Latest news with #Siskel
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'The Sexiest Man in Winnipeg': True crime film tells odd story of sportscaster-turned-bank robber
In the documentary The Sexiest Man in Winnipeg (now on Prime Video), narrated by Will Arnett, directors Ben Daughtrey and Charlie Siskel chronicle the odd true crime case of broadcaster-turned-robber, Steve Vogelsang. The beloved sports anchor confused locals when he was found to have led a number of odd bank heists. For Daughtrey and Siskel, it's the character study component of Vogelsang's story that interested them. With a "made for TV personality" — Vogelsang even reenacts his own crimes for the documentary — it's a fascinating film that brings up several questions about fame and celebrity. "I don't think either of us has a particular interest in true crime as a genre, but this was an opportunity to take it apart as a form, and break it open and look at the true crime industrial complex that we seem to all feed on," Siskel told Yahoo Canada. While Vogelsang's crimes weren't victimless, with traumatized bank employees impacted by his actions, the heists were so mishandled and executed without strategic thinking that they're more like heists you would see in a comedy movie, not real life. "When you look at Steve's crimes, his half a dozen robberies, he created characters for each of these crimes," Siskel highlighted. "They were theatrical, they were performative. They're funny. He's got little jokes in them." "He hid the money that he stole from one of the banks inside an urn with his mother's ashes. Did he have to do that? Was that the best hiding place? Or was it something that would make a great story to tell afterwards." But all of that also feeds into is Vogelsang's desire for attention. "He's a media animal," Siskel said. "As a kid, his mother called him, 'My son the Prime Minister.' This was a guy who knew his way around storytelling." "He made himself kind of a centrepiece of a lot of the sports stories he did. So it seemed fitting to kind of take him apart as a character, as someone who didn't want to live an ordinary life. Steve got quite used to being a celebrity, lost that celebrity, and I think we kind of asked the provocative question, is it possible that Steve robbed a bunch of banks in order to tell a great story. In order to become a celebrity again, in order to have ... another crack at fame?" Going one step further, The Sexiest Man in Winnipeg also becomes an evaluation of its audience, and the filmmakers. There's a moral question about how we create and consume crime stories as entertainment. "We wanted all of that complexity, moral complexity, narrative complexity, and allow the audience to be jury members and decide what they think of it," Siskel said. "What do they think of Steve as a character? What do they think of the filmmakers? What do they think of themselves as consumers of this kind of entertainment? And hopefully have a lot of laughs too. Sometimes at Steve's expense, because he is quite willing to play the fool, I would say." What's brought up in The Sexiest Man in Winnipeg is who the "real" Vogelsang is, and what's just a facade or a show. When asked if the directors believe they got to know the real Vogelsang, they identity him as both a "publicity monster" and "a human being trying to figure out who he is." "I think both things are equally true, and that's what we're trying to do with the film," Daughtrey said. "I think Steve maybe grew in some ways over the course of the film. I think Charlie and I were like, at moments, 'God, I hate this guy.' And then other parts of us were like, 'I sort of empathize with him.'" Vogelsang also claims in The Sexiest Man in Winnipeg that he didn't enjoy fame very much, but the filmmakers aren't so sure, and the audience is likely to be dubious of that statement as well. "Steve is hyper-intelligent and he's super delusional, in my opinion, and he has an answer for everything," Daughtrey said. "Some days I believe him, some days I don't." "Clearly where he ends up is quite modest, but maybe that's just a fault of his life choices."
