THR Frontrunners Q&A With Ryan Scott Anderson & Melissa Moore of 'The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard' | THR Video - video Dailymotion

Hollywood Journal

Executive producer Melissa Moore and now-estranged husband Ryan Scott Anderson join THR's Brande Victorian to discuss the six-part docuseries 'The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard' at the THR Frontrunners Lifetime Showcase held at San Vicente Bungalows in Los Angeles.

Transcript

00:00I want to start, you know, from the beginning. Talk about those first conversations about doing

00:11this series and what was the intention behind it? Seven years ago, I was working in daytime talk

00:17and it was an assignment that I was given to go and see if I can secure Gypsy's interview for this

00:24talk show. When I sat down to meet with her, she was not interested. She said no and that's okay.

00:32So we sat there and just talked about regular life things and I found her environment really

00:39fascinating. I went to meet with her in a traditional, normal visiting area. So there's

00:48other inmates in the room. So I was not alone with Gypsy. I was in a room full of other inmates

00:55and what I found fascinating as she was sitting across from me is she started to tell me all these

01:00other inmate stories. She's like, that girl over there, she's in for killing her husband.

01:08And that girl over there, she's horrible to bunk with. I'm like, oh wow, this is like high school

01:16on steroids. Like, this is crazy. I found it really fascinating. And then one thing I found fascinating

01:22as well is that for the first time, Gypsy was a free woman and these female inmates were educating her

01:31on how to be a woman. So I don't, I'd like, you'll have to forgive me because it's been a while since

01:37we did the documentary and I don't know if we touched on this, but like one thing that was shocking

01:42to me that Gypsy told me was that when, uh, as a woman and forgive me, men in the room, but, um,

01:49her, when she would start her menstrual cycle, she, her mother would put her on, on regular,

01:54on kids' diapers. So she didn't know, like, just even feminine hygiene. Um, and so I was like, wow,

02:04this is, this is like a coming up age in prison. And so I stayed in touch with her. Um,

02:13and that was the start. There's so much to share. Sorry. I'll just shut up.

02:18Well, I mean, to that point, she said no at first, um, which is surprising to me because when you watch,

02:23she seems just like this open book and, and also very well adjusted to what she's been through,

02:29what was the process of getting her to want to share a story? Well, at the beginning, um, she

02:35wanted me to talk to her mom, Christy. She calls her stepmother, um, mom, Christy. And I just stayed

02:42in touch over the years just here and there and, um, really was being respectful of her space and

02:49never, you know, just, that's what she wanted to do. And then there was an opportunity

02:53where one day she, she called me and said, okay, I feel ready to tell my story. And actually there's

03:00things that my mom, my stepmom didn't, does not know. And that's when she revealed the opiate addiction

03:08and she's like, they don't even know this yet. And so she started to reveal that. And then, um,

03:15she started to reveal the sexual abuse. I was like, whoa, there's a lot more here to divulge and to

03:21explore. And that's when I said, oh, and then one of the things that was a triggering event for her

03:28is just, um, in prison, she would get TV and she would watch her story play out by other people.

03:37And she wanted to share her story her way. And I was like, okay, we're ready.

03:45And Ryan, was that a key part for you too? You know, wanting to EP?

03:50I mean, I, I got involved cause I fell in love with her. Like that's, that's the truth. Um, like I said,

03:55I wrote her a letter and, you know, and then the story came about the documentary. They wanted to do it.

04:00And I was kind of like a surprise ending. Like, you know, when it started, I wasn't involved.

04:05Surprise. Yes. Very much a surprise. Very much a surprise. I don't know. So I got involved just

04:10in the last little steps, you know, my story came in and I remember Gypsy telling me like,

04:14she kept telling Melissa, like, Hey, y'all need to, need to interview this guy. This guy's very

04:19important. Yeah. And then it came out later that we were getting married. So just one of those

04:23things. That's how I got involved. This kind of fell in it. Love. Um, how much access were you

04:30given to Gypsy once, you know, this kind of came into play? And what was that permission

04:35kind of process like with the prison system? Okay. So I have kids that are in their twenties.

