INTERVIEW: Investigation Discovery looks back at ‘Gypsy’s Revenge’
Photo: Gypsy Rose Blanchard is the subject of the new documentary Gypsy’s Revenge. Photo courtesy of Investigation Discovery / Provided by PR team with permission.
Investigation Discovery, which has cornered the market on true-crime documentaries, will air its new special, Gypsy’s Revenge, Tuesday, Nov. 6 at 9 p.m. The film looks at the tragic and unsettling case of Dee Dee Blanchard and Gypsy Rose Blanchard, a mother and daughter who will unfortunately live in headline infamy.
According to a press release from the network, Dee Dee was killed in her own home, and, although it baffled people who knew them, the spotlight eventually turned to her daughter, Gypsy Rose. This is the same daughter who for years was falsely led to believe she was chronically ill with a terminal disease. The case started out as a series of horrible, abusive lies told by her mother (Munchausen syndrome by proxy is the term often used), and then it turned into an act of violence that ended in Gypsy Rose heading to jail.
Gypsy’s Revenge recounts this unusual case by reexamining the facts and re-interviewing the many parties involved, including Gypsy Rose herself.
Recently, Jesse Vile, a freelance writer and director hired for the film, exchanged emails with Hollywood Soapbox about the new documentary. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What can audience members expect from Gypsy’s Revenge?
I think they can expect to hear a very unique and tragic coming-of-age story about a girl trying to grow up with a mother who simply would not allow. For me, the revenge aspect of this story is the fight back against a stolen childhood and an adulthood held captive, as once Gypsy realized that her mother was keeping her from becoming a woman she took the only course of action she felt she had, which ultimately led to tragedy.
How did the team receive a prison interview with Gypsy?
Gypsy initially turned down our request for an interview, but after a few months of corresponding with her family and them getting to know us and our intentions, she gradually started opening up to the idea and agreed to the interview. In fact, it wasn’t until after we met and interviewed her father that she finally agreed to it.
Do you believe there are lessons to be learned for the audience (although admittedly this is an unusual and extreme case)?
There are many lessons to be learned with Gypsy’s story; however, one lesson for the audience I suppose is that things aren’t always as they appear and that people may not actually be as happy as they seem on the surface. But another and much more important lesson is that violence and murder is never the answer.
How long does it take to pull together a documentary like this?
The actual production of this film took about eight months, which included research, gaining access to contributors, writing, shooting, editing and post-production. But there was a period of pre-production that included research and development. Overall, the entire process took about a year.
What do you tell critics who are uncomfortable with the subject matter and the replaying of such tragic events for a TV audience?
This is a very good question and a common topic of discussion currently with the sharp increase in popularity of true crime documentaries and television. For me, I’m most comfortable watching and making films with a true crime element that treat the subject matter and the people involved, particularly the victims and their families, with dignity and respect. What I am not comfortable with is when tragic stories are framed and packaged purely as entertainment without any regard for the victims. Murder and violence is an extremely unfortunate but very real aspect of our society, and to not document it would be untruthful. Although we should never forget what it really is and how it affects people’s lives.
What kind of research goes into a project like this?
All of our research for this story came from the people who experienced it first-hand, which meant our producer, Sophie Cunningham, spending hours corresponding with people over the phone and through email asking loads of questions that we both had going into the film. We also researched Munchausen by Proxy and other cases to try and understand how Gypsy’s experience was different.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Gypsy’s Revenge will premiere Tuesday, Nov. 6 at 9 p.m. on Investigation Discovery. Click here for more information.
