Few documentary filmmakers are as prolific as Erin Lee Carr. In the last five years alone, the in-demand director has helmed the controversial Netflix doc “Britney vs Spears,” “The Ringleader: The Case of the Bling Ring,” “Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara,” the docuseries “I Am Not a Monster: The Lois Riess Murders” and scripted series “Murdaugh: Death in the Family.” She’s also produced “Stormy,” a doc on embattled Trump accuser Stormy Daniels, “Trophy Wife: Murder on Safari” and “Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini.” If you see a throughline there — centering the stories of women — that is by design, and something Carr chalks up to a terrifying encounter with the “Cannibal Cop” Gilberto Valle, the subject of her 2015 film “Thought Crimes: The Case of the Cannibal Cop,” that turned her world upside down (more on that later). Her latest is “The Swan: Behind the Mirror.” Premiering Sept. 29 on Hulu, the feature-length documentary explores Nely Galán’s notorious 2004 Fox reality-competition series “The Swan,” where 16 women — so-called “ugly ducklings” — subjected themselves to extreme plastic surgery, dentistry, training, dieting and a little bit of therapy to transform themselves into what a panel of experts deemed more “attractive” versions of themselves.
They would then compete against one another in a beauty pageant, which had a lingerie portion for God knows what reason, for the ultimate prize of being crowned The Swan. It is considered one of the worst reality TV shows ever produced, and the doc features eye-opening testimonials for a dozen former contestants, many of whom were left traumatized by the experience, as well as series producers and even one of its plastic surgeons, who comes off particularly bad. But for now, we’re here to talk about “The Swan” — and her “Britney vs Spears” ordeal.
I wasn’t allowed to watch TV on the weekdays — my father was very intense — but I ended up sneaking it and found out about the show. At the time, I was a huge Britney Spears person and I was like, OK, what am I trying to look like? I just remember seeing a clip of this really intense dentistry and plastic surgery that haunted me, and I don’t think I watched the rest of the show.
When Hulu contacted me saying that Expectation TV, this U.K. production company, had this I was like, I gotta do it! I didn’t even have room in my schedule but figured it out. I was not given a lot of time.
I will say it was under a year. Typically, the films that I make take 18 months, and I do it to protect the editorial process and develop access in a way that feels deeply meaningful. In this case, a lot of the access had been figured out.
Some of the Swans were onboard, Dr. Terry [Dubrow] was a maybe, Dr. Haworth was a maybe, Nely [Galán] I’d had many conversations with.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
