Making Of O.J.: Made In America

What more was there to say about O.J. Simpson? But then director Ezra Edelman discovered in his epic film a whole untold saga about race.

- Andy Lewis

Director Ezra Edelman had more than the usual fears the first time he screened O.J.: Made in America, his $5 million documentary about the life and times of O.J. Simpson, the celebrated NFL Hall of Fame running back and celebrity pitchman who was accused and dramatically acquitted of the brutal 1994 murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman — only to become a pariah who has spent the past nine years in a Nevada prison for his role in an armed robbery. Edelman knew he was asking the group of about two dozen friends, family members and ESPN executive Connor Schell to devote more than 7½ hours to revisit the case, billed at the time as the “Trial of the Century,” which most people thought they already knew well. Tensely watching the room, he began to relax as, he recalls, “I felt the energy of the audience watching it.” When the screening was over, the crowd lingered. “It wasn’t like, ‘F— you. You kept us in a room for eight hours,’ ” jokes Edelman. “It was, ‘Let’s now talk about this.’ ” The group spent another 90 minutes debating the film. “All right,” thought Edelman, “maybe we have something here.”

His premonition proved correct. Despite both its length and competition from The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story — Ryan Murphy’s FX miniseries — O.J.: Made in America arguably has become the year’s most celebrated documentary. It has earned a spot on the shortlist of the 15 docs vying for an Oscar nomination, even as critics debate whether it properly can be considered one extended film or really is a five-episode TV program.