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Jamie Johnson, Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical fortune heir and director of BORN RICH speaks about his film.
HBO: Looking back on the production of Born Rich, were there any surprises along the way? Things that didn't go exactly as you expected?
JAMIE JOHNSON: Well, the whole process was a little bit tougher than I thought. I didn't think I'd have to search so thoroughly to find people that would be willing to talk on camera about being born rich.
And, you know, when I got sued over the whole thing and everyone backed out, or tried to change their minds and told me they thought the film was a horrible idea. I really didn't expect that either. [LAUGHS]
HBO: Did you approach many more people than ended up appearing?
JAMIE JOHNSON: I did. I probably approached at least fifty that said no.
HBO: Do you think money is America's biggest taboo topic?
JAMIE JOHNSON: I really think it is. Especially for people who are rich, I think money is certainly the number one taboo topic. More inappropriate than anything else.
HBO: You mentioned the lawsuit, where one of your subjects sued to try to get out of the film. Did that catch you off-guard?
JAMIE JOHNSON: I was totally shocked. I didn't expect it. And, you know, the whole thing was pretty disturbing. In a lot of ways it hurt my feelings, too. I mean, it was a friend of mine, who was really excited about the project, and enthusiastic about it originally.
HBO: Journalists often say that there's a kind of betrayal in what they do. In a way, your job is to expose people, for good or for bad. Did you get nervous about that when you had to approach people that you were friendly with?
JAMIE JOHNSON: You know, I didn't really get nervous about that. I really felt like I wasn't trying to sell anyone out. And I didn't really want to make anyone feel uncomfortable originally, when I was shooting this, anyway. So, I understood that there were probably personal issues that people didn't want to talk about, and I just asked them to tell me about it as we went along if there was something too sensitive. But everything that was filmed, everyone really seemed to be okay with what all was happening.
HBO: And what about since? The film's been getting a pretty fair amount of attention. Have you been getting much feedback from the people who participated?
JAMIE JOHNSON: I've gotten a little bit of feedback from all of them. Some are really supportive, and some are more distant from me than they were, and probably feel a little bit unsettled by the whole experience from what they've told me.
HBO: What would you like people to take away from Born Rich?
JAMIE JOHNSON: It's just something most people don't get to see otherwise, and it kind of opens up a taboo subject. It just scratches the surface of talking about wealth and the subject of money in our culture. And I think that that's interesting. It's something that people don't really deal with in a realistic way.
HBO: It's tough to make a blanket observation, but looking at some of the people who participated in your film: are rich people happier?
JAMIE JOHNSON: You mean, do I think being born rich is a blessing or a curse? I can't answer for other people, and some people address it in the film. But, for me, it's definitely not a curse. Some people ask me, is, what's the worst thing about being rich? I can't even respond to that, you know? There is no worst thing for me. I mean, it's a great situation to be in, where you have all these opportunities, all this access to education and all kinds of things. So really, I mean, I think it's, it's been great for me in every way.
HBO: Do you have plans for more movies?
JAMIE JOHNSON: I really want to make more documentaries. I love documentary filmmaking. And I want to continue on with it as a career. I am really interested in these subjects of socioeconomic inequality and social class, and things like that. I think in the next few weeks as this one comes out and people start to respond to it, I'll figure out what the next move is.
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