04:41And so like, they will tell you that they still hear Gypsy's voice, her phone calls every Tuesday.

04:48No. Um, so she has to do recording and when you accept the recorded prison phone call,

04:56it gives us like standard template and you're going to know, Hey, it's Gypsy.

05:00Yeah. Heard it a lot. Yeah. Heard it a lot. So like the cadence and everything is like my,

05:07when, when she would, even now as she's a free woman, when she calls, my kids are like, Hey,

05:12it's Gypsy. And, um, okay. So, so every Tuesday she would call and, and her access varied because

05:20of the prison system. So at the beginning she had 15 minute phone calls and then, um, it would

05:27be interrupted with, you have one minute remaining, you know, uh, you have 30, like, you know, it just

05:36did a countdown. Um, and so we would feel the pressure and she's like, okay, I'll call you

05:40back. And I'm like, okay, all right. So we would do that every Tuesday. And then, um, I recorded those,

05:46I recorded those and that's a big chunk of those recordings are in this documentary.

05:51Yeah. And for 18 months, is that right?

05:53What?

05:54That you were doing that, the process, it was 18 months.

05:56Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And it was, um, even before that, but like really when we,

06:02when Lifetime decided to be a part of this, that was when we started the 18 month project

06:08project and the recording started to filter towards that point of that, this would be in

06:14the documentary. Okay. Um, I want to go back to the family as well. They seem to be kind

06:20of seeking answers as much as they're also trying to put kind of context into, um, where

06:25they were at these different points in Gypsy's life. Can you talk about getting them to participate?

06:30Was there hesitation for many of her family members?

06:33Christy was an open book right from the beginning. Uh, she wanted to share everything. She was ready

06:40to, what I loved about Christy is that, um, she's always been an advocate for Gypsy and a nonjudgmental

06:51advocate. She was the one who found in, um, Dee Dee's house, the, the medical pad that the, the

07:00prescription pad. And she's the one who started to see that this was something bigger than,

07:07than any of us could imagine. So it was really her looking at this and finding this prescription

07:16pad that started it, the whole unraveling. Oh, I love Rod. Like, do you guys love Rod?

07:23Rod's amazing. I love Rod a lot. Rod, he's such a wise sage. He's, what I, what I love about

07:32Rod is, uh, and what I, you know, I know we're talking about this doc right now, but I think

07:38like, what I love about Rod is he's always been there for Gypsy and he's always wanted a

07:44relationship with her. So I'm, I'm grateful that now they can start to have that.

07:48Yeah. Let me see you, meet her family, which had to be even more nerve-wracking doing that

07:53on camera. Absolutely. What was that for you? Um, I got drilled a little bit, you know, and

07:58it's one of those where the first time I met her sister was actually on camera. So it was

08:02one of those where she was very investigative, you know, trying to figure me out. And it was

08:08one of those where she, she grilled me, you know, and it was one of those where I just

08:11had to sit there and take it. And I took it with a smile, you know, cause that was going

08:14to be my sister-in-law. So it was one of those where it was different.

08:17It was very different.

08:19And as you mentioned, you know, your relationship was a surprise. The engagement was a surprise.

08:23Um, and the entire last episode is focused on your relationship. How did you decide to

08:28pivot, you know, kind of that moment and capture the relationship?

08:31She didn't give us any choice.

08:33So like one thing that I really, so I learned a big lesson as a filmmaker. And that is that,

08:43um, for me, I got really attached. Like I wanted, I saw a vision for Gypsy that maybe wasn't her own

08:52vision, but I had the vision for Gypsy that she was going to walk out of prison, go into the safety

08:59and security of her parents' arms and have this relationship that she never got with her parents and that she was

09:07going to discover who she is, explore freedoms for the first time, riding a bike, driving a car, eating real

09:14food, different foods. Like, you know, she was eating prison food for the first time. That was her first

09:19taste of real food. It was prison food. So, um, I, I ruined her vision. I did just because we got

