It's in the news today, but it was actually on TV Reload the podcast last week.
I'm I, how would I describe a television set, oh Man from a headline grabbing point of view, the hack producer me says one hundred percent put him in.
Welcome back guys to TV Reload. My name's Benjamin Norris and on this podcast I go behind the scenes with the biggest players in television.
Yeah, great questions. The show's about the game. There's a lot of great television out there in Australia.
But I've also got to go behind the scenes with writers. The truth is, when I started writing it, it wasn't had nothing to do with the news and casting agents they.
Know from a casting point of view what they need.
And editors because that's what we do as editors where storytellers them. Not to forget some incredible executive producers who are making some of the best TV content in Australia. I have been on the program since the beginning and it's kind of in my DNA. So thanks for joining me each week and I hope the podcast continues to give you real insight into the magic of te Today on the podcast, I have entrepreneur and producer, writer, director
Michael Ratner. This is pretty cool. Amazon Prime set up this amazing chat with Michael and Los Angeles, who was promoting his latest documentary, Justin Bieber Our World, which premiers worldwide on Amazon Prime Video, and that release date is
October eighth, so you can pop that in your diary. However, Michael is the founder of OBB Pictures and under his leadership, that company has grown into OBB Media, a leading media company which has divisions in film, TV, digital, podcasts, branded content, and it has amassed over a one point six billion views. His relationship with artists is beyond compare, gaining access to
some of the most recognizable names in the business. Today, we'll focus on his relationship and collaboration with Justin Bieber. And I have to tell you that during this chat, I was able to ascertain that Michael is kind, thoughtful, and a genius and unlocking storytelling That immediately made me realize that I was talking to one of the best dooco filmmakers in this space. I mean, come on, Justin
is at the top of his game, FYI. Justin Bieber's new single Ghost is now available to stream on his number one album Justice, which if you've got Beaba Fever you're gonna want to download. Also, in preparation for this upcoming documentary, I suggest that you go back and watch Seasons, which was a previous collaboration with Michael and Justin, who of course I'm on a first name basis with I'm clearly not. So let's get started with today's guest. I'd
like to welcome to the podcast. It's Michael Radner.
When you're Justin Bieber or you accept the fact that they're going to be false headlines, do you want to start by talking about the last four years? I also don't make puff pieces on Justin. Justin Bieber says he is counseling the rest of his world too. Wasn't an easy thing to sign up for. As for why Justin canceled the tour, and he spoke to maintaining a healthy mind, making your own judgments based on your experience as people.
Business kid thinking is your real own personal experiences is definitely a healthy way to live.
Hey, Michael, how are you?
I'm excellent? Thanks for having me.
You know, over the years and with an enormous amount of experience, what have you learned the most about making a documentary.
I've learned that you need to take the time off camera to learn the story you want to tell. You need to be a good listener, you need to specifically with these talent driven dark pieces, you need to understand the talents objective, what are they looking to accomplish? And I think that it's really all about communication and trust.
I guess the most important question in my mind is how did you build a friendship with Justin Bieber? And more importantly, how did you build trust to make a documentary like this?
Well, you know, I was working with sp Projects on another project three ish years ago. It was a music anthology series, and that's when I met Scooter Braun and Alison Kay and a lot of those a lot of that team, and I've done a lot of work since then with that team. And when we were creating that, I was producing this series and I also directed an episode, And it was then that the Spie Projects team asked
me to sit with Justin. We hadn't met, and they asked me to sit to talk about potentially doing a project together because he was going to put out a new album and they wanted to document that process. And that project ended up becoming seasons.
I just feel like right now it's a really happy season and I want people to get an inside look of this guy really is just a human who's just figuring it out like you and me.
From there, we really sparked a strong professional and personal relationship and it's been great with a communication gets stronger with each project, and we've done so much stuff together. Obviously we did Next Chapter after that and I directed Intentions, which was with Kwavo. It was music video. I oversaw the visual album for Changes, and then now this project.
So I think when it's years and many projects and you take the time to really think through the process and the workflow, and ultimately Justin's vision leads I'm there to create and tell a story in service of that vision, you end up with really really great projects.
You've said publicly that nothing is off limits, you know when you're working with Justin. But I always wonder with people in the spotlight, surely some things none of our business. Right.
He's been really an open book. There hasn't been something to date this many years in where he said, well, don't ask me about this or that. I mean, in theory, if I started trying to like poke In prod for things that I think that would be irrelevant and just salacious in nature. I'm sure he'd push back, but there's never that's never happened. And I also don't make puff
pieces on justin we'd do. You know, if you watched Seasons, you know that we didn't shy away from some moments that maybe weren't the most comfortable or shed light on insecurities or growth. And I think that's what made that product so powerful. And here, you know, he really allows the camera, whether he's shooting it himself on a cell phone or whether it's our cameras with Ry Kramer or whoever it is, to really capture the essence of what's
going on. And I think it's just again that communication and trust with well, what are you gonna do with that footage? And how are you gonna make me look? But his willingness to trust the filmmaker and trust that ultimately our understanding of what we're looking to accomplish will result in good results for his fans, which is really what he's looking to accomplish and to fulfill his artistic desires, is what allows these projects to feel so authentic and special.
