To accompany the new Tom McCarthy-Matt Damon movie “Stillwater” — recently lauded at the Cannes Film Festival, and set to be released in theaters Friday — Focus Features and L.A. Times studios have partnered to produce a new podcast miniseries called “Convicted: Across Borders,” hosted by attorney and author Marcia Clark. The first episode has premiered today on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcherand Google Podcasts.
In “Stillwater,” Damon plays an Oklahoman construction worker whose daughter (Abigail Breslin) is convicted of murder in France. Reflecting the plot of the film, “Convicted: Across Borders” will delve into the subject matter of crimes allegedly committed by citizens of the United States while traveling internationally.
After its Tuesday debut, “Convicted’s” five-episode run will be released on Thursdays through Aug. 19. Clark will interview people who have been convicted of crimes abroad, as well as their families and foreign policy experts. “Stillwater” director McCarthy, who won an Oscar for original screenplay for 2015’s best picture winner, “Spotlight,” will also appear on “Convicted,” as will stars Damon and Breslin. Treefort Media, behind such podcasts as “Fatal Voyage: The Mysterious Death of Natalie Wood,” also produces.
In its logline, “Convicted” is described as a podcast that “will explore how seemingly benign actions can lead to incarceration in foreign lands, how to navigate different legal systems when you don’t speak the language, and who one turns to when the closest help is thousands of miles away.”
Clark was the lead prosecutor in the O.J. Simpson murder trial, and resigned from the Los Angeles district attorney’s office after she lost. Since then, she has become a legal pundit and writer.
“These stories, never before told on a podcast, are as fascinating as they are harrowing,” Clark said in the announcement. “The bravery of the people who were wrongfully imprisoned and the fortitude of the friends and family who went to enormous lengths to free them is both inspiring and incredibly moving.”
