Ep488 - Thom Zimny, Director Netflix's Sylvester Stallone Documentary ‘Sly’

“What led me into filmmaking was being in the world and being dyslexic,” said documentarian Thom Zimny, who got into music and then editing before becoming a filmmaker. Zimny is known for his work as a music video director with Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan. He’s the Director of Elvis Presley: The Searcher, The Gift: The Journey of Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson & Family, and now Sly. Sly follows “the nearly fifty year prolific career of Sylvester Stallone, who has entertained millions, is seen in retrospective in an intimate look of the actor, writer, director-producer, paralleling with his inspirational life story.” In this interview, we talk about shifting from editor to director, not telling Sly in a linear fashion, not forcing a POV, themes of fathers and sons, themes that had not been overanalyzed, avoiding short-hand versions of history, and what Sly taught him about ambition. Want more? Steal my first book, Ink by the Barrel - Secrets From Prolific Writers right now for free. Simply head over to www.brockswinson.com to get your free digital download and audiobook. If you find value in the book, please share it with a friend as we’re giving away 100,000 copies this year. It’s based on over 400 interviews here at Creative Principles. Enjoy! If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It only takes about 60-seconds and it really helps convince some of the hard-to-get guests to sit down and have a chat (simply scroll to the bottom on your iTunes Podcast app and click “Write Review"). Enjoy the show!