Living as close to the edge of financial ruin as I do–especially in the last third of every month–I tend to suffer from more FOMO than most. What I wish I could run out and see without giving it a second thought is no longer an option for moi. The latest such example hit theatres last weekend and ever since has become a relative record-setter and, more significantly, zeitgeist lightning rod. DEADLINE’s king-maker Pete Hammond paid homage to the accomplishment on Monday:
Ever since its super-secret onetime screening at the Telluride Film Festival over Labor Day weekend, Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim‘s brilliant, near three-hour Elizabeth Holmes documentary You Can See Everything has been one of the most talked about films of the fall season — if not the entire year. Now, after this past weekend’s sensational opening in about 800 theaters, where it grossed $15 million-plus to become the highest-grossing debut in under 1000 theaters in more than two decades (and the biggest non-music documentary opening since Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 in 2004), it is white hot and bound to accelerate…Pundits are already speculating on the movie’s Oscar chances in the Best Picture category, where no documentary has ever been nominated before. But I have to say there never has been one quite like You Can See Everything, in which Fielder and Oppenheim see, well, everything about disgraced Theranos founder Holmes, who invited them to document her life just a month before reporting to prison.
Were this merely yet another unscripted fall placeholder for screens before the holiday onslaught of more populist fare begins to hit this might seem to be just another plea for relevance and attention. But as was pointed out in this morning’s DAILIES newsletter, even beyond the narrow niche of tastemaking this one has tentacled its way into immediate and measurable relevance:
‘You Can See Everything’ is a rising tide for all things Elizabeth Holmes. Hulu’s ‘The Dropout’ saw viewership jump 186% in September after A24 revealed the secret doc, and the 2022 Amanda Seyfried series has logged 2.2M hours since…Even ‘Bad Blood,’ the 2018 Theranos exposé, is back on the NYT bestseller list.
And as Hammond was quick to note, it’s not like Fielder was a complete unknown to those who compete for eyeballs in the multiplatform universe:
Fielder, whose works include HBO’s The Rehearsal and Comedy Central’s Nathan For You, often blurs the line between reality and fiction but here puts himself in the center of the story in order to see a side of Holmes like never before.
I dredge these datecdotes to the surface in light of the other unavoidable media story so far this week–the aniticipated flogging of Netflix by an impatient and unyielding investment community that corporate leadership greased the wheels for by literally blowing up its existing infrastucture. But as Hammond’s colleague Dade Hayes noted, rejection resulted not merely from what they have not yet done, but even more for what they don’t yet believe they will:
Battered Netflix shares tumbled in after-hours trading Tuesday as the company lowered full-year advertising guidance and issued an updated revenue outlook that disappointed Wall Street. The swoon came despite a solid set of financials for the third quarter. Earnings per share of 87 cents beat Wall Street expectations, rising from 59 cents in the same period of 2025. Revenue of $12.87 billion, up 12% year-over-year, matched the Street estimate…The company expects fourth-quarter revenue to rise 12% to $13.4 billion, while full-year revenue is now projected to come in at $51.1 billion. While that would be 13% above 2025 levels, the new forecast is slightly below analysts’ consensus and also at the low end of the range the company provided in prior earnings reports.
In a manner that makes one believe that Scott Bessent may be his ghostwriter, our favorite streaming bear somehow took a defiant and tone-done approach in the spiel which yet another DEADLINEr, Jill Goldsmith, shared yesterday afternoon:
“Our business and our business flywheel are working. There is no need for a fundamental shift in the strategy. We do need better execution in the U.S. Our content around the world is largely working,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos insisted Tuesday as analysts lobbed question upon question about what the company is doing to address a slowdown in growth.
In other words, strong titles in global territories from Asia Pacific to Latin America are driving engagement, subscriber growth, revenue and profit. “The U.S. is also working, it’s just not growing as fast as it could, or as fast as we’d like. We had some really solid doubles and triples this year, but the other territories count on some of those titles being home runs so that they’ll travel around the world,” he said on a call after quarterly earnings. “We’re focusing on that execution.”
Oh really? Then please man-splain how the f-ck your team–knowing full well what had transpired and awaiting–didn’t even try to put in a pre-emptive bid for something that in recent years would have inevitably wound up in your inventory?
This seems to be at the crux of where Wall Street’s consternation lies. Since it decided to pivot from a DVD rental business Netflix has aimed to define itself as the center of the cultural Town Square, mostly removed from politics. That’s been especially true when it comes to both true crime and true art. The same default destination that gave us ROMA, THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT and, more recently, EAST OF EDEN also gave us TIGER KING, MONSTER and these 28 other examples that the faceless bots at TUDUM.com eagerly tout for those in need of a fix. They have arguably more data at their disposal to better define exactly who watched these works, how many overlapped and from what households they came from. And at least until last week when they unceremoniously jettisoned the sorts of minds who knew where and how to look at least the option of accessing competitive data from Hulu, HBO and Comedy Central to run up a flagpole the touchpoints of Holmes and Fielder to help direct those who were at Telluride to determine how high to bid on something that on the surface checked off much of the list of bullet points for success that should have been on any negotiator’s shopping list?
I realize hindsight is the best foresight, and I probably wouldn’t have been quite as agog going into festival season if I had not been in the field with acquisitions. I will share that when I did have such responsibility I indeed did my homework going in and when surprises were unveiled I made damn sure I’d check in with home base to get as much data and intel on something that was commanding headlines and conversation.
So as the housecleaning continues in the land of Tudum–as expected, film honcho Dan Lin indeed took a bullet yesterday–and Peter Rice awaits an anointing and a challenge made all the more daunting by yesterday’s vote of non-confidence–may I humbly add that sure, go right ahead and pursue the rebirth of Mike and Pam and yep, do continue to selectively seek major global sporting events on a regular enough basis to address those burning questions of churn and reach. I’ll even allow you to defend releasing series on a binge model even if THE ANKLER’s curmudgeonly Richard Rushfeld has already followed my lead and sent a blind “memo” to a CEO blusteringly opining said strategy has run its course. I’m sure Richard reviewed all the actual data and specific subscribing household duplications between seasons to come to his conclusion that that’s why all of those engagement downturns season/season were happening. Knowing his history as well as I do, I’ll let you determine if it’s worth the investment to go behind their paywall for the details. I’ve already had my choice made for me.
But whilst this non-shift continues to unfold it might be worth more than a fleeting moment of attention to take a good, hard look at exactly what will be on the slate for upcoming film festivals and showcases–particularly in the unscripted space where the cost of investment is significantly lower–and at least compile some intel–quantitative and qualitative–on what command of psyches their subjects already have. Then, since you actually have the ability to quickly and inexpensively survey them since they’re YOUR subscribers run a few of your hotter takes by THEM?
Remember, Teddy Bear, it’s your contention that your domestic strategy just needs a little tweaking. And I even get that you needed to shed a few full-time salaries to look a little better to those doubting Thomases who have grown weary of your shtick. You can probably get to some of what at least I’m suggesting you do with some short-term consultants guiding your remaining lackies and drones through the evaluation process.
I promise you, we’re out there. That particular need and desired opportunitycauses my FOMO to rise to even greater heights. Some of us can see everything clearer than others.
Until next time…