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Interview: Betsy West and Julie Cohen, Oscar-nominated directors of ‘RBG’

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Betsy West and Julie Cohen (Photo by Patrick Lewis/Starpix/REX/Shutterstock)

At the age of 85, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has developed a
breathtaking legal legacy while becoming an unexpected pop culture icon. But without a
definitive Ginsburg biography, the unique personal journey of this diminutive, quiet
warrior’s rise to the nation’s highest court has been largely unknown, even to some of her
biggest fans – until now. RBG is a revelatory documentary exploring Ginsburg ‘s
exceptional life and career from Betsy West and Julie Cohen, and co-produced by
Storyville Films and CNN Films.

I spoke with Betsy West and Julie Cohen, the directors of RBG, the double Oscar-nominated documentary of the life and victories of the judicial powerhouse. In our conversation we talk about the directing duos first meetings with RBG, her unique relationship with fellow Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and what it could tell us about how we interact with each other today.

RBG is currently available to rent or buy on DVD or streaming on Amazon. The 91st Oscars will take place on Sunday, February 24th, 2019 and air live on ABC.

Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013. He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.

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