“You Can See Everything” may be the most talked-about movie of the moment, but before the Elizabeth Holmes-centered documentary hits theaters, co-director Lance Oppenheim has admitted that fellow director Nathan Fielder was so skeptical about being able to weave a unique narrative that he negotiated a “kill switch” with A24 before filming began.
in an interview with indiewireOppenheim explained in detail Fielder’s kill-switch idea and how it helped the project. While Fielder wanted to pursue the documentary with Oppenheim, he was concerned that “the story has already been told many times.” (Even before production on the documentary began, Holmes’ scandal was already the subject of a popular podcast, a best-selling book, the Alex Gibney doc, and “The Dropout,” a Hulu scripted series.)
“Nathan [said to A24]’Well, do you think that if Lance and I were to go over there and see if there was anything there, would you be comfortable giving us the money and essentially leaving us alone, and give us a provision in our deal, no matter what the money is, that we could hit it off at any time? If we don’t find anything, we can throw it away, we can throw it in the trash,” Oppenheim said. “And luckily they agreed.”
Oppenheim continued, saying that the “kill switch” negotiations “changed everything”, especially as Fielder was hesitant about how the document would fare with only 34 days remaining before Holmes went to prison. The provision also gave them independence from the project, he said.
“It was the first time I said, ‘Oh, we actually have room to explore something without the pressure of anyone. [over us],” Oppenheim said. “I wish I had that for every project, because then it really feels like you’re just working out of curiosity. You can essentially catch fish.”
In another interview with wired Magazine, Fielder also explained why he wanted such a provision in the contract.
“I told A24, ‘I don’t really know what the angle is, but something is tickling my mind,'” he said. “She was going to go to jail, so we didn’t know what was going to happen. I said, ‘If you guys want, I’ll go down and start filming and see what happens. But we don’t need the ability to give you guys anything if it doesn’t work out.’ And he said ‘Sure.’
He continued: “It really means I don’t have to hold back with her or with them. Making a movie, or any project, is very stressful. So if we have to pull the plug because it doesn’t work out, that would be a relief to me. It’s a really cool area to work in. Lance and I both thought, ‘Okay, at least, it’ll be an interesting week or two that we’ll have as a story.'”