Behind the scenes, I kept hearing that nobody wanted to touch this doc, with distributor after distributor passing on it. It’s finally landed with a low-key studio.
Finally, Alex Gibney’s long-anticipated Elon Musk doc, simply titled “Musk,” is set to be released theatrically in the U.S. via Bleecker Street before landing on HBO Max. No release dates have been confirmed for now.
Gibney has been tinkering with this one for years, expanding the scope as Musk’s public image continues to mutate in real time. Official work on “Musk” started in early 2022. Elon is extensively interviewed as well, though I wonder now if he regrets doing that, since Gibney has shown himself to be no fan of his.
This was originally supposed to hit Cannes, but Gibney put the brakes on that premiere because more material kept showing up as Musk continued to unravel publicly, and more footage kept being added.
Bleecker CEO Kent Sanderson is already framing this as a definitive portrait, calling Musk “an individual at the crossroads of our society” and hailing Gibney’s ability to bring “clarity, audacity, and urgency” to the story.
Strong words, though it remains to be seen how audiences will respond to “yet another take” on the billionaire who has dominated headlines for the past decade.
Gibney, of course, is no stranger to high-profile figures and cautionary tales (“Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room,” “Taxi to the Dark Side”). Gibney also directed the 2020 documentary “Totally Under Control,” which examines the Trump administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This marks a reunion between the filmmaker and Bleecker execs who shepherded “We Steal Secrets” back in 2013. Expect plenty of discourse when “Musk” hits theaters later this year.