Not many would consider it hard labor to stand in the shadow of Jennifer Lopez. Few, perhaps, could stand as still and as long as documentary filmmaker Jason Bergh.
For nearly a decade, Bergh has recorded the multi-hyphenate star behind the scenes as she charted new paths as a content producer and beauty mogul, and danced her way onto America’s biggest stage — the Super Bowl Halftime Show. Last month, Bergh took his biggest seat at J. Lo, Inc. by serving as director for “The Greatest Love Story Never Told,” a much-discussed documentary about the making of Lopez’s 2024 visual album “This Is Me … Now.”
Imposingly tall and excessively kind, Bergh has been a gentle giant in the unscripted space for years. He’s directed episodic and short content on notable music figures like Alicia Keys and athletes Steph Curry and Clay Matthews. After the dust settled on “Greatest Love Story,” Bergh caught up with Variety to discuss he and Lopez’s New York connection, creating safe boundaries in candid storytelling, and his hopes to break into the feature narrative space.
How long have you been with Jennifer now?
Almost six years. The first thing I did was coverage on one of the last shows in her Las Vegas residency. I’ve been working in this space for 20-25 years. I started documenting street culture in New York. It’s been a long run just trying to find my voice, and I’ve been lucky to be with Jen on this very powerful run she’s been on.
“The Greatest Love Story Never Told” is obviously a meta project, given it documents a visual album about her life. Even though you’d been with her for some years at this point, how did you build the sort trust that’s required for something this candid?
She’d been working on the script and the album for a while, and as they got deeper into production they realized, “We should probably document this entire process.” It’s so layered, and there’s a lot you can’t tell on the musical side. Having done “Halftime” with her — which was very much centered around her Super Bowl Halftime performance — and then a long run of press for “Hustlers” and then the inauguration popped up, I wound up spending 10-12 hours per day shooting and running all around the country with her. “The Greatest Love Story Never Told” is very personal to her, and that was exciting to me. I left our meeting thinking, “This is what I’ve worked all these years with her for.” The trust is built from intention, from her knowing my intention as a filmmaker and my absolute respect for her and her team. I’m from New York. J. Lo is a queen to us and represents us.
What kind of conversations did you have about access to her, and what boundaries were put in place? There’s a lot laid bare in this film.
It was implicit, which comes when you work with someone for so long. I also give a lot of credit to Ana Carballosa, who is Jennifer’s best friend. She had a camera too and was there for things I couldn’t get. Access was unfiltered, and then in the edit we decided if something served our story or not. Sure, it’s revelatory, but we’re very relaxed with each other.
What about boundaries with the supporting cast – Ben Affleck, Benny Medina, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas?
Medina! I call him Uncle Benny because he’s been such a huge supporter of mine. The whole camp is very big on story – making sure we have a beginning, middle and end. Ben [Affleck] is amazing too. He’s a great filmmaker who understands the process and is extremely supportive. I had to pinch myself, honestly. I moved out to Los Angeles 20-something years ago, and always have dreamed of being in this position.
Do you think you want to make the jump from docs to narrative features?
Yes. I don’t like to rush things, and I try to be patient. It’s not just a job for me, and scripted is something I’ve been dreaming about for a long time. I’m reading some really great scripts now but I have to find something that grabs me by the heart. Not to quote Eminem, but you got one shot.
I think you should do something scripted with J. Lo. There’s a grittiness you both have, in the New York sense.
That’s my vibe, man. A little bit of roughness, a little texture. There’s so much beauty in that.
A common thread in all of your work is that you’re not afraid to lean into emotion. Where was that at its height in “The Greatest Love Story Never Told”?
There are two very powerful moments in “This Is Me … Now,” for the songs “Broken Like Me” and “Rebound.” When we were shooting “Broken,” you could hear a pin drop. There are 100 people on set, but there she is, just digging this pain out of herself. This raw emotion through dance and music. I am an emotional dude, and you can’t help but be drawn in with her in those moments. As a documentarian, I had to be very cautious about how I document those moments because I want her to stay unguarded. I shot with longer lenses and from further distances, and worked my way in.
“Broken Like Me” opens at a Sex and Love Addiction meeting, and Jennifer delivers a really intense monologue before the song starts.
She told me that Ben helped her write that. It’s some of her best acting I’ve seen. There’s a lot of personal truth.
How much of your footage ended up on the cutting room floor?
So, we shot eight weeks. That’s hundreds of hours of footage, but everything that wound up on the floor was something that didn’t serve us. The film is soul-bearing. I’m proud of what we have.
What’s your favorite J. Lo song?
Dude, “Jenny From the Block.” And I really like “Dinero,” that’s a banger.
