Universal set international release dates for Alex Gibney's documentary “Musk” on Friday, per Variety, after the studio reportedly wavered on an overseas rollout following legal threats from the film's subject. Asked what had happened, Gibney said, “Were they concerned that in this political environment a film about the world's richest man was a problem? Maybe, but you have to ask them.”
The mechanism is a distribution announcement for a film that almost was not one. Universal had the dates, the subject sent lawyers, the studio wavered, and now the dates are out and the announcement reads like a victory lap for the flinch. Deadline has the rollout running U.K., Germany, Spain and then the rest of the world in January and February, which is how you book a world tour when the world is the problem.
The subject's response is a masterpiece, which is to say it is terrible. He called the film a hit piece and said dogshit is worth more respect, per the Variety report, which means the press gets to run his insult and the Critics Pick in the same article. “Lacerating.” That is a marketing quote the subject wrote himself, and the “Hit Piece,” as he insists on calling it, ships anyway.
The runtime is the tell. Three hours and 45 minutes is not a film, it is a lawsuit with a runtime. But here it is, premiering in Venice and then touring Europe with the subject's own name in the marquee in every city. The flinch was real, the dates are real, and the only thing the subject gets out of the deal is a free global trailer run.
YOUR TURN: The studio got scared of the man in the film, then released the film anyway. Is that courage or just a longer lead time?
PAPER TRAIL
- The dates news: Variety
- Rival coverage: Deadline
- The Critics Pick: Variety
- Venice premiere reaction: Hollywood Reporter
Comments (1)