I remember hearing about this case back in 2006. When it made national news, I found myself paying attention for a few reasons. First because, once again, it seemed like a group of privileged athletes were going to get away with something. And second, because I almost went to Duke and was horrified that something like this could happen there (or really on any college campus). I assumed they were guilty, mostly because of the way this story was being reported in the media, but I think partly also because rape and sexual assault on campus is a reality. After watching Fantastic Lies, there’s a lot we can learn about not rushing to judgement. I think we have to believe in the presumed innocence of anyone who is suspected and/or charged with a crime. It’s hard not to let our own prejudices and preconceived notions take over, but we have to try harder and do better for the falsely accused and the innocent.

In Fantastic Lies, director Marina Zenovich takes us back to the night of March 13, 2006, when Duke University lacrosse players threw a team party that ended up changing lives, ruining careers, tarnishing a university’s reputation and even jeopardizing the future of the sport at the school. The film, premiering on the 10th anniversary of the party, revisits an incident that ignited what became a national firestorm and resulted in a highly-charged legal investigation. Usually confined to the sports section, lacrosse suddenly appeared on the front pages of newspapers because of the lurid details of the case and the hot buttons that it pushed: sex, race, class, violence.
I wanted to find out a little bit more about what made director Marina Zenovich interested in this story, how she got the families of the accused to talk to her and what she hopes people will take away from the film. What follows is our email exchange:
TV GOODNESS:Â How did you hear about this story and how did you decide you were going to tell it?
Marina Zenovich: “I read about the story when it happened. I was approached to make the film and felt it would be a compelling documentary.”
TV GOODNESS: The interviews you have with the family members are incredibly powerful. How easy or hard was it to get them to talk to you about this case and how it affected them?
Marina: “It took several months to get them to talk. Initially they said no, but little by little as I got an interview here and there I ended up getting Tricia Dowd to talk and then I got the Seligmanns and Kevin Finnerty. The interviews themselves were very intense and emotional.”
TV GOODNESS: I would have liked to hear Duke University’s justifications for their actions, but I know you weren’t able to get any of the administrators to talk on camera. Did they give you reasons for declining or did you just not hear back at all?
Marina: “I met with the communications person at Duke who actually said to me, ‘You need me move than I need you.’ I told him I was well aware of that fact, but that I still wanted an interview. They declined.”
TV GOODNESS: If they had agreed to be interviewed, what would you have asked them?
Marina: “I would have asked them to explain — step by step — how they heard about the party, how they responded, what they did, who advised them. I would ask for a play-by-play of how they responded internally, how involved their board was. Then I would have them reflect on what, in hindsight, they felt they did wrong. Would they do it different today? I have my set questions that I ask, but then I just work off what people tell me in their answers.”

TV GOODNESS: The media circus really damaged these young men and their reputations. How important was it to tell their stories in this documentary?
Marina: “To me, it was very important to see what can happen in a situation like this and how it can damage reputations and lives.”
TV GOODNESS: What is the one thing you want people to take away from watching the film?
Marina: “We should not be so quick to judge; also do not assume that our elected official are telling the truth.”
Fantastic Lies premieres Sunday, March 13th at 9/8c on ESPN.
Related posts
3 Comments
Leave a Reply Cancel reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Classics
Scott McCord and Elizabeth Saunders Talk the From Season 2 finale
[Warning: Spoilers for the season finale.] How’s everyone doing after that finale? While we wait and wonder and hope for a third season announcement, soon, here’s what Scott McCord and Elizabeth Saunders had to say about their parts of the finale, and where they hope they get to go next….
Scott McCord and Elizabeth Saunders Talk From Season 2 + A Season Finale Preview
[Warning: General spoilers ahead.] It all comes down this, #FROMily. As Sunday’s episode wraps up Season 2, we begin with the aftermath of the terrifying onset of seemingly simultaneous attacks on Julie, Marielle, and Randall, which accelerate the “We gotta get out of this place” of it all. Sara comes…
Alison Sweeney Talks About What’s Next for Hannah and Mike After Carrot Cake Murder: A Hannah Swensen Mystery
[Warning: Spoilers for Carrot Cake Murder.] Everybody OK after that Hannah Swensen Mystery twist? Thankfully, our favorite crime-solving couple is still on speaking term, even if they’re on a break (hopefully not that kind of break). Most importantly, we already know this isn’t the last film in the series. No…
Counting Down to From Season 2
[Warning: General spoilers ahead.] We’re just shy of two weeks away from Season 2 of last spring’s obsession, From, which premieres at 9 pm/8c, Sunday, April 23rd, on MGM+ (formerly EPIX). If you never picked it up last year, now’s your chance, and you can do it for free, catching…
Thank Me Later: Will Trent
[Warning: spoilers ahead.] I’m on record as loving and losing shows over at ABC so I’m usually very reticent to pick something up on the network until it’s been renewed, and I seriously hope I’m not jinxing it, but I took a chance on the deeply odd and very sweet…
Dennis Heaton Talks The Imperfects
Longtime readers at TV Goodness will know that Motive is one of my ride-or-die series, and as such, I am fiercely loyal to its creator, Dennis Heaton. He followed up that fantastic reverse procedural with Netflix’s The Order and is back on our streaming screens with The Imperfects, which dropped…
Kelly McCormack Talks Favorite Moments in A League of Their Own
[Warning: Mild spoilers for season 1.] Now that you’ve had a chance to watch A League of Their Own, here’s the rest of my chat with Kelly McCormack about her favorite moments of the season. Seeing the iconic Peaches uniforms for the first time wasn’t just a goosebump moment for…
John Griffin and Harold Perrineau Talk From Season 1 Finale
[Warning: General spoilers ahead.] How are we doing, #FROMily? In case you missed it this morning, the very good news is that that cliffhanger will be followed by a second season, which was gifted this morning ahead of the linear broadcast of the finale. I always legitimately appreciate when we…
Elizabeth Saunders Talks From
[Warning: General spoilers ahead.] One of the things that makes EPIX’s From such a fun ride is the abundance of Canadian cast members. Elizabeth Saunders, who plays Donna, is a favorite from her turn on the third season of Mary Kills People [streaming on Global TV in Canada and Roku…
Corteon Moore Talks From “Broken Windows, Open Doors”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode.] Tonight’s episode of From had us all in our feels as we learned through flashbacks about the Sophie’s Choice Boyd had to make to save his son, and back in the present as Boyd said his piece with Ellis before heading into the woods with…
What They Said: Three Revealing Conversations from Survivor’s Remorse “Closure”
WARNING: Spoilers for Survivor’s Remorse “Closure” The latest episode of Starz’s Survivor’s Remorse featured conversations that showed characters really digging deep into their thoughts, emotions and motivations.
