Factual America examines America through the lens of documentary filmmaking. Guests include Academy Award, Emmy and Grammy-winning documentary filmmakers and producers, their subjects, as well as experts on the American experience. Find out more about the current and upcoming documentaries on Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, Sky Documentaries and other platforms directly from the creators. Whether we discuss true crime, music, burning social and political topics, history, or arts, Factual America is your #1 documentary film podcast. Factual America is produced by Alamo Pictures, a London- and Austin-based production company that makes documentaries about the US from a European perspective for international audiences.
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episode 114: Pepsi, Where’s My Jet?
In 1996 a Pepsi giveaway competition inspired John Leonard, a young mountain guide from Seattle, to do everything he could to claim the top prize – a Harrier jet. Realising that it was physically impossible to drink enough cans of cola to earn the necessary 7,000,000 points, John hatched a plan that soon had him facing off against a team of corporate lawyers.
A David versus Goliath story for the ages, Pepsi, Where’s My Jet? – a new docuseries from Netflix – celebrates the human spirit and humanity’s boundless capacity for creativity and innovation, all against the backdrop of 1990s America.
Join Matthew Sherwood in a laugh-filled chat with the film’s award-winning director and producer, Andrew Renzi, who relays what it was like to work with Netflix, climb a mountain in Antarctica and hang out eating hoagies with Michael Avenatti.
At the end Matthew discovers that one of Andrew’s first jobs in film was working for Wes Anderson, helping to shed a light on one of Hollywood’s most idiosyncratic filmmakers.
“There’s a difference for me between stories that are nostalgic and stories that are timeless…There’s a big draw right now to try to tell nostalgic stories…but that just doesn’t have enough teeth for me.” – Andrew Renzi