Bleecker Street has unveiled its fall awards-season slate, with four major titles set for festival premieres and theatrical runs. Anton Corbijn’s thriller “A Talent for Murder,” starring Helen Mirren and Alden Ehrenreich, arrives Oct. 26, 2026, followed by Mike Leigh’s “Tender Loving Care” on Dec. 4, 2026. Guy Nattiv’s untitled drama (formerly “Harmonia”) starring Carrie Coon opens Jan. 8, 2027, after a November awards-qualifying run. The films are expected to debut at major fall festivals, including Venice, Telluride, and Toronto.
Then there’s Alex Gibney’s documentary “Musk,” which will receive a theatrical release on Oct. 16, 2026.
Gibney’s documentary, which he has been working on for several years, examines Elon Musk, one of the world’s most influential and controversial business figures. Bleecker describes “Musk” as an epic investigation into the man behind the public persona.
“Musk” was actually supposed to premiere at Cannes in 2024, but Gibney delayed the debut as new developments continued to emerge and additional footage was added.
One interesting detail from the Variety article: “Musk” is expected to compete in the documentary feature category, but Bleecker Street also plans to campaign the film across all eligible Oscar categories, including Best Picture — a rare and ambitious push, as no documentary has ever received a nomination in the Academy’s top category.
Behind the scenes, I kept hearing that few distributors wanted to take on the documentary, with company after company passing on it. Last year, it finally found a home with the low-key distribution outfit Bleecker Street.
Gibney has been working on the project for more than four years, expanding its scope as Musk’s public image continued to evolve in real time. Official work on “Musk” actually began in early 2022. Musk is extensively interviewed in the film, though it remains to be seen whether he regrets participating, given Gibney’s public criticism toward him — particularly following Musk’s endorsement of Donald Trump.
The filmmaker, known for high-profile investigations and cautionary portraits such as “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room” and “Taxi to the Dark Side,” has long focused on powerful figures and institutions. Gibney also directed the 2020 documentary “Totally Under Control,” which examined the Trump administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Festival press conferences have turned into landmines of political questioning, to the point where some artists would probably prefer to turn down being a juror at Cannes, Venice, or Berlin.