An Unexpected Invitation
A few months ago, I received an unexpected email from Nathan Fielder’s agent: would we be interested in featuring Fielder on the cover for autumn? Without hesitation, we responded with a resounding yes. The proposal came as Fielder was preparing to unveil a “secret project,” so clandestine that I had to sign a non-disclosure agreement just to learn what it entailed. Consequently, I became one of the very few individuals who previewed “You Can See Everything” before its US premiere in early September, as a surprise addition to the Telluride Film Festival.
If you have access to the internet, you are likely aware that Telluride was a nuclear event online: Reddit forums exploded, the best memes emerged overnight, and every journalist clamoured to see the film. Or rather, to secure an interview with Fielder. After all, he has become a cult figure for his ability to transform human discomfort into pure art. He created a café called Dumb Starbucks, which turned into international news, and built a fake bar from scratch so a man could practice having a difficult conversation with a friend. He even trained as a commercial airline pilot and flew a 737 filled with passengers, an experience that can only be described as one of the most transcendent moments in television history.
For a certain type of viewer, Nathan Fielder is a comedy god among mere mortals. “You Can See Everything” is an astonishing film. I would venture to say it ranks among the finest I have ever seen. Co-directed by Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, it begins as a strange, captivating, and at times hilarious psychological dance over 34 days involving Fielder, Elizabeth Holmes, and her partner, Billy Evans, prior to Holmes’ imprisonment, and later evolves into something so seductive and brilliant that it defies description.
A Lasting Impression
After watching it, I found myself contemplating the film every single day until I rewatched it a few weeks later. It remains firmly lodged in my mind. Prior to the photoshoot with Fielder, other journalists from WIRED had seen the film; we spent hours discussing its facial expressions, relationships, and even the meaning of specific phrases. We found common ground in very few areas, other than the consensus that Fielder, known for his meticulous world-building, seemed to have finally stumbled upon a realm far stranger than anything he could have previously imagined.
I had the opportunity to sit down with Fielder for a conversation at the end of September. Despite his tendency to overthink things, his unyielding limits, and his apparent ambivalence towards the press, he came across as considered and genuine. The interview has been edited for clarity.
Unpacking the Experience
KATIE DRUMMOND: I get very anxious recording interviews.
NATHAN FIELDER: Is it in case the recording is lost?
Exactly.
Right. You have a backup as well.
Actually, I have two.
I would do the same.
Really?
What?
Keep things backed up?
No, but if I had your job, I would.
Okay, before we delve into the details, I just want you to know that I’m aware of how important it is for you to preserve the experience of the film.
Yes. But some people like to know what happens. I read an article that told one group the ending of a story, and another group didn’t know, and the group that knew the ending said they enjoyed it more.
Managing Secrecy
So perhaps it’s just me. But I love being surprised.
When this interview is published, the film will already be in theatres. Yet you kept the project under wraps for three years.
Yes.
From what I understand, only a handful of people knew it was being filmed.
We wanted to keep it to a select few.
The secrecy is largely characteristic of your work. Why was it so important for “You Can See Everything” to be shrouded in mystery as well?
I was concerned for the subjects involved. Initially, no one knew where they were. As we began filming, paparazzi started to swarm the location. The agreement was to keep everything under wraps because it could affect them, and we didn’t want our participation to become news.
Moreover, I believe that when information leaks about something, the story is already out there, which could hinder our ability to carry out the project. We didn’t know whom we wanted to talk to or who we wanted to film. We had no plan when we arrived, so we thought: “It’s best to work in a place where no one knows we exist.” We believed that would give us an advantage.
Crafting the Film’s Narrative
How many people did you have to deceive?
It’s not that I deceived them. I simply told them: “I can’t tell you what I’m working on, but I’m excited for you to see it when it comes out.” People knew I was preparing something. My family was aware, as well as some close friends and trusted collaborators.
Well, now we have the trailer. How did you approach the marketing campaign for the film’s release? Was there a strategy in deciding what to reveal and what to keep hidden?
Is this strategic? I don’t know. In reality, no one quite knew how to handle this.
Even the folks at A24 didn’t know what we were working on. We just got on with it, and they didn’t ask questions. I think they saw an opportunity to drop it suddenly at Telluride.
Public Anticipation and Speculation
I thought: “Will this be enough time?” Typically, they need much more lead time to prepare for something like this for the first time. We only had five weeks until the premiere.
What a surprise.
They simply trusted the plan. Then came the question of what we were going to show. It quickly became apparent that Elizabeth was a highly controversial figure, so I understood that we were working with material onto which people would project many things.
I think we all trusted that the audience would approach the film with an open mind and allow themselves to be surprised by some of the revelations we were making.
Have you read the speculations?
Exploring the Speculations
Speculations about what?
About the film, from those who haven’t seen it yet.
What are people speculating? Tell me.
Theories that Holmes is naked, that you are naked…
Ah, that.
That you dress up as Elizabeth Holmes, that you become her. There’s even an AI-generated image of you in a blonde wig.
The truth is, I haven’t seen much. When everything came to light and we participated in the Telluride Film Festival, I had my phone switched off all night. The next day, I saw some reactions, but there were so many that I became overwhelmed.
The Unpredictability of the Project
I understand that people project expectations onto a new project when it resembles things I’ve done before. But this is completely different. For me, it’s distinct in terms of how it came about, how it functions, and all it allows us to explore.
Was this an emancipating project?
Well, many projects have to be conceived by oneself. You have a concept, you present it, then you have to develop a plan to secure the necessary funding to execute it, and finally, you put it into practice. Things can change while you’re doing it, but if they greenlight a project, you have to deliver something.
Planning and Spontaneity
You seem like someone who plans quite a bit.
I try, but I always end up grappling with the complications of wanting to plan everything. It happened when I was making “Nathan for You”. I thought: “We can anticipate how things will turn out.” But the best moments emerged when something unexpected occurred. Later, I would reflect: “Why did I think I could predict or control all of this?”
That was part of the inspiration for “The Rehearsal”. I have a tendency to want to plan everything. Sometimes there’s pressure to “you have to deliver something,” so you want to think it through carefully.
But in this case, a story about Holmes had already been told, I had a lot of interest in getting to know her, but I didn’t see how it could be a film or project about her.
Connecting with Elizabeth Holmes
You and Lance contacted her.
It was a bit of both because she and Billy Evans had reached out to A24, intending to document their lives in