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'The Sexiest Man in Winnipeg': True crime film tells odd story of sportscaster-turned-bank robber
In the documentary The Sexiest Man in Winnipeg (now on Prime Video), narrated by Will Arnett, directors Ben Daughtrey and Charlie Siskel chronicle the odd true crime case of broadcaster-turned-robber, Steve Vogelsang. The beloved sports anchor confused locals when he was found to have led a number of odd bank heists. For Daughtrey and Siskel, it's the character study component of Vogelsang's story that interested them. With a "made for TV personality" — Vogelsang even reenacts his own crimes for the documentary — it's a fascinating film that brings up several questions about fame and celebrity. "I don't think either of us has a particular interest in true crime as a genre, but this was an opportunity to take it apart as a form, and break it open and look at the true crime industrial complex that we seem to all feed on," Siskel told Yahoo Canada. While Vogelsang's crimes weren't victimless, with traumatized bank employees impacted by his actions, the heists were so mishandled and executed without strategic thinking that they're more like heists you would see in a comedy movie, not real life. "When you look at Steve's crimes, his half a dozen robberies, he created characters for each of these crimes," Siskel highlighted. "They were theatrical, they were performative. They're funny. He's got little jokes in them." "He hid the money that he stole from one of the banks inside an urn with his mother's ashes. Did he have to do that? Was that the best hiding place? Or was it something that would make a great story to tell afterwards." But all of that also feeds into is Vogelsang's desire for attention. "He's a media animal," Siskel said. "As a kid, his mother called him, 'My son the Prime Minister.' This was a guy who knew his way around storytelling." "He made himself kind of a centrepiece of a lot of the sports stories he did. So it seemed fitting to kind of take him apart as a character, as someone who didn't want to live an ordinary life. Steve got quite used to being a celebrity, lost that celebrity, and I think we kind of asked the provocative question, is it possible that Steve robbed a bunch of banks in order to tell a great story. In order to become a celebrity again, in order to have ... another crack at fame?" Going one step further, The Sexiest Man in Winnipeg also becomes an evaluation of its audience, and the filmmakers. There's a moral question about how we create and consume crime stories as entertainment. "We wanted all of that complexity, moral complexity, narrative complexity, and allow the audience to be jury members and decide what they think of it," Siskel said. "What do they think of Steve as a character? What do they think of the filmmakers? What do they think of themselves as consumers of this kind of entertainment? And hopefully have a lot of laughs too. Sometimes at Steve's expense, because he is quite willing to play the fool, I would say." What's brought up in The Sexiest Man in Winnipeg is who the "real" Vogelsang is, and what's just a facade or a show. When asked if the directors believe they got to know the real Vogelsang, they identity him as both a "publicity monster" and "a human being trying to figure out who he is." "I think both things are equally true, and that's what we're trying to do with the film," Daughtrey said. "I think Steve maybe grew in some ways over the course of the film. I think Charlie and I were like, at moments, 'God, I hate this guy.' And then other parts of us were like, 'I sort of empathize with him.'" Vogelsang also claims in The Sexiest Man in Winnipeg that he didn't enjoy fame very much, but the filmmakers aren't so sure, and the audience is likely to be dubious of that statement as well. "Steve is hyper-intelligent and he's super delusional, in my opinion, and he has an answer for everything," Daughtrey said. "Some days I believe him, some days I don't." "Clearly where he ends up is quite modest, but maybe that's just a fault of his life choices."
Toronto Star
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Toronto Star
Documentary details fall of former broadcaster once dubbed ‘sexiest man in Winnipeg'
There was a time back in the 1990s when Steve Vogelsang was known as the 'sexiest man in Winnipeg.' A former sportscaster, college instructor and executive with True North Sports and Entertainment, Vogelsang helped several Winnipeggers shape their careers. So when the Saskatoon native was arrested in 2017 for sticking up banks in Saskatchewan and Alberta, his once made-for-TV persona became rife with static. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'It raises a lot of questions,' said Charlie Siskel, a director and producer for 'The Sexiest Man in Winnipeg,' a new documentary detailing Vogelsang's rise and fall that releases Friday on Amazon's Prime Video. 'What happened to this guy? Why did he end up robbing a bunch of banks? Why did he do it in such theatrically ridiculous fashion?' Vogelsang was sentenced in 2019 to six and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to a string of bank robberies in Saskatchewan and Alberta between July and October 2017. In one case, he walked into a Regina bank with a fake bomb strapped to his chest, slid a note to the teller demanding $50,000 and pleaded for help, saying 'They've got my grandson.' On its face, it's a ridiculous but tragic story, says co-director Ben Daughtrey. 'We decided to embrace both sides of Steve's personality,' he said in an interview. 'He is genuinely a funny person, but there's also something ultimately tragic about a person going to these depths to try to change his life.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW In an interview from Washington state, Siskel said the documentary has been in the works since Vogelsang's release from prison. Vogelsang himself was involved in its making, re-enacting elements and sharing his thoughts for the cameras. The documentary also hears from several current and former Winnipeg reporters who knew Vogelsang and recall their shock at learning he had been arrested. 'The film is a character study, ultimately,' he said. 'Not so much a whodunit because we know who committed the crimes, but a whydunit.' Vogelsang's trial heard the former broadcaster's marriage had fallen apart, his prescribed medication for depression wasn't working and he was deep in debt from lengthy unemployment. Asked why Vogelsang gets a documentary when ordinary people convicted of bank robberies don't, Siskel said humans are obsessed with true crime and fame. His crimes were minor, so it's all the more surprising, the director said, that Vogelsang thought it was his way back. 'What is it about these crimes and criminals and crime stories that so fascinates the public and makes such a ready market for these kinds of stories ... Is this all fame seeking on his part? ... What role do we have in turning these people back into celebrities?' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Siskel said the viewer should 'play jury' when watching the documentary. Was Vogelsang 'some sort of monster,' he said, or an ordinary person who got a taste of fame, lost it and went about a 'weird way' of getting it back? Siskel adds that Vogelsang routinely points out in the film that he doesn't want 'that much fame.' But Siskel thinks otherwise. 'I do think that fame and fame seeking is at the heart of Steve's story,' he said. 'I think there is an element of redemption in the sense that Steve is coming to terms with his own past and his choices. 'Is it a redemption story, is it exposing the deep flaws of another human being, or is it something in between?' This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 9, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Documentary details fall of former broadcaster once dubbed ‘sexiest man in Winnipeg'
