen to a trailer below, will see the criminal defense duo dive deep into The State of Florida vs. Krishna Maharaj case. The six episode series will launch exclusively on Audible on November 25.
The case follows British-Trinidadian businessman Krishna ‘Kris’ Maharaj, who was arrested in 1986 in Miami for a brutal double homicide.
- 11/22/2021
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Justice Leak (For All Mankind) is set for a key recurring role opposite Michael Stuhlbarg in The Staircase, HBO Max’s limited series drama adaptation based on Jean-Xavier de Lestrade’s true-crime docuseries.
Leak will play Tom Maher, David Rudolf’s (Stuhlbarg) down-to-earth co-counsel. In addition to Stuhlbarg, he joins joining previously announced cast members Colin Firth, Toni Collette, Rosemarie DeWitt, Juliette Binoche, Parker Posey, Odessa Young, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Dane DeHaan, Olivia DeJonge, Sophie Turner and Tim Guinee.
The eight-episode limited series is based on the docuseries and various books and reports on the case of Michael Peterson, who was convicted in 2003 of murdering Kathleen two years earlier. The charge was reduced to manslaughter in 2017, and Peterson subsequently was released from prison. He had claimed his wife died after falling down the stairs at their home after consuming alcohol and Valium, but an autopsy concluded she died from multiple injuries,...
Leak will play Tom Maher, David Rudolf’s (Stuhlbarg) down-to-earth co-counsel. In addition to Stuhlbarg, he joins joining previously announced cast members Colin Firth, Toni Collette, Rosemarie DeWitt, Juliette Binoche, Parker Posey, Odessa Young, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Dane DeHaan, Olivia DeJonge, Sophie Turner and Tim Guinee.
The eight-episode limited series is based on the docuseries and various books and reports on the case of Michael Peterson, who was convicted in 2003 of murdering Kathleen two years earlier. The charge was reduced to manslaughter in 2017, and Peterson subsequently was released from prison. He had claimed his wife died after falling down the stairs at their home after consuming alcohol and Valium, but an autopsy concluded she died from multiple injuries,...
- 8/5/2021
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Michael Stuhlbarg is set as a lead in The Staircase, HBO Max’s limited series drama adaptation based on the true-crime docuseries. He joins previously announced Colin Firth, Toni Collette, Rosemarie DeWitt, Juliette Binoche, Parker Posey, Odessa Young, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Dane DeHaan, Olivia DeJonge and Sophie Turner.
The eight-episode series from Christine director Antonio Campos and American Crime Story writer Maggie Cohn explores the life of Michael Peterson (Firth), his sprawling North Carolina family and the suspicious death of his wife, Kathleen (Collette).
Stuhlbarg will play David Rudolf, Michael Peterson’s criminal defense attorney.
The series is based on the docuseries and various books and reports on the case of Michael Peterson, who was convicted in 2003 of murdering Kathleen two years earlier. The charge was reduced to manslaughter in 2017, and Peterson subsequently was released from prison. He had claimed his wife died after falling down the stairs at their...
The eight-episode series from Christine director Antonio Campos and American Crime Story writer Maggie Cohn explores the life of Michael Peterson (Firth), his sprawling North Carolina family and the suspicious death of his wife, Kathleen (Collette).
Stuhlbarg will play David Rudolf, Michael Peterson’s criminal defense attorney.
The series is based on the docuseries and various books and reports on the case of Michael Peterson, who was convicted in 2003 of murdering Kathleen two years earlier. The charge was reduced to manslaughter in 2017, and Peterson subsequently was released from prison. He had claimed his wife died after falling down the stairs at their...
- 6/30/2021
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: David Rudolf, the lawyer at the center of Netflix and Canal+ documentary series The Staircase, has teamed up with The Innocent Man producer Campfire to host a new crime podcast.
Rudolf and his wife Sonya Pfeiffer are hosting Abuse of Power, a series that examines injustices at the hands of law enforcement and others in the criminal justice system. The husband and wife criminal defense duo have dedicated their lives to combating egregious abuses in law enforcement, as well as civil rights violations.
