.png){kind=logo}
It began with a cold call email pitch to Pamela Anderson’s publicist.
Julia Nottingham — the founder of Dorothy St. Pictures — claims she’ll never “spill” her secrets about what exactly was written, but admits a huge amount of care and attention went into the message. “We really poured over exactly what we should say and how to get their attention,” she says.
Whatever was said in the email, it worked.
“Pamela, A Love Story,” directed by Ryan White with Nottingham exec producing for Dorothy St, saw the former “Baywatch” star take viewers on a deeply personal and extensively archived tour of her 50+ years, recounting the highs and lows of a life spent in the public eye with a disarming frankness. It launched in 2023 on Netflix to critical acclaim.
The same year as Pamela came the doc series “Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story” on Disney+, about the famed footballer’s wife whose Instagram sleughing became one of the U.K.’s biggest tabloid stories. Then in 2025, it was turn of another, even more famous WAG, Victoria Beckham, for a Netflix series in which she charted her bumpy journey from Spice Girl to fashion designer.
Now, it’s Courtney Love who’s getting the doc treatment from Nottingham and Dorothy St.
Directed by Edward Lovelace and James Hall, “Antiheroine,” premiering Jan 27 in Sundance, follows the 1990s rock icon — now living in London — as she unapologetically tells her story, warts and all, for the very first time.
Nottingham says she been “endlessly fascinated” by women such as Love, Anderson, Rooney and Beckham, who may all seem very different on paper but have each seen much of their lives play out in the media, under the glare of a largely unkind spotlight. As she notes, they each been “interpreted in a very specific way.”
Dorothy St., which only launched 8 years ago and was fully acquired by Elisabeth Murdoch’s Sister in 2025, of course makes other high-profile documentaries, most notably “The Greatest Night in Pop” about the making of charity single “We Are the World” in 1985. But thanks to its growing array of female-fronted bio docs, it’s building a reputation for both getting its subjects to sit in front of the camera to open up, but, according to Nottingham, understanding the “responsibility of telling these stories.”
I understand “Antiheroine” is your sixth film in Sundance?
Yeah, it’s wild. It’s my 10 year Sundance anniversary. My first film was a really special one in 2016 called “All These Sleepless Nights.” I just love that film. And the universe is really doing its thing because the director Michał [Marczak] has this year got his second film at the festival, which has been 10 years in the making. I can’t wait to see it.
How did “Antiheroine” come about? Did you approach Courtney or vice-versa?
First of all, I think when a film has finished and you know how powerful it is, you realize just what a privilege it is to have been able to make these films. But for Pamela, I was lucky enough for her publicist to respond to my cold call email. And with Courtney, without spilling my state secrets about how I get access, I do just send cold emails. And I’m just very honest about my fascination with these individuals that I think have been kind of interpreted in a in a very specific way. I remember Hole and I always seem to remember Courtney through the POV of Kurt. I think that’s why I was so curious. So I found out who her manager was and sent an email.
One of the things I always say — and I really stick by this — is that my job isn’t to make people like our subjects or dislike our subjects. My job is to make people understand them. So I love that line in the film when Courtney says, “I know when something’s right, I don’t always know when something’s wrong.” And you are just like, OK, I understand.
Did you know she was living in London when you first made the approach?
No I didn’t. I met her manager in LA for the first time in January 2022. So it’s been a really long time! That’s the other thing, you’re in it for the long game – often many month and many years. And then when I found out she’d moved to London that, for me, was the moment I thought it was going to make sense. She was a 15 minute bus ride from the office With Pamela, she was living in Vancouver Island. But also, London has given her so much, it’s a safe place for her. I think she’s said publicly how much of an Anglophile she is.
The Pamela doc came first, but then there’s been Colleen Rooney and Victoria Beckham and now Courtney. In just a few short years, you’ve become known for these docs about women who aren’t simply high-profile, but who’ve seen their lives play out in the public eye and have often been maligned in the media. Was this something you set out to do? Or was Pamela the catalyst?
It was just always this curiosity. I grew up reading Heat magazine and then would read Hello when I was in the dentist. I just had so many questions, really, and especially with the women who I’ve grown up with — the Pamelas, the Victorias. I was endless fascinated by these women and the stories that were portrayed in the media. I know lots of women and we’re complicated and we’re multifaceted and we have good days and we have bad days. But why does there seem to be one narrative that is, most of the time, tearing them down. I won’t share it with you, but I have a list of women I’m just endlessly fascinated by. But also men as well. Everyone’s stories are quite interesting and complicated.
When it comes to the responsibility of handling these stories, do you take what you did with Pamela to other potential subjects as part of the pitch? Is that your approach?
Actually, one of the big things is: are they ready? Because we can’t do our job unless they’re ready to do it, to be authentic and honest. Anyone can have a documentary made about them, but is it going to be compelling and powerful, and is there a real reason why now. We are really strict with ourselves at Dorothy St, because we do get a lot of kind of incoming. But it’s like, ‘Are you actually ready to say, really, what’s on your mind, and why now?’ You’ve got to be ready.
Most of your other docs have gone straight to streamers, but you’re taking “Antiheroine” to Sundance to sell. Is that a first for you?
Yeah, it is. There are many reasons for that. I have built this relationship with Sister, who became an investor and then put that into a majority ownership. And they and I started having conversations about the market and the challenge of the margin business. Streaming economics are really tough for production companies. But as Sister have the passion and available capital to finance docs, they actually financed “Antiheroine,” which is great but also quite a responsibility on my shoulders. Because I want to make sure they see a return. But I’m really excited about taking it to Sundance and the buyers watching it and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they haven’t spent all their money.
Is this model of Sister financing your projects one you hope to keep going?
I really hope so. We are definitely circling more projects, which is really exciting. I think this won’t be the last doc that Sister finance. As I’ve got my confidence as a producer in the market, the fact that we can partner with Sister — it makes so much sense.
You produced last year’s Victoria Beckham doc series. Given the explosive recent statements from Brooklyn Beckham about his relationship with his family, none of which was discussed in the series, do you think it has underlined concerns about docs that have been exec produced by their subjects?
I don’t think [Victoria] is credited as an exec producer, but yes, it was a co-production with Studio 99 [David Beckham’s company]. But when we gave the pitch, it was really focused on her as a businesswoman and what she had achieved and wants to achieve. There was no focus on any of the children and their narratives. But in that series she really did talk about things that she had never spoken about.
I know you said you wouldn’t tell me, but can you offer any clues as to who’s on your list of other subjects you’d like to give the documentary treatment? How long is this list?
There are lots of female actors on it and female sports stars. I did say one name in a panel, so it’s public, but I absolutely love tennis and — if she’s reading this — I would love to make a film with Monica Seles. I think what she achieved in tennis was so amazing and what she went through was incredibly intense.
English (US) ·