The doc title Justin Bieber. Our World follows Bieber and his close knit team in the month leading up to T Mobile Presents New Year's Eve Live with Justin Bieber as they rehearse and construct a monumental stage while adhering to strict health and safety protocols.
In a complicated world with cod and politics, there must be so much scrutiny over an individual opinion. Are you ever worried that you may reveal something about Justin that would upset these fans? I mean, cancel culture is a factor to consider, right.
Yeah, I mean if you open your mouth the wrong way, of course, there's always a fear of that. But you know, you can't live in fear of offending or cancel culture or these things. You have to live your life and live your truth and pursue projects and not just be, you know, sitting around idle and letting opportunities pass. I think when you're Justin Bieber or you're some of these stars, you accept the fact that they're going to be false headlines,
they'll be false narratives. Of course, you don't want to feed into that and have your words misconstrued or anything like that. But you know, we certainly think those things through. We're living in the Internet age, and there's trolls on the Internet, and there's all sorts of people that are going to twist your words, and you have to just understand that comes with the territory and try to look
at the positives. So I think it would be unfortunate if we didn't create because we were afraid of somebody canceling us or you know, saying taking things out of context. Everybody deals with it. I mean, you know, it's a new norm and reality, and you navigated accordingly.
You know, there's some lyrics that sometimes come into his music that you know could mean different things, And I always wonder with your friendship with him and your collaboration with him, to get a chance to ask what things mean. And one of the lyrics that I thought was quite good was, you know, I get my news from the source. Have you ever asked him what that means? Where is he getting his news from?
I have never asked him. I would venture a guess that, you know, if if I had to guess what he meant by that. Justin's not paying attention to headlines or what the news or media is saying. You can't I mean there's a how he would have no other time to do anything else. There's an article of a minute. I think Justin feels really confident in his circle, and it's surrounded by good people and has conversations with people and knows people and gets his information from those people
around him that are family and friends. And I think that's a really healthy way to live your life. I think we could all learn something from that, whether we're in the media or not. It's definitely a healthier mindset. And I think with social media and the immediacy of everything at your fingertips with Twitter or what have you,
it's sometimes easier said than done. So I think making your own judgments based on your experience with people, your real own personal experiences, is definitely a healthy way to live.
Why do you think Justin has been able to really transcend from being a child's stuff so well to this respected content creator as.
An adult, authenticity, incredible talent, hard work, growth, you know, like he's really You've seen him be consistent, you've seen him committed you I mean, the work ethic. If you watched the project too, you know it wasn't an easy thing to sign up for. And I think also he's a evolved in his artistry as yet as he has as an individual like you. The way his music sounds and the lyrics that you're referring to and all these things are quite different now today than they were when
he was younger. I mean, I hope, so I'd hope your music sounds different when you're thirteen, fourteen, fifteen than when you're twenty seven and married. And I think it does. And that's why his fans are growing with him, and he's getting new fans obviously as well, younger fans. So it's really great to see. And I think, you know, he's the most streamed artist in the globe. You know that that comes from really a lot of things, a lot of different factors. I don't think it's just one.
I think it's all those combined.
What is it in your mind that you want us to feel as an audience, you know, watching our world, you know, as a documentary, as a concert, as a look behind the scenes. You know, what do you think the take home should be as an audience hour.
And a half of joy? You know, like you really should be able to escape for a second and just like take this trip down memory lane and nostalgic because we play you know, he plays some of the old hits and whatnot. You see him doing Baby and it's pretty cool to see. And then you see it all the way up to some of the new hits off Justice, and it's just this fun night where you can sort
of just enjoy the music. And then of course you've got a great story there as well, so it's it should just provide joy.
I just wanted to create a night that was gonna bring people together and people could just let go and enjoy themselves.
When I first met Justin, he was a young teenager. Today I see the young leader. He really grow into a man thatl husband. His family life is so important, sich.
I'm excited to get back on that stage and make people smile, make people happy. Prepping for a performance during COVID has been challenging.
We have built the whole stage, hope we are with the live stream. The show is going to be seen by moons. We haven't done a show since. I'm kind of nervous.
The first time I'm coming out, I'm gonna feel all the eyes on me.
I'm gonna want to move. I just know my soul show Day New year's eve.
Baby Justin has been told that he's a songbird of our generation.
Life is only about content, It's not about.
The condition of your soul. Are you excited for tonight? Ben? Of course if you're nervous, and I'm like nervous, it's gonna be dope.
There's a mad rush to sign on and it's crashing things.
What is the cutoff Matt and him as a human and it's translating to his work.
I don't know how these dudes get into this vlogging thing because my arm was sore.
