Telemarketers | Official Trailer | HBO | August 13 | 3-part documentary from Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie and Danny McBride
- Thread starter DinkyDev
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in Finland certain wild life preservation/unicef selling telemarketers were caught pretty much coercing the elderly to leave 50% of their assets to the associations via completely free testament help/writing with "lawyers".. insane shit.
Happy for Aesop Rock and Rob Sonic. Recognized the beat immediately.
After uncut gems and good time I'm down for anything the safdie brothers make! Didn't even know about this but imma watch it tonight
I took edibles and watched this and How To With John Wilson for the first time. Fuckin trip...
I actually used to get calls from these fucks all of the time. Never understood why. I never gave them a fucking dime. Anytime I heard 'We represent the coalition of (insert group)", they immediately heard me hang up. One said they represented a military branch one time. I kindly informed him that he was a scam artist and I was calling the FBI because members of the United States military are prohibited by law from asking for money or donations of any kind from civilians.
Just finished the first episode, which was fantastic.
I actually got one of these calls yesterday. Not sure what company, but they essentially followed the same script to the beat. I actually didn't realize it was bullshit. Never gave them anything, but damn.
I'm going to have to ask about the percentages if they call back.
Edit: I fucking love Pat. There's no way that guy is alive now.
I actually got one of these calls yesterday. Not sure what company, but they essentially followed the same script to the beat. I actually didn't realize it was bullshit. Never gave them anything, but damn.
I'm going to have to ask about the percentages if they call back.
Edit: I fucking love Pat. There's no way that guy is alive now.
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Damn, this show just hit me like a time capsule as I was working nearby New Brunswick and the ghetto vibes from the office to the characters working there, I had been around that kinda shit and this documentary captured it so well. I really need to let my old co-workers and my old company owners to watch this. I had worked at an Managed Service Provider and the owners hired peeps at half way houses for their telemarketing department. It was definitely the opposite work environment that this show had but it was cool to say the least for me, that my former company was helping out ex-cons for jobs when no one was helping. (Even though my company sucked ass, but not compared to this show lol)
But yea, shits wild, I'm tempted to Google search more of what happen in this show but I'll save myself the spoils. Working with people like Pat, he is the man!
But yea, shits wild, I'm tempted to Google search more of what happen in this show but I'll save myself the spoils. Working with people like Pat, he is the man!
Just finished the first episode which has me very intrigued.
But what's Danny McBrides role in this?
But what's Danny McBrides role in this?
An El-P beat for the opening credits too 👌🏽
This really highlights how over-produced and forced documentaries have been in recent years *cough* Netflix *cough*.
Fucking wild stuff from just running the camera, tight editing, and straight-to-the-point talking heads.
Watching this, it's oddly compelling and brings up a lot of memories because I worked for a very similar place during university.
Episode 2 was great - found the ending to be pretty moving. Very excited to see just how much wilder this gets in the finale.
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I did this for two years when I was working on my study. It felt like I was under a spell of Dracula.
Every single time I gave up hope the company stimulated me to stay by providing me with big sales bonuses.
At the end I was drained and it took me weeks to actually have the energy to apply for a job.
I get Fraternal Order of Police calls all the time even though I have told them to take me off the list and to fuck off, but I never really thought about like what they are, just that they are associated with cops.
I like Pat, a lot of junkies will become terrible people over time scheming and doing what they need to do for to get well but he seems like he just does his dope and carries on with a good attitude.
I worked in a call center for a bit raising money for the DNC, it was definitely nothing like the work environment at the place in the show but I might have stayed if it was, instead it was boring and sterile. The goal was the same, if someone has two pennies to their name you take both and don't leave them with any.
I like Pat, a lot of junkies will become terrible people over time scheming and doing what they need to do for to get well but he seems like he just does his dope and carries on with a good attitude.
I worked in a call center for a bit raising money for the DNC, it was definitely nothing like the work environment at the place in the show but I might have stayed if it was, instead it was boring and sterile. The goal was the same, if someone has two pennies to their name you take both and don't leave them with any.
I didn't know if it was him or RJD2 but I knew it was one of them haha
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So this is the company that pioneered the telemarketing/charity scam that still exists in 2023, Civic Development Group.
I always wondered if these fundraising/charity calls that were coming from the Fraternal Order of Police that I got constantly in the early 2000s was actually coming from some call center run by a shady company because each time I got the call, it was a person reading from the same script.
Started watching this documentary series and so far it's great. Glad that this scam is being exposed for what it is.
There's some media coverage for this HBO documentary:
www.nytimes.com
time.com
This Rolling Stone article reports that
:
www.rollingstone.com
I always wondered if these fundraising/charity calls that were coming from the Fraternal Order of Police that I got constantly in the early 2000s was actually coming from some call center run by a shady company because each time I got the call, it was a person reading from the same script.
Started watching this documentary series and so far it's great. Glad that this scam is being exposed for what it is.
There's some media coverage for this HBO documentary:
Hello? It’s ‘Telemarketers,’ Here to Tell You About an Amazing Scam
In a rowdy new HBO docu-series, two former telemarketers with a camcorder take on an industry they say was ripping people off in the name of charity.
The Story Behind HBO's Telemarketers
Filmmaker Sam Lipman-Stern on bringing the wild scam story to screen
This Rolling Stone article reports that
Pat Pespass was alive as of "mid-2020" and was "clean, sober, out of rehab"
HBO's 'Telemarketers' Exposes a Billion-Dollar Scam the Cops Are in On
Docuseries from Adam Bhala Lough and Sam Lipman-Stern, along with the Safdies, shines a light on the huge grift that is the telemarketing industry.
www.rollingstone.com
When Lough and Lipman-Stern began to fill Safdie in on what happened after that, and how this model had evolved into a billion-dollar scam around the country, he went: OK, there is your docuseries. Benny, Josh and their production company Elara also came on as producers, with Benny helping the filmmakers to shape an arc, blend the early footage and their later investigative material, and suggest where to fill in the gaps with new reporting. Meanwhile, Pat was now clean, sober, out of rehab, and filled with a renewed sense of purpose about the film. By mid-2020, they were ready to hit the road again.