Two Takes: The Catch “The Knock-Off”
Who can you trust? If this episode of The Catch was any indication, the answer is just about nobody. Betrayal was running rampant as Felicity (Shivani Ghai) arose from the dead to seduce-con Margot, Gretchen (Maria Thayer, Gotham, The Mindy Project) played gold-hearted Alice 2.0 before swindling Ethan, Tessa jumped…
What They Said: Top 3 Quotable Moments from Preacher “El Valero”
Both Quincannon and Jesse refuse to give up on what they each think is rightfully theirs. While Jesse is struggling to face the consequences of his actions, Quincannon has laid his past demons to rest and is hellbent on moving forward and putting Annville on the map again. Despite a…
What They Said: Favorite Quotes from Supergirl “Worlds Finest”
Oh, Supergirl. That ending was cold. But I can’t hate on you because the latest episode has quickly become one of my favorites.
What They Said: Top 4 Quotable Moments from Black Sails “XXIII”
The dialogue in “XXIII” is phenomenal. It’s always a fun ride when Black Sails carries its viewers along without giving them the chance to catch their breath. When an episode moves at this unforgiving pace, there is no chance for a breather nor is there a respite from the information…
What Lucifer Said: Favorite quotes from Supernatural “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”
Supernatural episodes are almost always funny but thanks to the dialogue and a certain man speaking said dialogue, I laughed a lot during “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” You know, when I wasn’t busy fearing for Sam’s life or wondering what in the world was going on with Dean and…
What They Said: The Flash, “Legends Of Today” and Arrow, “Legends Of Yesterday”
Two nights of Arrow + The Flash = what more could we ask for?! I don’t know what it is about blending these shows, but I can’t help but feel that every time they come together, they somehow become greater than the sum of their parts. And that’s saying a lot…
What they Said: Top 4 Quotable Moments from Graceland “Little Bo Bleep”
Shoot outs. Fake outs. And long-awaited revelations. “Little Bo Bleep” was a jam-packed episode that wrapped up some loose ends and totally frayed others. Â It finally gave us one Sarkissian in jail and pulled back the curtain on Briggs’ master plan, but it also set up Jakes for a world…
What They Said: Favorite Quotes from Poldark “Part 4”
“What have I told you, I don’t require my wife to crochet and sip tea, but I do require her to remember she’s not a beast of burden.†No, I’m not talking about The Rolling Stones! I have to admit though, just for a second, the lyrics popped into my…
3 Moments of Goodness from Brooklyn Nine-Nine “Johnny and Dora”
The most satisfying part of this season’s finale has to the Jake and Amy kiss. Well, they kiss three times but the last one is the best one — and it means something. The Charles and Rosa dynamic was also great. I love how she’s convinced he doesn’t know anything…
Nifong isn’t the real culprit. It was the Duke faculty. For about 100 of them published a rebuke of the Duke lacrosse players when the case first came up. But even after they were exonerated they published it again saying that they were originally right anyway (or something to that effect). These are the people teaching our youngsters how to live in the world, how to be rational so that they can make good decisions in their lives. These are the people that should have been put on trial also. Further, I’d bet that they are like all US college faculties, intellectually dishonest. This what should have come out in the 30-30 piece but didn’t. Bias by MS Zenowich, no doubt.
Thanks for your comment. I agree that Duke is culpable, but I don’t know to what degree. Nifong is guilty of prosecutorial misconduct and was disbarred for his role in this case. I asked director Marina Zenovich if she approached Duke University administration to get their side and she did, but they refused to talk on-camera. I also find it interesting that Duke settled with every single lacrosse player. That screams wrongdoing to me, although we don’t know the terms of the settlements. I’m sure there’s a lot of bias in this doc, but I thought the director did a great job in telling this story from the POV of the players and their families.
The meaning of her story is that there are bad prosecutors with Nifong as the example. Thus, the three lacrosse players are involved in the Innocence Project. Nifong was a SOB but he’s not indicative of the ‘system’ which is her underlying reason for this doc. But the story, not told or even mentioned here, of the faculty is universal in our university system and that is the one that should be told. My guess is that it doesn’t fit the author’s politics so as in all documentaries, they are biased.