{
  "id": 13785365,
  "title": "‘Musk’ Director Alex Gibney Says Universal Wavered on Global Rollout After Trillionaire’s Legal Threats",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/11/musk-director-alex-gibney-says-universal-wavered-on-global-rollout",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-11T19:22:46.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "TheWrap",
    "slug": "thewrap",
    "url": "https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/musk-director-alex-gibney-says-universal-wavered-on-global-rollout-after-trillionaires-legal-threats/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Director Alex Gibney of the documentary \"Musk\" revealed to the New York Times that Universal, the film's international distributor, reconsidered its global rollout following legal threats from the project's subject, trillionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk. The Oscar-winning filmmaker, while not disclosing the specifics of his conversations with Universal, confirmed that the distributor's concerns extended beyond just legal clearances. Asked by the Times if the hesitation was solely due to legal clearances, Gibney responded, \"You can walk and chew gum at the same time,\" emphasizing that they had recently engaged in discussions and were actively planning the release. When queried about Universal's reluctance to proceed, Gibney suggested that their concerns might stem from the political climate, but ultimately attributed the issue to Universal themselves. This statement came a month after Universal reaffirmed its commitment to releasing \"Musk\" despite reports suggesting the studio was wavering, stating in a September 17th press release that \"plans have not changed.\" The film, which Musk characterized as a \"hit piece\" in his legal notice to Jigsaw Productions, has been lauded for its exploration of Musk's rise to global prominence. Released in limited theaters in the U.S. on Friday, the documentary now expands to a nationwide release on October 16th and has garnered a 97% rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.",
  "summary": "\"Were they concerned that in this political environment, a film about the world’s richest man was problematic? Maybe,\" the filmmaker tells the New York Times The post ‘Musk’ Director Alex Gibney Says Universal Wavered on Global Rollout After Trillionaire’s Legal Threats appeared first on TheWrap .",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Variety",
        "title": "‘Musk’ Director Alex Gibney Confirms Universal Wavered in Planning Overseas Release, Says He Tried to Interview Elon Musk: ‘His Response Was Writing “Gibney Is a Douche”’",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/11/musk-director-alex-gibney-confirms-universal-wavered-in-planning",
        "published": "2026-10-11T18:04:50.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}