Photo courtesy of Union Docs
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Between collecting and leaking large bodies of classified military secrets, is Julian Assange's stubbornness to reveal his own shortcomings so hard to believe? He's a veteran hacker with anarchist aspirations. You don't have to be a bully like Nelson Muntz to dislike bleeding your own blood.In his style of circular storytelling, Alex Gibney went to punch this paradigm straight in the face, in the first major documentary to come about Assange, Manning, and Wikileaks (there will be more, along with a fiction film). On Sunday afternoon, I had the opportunity to chat with Alex about the film. We only had brief moment to chat over the phone, but that was perfect, appropriate even. If Michael Moore is obsessed with outrage, and Herzog is obsessed with dreams, Gibney is a master of moments.Motherboard: I was wondering about your father, the journalist Frank Gibney, and how he may have influenced you.He was a great guy, always very curious, that’s what he taught me more than anything else. He stayed very curious until the end of his life. He was a great journalist, that was what motivated him. I think he had trouble with authority which I maybe also have. So for all those reasons, I think he was a big influence on me. I think he was also somebody that just was not willing to accept simple versions of events; he’d always go deeper.Bradley wasn't available for an interview and Julian denied your request. Was lack of access the most challenging part of making this film?
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As a journalist, how are you concerned about the protection of other whistleblowers out there? Have you seen the New Yorker’s own version of Wikileaks, Strongbox?"The Julian Assange that Mark Davis captured just before the Afghan War logs is a more interesting figure… his character flew out of balance, and now he’s something that’s closer to a human megaphone."
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You know, I’ve interviewed athletes, very famous athletes, and they’re always talking about themselves in the third person. And you’re looking around to see what other person is in the room.So, would you rather talk to Steve Bartman or Julian Assange?"He’s like a guy constantly giving a speech, in his Evita-like way, on the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy."
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