09:29married and, you know, to, to a wrench in her plan. It's okay though. Um, but like, that was the

09:35learning lesson is like, I didn't, I knew when you're married as a woman that you have to compromise

09:41with your spouse, your partner, you have to, it's a give and take and what you want has to be

09:47considered with the wants and needs of your partner. And I wanted Gypsy to be selfish for the

09:53first time in her life. I wanted her to be selfish on, you know, nothing tying her to the needs of

10:00anybody else, but herself for the first time. That's what I envisioned. So how did you manage

10:05that attachment? Well, um, when she told me she's getting married, I was very disappointed and

10:13this is my regret. And this is what I did wrong. And I totally take accountability for that. I was

10:20very disappointed. I'm like, I wanted that for her. And I felt like she was making the wrong choice.

10:25And I stepped aside because I didn't want to influence her. And I felt so passionately that

10:33she should go this route because I, what I wanted for it was all good intentions. Um, and then

10:40Christy and Rod actually told me like, Melissa, you have to let her make mistakes at their mistakes.

10:47Her mom didn't let her make mistakes. If it's a mistake, that's what she has to do. And that's

10:52what got me to see things differently. But I stepped aside so I wouldn't intervene. And I mean, Ryan,

10:57you could test for that. Like I didn't.

10:59Yeah. Yeah. There was a moment where you just stepped back, but I still don't think I was a mistake.

11:03I mean, it's okay. I'll talk to you about it.

11:19But there was obviously a lot of private kind of conversation starting with happening. But we also

11:29see, um, in this series, you know, you reveal some things to Gypsy as well. I think one was,

11:34um, her not knowing like her first surgery was actually before the age of one. Um, even her

11:40grandfather's response, you know, to her accusation of, of sexual abuse with him. How did you decide,

11:46you know, how to share those moments, um, with her, you know, on camera?

11:51I knew she wanted to know her medical history. It was very shocking to go through her records and

11:59to have access to it before she did. But in the timeline course, she was arrested before she got

12:08to see the binders is what I call them, the binders. Her mom kept medical records and a timeline of

12:15everything. But also one thing that surprised me, um, when I went to go visit Christy to find

12:22pictures for this documentary, as we're going through the buckets of photos, I was finding,

12:28um, receipts and, um, finding documentation, like a bone marrow transplant. And like, I was like,

12:38wow, what? And I, well, to that point, you know, Dr. Fabian, who's the psychologist,

12:44um, in this series, he says, no one in Gypsy's life intentionally failed her. Um, for you knowing

12:51her personally and you having interviewed all of these people, do you think that that's a fair

12:56statement? I think Gypsy fell through a lot of cracks in our system. It was just one of those where,

13:02you know, this person failed her, this person failed her. And it wasn't an intentional fail.

13:08It just, just happened. She fell through the cracks of every thing that should have caught it.

13:12You know, that's the way I look at it. I think everybody focuses on the medical aspect,

13:17the medical community failed her, but I see the educational system failed her because she was

13:24homeschooled or homeschooled and nobody was checking in on if she was making any progress

13:30in her education. She, that's where I felt like there was no oversight.

13:37Well, lastly, you know, the very end card, um, of the series says, you know, her story will

13:41continue. And we know, um, that life after lack of this coming, talk about choosing where to end

13:46this series, um, and where you're going to pick up in the next one. Well, I was, um, excited and

13:54ecstatic about that December 28th date that she was going to be released. And then,

13:59I know, I know. And I realized that this was an opportunity to document what it's like to

14:08transition from prison into a parole system. I think there's a lot of unknowns about our judicial

14:14system and how our prison system works. And I wanted to take this opportunity to show

14:21through documentation of what the process is like, what parole really means, what does it mean to be,

14:29a parolee? And what kind of jobs can you get? What liberties do you have? Can you get a job?

14:35Can you, what, what can you do? You know, can you get a house to limit?

14:40Well, thank you both so much, um, for being here and sharing with us. Thank you all.

THR Frontrunners Q&A With Ryan Scott Anderson & Melissa Moore of 'The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard' | THR Video

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