Helicopter coverage is a staple of today’s local news, but back in the ’80s and ’90s, Marika Gerrard and her then-husband Zoey (formerly Bob) Tur pioneered the newsgathering technique.
The documentary “Whirlybird,” out in theaters and on demand Friday, chronicles the family business they created together: the Los Angeles News Service.
For nearly two decades, Gerrard shot thousands of videos, ranging from raging wildfires to enraged celebrities — including Madonna and Sean Penn on their wedding day. But two of her videos — the dragging and beating of truck driver Reginald Denny after the 1992 Rodney King verdict, and the 1994 O.J. Simpson freeway chase — forever changed America … and her.
TheWrap’s Lawrence Yee caught with Gerrard and Matt Yoka, the director of “Whirlybird,” to talk about the impact of these two events on Gerrard. “Whirlybird” largely centers on how the Denny footage negatively affected Tur, who was battling gender dysphoria-driven depression...
The documentary “Whirlybird,” out in theaters and on demand Friday, chronicles the family business they created together: the Los Angeles News Service.
For nearly two decades, Gerrard shot thousands of videos, ranging from raging wildfires to enraged celebrities — including Madonna and Sean Penn on their wedding day. But two of her videos — the dragging and beating of truck driver Reginald Denny after the 1992 Rodney King verdict, and the 1994 O.J. Simpson freeway chase — forever changed America … and her.
TheWrap’s Lawrence Yee caught with Gerrard and Matt Yoka, the director of “Whirlybird,” to talk about the impact of these two events on Gerrard. “Whirlybird” largely centers on how the Denny footage negatively affected Tur, who was battling gender dysphoria-driven depression...
- 8/6/2021
- by Lawrence Yee
- The Wrap
This review of “Whirlybird” was first published on January 26, 2020, after the film’s premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.
There are quite a few stories swirling around “Whirlybird,” Matt Yoka’s promising debut documentary. Since most of them are memorable, the rough edges don’t matter much.
The central focus of “Whirlybird” is the relationship between two journalists — Bob Tur and Marika Gerrard — who fell in love while chasing news as stringers in 1980s LA. As Yoka takes us back to those long-ago days via interviews and old footage, we see immediately that Bob has always been the one with the burning drive. Marika, as gentle and easygoing as her new boyfriend is competitive, really just wants to hang out with him. You can hardly blame her: even as a student Bob has the energy of five people. He’s focused and passionate and lives on the edge, eager to...
There are quite a few stories swirling around “Whirlybird,” Matt Yoka’s promising debut documentary. Since most of them are memorable, the rough edges don’t matter much.
The central focus of “Whirlybird” is the relationship between two journalists — Bob Tur and Marika Gerrard — who fell in love while chasing news as stringers in 1980s LA. As Yoka takes us back to those long-ago days via interviews and old footage, we see immediately that Bob has always been the one with the burning drive. Marika, as gentle and easygoing as her new boyfriend is competitive, really just wants to hang out with him. You can hardly blame her: even as a student Bob has the energy of five people. He’s focused and passionate and lives on the edge, eager to...
- 8/5/2021
- by Elizabeth Weitzman
- The Wrap
O. J.Marika Gerrard, Zoey Tur, Katy Tur, Jamie Tur, Lawrence Welk III. Simpson’s Bronco chase. Madonna flipping off paparazzi on her wedding day to Sean Penn. Michael Jackson’s sequined glove wanly waving as the pop star was wheeled to a burn unit. Whenever a big breaking news story overtook the Los Angeles TV airwaves in the ’80s and ’90s, viewers expected to hear a sign-off from married helicopter reporters Bob Tur and Marika Gerrard who spent the best — and worst — years of their relationship high in the sky. Tur was a literal news junkie, an adrenaline addict who’d emotionally crash at the end of each pursuit. “There was never a movie date with Bob,” Gerrard reflects. “It was a car crash or an air crash or a fire tape.”
“Whirlybird,” by director Matt Yoka, is the compelling story of the thrill-seeking couple’s rise and descent...