As for you, like being this amazing content maker, like I was just looking through the back catalog of your history is just phenomenal. And you know you've collaborated with different people. I noticed yesterday when I was doing some research that people kept asking you is there another artist or is there someone that you'd like to collaborate with? And you a couple of times said to journalists, you know, I need to give it some thought. Have you given
it some thought? Is there someone that you would like to collaborate with? Or is there a project you're about to work on?
Yes? I have, and I am there's the mysterious response. Yeah, I haven't announced it. Tell me, yeah, I haven't announced it yet, but we're in the middle of something already, really excited about it, you know. But no two projects are alike. I think that very frequently we bucket projects or genres, but I don't really. I mean, sure, they're both documentaries or music documentaries. If you look at you know, people ask me questions about the Demi project or the
Dustin project. Each one of these are every project as a storyteller right at OBB, I'm not even specific to unscripted or premium doc We make stuff in scripted, we make stuff in podcasts, audio only, we do branded content. I'm always looking for what's the story, and whether that's comedy or sports, or music or drama. I think that what I'm trying to do is make people feel something.
And when I'm looking at stuff in the music world, I want people to not only feel sitting through the music, but through the story we're telling and understand those artists better. So this project I'm currently direct and producing is going to do that for sure, and it's going to be a journey and I think will show a really different side of this person. So I'm very excited.
So no, clues. You're not even going to give me a clue.
They're a human being.
Okay, great, Okay, there's a long way for me to go with that clue. I would ask you, though, the integrity of your work is quite powerful, and I guess that's probably why you're working with such amazing people. What was the inspiration for you wanting to be a documentary filmmaker? Like, how did you find yourself in this career?
You know, as a I went to film school. So I went to film school at NYU Grad Film. I loved my experience there, and I always joked that I think it should have been called content school, not film school. That's at least how I approached it. I think that the world is changing, you know, the way we consume the way audience consume content is through all forms of media. And I just like telling stories. I like me, I like entertaining people. I like people taking something away from something.
So I never planned to be just a documentary filmmaker. I don't consider myself one. Obviously. I directed this doc and I've done some other projects recently that have gone on to get some commercial and critical success. And at the end of the day, I'm always looking to entertain and make people feel something, and I think a great way to do that right now is through these music docs. I mean, Rovioskin, this the golden age of music documentary,
and I really enjoy it. I appreciate that my projects have resonated in a way that has had impact, and you know, millions and millions and hundreds of millions of people have seen them. And that's what's so exciting, because you can really use this moment where people are so
into something to have somebody take something away. I think mental health has been a big component of our work as of late, and a lot of the things that you know you touched on, even with just the world we live in, with the Internet and false headlines or cancel culture, all of those things factor in and at a really high level because of you know, Justin has two hundred million people on Instagram alone following them. I mean that's just an absurd, sort of unfathomable amount of
human beings following another. So I think that I look at music doc right now almost the way that you would look at historically speaking, these tent pole Marvel films or franchises, these moments, right and that's what music docs are and right now alongside those other projects. So it's a really unique opportunity and I've enjoyed making them.
You know, you've had a front row to working with celebrity. You know, you've been right there working with some of the most amazing content makers. What do you think the true price of fame is? From where you've been sitting.
A lot a lot. You know, It's like with all things in life, there's the pros, and I think those are the things that we all see on display material things and fame, and you know, people reck ignizing you, wanting to be around you. But then there's a lot that there's a lot of quote unquote baggage that comes along with that that can be isolating or difficult to navigate.
And that's why I so commend you know, justin for where he's at in his life and the way that he carries himself and the way that he's navigated through it, because you know, the way you put it is perfect. There's there's a price for that stuff in more ways than one.
I think I'd be highly medicated with all that pressure on me. I would be so stressed. My one question I always ask all my guests before they go, is what is an amazing story from behind the scenes that we as an audience would appreciate.
Yeah, it's a good that's a fun question. I think maybe I'll take it back to the very beginning of this project, when you know, Justin called me. It was November twenty twenty, and you know, he said, I got this idea, I'm gonna I'm gonna pull off the show. And we had just finished one of our projects I can't even remember, so we weren't even dark for that
long at all. And I said, okay, you know, and he explained what he was going to pull off and he said December, and I was thinking, you know, December twenty twenty one. I didn't possibly fathom that we were like forty days away from show night. And that was it's sort of it's emblem the reason I used that, that's my knee jerk reactions. There's emblematic of just like the reason this all works, it's just figure it out, make it happen. Nothing's impossible, like roll with the punches,
get to work. And we just started filming right away, and before you know, like there was so much that needed to get done and we just pulled it off. And I really I love those calls because it's it's like you need to be a little insane to make that call, you need to be a little insane to accept the challenge. And I think that creativity and that excitement and that working relationship is what allows us to make such exciting projects that people are really responding to.
Well, I've been in your audience for a long time and I love all the work.
That you make.
I'm in Liston's audience for a long time, and I just want to say thank you so much for the work that you do, and good luck with all the work that's coming up. I'll be in your audience.
Thank you. I appreciate that so much. Thank you