WASHINGTON, D.C. (1010 WINS) – It’s been two years since the Insurrection at the Capitol, and many questions still remain. Although the House’s investigation has formally ended, the FBI has not stopped searching for answers. But neither have filmmakers like Andrew Callaghan.
As the FBI continues to piece together the events of January 6, 2021, Callaghan is more focused on the events that led up to the day in his new documentary “This Place Rules.”
The film, which follows Callaghan traveling across the United States in the months preceding the attack, wasn’t initially intended to be a documentary or even a deconstruction of that day. In fact, at the time, Callaghan, who runs a popular YouTube Channel called “Channel 5,” was simply traveling around the country collecting content.
In an exclusive interview with 1010 WINS, Callaghan explains that the project could have just been another upload on his channel. However, when he started to receive feedback about the footage from some of his closest friends and influences (such as Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim, and Jonah Hill), he knew it was evolving into something bigger.
“There were so many great creative minds that were encouraging me at the same time [giving] constructive criticism throughout the process,” he says. “I think it was just that many rounds of feedback that turned it into what it is.”
Now, “This Place Rules” is hardly the first documentary about January 6th. In fact, HBO, which is distributing the film alongside indie powerhouse A24, released a docu-series called “Four Hours at the Capitol” a few months after the event. But Callaghan believes he’s actually created the most distinguishable piece about the subject to date.
As a gonzo journalist, he has no problem getting up close and personal to subjects that some might deem outcasts. One quick glance at his YouTube Channel and you’ll see that in the past year he’s interviewed Satanists, pick-up artists, anti vaxxers, and even Tom Hanks’ estranged son Chet. So the fact that the film features interviews with members of QAnon, the Proud Boys, and even Alex Jones should hardly come as a surprise.
He explains that those interviews provide “a level of casual access that brings a human element to the whole situation.”
While there are some who might disagree with his decision to platform people with such hateful fanbases, Callaghan says that his intention is not to praise their ideologies, but rather acknowledge how those ideologies have harmed - and are still harming - America.
“I wouldn't go out of my way to find hateful people to record their logic about White racial superiority. That would never be something that I would ever want to platform,” he says. “But January 6th happened, millions of Americans were completely enveloped in the QAnon ideology…This is a story that I think needs to be told thoroughly. It's just people's voices and perspectives.”
Despite so many controversial interviews and clips, the one moment Callaghan was unable to catch on camera was the Insurrection itself. It’s revealed in the film that the he tested positive for COVID-19 the day before and was unable to be physically present at the Capitol as the riots ultimately unfolded.
“It was a very hard day for me as a journalist,” he says. “But I think there’s a reason I wasn’t there on January 6th.”
Callaghan also explains that it was probably a good thing he wasn’t there because he feels that his inner investigator would have wanted to see what was going on inside the Capitol in real time.
“I think that I would have been arrested by the FBI,” he humorously confesses. “I think I would have been in the Capitol rotunda interviewing the QAnon Shaman with the horned man as he was screaming at the top of his lungs.”
While he’ll never know for sure what might have happened to him that day, viewers can get a better picture of what actually happened leading up to that day when they see “This Place Rules” themselves. The film is streaming exclusively on HBO Max now.
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