As in years past, varied artists SHOOT interviewed for phase one of its The Road To Emmy Series–including the Preview installment–have gone on to land nominations from TV Academy voters. For example, among those SHOOT connected with were director/writer/executive producer Olivia Newman and director/exec producer Alexandria Stapleton.
Newman and Stapleton earlier this week garnered their first career Emmy nominations. As an EP, Newman was part of an ensemble behind Remarkably Bright Creatures (Netflix) which was nominated for Outstanding Movie. Stapleton meanwhile picked up two nods for Sean Combs: The Reckoning (Netflix)–for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series, and Outstanding Directing for a Documentary Program.
Remarkably Bright Creatures earned a total of three nominations–the other two being for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie , and for Contemporary Costumes. The former went to Sally Field, her first Emmy nomination in 17 years.
Sean Combs: The Reckoning tallied three nods–the other for Outstanding Picture Editing for a Nonfiction Program.
Olivia Newman
For Remarkably Bright Creatures, Newman teamed with John Whittington to pen this big screen adaptation of Shelby Van Pelt’s novel of the same title, which had a lengthy run on The New York Times Best Sellers list. The movie stars Field as Tova, an elderly widow who works at a local aquarium where she forms a quirky yet heartfelt bond with an aging octopus, Marcellus. For brief intervals, Marcellus manages to successfully escape from his glass tank seemingly in search of something–akin to Tova who too is seeking some solace from the heart-wrenching death of her son years ago.
Tova also makes a human connection in this story–meeting by chance a wayward young man, Cameron (Lewis Pullman), who comes to town in search of family. Together, Tova, Cameron and Marcellus uncover a mystery that will lead them to a healing, life-changing discovery that restores their sense of wonder, fulfillment and purpose in life.
Conveying that resiliency, humor, joy and full emotional range of the protagonists were Field and Pullman. Field, who also served as a producer, was attached to the project before Newman came on board. Newman regarded having Field heading the cast as a blessing.
Several talented actors did camera auditions for the role of Cameron, recalled Newman. But when Pullman “walked into the room to read with Sally,” Newman said you could feel the chemistry as being “so natural” between them. “They fell into this wonderful banter,” said Newman who described the dynamic between them as feeling like “a nagging mom and annoying son” coming together, exuding all at once the tension, humor and lighthearted nature of their relationship.
“Lewis is just such a brilliant actor, so able to dig deep and go to vulnerable places” while retaining “incredible comedic teaming,” related Newman who in turn described Field as “a legend,” noting that watching her every day on set was like “a master class. Her comedic timing is just unreal. And Lewis was able to keep up with her. There was a lot of improv that would happen in scenes.”
Newman also found it gratifying to reunite with cinematographer Ashley Connor whom she had worked with on First Match. That project marked Newman’s feature directorial debut and went on to win an Audience Award at SXSW in 2018. Newman said of Connor, “She and I have been trying to work together ever since” but their schedules never quite aligned–until Remarkably Bright Creatures. Newman noted that the aforementioned improv was embraced by Connor, whose priority is to tell the story in the best way, connecting to what is happening in every scene emotionally. While the DP has a detailed shot list, she is open to possibilities as they emerge if and when the actors, said Newman, ”come up with something different,” Connor, continued Newman, is all in if it advances the characters and story. “She never says ‘no.’ Anything is possible.”
Alexandria Stapleton
The tendency for many after constant exposure to a sensationalized, seemingly inescapable story is to somehow try to escape its reach. One such all-to-real story has been the fall of Sean “Diddy” Combs amid allegations of sexual abuse, “freak-off” parties, human trafficking and acts of violence. Last October he was sentenced to four years and two months in prison for transporting people across state lines for sexual encounters, capping a high-profile federal case that featured harrowing testimony and ended in a forceful reckoning for one of the most popular figures in hip-hop.
Documentary filmmaker Alexandria Stapleton–a director and producer known for her work across sports, music, pop culture and social justice–saw the potential to do greater justice to the story, going beyond the sensationalized and delving into Combs’ life. As director and exec producer, she crafted a docuseries, Sean Combs: The Reckoning (Netflix), which brings context to the man and the events, engaging audiences on a deeper level–including a number of those viewers who sought to gain respite from the subject matter but found themselves drawn in by the substantive story uncovered by Stapleton. Upon its premiere in December 2025, Sean Combs: The Reckoning quickly became a widely discussed nonfiction release and the #1 TV show globally on Netflix. Underscoring Stapleton’s achievement realized through thoughtful storytelling was her DGA Award nomination earlier this year for “Official Girl,” the third episode of Sean Combs: The Reckoning, in the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary Series/News category. The docuseries also garnered a Gotham TV Award nod for Breakthrough Nonfiction Series.
