David Byrne Wrote A Song Using Only Elon Musk Quotes For “Scathing” New Documentary
Elon Musk, the richest and arguably shittiest man on the planet, is the subject of Musk , a new epic-length documentary from Alex Gibney, a filmmaker who won an Oscar for 2005's Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room and whose other works include Going Clear: Scientology And The Prison Of Belief and The Inventor: Out For Blood In Silicon Valley . Musk is 235 minutes long, and Gibney calls it a…
David Byrne, a renowned musician and filmmaker, has penned an original song for Alex Gibney's upcoming documentary on Elon Musk. Titled "Let Me Sell You a Dream," the track was co-written with composer Daniel Pemberton and draws its lyrical inspiration directly from Musk's own public statements. Byrne mentioned to Variety that he specifically requested "good quotes from the Martian" before expanding his search online.
The result, as described by Gibney, is "foot-tapping sardonic poetry." If the song secures a nomination, it would be Byrne's first return to Oscar consideration in nearly four decades, with his previous win coming in 1988 for Best Original Score alongside Ryuichi Sakamoto and Cong Su for "The Last Emperor." Pemberton, Byrne's co-writer, has also garnered Oscar buzz with his nomination for "Hear My Voice" from "The Trial of the Chicago 7" in 2021.
The documentary, set to premiere out of competition at the Venice International Film Festival on September 8th, will subsequently screen at the Toronto International Film Festival. Bleecker Street will handle the film's US theatrical release on October 16th. Musk, aware of the project since its initial announcement in 2023, has expressed his view that it might be a "hit-piece," despite Gibney's assertion that such a characterization is unfounded.
In addition to the documentary, Byrne has recently unveiled a 70mm concert film directed by the film-maker Brady Corbet.
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- David Byrne Uses Elon Musk’s Own Words for Oscar-Qualifying Song consequence.net