The podcast, which is set to launch in late May, will be produced by Wheelhouse-backed production company Campfire, the firm behind FX’s upcoming Zodiac killer doc series The Most Dangerous Animal of All, and podcast firm Acast. It is also produced in partnership with Gilded Audio, Such Content and Gramercy Media. Campfire Vice President of Non-Fiction Content Rebecca Evans will spearhead and produce the series,...
Rudolf and his wife Sonya Pfeiffer are hosting Abuse of Power, a series that examines injustices at the hands of law enforcement and others in the criminal justice system. The husband and wife criminal defense duo have dedicated their lives to combating egregious abuses in law enforcement, as well as civil rights violations.
The podcast, which is set to launch in late May, will be produced by Wheelhouse-backed production company Campfire, the firm behind FX’s upcoming Zodiac killer doc series The Most Dangerous Animal of All, and podcast firm Acast. It is also produced in partnership with Gilded Audio, Such Content and Gramercy Media. Campfire Vice President of Non-Fiction Content Rebecca Evans will spearhead and produce the series,...
- 3/3/2020
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
There’s a certain amount of obsession inherent in any story about criminal prosecution. When judge, jury, and both sides of a particular case are all paying microscopic attention to each successive details of a mysterious set of circumstance, it’s easy to get lost in those particulars. For projects that look at real-life ambiguities like this — be they films, series, podcasts, or the written word — parsing through piles of alternate explanations is one way to grab an audience’s attention.
Trying to see what everyone else might be missing is an enticing part of that prospect. What “The Staircase” has done over three separate iterations (most recently in three new installments on Netflix) is to track a journey from that initial spark of fascination with “the truth” to something more universal. Framing this particular crime in a new way has meant changing with each successive break in the case at its core.
Trying to see what everyone else might be missing is an enticing part of that prospect. What “The Staircase” has done over three separate iterations (most recently in three new installments on Netflix) is to track a journey from that initial spark of fascination with “the truth” to something more universal. Framing this particular crime in a new way has meant changing with each successive break in the case at its core.
- 6/15/2018
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
In 2001, French director Jean-Xavier de Lestrade won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for the film Murder on a Sunday Morning, about the wrongful murder conviction of a 15-year-old black teenager named Brenton Butler. The documentary offered a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the uphill battle waged by Butler's two public defenders, who fought to prove their young client's innocence against damning evidence – an eye witness's positive ID and Butler's own false, coerced confession.
For his next documentary, de Lestrade wanted to explore how the justice system works for a...
For his next documentary, de Lestrade wanted to explore how the justice system works for a...
- 6/11/2018
- Rollingstone.com
Before “Making the Murderer,” “The Jinx,” and even “Serial,” the documentary “The Staircase” illustrated a story of death and desire that was riveting for all of its unexpected turns.
“The Staircase” took the true crime world by storm, and fans of the series were divided over whether or not mystery novelist Michael Peterson had killed his wife – or if she had died from falling down the stairs, as he claimed. The series was so popular that it inspired NBC’s new comedy “Trial & Error,” a true-crime mockumentary that stars John Lithgow as the accused in a murder case.
Read More: The Best Murder Mystery Series Ever — IndieWire Critics Survey
“The genesis of this was around five years ago in the writers’ rooms across Warner Bros…. a documentary called ‘The Staircase’ was going around,” the sitcom’s executive producer Jeff Astroff told reporters at the Television Critics Association in January. “And...
“The Staircase” took the true crime world by storm, and fans of the series were divided over whether or not mystery novelist Michael Peterson had killed his wife – or if she had died from falling down the stairs, as he claimed. The series was so popular that it inspired NBC’s new comedy “Trial & Error,” a true-crime mockumentary that stars John Lithgow as the accused in a murder case.
Read More: The Best Murder Mystery Series Ever — IndieWire Critics Survey
“The genesis of this was around five years ago in the writers’ rooms across Warner Bros…. a documentary called ‘The Staircase’ was going around,” the sitcom’s executive producer Jeff Astroff told reporters at the Television Critics Association in January. “And...
- 3/14/2017
- by Hanh Nguyen
- Indiewire
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