In Brief:
- The Directors Guild of America ruled Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim's "You Can See Everything" ineligible for its top feature film directing award.
- The A24 documentary on Elizabeth Holmes can compete only in the DGA's documentary category, per guild rules.
- DGA Awards nominations will be announced in January, and A24 is still lobbying other awards bodies.
Image Credit: @A24
Spoiler Alert: This article discusses the nature of the film You Can See Everything and certain casting details. Readers who have not yet seen the film may wish to proceed with caution.
You Can See Everything: The Directors Guild of America has made its call.
Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim's "You Can See Everything" will not compete for the guild's top film honor this season.
A DGA representative confirmed the decision to Variety.
The A24 film about Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes will be considered only for outstanding directorial achievement in documentary.
It is out of the running for outstanding directorial achievement in theatrical feature film.
That award has matched the best director Oscar in nearly every year since 1949.
The guild's own rules explain why. Re-releases, animated films and documentaries are not eligible for the feature film award.
The rule leaves no room for a hybrid or an exception.
A24 and several awards strategists had hoped for a different outcome.
They believed the film's unusual style could earn it a spot in both categories.
The movie blurs the line between nonfiction and staged storytelling.
The idea picked up steam with Amanda Seyfried. She appears in the film and won an Emmy for playing Holmes in the Hulu series "The Dropout."
She is now being positioned for a supporting actress push at the Oscars.
The DGA did not buy the argument. The guild sorts films by how they are produced and submitted.
By that standard, the film is a documentary. Other awards groups may see it differently. That does not change the guild's view.
The ruling carries real weight. The DGA feature prize is one of the most dependable Oscar predictors.
Only eight times in its history has the winner missed out on the best director Oscar.
Without that race, the film loses a key early boost. A documentary win at the guild could still help its standing.
That could lift its chances in the Academy's documentary feature category and in the best picture race.
No nonfiction film has ever been nominated for best picture.
The film runs 174 minutes. It opened in theaters on Oct. 16. It has earned some of the best reviews of the year and strong box office results.
Critics and audiences are still debating what it is. Some call it a traditional documentary. Others compare it to reality television. Some say it is something entirely new.
A24 and its strategists are not done yet. They are in active talks with other awards bodies about how to classify the film. Those include BAFTA, SAG-AFTRA and the Golden Globes.
Hope remains for broad recognition at the Oscars. The film is eligible for best documentary feature at the 99th Academy Awards. It will also be submitted in many other categories.
Here are the planned submissions, as listed on A24's awards site:
- Best picture: Nathan Fielder, Lance Oppenheim, Tatiana Bears, Maggie Ambrose and Jack Davis.
- Director: Fielder and Oppenheim.
- Supporting actress: Amanda Seyfried.
- Supporting actor: Christopher Abbott.
- Production design: Alex DiGerlando and Rebecca Meis.
- Cinematography: David Bolen.
- Costume design: Katina Danabassis.
- Film editing: Adam Locke-Norton.
- Makeup and hairstyling: Stephanie Pasicov and Kerrie Smith.
- Sound: Paul Hsu and Richard Carlos.
- Original score: Ari Balouzian.
Nominations for the 79th annual DGA Awards will be announced in January.
A24 declined to comment.
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