#73 The Con|2008 Financial Crisis|Docuseries|True Crime|Eric Vaughan & Cindy Castro DiRusso

Nowhere To Go But Up

On today’s show I welcome two people who worked on a series I find fascinating, The Con. Director Eric Vaughn and producer Cindy Castro DiRusso join me to discuss the docuseries itself, along with the subject it covers, the 2008 financial crisis. We delve deep into the production of the show including how HBO’s The Jinx influenced production, why recreation was necessary, and why it made sense to simplify the message for the audience.

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We also discuss Cindy’s connection to the financial regulation world, the Obama administration's shortcomings, Hollywood assumptions, the COVID economy, MMT, being too big to fail, not launching on larger streaming platforms, and lessons from the crisis and the series.

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Eric Vaughn is the director of The Con, an in-depth docuseries investigating the 2008 financial crisis. It is available to stream on thecon.tv, with the first episode streaming for free. Eric has 65 to 70% of The Con season 2 ready if there is enough support for season one, so be sure to buy this season.

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Cindy Castro DiRusso is a producer and casting director, who did both for The Con. She is also the casting director and producer on the upcoming dark comedy, Worst. Christmas. Ever. It is available for pre-order now on iTunes, and releases on VOD platforms on November 3rd.

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Website for The Con:

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https://www.thecon.tv/

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The Ripple Effect Co-Hosted Episode W/ Patrick Lovell:

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https://nowheretogobutupnow.libsyn.com/55-swap-cast-w-the-ripple-effect-podcast-patrick-lovell-the-producer-of-the-con

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Eric Vaughan is an award-winning commercial director/producer with extensive experience in leading edge media production from narrative films to VR/immersive experiences. Eric has recently completed his longform documentary series directorial debut, THE CON.

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Eric has been producing long form unscripted content for more than 9 years since founding RED POINT DIGITAL(RPD), in 2011. Most notably, his adventure series, RIDGE REAPER, had a three-year run on Outdoor Channel. Ridge Reaper is noted for changing the outdoor adventure genre significantly by bringing a true documentary approach. His work on Ridge Reaper created exposure for UNDER ARMOUR’s, at the time nascent outdoor line of apparel; helping to make it the most recognized brand in that category.

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Eric’s role at RPD is as owner, director, producer and writer. His company has produced festival award-winning shorts including: THE CAT, RPD’s first venture into stop motion animation. RPD is also a Knight Foundation Arts Grant recipient and is using that award to produce more stop motion and immersive content while training Akron,Ohio’s next generation of animation and VR artists.

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Eric lives and works in Akron, OH.

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Cindy Castro DiRusso, Producer/Casting Director

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Prior to relocating to Ohio, Cindy worked on popular series' such as The Jimmy Kimmel Show and The Voice. With a strong background in casting and talent management, some of her most prolific work was for casting Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares and other hit reality TV shows on Fox, NAT GEO and other major networks. She also represented many brand deals for her talent roster for social media influencers.

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Through her industry work in Youngstown, Cindy has cultivated many strong relationships with local film crew, industry professionals and state/local government officials. Recently, her first feature film, Worst. Christmas. Ever., was distributed during the worldwide pandemic. Another project she distributed during the pandemic, is a docume --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/no-where-to-go-but-up/message