Episode 2 – Steve James

Hog Butcher Radio Hour

In Episode Two of the Hog Butcher Radio Hour, Ron talks with filmmaker Steve James. From Hoop Dreams to last year’s documentary adaptation of Roger Ebert’s best-selling memoir Life Itself, Steve has established himself as one of the world’s top documentarians. Here, he talks with Ron about his amazing body of work, about why he sometimes finds himself at the heart of his own films, what effect being the subject of a film has on people, and how Hoop Dreams went from a short film to a nearly 3-hour film that spanned five years. The hour closes with Down To The Bottom, a little-heard cut off of the remarkable Chicago songwriter Brian Anderson’s record, Work We Do, Sounds We Hear.