James Jordan, the father of basketball legend Michael Jordan, was found tragically murdered in the middle of swamp just days after his 57th birthday in 1993. There were many mysterious circumstances surrounding his death, but the investigation and trial were deemed a success, resulting in the conviction of two teenage boys.

But why does one of the convicted still proclaim his innocence almost 30 years later?

We are joined by award-winning director and producer of the soon to be released docu-series Moment of Truth, Matthew Perniciaro. The five-part series uses never-before-seen archive footage to tell the story behind the murder of James Jordan. It also tackles police corruption in Robeson County, North Carolina, and how that may have influenced the murder investigation.

Matthew aims to give us insights into how Michael dealt with his father's death, and what made this crime so hard to solve. He explains what motivated him to make Moment of Truth, and the challenges he faced along the way.

Moment of Truth premieres on IMDb TV, Amazon’s premium free streaming service, on April 2nd.

“Despite the fact that we think we’ve made so much progress as a society and as a culture, this just shows how far we still have to go.” - Matthew Perniciaro

Time Stamps:

00:09 - The trailer for Moment of Truth.
03:15 - When and where the docu-series will be released.
04:10 - What the series is about.
06:41 - Who James Jordan was and how supportive he was of his kids.
08:48 - The mysteries surrounding James’s whereabouts before his death.
10:15 - The cross-county search and the difficulties with identifying his body.
11:43 - The acceptance of the suspects' guilt at the time.
14:21 - How Michael Jordan was affected by his father's death.
15:52 - Why Michael and his family didn’t want to do an interview for the film.
18:10 - The history of police corruption in Robeson County, NC.
25:04 - The public disbelief surrounding the narrative of the case.
32:57 - The issues with the police interrogations of the suspects.
37:24 - How the idea to make the docu-series came about.
40:57 - How Covid disrupted the filming process.
45:24 - What Matthew's experiences were in directing the series.
48:05 - The difference between being a producer and an executive producer.
50:45 - What Matthew's goals are when he chooses which films to produce.
57:17 - The different projects he is now working on.  

Resources:

Moment of Truth (2021)
Disclosure (1994)
The Truffle Hunters (2020)
The Fight (2020)
Bow and Arrow Entertainment
Sundance Film Festival
Alamo Pictures

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