The documentary series The Way Down recently came out on the WarnerMedia owned network HBO MAX, and it’s being a total success.
It follows the story of Gwen Shamblin and her Christian weight-loss program. The documentary focuses on the aesthetics of a prosperity laden Christianity that has over feminized women to prove their holiness.
Shockingly, while filming the documentary, Shamblin, her husband Joe Lara (former Tarzan), her son-in-law, and other members of the church, died on May 2021 in a plane crash. This forced the filmmakers to make finishing touches on The Way Down to reconfigure the story.
Following Lara’s passing, filmmakers told The New York Times that people who were previously unwilling to speak about the church publicly came forward, as well as family members of those who passed away in the crash who had been skeptical of Remnant’s practices and felt compelled to share their stories.
There are millions of dollars involved in this kind of shoots so, when unexpected events occur, the producers have to act fast to make the necessary changes to keep going. That’s why networks like HBO MAX only hire the most experienced teams.
Argentinean producer Cecilia Salguero was one of the producers in charge of putting together the elements to continue this miniseries directed and also produced by another successful woman in Hollywood, Emmy-winning filmmaker Marina Zenovich. Chrissy Teigen is another one of the co-producers. Cecilia said in the past that her dream job is making projects that she can be proud of while working with inspiring super talented people. So, in this series, she definitely achieved that dream.
The audience is already asking when they can see more episodes of The Way Down. HBO MAX confirmed that it is set to release more episodes in 2022.
Salguero is an international producer who has worked in many countries around the world, such as Brazil, Spain, or Argentina. She thinks that “in Los Angeles people are generally very work oriented and focused. I like how there seems to be a system for how things are done in production, more so than in other places. Work hours are very demanding.”
Cecilia Salguero has produced many award-winning projects and has worked with a number of celebrities, such as Shawn Mendes, but she claims not to be drawn to celebrities, although, she does love doing very high profile work that gets a lot of attention and celebrities do, definitely, bring that to the table.
We will soon see one of the other interesting documentary series she produced for HBO MAX and the feature documentary she produced for Netflix. Stay tuned!