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Universal is reportedly getting cold feet about the 'Musk' documentary internationally
Alex Gibney’s Elon Musk documentary made waves when it premiered at the Venice Film Festival earlier this month. Reports now indicate that Universal Pictures is getting cold feet about releasing it around the world.
The nearly four-hour-long film, simply titled Musk, presents a critical examination of Musk’s business empire, political influence, and use of data and AI, featuring interviews with ex-partners, journalists, and AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton.
Musk declined to participate in the film’s production and reportedly offered his ex, Ashley St. Clair, $40 million not to participate in the project. Instead of Musk, the film uses an AI-generated digital avatar and voice syncing to simulate an interview with him because he refused to cooperate or appear on camera.
Musk premiered to positive reviews and a standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival, and reportedly portrayed the world’s richest man as being “narcissistic, cruel, and detached from humans”
Universal Pictures is reportedly hesitating on an international release of Alex Gibney’s critical Elon Musk documentary
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Universal — which is owned by Comcast and holds the international theatrical rights — hasn’t communicated a timeline or update to Gibney’s team.
“Two people with knowledge of the dynamic who were not authorized to speak publicly tell The Hollywood Reporter that while a final decision has not been made and several outcomes were possible, they believed that Universal would ultimately decide against releasing the film and return rights to the movie to filmmakers. When asked what its release plans were for the film, a Universal representative said it had no comment.”
The report suggests that the potentially abandoned release is partially fueled by the project being “politically sensitive for parts of the Trump administration.” This wouldn’t be the first time this year that a movie studio backed out of a project due to apparent concerns over angering tech oligarchs, as Amazon MGM Studios dropped the Luca Guadagnino-directed Sam Altman movie Artificial
Musk, of course, has publicly dismissed the documentary as a “boring hit piece,” despite not having seen it. The Tesla billionaire accused Gibney of being a “horrible human” having “zero integrity” and being a “bitter old man who lost the plot long ago,” adding that the project is a “hit piece that misses” and is “boring af because it is four hours long.”
Domestically, Bleecker Street will still be releasing the film in theaters on October 9, while HBO holds North American TV and streaming rights.