NOBODY SPEAK: Hulk Hogan, Gawker and Trials of a Free Press

About

When online tabloid Gawker posted a sex tape starring former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, a high-stakes legal battle pitting privacy rights against the First Amendment ensued. Hogan won the case and the staggering settlement he received not only bankrupted Gawker and its founder Nick Denton, but also exposed a controversial, behind-the-scenes benefactor: Silicon Valley venture capitalist Peter Thiel.

Whether you love or hate Gawker, Brian Knappenberger’s gripping polemic reveals the forces that really brought down the news portal. Taking examples like Sheldon Adelson’s purchase of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, this compelling documentary illustrates a growing, sinister trend at odds with our country’s free press. Corporate executives, titans, and billionaires are tipping the balance on the public’s access to news, posing new threats to society’s relationship to the truth.

Knappenberger’s knack for capturing timely and provocative shifts in the new digital era is instinctive. Fusing exhaustive interviews with Denton, commentators, and journalists NOBODY SPEAK weaves a disturbing, fascinating tale of power and truth whose moral runs to the core of democracy.

YEAR 2016

SECTION U.S. Doc Comp

COUNTRY U.S.A.

RUN TIME 96 min

COMPANY Luminant Media/Submarine

WEBSITE http://luminantmedia.com

EMAIL info@luminantmedia.com

PHONE (310) 822-1824

Credits

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Artist Bio

Brian Knappenberger

Brian Knappenberger is an award-winning filmmaker whose latest film, The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz, premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and won a Writers Guild Award. His previous work includes We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists, about the online hacktivist non-group Anonymous, the award-winning documentary series Truth And Power, and numerous other investigative documentaries for PBS, Pivot, Bloomberg Television, National Geographic, and The Discovery Channel.