OJ: Made in America is about OJ Simpson, and not at the same time.
There's a lot of renewed interest in Simpson these days, and the ESPN documentary is the most recent to take a look back. It had the very real risk of becoming an opinion piece on the former football star's guilt or innocence, but director Ezra Edelman was adamant in reiterating that it was not just another throwback to a highly-publicized murder trial. Rather, it was a deeper story aimed at telling the tale of race in America, Los Angeles, the relationship between the police and the black community, with Simpson's own story a part and not center.
"The most important thing in making this film was to come into it without an agenda, to let people who were part of this story and who exist on all sides, to give them their say," said Edelman.
To do this, Edelman and his fellow producers Caroline Waterflow, Betsy Reid, Tamara Rosenberg, Nina Kristic, Cristina Esteras-Ortiz, Deirdre Fenton and Kristin Lesko carried out 72 interviews, talking to not just key players in the defense and prosecution but also to African-American civil rights activists, Simpson's childhood friends, jurors from the trial and former detectives in LAPD. They, however, were not able to get in touch with Simpson's first wife, while former district attorney for L.A. County Christopher Darden declined participation.
ESPN has actually already made a 30 For 30 documentary on Simpson before, called June 17, 1994, and it was done by Brett Morgan. However, it didn't dig deep into the racial aspect of Simpson's story.
Connor Schell, executive producer for ESPN films, understood that going beyond the events of June 1994 to October 1995 meant going beyond the usual two-hour format for a documentary. When he first talked to Edelman in 2014, he was thinking of producing something five hours long. When Edelman was done, OJ: Made in America was screened to ESPN Films executives at seven and a half hours.
So far, the documentary has received numerous praise. Sports Illustrated said it was the best 30 For 30 ever made, while the New York Times likened it to the works of Robert Caro, if OJ: Made in America was a book.
OJ: Made in America will debut June 11 on ABC and will switch to ESPN for the release of its final four episodes. Once the second episode concludes, the documentary will be made available on Watch ESPN, iTunes and in DVD format and via re-airs across ESPN platforms. ESPN Films is also keen on a theatrical run, eyeing an Oscar nod for OJ: Made in America.
