In HBO’s documentary “The Dark Money Game,” director Alex Gibney examines the history and present-day influence of dark money in American politics. It’s one of several projects Gibney has been working on related to the Trump presidency and crony capitalism.
“The Dark Money Game” features two docs – “Ohio Confidential” about the corruption case of former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and “Wealth of the Wicked,” which traces the history of campaign finance back to the creation of the Federal Election Commission in 1975, the 2002 McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Bill, and the Citizens United decision of 2010 that has molded the shape of present-day super PACs (political action committees).
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“Ohio Confidential” will be released on HBO on April 15, followed by “Wealth of the Wicked” on April 16. Both films will be available to stream on Max on April 15.
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The two-part doc reveals how an untraceable web of money from wealthy individuals and corporations representing business interests or religious agendas flows through non-profits and super PACs to support candidates and political movements. The project was inspired by Jane Mayer’s 2016 book “Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right,” and features interviews with journalists, including Mayer, as well as lawmakers, judges, FBI investigators, whistleblowers, and insiders on both sides of the issue.
“The application of money in the political process is one that has been ill-examined,” says Gibney. “In part because it gets technical, and it can be a little bit boring. You start to talk about 501(c)(4)s, super PACs, and people’s eyes begin to glaze over, and I think that’s by intent. The money people know how to use that glaze-over stuff to be able to dissipate the outrage that would result if citizens really knew that politicians were being paid off for certain results. The stories that we are telling in these films give people a foundation for what to look for and how we got here.”
Gibney describes the first film, “Ohio Confidential,” as a “true crime thriller” that will attract audiences from both sides of the aisle.
“Whether you’re red, blue, left, right, nobody likes a bribe,” says Gibney. “The idea that somebody slipped a dollar bill or a lot of dollar bills under the table to get a result that you can’t get, and it’s out of bounds of the democratic process, so suddenly somebody’s being advantaged at your expense makes everybody’s blood boil.”
HBO pushed up the release of “The Dark Money Game” because of the doc’s “relevancy” and to “lean in to what’s happening right now,” according to Gibney.
“In “The Dark Money Game” we are talking about a system of crony capitalism where the rich get to buy results that they want,” says Gibney. “And when I say rich, I don’t mean just Republicans. Ultimately, what is happening is that policies that favor the rich, whether left-leaning or right-leaning, are the policies that are being adopted, and they are not providing better healthcare for everybody at a lower cost. That’s not a policy that the rich are pushing or adapting or helping to fund.”
In February, Gibney sold a majority stake in his Jigsaw Productions to billionaire philanthropist Wendy Schmidt, which allowed him to expand the company and keep making political fare.
“We want to be positioned to capture this moment,” says Gibney. “Many streamers and many networks have decided that politically controversial content is not something that they want to engage in for all sorts of reasons. Well, it turns out that audiences want to see this stuff. Look how well “No Other Land” has been doing at independent theaters across the country.” (“No Other Land” has grossed over $2 million domestically despite not having traditional U.S. distribution.)
Gibney is capturing the moment via several docs, including “The Dark Money Game,” “Musk,” and “Speechless.” While “Musk” examines the multi-billionaire tech entrepreneur and the head of President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk, “Speechless” investigates the culture wars being waged and the threats to freedom of speech on university and college campuses across the United States. (Gibney is directing “Musk” and executive producing “Speechless.”)
“Musk” has distribution via HBO Max, but with U.S. mainstream distributors, i.e., Netflix, Amazon, Apple, and Disney no longer supporting controversial political docs, there is a possibility that the ‘Musk’ doc could undergo scrutiny from top Warner executives before airing. But Gibney isn’t worried, saying that HBO has “doubled down” on the film, which the director has been working on for the last two years.
“We had a cut and we were planning on releasing “Musk” very soon, but when (Elon) became co-president of the United States, it became such a big story that HBO said, “Look, you guys have to reckon with that. Now you have the ability to tell a story about how the past is prologue,” says Gibney. “We have a lot of information I know that nobody else has, but also we have a story and a compelling way of telling the story that I think is pretty potent.”
“Musk” is set to be released next year. Another doc about Elon Musk titled “The Tesla Files” is also in the works via Germany’s Beetz Brothers production company.
Potentially crossing Trump via his documentaries and the possible retribution it could cause isn’t keeping Gibney up at night. “I’m more afraid of what happens if I don’t speak up,” he says.
Watch the trailer for “The Dark Money Game” here.