"It was the best shape I'd seen Pat in, in a long time," Sam says. "You know, he was essentially raised by motorcycle gangs. Pat's dad was a tattoo artist for the Hell's Angels. There were drug dealers, murderers, bank robbers working the phones next to us, and he was as street-smart as any of those guys. And he knows how to talk to people. That's what made him such a good interviewer."
"And he also has a strong moral center, which is what makes him a great muckraker," Lough adds. "I mean, Pat is the rare guy who can hang with a gang-banger from Newark and a hedge-fund manager, and be best friends with both of them. But he's also not an outsider coming in and trying to dig up the dirt. He was the guy doing the dirt! Pat knows this world and he has a desire to make things right because of that. He was our North Star for this."
Indeed, much of Telemarketers' sense of righteousness and its comedy come from Pespas, who could be a mensch, a tenacious interrogator and, occasionally, somewhat of a pain in the ass. At one point, the two schedule a key interview down in Florida, they drive to the airport… and Pat decides at the very last minute he can't get on the plane. ("I had never seen that actually happen in real life," Lough says. "I thought that only happened in movies.") Another time, Pat and Sam are staking out a policeman that they want to talk to, and nearly miss him because Pat insists on having lunch at a BBQ place nearby. Both scenes ended up in the series.
"It was the best shape I'd seen Pat in, in a long time," Sam says. "You know, he was essentially raised by motorcycle gangs. Pat's dad was a tattoo artist for the Hell's Angels. There were drug dealers, murderers, bank robbers working the phones next to us, and he was as street-smart as any of those guys. And he knows how to talk to people. That's what made him such a good interviewer."
"And he also has a strong moral center, which is what makes him a great muckraker," Lough adds. "I mean, Pat is the rare guy who can hang with a gang-banger from Newark and a hedge-fund manager, and be best friends with both of them. But he's also not an outsider coming in and trying to dig up the dirt. He was the guy doing the dirt! Pat knows this world and he has a desire to make things right because of that. He was our North Star for this."
Indeed, much of Telemarketers' sense of righteousness and its comedy come from Pespas, who could be a mensch, a tenacious interrogator and, occasionally, somewhat of a pain in the ass. At one point, the two schedule a key interview down in Florida, they drive to the airport… and Pat decides at the very last minute he can't get on the plane. ("I had never seen that actually happen in real life," Lough says. "I thought that only happened in movies.") Another time, Pat and Sam are staking out a policeman that they want to talk to, and nearly miss him because Pat insists on having lunch at a BBQ place nearby. Both scenes ended up in the series.
Pretty funny that my first reaction after the "time skip" between CDG being shutdown and them showing Pat again, but overweight, was to think "it looks like Pat got clean."
Watched the first episode and got flashbacks to my time working in telemarketing, it wasn't exactly like this - we weren't employing people fresh out of prison and turning a blind eye to drug taking in the office (I said IN the offce!), but was taken right back by a buzzing room full of characters bonding over that 'in the trenches' camaraderie and work hard, play hard attitude.
That Pat guy was a real wildcard, I would've definately gravitated towards him in that situation too, endlessly fascinating and a good guy despite any personal problems.
That Pat guy was a real wildcard, I would've definately gravitated towards him in that situation too, endlessly fascinating and a good guy despite any personal problems.
First two episodes were excellent. Awaiting part 3.
I don't know that I would call anything here "surprising" in the sense of "oh my god, they were scammers?!" But it's more in hearing them make the call, the flippancy with which managers and owners capitalized on this with a shrug. It's all really effective.
I don't know that I would call anything here "surprising" in the sense of "oh my god, they were scammers?!" But it's more in hearing them make the call, the flippancy with which managers and owners capitalized on this with a shrug. It's all really effective.
Last night I got four calls in a row from a Restricted Number waking me up. Was so obnoxious and I couldn't block the number even since my Android doesn't offer that feature for Restricted Numbers? Uhhh...
Finally I answered and it was a weird, slow talking guy who said he was named Sam Goodman from Publisher's Clearing House. Knew my last name too. I told him to stop calling me and he hung up, but then I spent hours not being able to tall asleep in fear he'd just call me again and wake me up.
Finally I answered and it was a weird, slow talking guy who said he was named Sam Goodman from Publisher's Clearing House. Knew my last name too. I told him to stop calling me and he hung up, but then I spent hours not being able to tall asleep in fear he'd just call me again and wake me up.
Depressing but pretty much expected ending.
It's funny, reading people call Pat an incompetent Michael Moore, I guess that's true. Whether anything comes out of it, who knows. But of course like pretty much everything bad in this world, it comes down to ACAB.
It's funny, reading people call Pat an incompetent Michael Moore, I guess that's true. Whether anything comes out of it, who knows. But of course like pretty much everything bad in this world, it comes down to ACAB.
Yeah, as great as he was at talking to people as a telemarketer he was absolutely awful in the interviews they had him doing in this.
I kind of wonder if it was mean to keep using him after his friend realizes that he's terrible, but outside of the actual interviews he carries the show. Even when he slips back into telemarketing and starts hustling again, it's like he didn't miss a beat.
(Although I wonder about the ethics of doing that...)
I mean, it's like riding a bike. This time he did it to get deeper and get some more information though. I agree that it feels wonky, but it was necessary for the undercover stuff, they got new information out of it because of that.
That said, I hope more people watch this. There's some very wild stuff that happened.