From The Hollywood Reporter · Etan Vlessing · · 1m 10s
Gibney says Musk went silent on him
The filmmaker behind the Musk doc says every outreach hit a wall, and now he's worried about who owns the distributor.
In brief
The filmmaker behind the Musk doc says every outreach hit a wall, and now he's worried about who owns the distributor. Gibney stands behind the film's reporting, but a Paramount takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery could decide how many people ever see it. Originally reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
A legal threat, answered
Alex Gibney responded Sunday to a legal threat from Elon Musk over his documentary about the tech billionaire.
He reached out right away
Gibney told a keynote audience in Toronto that he contacted Musk immediately once the threat landed.
“I reached out immediately… But he clearly wasn't interested in talking.”
Nothing came back
The team made repeated formal requests for an interview. Apart from Musk's posts on Twitter, they got no response at all.
“We made so many formal outreaches to him, and with the exception of his remarks on Twitter, we received nothing back.”
Lawyered and fact-checked
Gibney says the film was heavily lawyered and independently fact-checked, so he's confident his account of Musk holds up.
The real worry is reach
His bigger concern isn't the threat. It's that the doc may never be widely seen.
“great concern”
Who controls the distributor
HBO Max picked up the film, but Warner Bros. Discovery is being taken over by Paramount, led by tech barons in Musk's orbit.
The bottom line
Gibney stands behind the film's reporting, but a Paramount takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery could decide how many people ever see it.
