Alex Gibney says Elon Musk ignored requests to join Musk documentary
Alex Gibney asked Elon Musk to take part in his new documentary from the start. He never got a reply.
Speaking during a keynote conversation in Toronto on Sept. 13, Gibney said he reached out immediately when work began on Musk, according to The Hollywood Reporter. His team followed with many formal outreaches. Nothing came back, except Musk's own remarks on X, formerly Twitter.
Musk has described the film as a "boring ... hit piece" on X, according to the same report. Gibney said fear shadowed the making of the film, which charts Musk's rise from the dotcom era to global influence, as reported by Reuters. The documentary is backed by Closer Media, Anonymous Content and Black Bear, a structure first detailed by The Hollywood Reporter.
The dispute turned legal after the world premiere in Venice, the film's first public screening, ahead of its North American bow at TIFF. Attorney Alex Spiro, acting for Musk, sent Gibney and his production team a letter alleging they had misrepresented facts about Musk. In an earlier letter, Musk's attorney told the team "we have no choice but to put you on formal legal notice", according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Spiro's letter centres on what he says is an insinuation in the film that Musk used Starlink satellites to influence the 2024 presidential election to boost Donald Trump. Gibney said the near-four-hour film was heavily lawyered and fact-checked. His company, Jigsaw Productions, issued a statement defending his fact-driven approach after receiving Spiro's letter.
Release plans are already public. Bleecker Street plans to release Musk theatrically, in cinemas before streaming, on Oct. 16, while HBO plans to debut it on premium cable and the HBO Max streaming platform, according to Deadline. Gibney said he has great concern about whether both releases can proceed as organised.
He linked his concern to corporate change. Gibney said HBO is in the midst of a takeover battle by Paramount, and questioned whether HBO Max will be able to stream Musk before Warner Bros. Discovery is taken over by Paramount. He also noted that Larry Ellison, who is cited in the film, is one of Musk's friends and an investor in Musk's takeover of Twitter.
