CR 064: Steven Feinartz Discusses His Marc Maron Doc, ‘Are We Good?’
The director-producer on his long journey to bring Maron’s story of grief and humor to the screen.
When director Steven Feinartz was approached by producer Julie Seabaugh in early 2021 about making a documentary on Marc Maron, he was hesitant. Just a year prior, Maron’s partner, director Lynn Shelton, had died suddenly and unexpectedly from a rare blood disease. In the months after her death, which occurred early in the pandemic, Maron openly shared his grief on his long-running podcast, WTF with Marc Maron, as well as in frequent Instagram Live videos. Still, Feinartz says the idea of making a feature-length film about the actor-comedian at that time in his life gave him pause. “You don’t want to exploit somebody’s grief,” he says. “There’s a fine line of how you handle something like that.”
Still, he knew that if he was going to make something more than the standard puff piece, those early post-lockdown days, when Maron was finally returning to the comedy stage, was the best time to start. “I knew it was the best access into doing a doc on Marc, as opposed to just your typical comedy doc,” he says. “Finding a moment in his life that was transcendent and that he was working through, it felt like that was the right time.”
For the next three-and-a-half years, Feinartz followed Maron around with a camera, recording nearly every facet of his life. The resulting film is Are We Good?, a moving, deeply intimate portrait of a man finding his way back to comedy after experiencing a devastating loss. And though there are many laughs in the film, Feinartz believes its themes of grief and vulnerability are what will resonate most with viewers. “Most people have dealt with [grief] or will deal with it at some point in their lives,” he says. “I think knowing that a guy like Marc, who’s pretty fragile, is able to handle it and work through it in his own way, [is helpful]. There’s no guidebook as to how you deal with grief. I think seeing it in real time over a three-year period will help some people.”
I recently chatted with Feinartz about the documentary, his filmmaking influences, and the state of comedy in the current political climate.
SANDRA EBEJER: I saw on your LinkedIn page that you were an English major in college but then got your film degree. Why did you decide to pivot to film and TV?
STEVEN FEINARTZ: Actually, I originally got into journalism at University of Missouri, because they had a really great journalism school. I thought I was going to do that for a living. And then I realized I didn’t want to do that, so I switched to the classic English major, as I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. I knew since I was a little kid that I wanted to be a filmmaker, but I’d never really thought that it was possible. It always felt like something that was unattainable, so it took me a while.
When you were first starting out, was there anyone whose work you looked at and thought, “That’s the type of work I want to do”? Was anyone particularly influential on your career?
Oh, yeah. On the doc side, and as a filmmaker in general, Werner Herzog, Woyzeck and Stroszek. His work is definitely up there, for sure. Martin Scorsese, obviously. Growing up I was obsessed with everything he did. So that holds a lot in my heart. Then there’s other filmmakers that I looked up to along the way, like Noah Baumbach and Wes Anderson.
You’ve done quite a bit of work with stand-up comics. How did you get into that world?
The comedy thing happened mostly through a documentary I did in 2011 called The Bitter Buddha about a comedian named Eddie Pepitone. I was always fascinated with comedy. My dad turned me on to Richard Pryor and George Carlin and Eddie Murphy and all that when I was a kid, so I always had this fascination with comedians and stand-up comedy in general, but I didn’t really know any. Coming from Chicago, there was a big improv scene. So I would go to Second City and ImprovOlympic and all that, but I didn’t really know anybody in that world.
When I moved to L.A., I found this amazing comedian genius, Eddie Pepitone, who was kind of the staple of the alt comedy scene. I figured I’d shoot a short documentary and see what comes of it. That turned into a feature doc that played a bunch of festivals and got a decent release and from there, I was just in the comedy scene.
I read that you had a pretty contentious interview with Marc on WTF many years ago. Was that the first time you met him?
Funny enough, it wasn’t the first time I met him. I had met him maybe a handful of times before that. I met him in 2010 at UCB [Upright Citizens Brigade comedy theater] in Los Angeles, and he was a little more raw back then. He didn’t really give a shit about what people thought of him. Not that he does now, but he was just tearing through the scene and giving people shit. I think I was just part of that path of where he was at that time. And because I was young—I was in my 20s—he had it out for me. At the time, I took it very personally. With time and understanding, I’ve let a lot of that go. But the podcast was a pretty contentious one. I don’t think he liked how he was portrayed in the [Bitter Buddha] documentary. He was in a couple of scenes and he didn’t love certain things about it, I think. But he liked the film. He called me “a nascent young filmmaker who attached himself to a broken comedian.” [Laughs]
How do you go about getting someone like Marc Maron or Eddie Pepitone to open up when you’re filming?
Eddie, specifically, just trusted me. He knew that I understood him. From the get-go, it was all trust. Everything was great. Marc [was] surprisingly similar. A lot of trust there, as well. It had to be gained, though, over time. With Marc, he’s got his podcast, acting, stand-up. A lot of people work for him, and he is a larger entity. So I had to be careful of his image going into it.