Stapleton cried upon receiving the news that she was a DGA Award nominee. “It meant the world to me,” she said, noting that the DGA itself means a great deal to her. She is the daughter of a union leader and grew up in union culture. She’s been active in the Guild, serving as co-chair of the DGA documentary committee. Thus she regards it as the highest honor to be “artistically recognized by my peers” at the DGA.
The four-part docuseries–which saw Stapleton team with exec producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, a Grammy winner–is an insightful exploration of media mogul, music legend and convicted offender Combs, chronicling his meteoric rise to stardom and the pivotal role he played in making hip-hop mainstream and in launching the careers of assorted generation-defining artists like The Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, Jodeci, and Danity Kane. But along the way, and as detailed by his former associates, childhood friends, artists, and employees, something darker began to color Combs’ ambitions. Through explosive, never-before-seen material (including footage from the days leading up to Combs’s indictment and arrest, and exclusive interviews with those formerly in his orbit), this docuseries tells the story of a powerful, enterprising man, the empire he built–and the underworld that lay just beneath its surface.
Stapleton called the docuseries “the most challenging work I had ever embarked on. It was a very laborious project to pick a subject matter like this that was being reported on, all the salacious details which people were fixated on. I tried to go deeper, to earn the trust of victims so that they would feel comfortable enough to share their stories with me.”
There was the added dynamic of investigating an active story–one being pursued by other journalists and documentarians. Stapleton had to break away from the feeding frenzy, quiet that noise and make sure she was talking to “people who are bringing their truth to the table,” that her finger was on the pulse of “telling an authentic story.” She prioritized “giving opportunity to voices that had been silenced, allowing them to tell their truth.”
Towards that end, Stapleton conducted lengthy interviews, sometimes spanning several days. She wanted to create a safe space for those she interviewed, especially the victims–away from all the noise and chaos in the world surrounding them and the story.
The sheer volume of original material–hours of interviews–and archival footage was daunting, described by Stapleton as being in many respects “a maze at times.” She credited an ensemble of seven editors–Charles Divak, Jack Gravina, Jonathan Miller, Jeremy Siefer, Evan Wise, Adam Goldstein and Benjamin (“Benji”) Kast–with playing integral roles in navigating through that maze so that viewers could stay connected with the timeline, the events and the sheer emotion of the journey without being overwhelmed. Editorially it was “a Herculean task,” she assessed, noting that the editors were up to the challenge in that they are “great storytellers” and all were well grounded in working with complex characters.
In the big picture, there was another dynamic that Stapleton tapped into–the scope of the story. While it’s about Combs, the victims, and assorted others in music and entertainment fields, The Reckoning also extends to what the story says about us as a society, “a culture that sort of idolizes celebrity.” There were rumors of bad behavior–but others besides Combs himself could also be assigned some degree of culpability, wrapped up in the money, fame, the cool factor of creating art and influencing pop culture. There were “so many other adults who witnessed this guy’s behavior and no one did anything about it,” noted Stapleton. Do we as a society sometimes look away, and over the long haul does this translate into a reckoning for us as well?
The docuseries joins a body of work for Stapleton which includes her film-directing debut, Corman’s World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2011. She made another splash at Sundance in 2024 with The Price of Oil–the second leg of the God Saves Texas trilogy. And earlier this year, Stapleton again impacted Sundance with the world premiere of an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary which she directed and produced, The Brittney Griner Story, which follows basketball star Griner’s career and her nightmare imprisonment in Russia.
Among other notable credits for Stapleton are How Music Got Free, Reggie, Hello Privilege, Pride, and It’s Me, Chelsea.
This is the ninth installment of SHOOT’s weekly 15-part The Road To Emmy Series of feature stories, connecting with directors, producers, cinematographers, editors, production designers, VFX talent and assorted other artisans to gain insights into their work and their collaborators. Coverage of the Creative Arts Emmy winners will appear on September 5 and 6, and we will report on winners at the primetime Emmy Awards ceremony on September 14.