There was a time back in the 1990s when Steve Vogelsang was known as the 'sexiest man in Winnipeg.' A former sportscaster, college instructor and executive with True North Sports and Entertainment, Vogelsang helped several Winnipeggers shape their careers. So when the Saskatoon native was arrested in 2017 for sticking up banks in Saskatchewan and Alberta, his once made-for-TV persona became rife with static. 'It raises a lot of questions,' said Charlie Siskel, a director and producer for 'The Sexiest Man in Winnipeg,' a new documentary detailing Vogelsang's rise and fall that releases Friday on Amazon's Prime Video. 'What happened to this guy? Why did he end up robbing a bunch of banks? Why did he do it in such theatrically ridiculous fashion?' Vogelsang was sentenced in 2019 to six and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to a string of bank robberies in Saskatchewan and Alberta between July and October 2017. In one case, he walked into a Regina bank with a fake bomb strapped to his chest, slid a note to the teller demanding $50,000 and pleaded for help, saying 'They've got my grandson.' On its face, it's a ridiculous but tragic story, says co-director Ben Daughtrey. 'We decided to embrace both sides of Steve's personality,' he said in an interview. 'He is genuinely a funny person, but there's also something ultimately tragic about a person going to these depths to try to change his life.' In an interview from Washington state, Siskel said the documentary has been in the works since Vogelsang's release from prison. Vogelsang himself was involved in its making, re-enacting elements and sharing his thoughts for the cameras. The documentary also hears from several current and former Winnipeg reporters who knew Vogelsang and recall their shock at learning he had been arrested. 'The film is a character study, ultimately,' he said. 'Not so much a whodunit because we know who committed the crimes, but a whydunit.' Vogelsang's trial heard the former broadcaster's marriage had fallen apart, his prescribed medication for depression wasn't working and he was deep in debt from lengthy unemployment. Asked why Vogelsang gets a documentary when ordinary people convicted of bank robberies don't, Siskel said humans are obsessed with true crime and fame. His crimes were minor, so it's all the more surprising, the director said, that Vogelsang thought it was his way back. 'What is it about these crimes and criminals and crime stories that so fascinates the public and makes such a ready market for these kinds of stories … Is this all fame seeking on his part? … What role do we have in turning these people back into celebrities?' Siskel said the viewer should 'play jury' when watching the documentary. Was Vogelsang 'some sort of monster,' he said, or an ordinary person who got a taste of fame, lost it and went about a 'weird way' of getting it back? Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Siskel adds that Vogelsang routinely points out in the film that he doesn't want 'that much fame.' But Siskel thinks otherwise. 'I do think that fame and fame seeking is at the heart of Steve's story,' he said. 'I think there is an element of redemption in the sense that Steve is coming to terms with his own past and his choices. 'Is it a redemption story, is it exposing the deep flaws of another human being, or is it something in between?' This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 9, 2025.
Reuters
03-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Former Biden White House Counsel joins law firm Latham & Watkins
March 3 (Reuters) - Edward Siskel, who served as White House Counsel to Democratic President Joe Biden during the latter part of his term, has joined Latham & Watkins as a partner, the firm said on Monday. Siskel will work out of the law firm's Chicago and Washington, D.C., offices, Latham said. Siskel previously served as Chicago's top lawyer under former Mayor Rahm Emanuel. He also worked in the White House Counsel's office under former President Barack Obama. "Ed brings a rare combination of high-level White House, DOJ, and private sector experience to Latham," Rich Trobman, Latham's chair and managing partner, said in a statement. As Biden's top legal adviser, Siskel urged House Republicans in March 2024 to end their impeachment inquiry into the president after months of investigation turned up no evidence that Biden had improperly profited from family members' business activities. Siskel also helped lead discussions over whether Biden should issue preemptive pardons to current and former public officials who might be targeted by Republican Donald Trump's administration, sources told Reuters in December. Biden in the final hours of his presidency issued preemptive pardons to several of his immediate family members and other public officials, including Republican former lawmaker Liz Cheney; Dr. Anthony Fauci, who led the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic; and Mark Milley, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Biden earlier pardoned his son Hunter after he pleaded guilty to tax violations and was convicted on firearms-related charges. After leaving the Obama White House in 2014, Siskel was a partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr before he was tapped by Emanuel to become the city of Chicago's corporation counsel in 2017. Top U.S. law firms have been hiring senior officials from the Justice Department and other federal agencies who are moving to the private sector since Republican President Donald Trump took office. Government lawyers in other offices have taken positions at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton; Cravath, Swaine & Moore; King & Spalding; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan; Sidley Austin; Weil, Gotshal & Manges; and WilmerHale, among other firms. Biden's other previous White House counsels, Dana Remus and Stuart Delery, joined law firms Covington & Burling and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, respectively.