That being said, when it came to making the film and editing the film, he was incredibly hands-off. He didn’t really give any insight in terms of the edit. We showed him a cut right before [the premiere at] SXSW and he was happy. [He had] really minor adjustments. He didn’t have any big notes, so I was relieved. He did trust me, but it took time to gain that trust. I think the first six months to a year, we didn’t even have a solid contract about what the purpose of the film is. That can be scary when you’re putting up your own money, like I was, and not having a solid plan. But, in the end I think it all worked out.
With documentaries, you go into a project not knowing what the story is. You may have a rough idea of what it might be, but you’re not working with a script. Anything could happen. Did you know going in that it was going to take you over three-and-a-half years to complete the film?
I was hoping it was going to end right after the [HBO] special [From Bleak to Dark], but we didn’t know when the special was going to be. That was the end of 2022. We filmed for another 12 to 14 months after that. You need a third act, and that was something we struggled with. A lot of documentaries, I think, struggle with how to end the film. Luckily, there were other things happening in his life. I don’t want to give up too much, but he was turning 60 and there was some stuff with his father’s health. We tracked a couple of other stories simultaneously and found the way to end it. But yeah, you go in, you think it’s going to be two years, and it ends up being more. My first doc was about a year-and-a-half, so this one was much heavier.
You also directed his HBO special, right?
I did the last one, Panicked, and the one before that, From Bleak to Dark.
Were you directing From Bleak to Dark while directing the documentary? How did you juggle all that?
I was, yeah. It was a stressful week. But it was great. I had a great DP there with me and we just covered what we could cover. It all worked out. Directing comedy specials, it’s mostly all prep. Those two, three months before you shoot is most of the work. So a lot of that was already done. On the day of the shoot, we were ready to go. When you show up to do the special, it’s all been organized and laid out there for you, so I could also focus on doing the doc.
Was there anything you learned about Marc as a result of the film that surprised you?
I’ve said this before, but he’s actually a pretty tender guy. Once you get to that soft center, he’s a loyal, good friend to his close friends. Not that I didn’t think he was or had the capability of being that, but I’ve come to realize he’s a solid guy overall. I really like him.
The film is coming out at an interesting time, given all that has happened in the past week with comedy and free speech. You’ve worked in and around comedy for more than a decade. How do you feel the field is going to fare in the coming months or years of this administration? It’s a heavy topic, I know.
It’s a heavy one. But I think we’re seeing it right now. We saw it with Jimmy Kimmel. We saw it with Stephen Colbert. Clearly, it’s not going well. Luckily, some corporations stood up recently with Jimmy and that line was drawn, and that’s important. A line has to be drawn for free speech.
In terms of comedy and stand-up, in a way it’s the same as it ever was with the comedy clubs. There’s always been intolerance and people talking badly about the other. That’s always been a thing. Go watch Eddie Murphy Raw. I mean, some of these specials don’t really hold up. But I think—Marc has spoken to this—some comedians are a bit of a mouthpiece of the state at this point, it seems like. I don’t know how that changes, or if it changes. I’m hopeful. There is a new crop of amazing comedians. I just hope that whatever’s happening now doesn’t dissuade future performers and writers.
Now that Are We Good? is being shared with audiences, what’s next for you?
Good question. I think I’m going to take a break from docs for a minute. I just shot a comedy special with Punkie Johnson, who was on SNL, who I loved, and that special I’m really proud of. And I have a couple feature film narratives that I’m working on right now. Hopefully by middle or late next year, we can get going into production on one of those. One’s very silly, and the other one is a much darker, almost bleakly dark, comedy. That one I’m very excited about.
Do you think you’ll continue doing documentaries down the line? Is there anyone you’d love to make a film about in the future?
Yeah, there are people that I am very interested in doing documentaries on. With documentaries, it’s all access and prior relationships. Also, being able to make something where you either have final cut or you aren’t going to be forced into making a commercial for an artist. I’m trying to avoid that. I’ve had a lot of meetings with music labels and different people who want to do docs. But so far, the creative control thing is a bit of an issue. Comedians are surprisingly [willing to] let you do the thing, in my experience. They’ve trusted me. I would hope I can gain that with a musician or whomever.
It’s a tricky landscape right now for creatives. Things have changed so much even in the short time that you’ve been in the business. What advice do you have for someone who aspires to work in film and TV?
I guess it depends on what side of the business you’re on. If you’re a writer, it’s an incredibly challenging time. I do think you probably want to move to New York or Los Angeles just to be a part of that ecosystem. Some people say you can live anywhere; I think it does help to be around, and people know you and think of you for writers’ rooms and all that kind of stuff. I still think there’s value in that.
With directing, you just gotta go make something. I delayed making my own thing for a long time. I was about 27 when I made my first thing that I thought people could see and I was proud of. This is a controversial statement: College is nice, but for filmmakers, sometimes if you get those extra years to just create and travel and spend that money that you’re going to spend on college tuition experiencing life, I don’t think that’s a bad option. But that’s up to you. College is great, but I do think life experience, having something to say, and a perspective is the most important thing for any artist.
Are We Good? will be in select theaters on October 3rd, with a wider release on October 5th and 8th. Click here for tickets and showtimes.
To learn more about Steven Feinartz, visit his website.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
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