“Whirlybird,” by director Matt Yoka, is the compelling story of the thrill-seeking couple’s rise and descent...
- 8/3/2021
- by Amy Nicholson
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Greenwich Entertainment has acquired U.S. rights to Whirlybird from A&e IndieFilms. The doc, which premiered at last year’s Sundance, is the feature debut of Matt Yoka. It follows a husband-and-wife news helicopter team who covered some of Los Angeles’ most historic events.
Encompassing high-profile stories of the 1980s and 90s such as the L.A. riots and the infamous O.J Simpson Bronco chase, the film shows how the pair captured the city’s recent history, and also shines a light on the adrenaline-fuelled culture of live news.
Pic was produced by Yoka and Diane Becker with executive producers Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato, and Josh Braun. Elaine Frontain Bryant, Rob Sharenow, and Molly Thompson are executive producers for A&e IndieFilms.
Greenwich’s Andy Bohn negotiated the deal with Submarine’s Josh Braun and Matt Burke on behalf of the filmmakers.
“It’s an honor for Whirlybird...
Encompassing high-profile stories of the 1980s and 90s such as the L.A. riots and the infamous O.J Simpson Bronco chase, the film shows how the pair captured the city’s recent history, and also shines a light on the adrenaline-fuelled culture of live news.
Pic was produced by Yoka and Diane Becker with executive producers Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato, and Josh Braun. Elaine Frontain Bryant, Rob Sharenow, and Molly Thompson are executive producers for A&e IndieFilms.
Greenwich’s Andy Bohn negotiated the deal with Submarine’s Josh Braun and Matt Burke on behalf of the filmmakers.
“It’s an honor for Whirlybird...
- 2/16/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
It is extremely rare for a man to take an honest accounting of their own toxic masculinity, especially those who have actively participated in harassment and abuse. Fortunately for the makers of “Whirlybird,” a gripping documentary about an unconventional family business that captured some of the first helicopter news footage, Zoey Tur is not a man.
Tur came out publicly as transgender in 2013, making her a far more sympathetic and candid interviewee than her aggressively ambitious shadow self, Bob Tur, might have been. That’s a crucial piece of this fascinating historical snapshot, because the archival news footage with which filmmaker Matt Yoka weaves his yarn includes dozens of instances of Tur’s verbal and sometimes physical abuse towards her camera operator and former partner, Marika Gerrard. It’s uncomfortable to witness, but in Tur’s emotional final interview, she most certainly does not let herself off the hook. Her...
Tur came out publicly as transgender in 2013, making her a far more sympathetic and candid interviewee than her aggressively ambitious shadow self, Bob Tur, might have been. That’s a crucial piece of this fascinating historical snapshot, because the archival news footage with which filmmaker Matt Yoka weaves his yarn includes dozens of instances of Tur’s verbal and sometimes physical abuse towards her camera operator and former partner, Marika Gerrard. It’s uncomfortable to witness, but in Tur’s emotional final interview, she most certainly does not let herself off the hook. Her...
- 1/29/2020
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
“Oh! Oh! Oh!” a voice keeps screaming. There’s a man flowing from a side channel into a main canal during a flood, and he breaks past a wall of white rapids. Now he’s floating away as a rescuer catches up to him, and during this matter of life or death, the narration continues: “30 feet! 20 feet! 10 feet! Five feet!” The rescuer grabs him by the torso, and the static rises: “And he’s got him!”
The voice belongs to a person who at the time identified as Bob Tur, founder of Los Angeles News Service. He was as ambitious as he was reviled; a real-life caricature of a newscaster on the field and a family man at home. Well, he tried to be both. He met his wife, Marika Gerrard, in the late ‘70s while she worked at a movie theater in Westwood. He asked her on a date...
The voice belongs to a person who at the time identified as Bob Tur, founder of Los Angeles News Service. He was as ambitious as he was reviled; a real-life caricature of a newscaster on the field and a family man at home. Well, he tried to be both. He met his wife, Marika Gerrard, in the late ‘70s while she worked at a movie theater in Westwood. He asked her on a date...
- 1/28/2020
- by Matt Cipolla
- The Film Stage
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