Searching for the Truth in a Famous N.C. Case

When Jimmy Goodmon ’95 and Matthew Perniciaro ’97 were fellow students at Ravenscroft, they had no idea that nearly 30 years later they would be working together to tell the story of one of North Carolina’s highest-profile crimes from their high school years.

 

However, in making “Moment of Truth” — their five-part docuseries about the shocking murder of Michael Jordan’s father in 1993 and the subsequent trial of two teenaged defendents — they realized that their individual talents and long-standing friendship created something pretty special. The success of their first collaboration has inspired them to continue to seek opportunities to tell compelling stories through documentary filmmaking.

Matthew Perniciaro ’97 (left) and Jimmy Goodmon ’95 (right; courtesy of Jimmy Goodmon)

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Shared history creates opportunity

Goodmon, who today is president and chief operating officer of Capitol Broadcasting Company, knew from an early age that he belonged in the family business of broadcasting. “When I was 16 years old and still at Ravenscroft, I started working for Capitol Broadcasting Company,” he recalled. “I was a cameraman for the morning news before school and through the summers. That was my first real job.”

He worked through the company ranks, attended college and continued with his work at Capitol Broadcasting. All the while, he kept an eye on his old friend, who was making waves in Los Angeles. “Matt was out there finding a lot of success in the filmmaking world,” Goodmon said. “My brother Michael ’98 and I kept up with him, and I watched all of his stuff.”

Archival footage explored in the docuseries includes press briefings on the investigation into James Jordan’s death. Courtesy of IMDb TV

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Perniciaro had attended New York University, moved to California, spent time on film sets, worked for a South Korea-based acquisitions firm and completed his first independent film — all by the time he was 23. In the nearly 20 years since, he has completed more than 50 films and become known for journalistic integrity matched with compelling storytelling.

With Perniciaro’s success with films such as “Native Son” and “More Than a Game,” it’s unsurprising that Goodmon kept tabs on his career. It was through this connection that Perniciaro would become the writer, director and co-producer of “Moment of Truth.”

A complex, notorious story

Few college basketball fans who lived in North Carolina in the 1990s are unfamiliar with the story of James Jordan’s death, which took place at the height of his son’s success.

“When I first started going through the archival footage from 1993, I remembered watching these news reports,” Perniciaro said. “I was reliving things that I experienced at a very pivotal point in my life.”

Daniel Green, one of the young men accused of murdering James Jordan, is shown arriving at court in archival footage shared in “Moment of Truth.” Courtesy of IMDb TV

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The events had also made an impression on Goodmon, who was a big college basketball fan, and eventually he came to consider it as a topic for a WRAL documentary. While Goodmon boasts extensive experience with documentaries in his own right — WRAL regularly produces 30-minute films — upon reading old articles and reviewing newly digitized archives four or five years ago, he realized just how complicated the story truly was.

“The world wants everything bite-sized, with a headline being everything you need. But this story isn’t like that,” he said.

Goodmon sent some articles to Perniciaro, who immediately took interest in the project and officially signed on in 2019. “Once we formed that partnership, it just took off. Working with Matt is like handing the ball off to a running back and just watching him do his thing,” Goodmon said.

Perniciaro likewise praises Goodmon, who executive-produced the series. “Jimmy has a phenomenal, Emmy Award-winning team.”

View the full trailer for “Moment of Truth.” Courtesy of Amazon Studios

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A successful collaboration

In truth, both men brought considerable passion and skill to the project — and struck gold in the process. According to Perniciaro, “Having a personal connection to any story is paramount. It’s very rare to make that kind of connection and then work with someone that you’ve known the majority of your life.”

The singularity of Perniciaro and Goodmon’s connection to each other and to the story radiates throughout “Moment of Truth,” which has enjoyed tremendous success. The Chicago Sun-Times film critic Richard Roeper gave a glowing review, and Amazon and IMDb TV have both reported impressive viewership of the series.

Moreover, Goodmon and Perniciaro feel proud of the objectivity and integrity the series achieves.

“Even with all of the facts in front of folks, people look at the story and react to it differently,” Goodmon said.

Perniciaro seconded that notion. “We called it ‘Moment of Truth’ because that’s the moment we’re striving to tell. We were searching for that throughout this whole process.”

With the two Ravens making plans to continue their collaboration, audiences can expect more compelling storytelling in their future.

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