W. Kamau Bell

And they were essential to the thing. And so very quickly, I realized, oh, well, I'm going to call the... Cosby was in jail at this point. Oh, I'm going to call the cast. I'm going to email the cast of The Cosby Show and send these letters and da-da-da-da-da. And I had a couple conversations with a couple of them that were great.

Oh, yeah. Absolutely. And I would never divulge who it was or whatever. Maybe it was nobody. Maybe I'm lying. Maybe I made it up. But yeah, so great conversations, but no. And that's when I realized how deep it was and what I'd gotten into. And that's when you start to go.

Oh, yeah. Absolutely. And I would never divulge who it was or whatever. Maybe it was nobody. Maybe I'm lying. Maybe I made it up. But yeah, so great conversations, but no. And that's when I realized how deep it was and what I'd gotten into. And that's when you start to go.

And also, I know there's like three or four other, at least two other Cosby docs out there that are finished or close to being finished that people have tried to make. that have just, that are sitting on shelves.

And also, I know there's like three or four other, at least two other Cosby docs out there that are finished or close to being finished that people have tried to make. that have just, that are sitting on shelves.

So I thought maybe this, so I kept thinking, maybe this is just gonna be that. And then COVID hit.

So I thought maybe this, so I kept thinking, maybe this is just gonna be that. And then COVID hit.

Yeah, no, I was just like, I'm just gonna keep making it. And I kept waiting for Showtime. I kept sort of being like, at some point, somebody might tell me, just put your pencils down. We're not doing this.

Yeah, no, I was just like, I'm just gonna keep making it. And I kept waiting for Showtime. I kept sort of being like, at some point, somebody might tell me, just put your pencils down. We're not doing this.

So until that point, I'm just gonna keep sort of like, and the thing that, and this is great about Vinny and Boardwalk, Andrew Freed, is that every time we ran into a creative problem, they were sort of down to figure it out. And every time I had these weird ideas, they were sort of down to let me try them. So it really became like, well, at least I get to do whatever I wanna do. Yeah.

So until that point, I'm just gonna keep sort of like, and the thing that, and this is great about Vinny and Boardwalk, Andrew Freed, is that every time we ran into a creative problem, they were sort of down to figure it out. And every time I had these weird ideas, they were sort of down to let me try them. So it really became like, well, at least I get to do whatever I wanna do. Yeah.

So I might as well just do it. And I found a crew of people. I'm directing it through Zoom. Most of those interviews happened on Zoom. But yeah, I kept sort of, and then we had to break during COVID. And I kept sort of being like, maybe it's just dead. And you get a call, we're starting up again. Yay. And then we go back out and film.

So I might as well just do it. And I found a crew of people. I'm directing it through Zoom. Most of those interviews happened on Zoom. But yeah, I kept sort of, and then we had to break during COVID. And I kept sort of being like, maybe it's just dead. And you get a call, we're starting up again. Yay. And then we go back out and film.

And what was supposed to be our last day of filming was the day of the book. And we were in Philadelphia. And it was Cosby's, the day he got out of prison. That's in the movie, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. We have a lot of people who study the case and everything, but nobody was preparing for that. Nobody thought that was coming. Legally, I would argue it was the right thing to do.

And what was supposed to be our last day of filming was the day of the book. And we were in Philadelphia. And it was Cosby's, the day he got out of prison. That's in the movie, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. We have a lot of people who study the case and everything, but nobody was preparing for that. Nobody thought that was coming. Legally, I would argue it was the right thing to do.

Well, we talk about that in the thing. It was a bunch of bad decisions, a bunch of bad legal things that had happened. Yeah. So it's not a technicality. People say it's a technicality. But it is a bunch of like. It was honoring an agreement. It was honoring an agreement that the next political attorney general flipped on. Yeah. But people try to frame it as like it proves that he's innocent.

Well, we talk about that in the thing. It was a bunch of bad decisions, a bunch of bad legal things that had happened. Yeah. So it's not a technicality. People say it's a technicality. But it is a bunch of like. It was honoring an agreement. It was honoring an agreement that the next political attorney general flipped on. Yeah. But people try to frame it as like it proves that he's innocent.

It's not that. No. It's about like legalese being not lived up to correctly. And so they let him out. But it had nothing to do with his case about whether or not he did what he did. Because he admitted to what he had done.

It's not that. No. It's about like legalese being not lived up to correctly. And so they let him out. But it had nothing to do with his case about whether or not he did what he did. Because he admitted to what he had done.

Yeah, exactly.