Many people have this memory of traditional TV documentary-making that aims to portray pure reality, and I just don’t see that as the only option. Alex Gibney Read Quote
Critics can say what they like about the films, but very often, there’s a certain expectation of documentaries that they’re supposed to be like PowerPoint presentations. I see documentaries as movies. So when I see some critics writing that we could have done without the recreations altogether – well, perhaps. Alex Gibney Read Quote
There’s something magical about a home run. It almost violates the space of the stadium. It’s a game of the imagination in some ways. Baseball. Alex Gibney Read Quote
I’m not sure why, but I seem to be drawn to stories about abuses of power. But I’m also drawn, not so much to victims’ stories, as stories that tend to show how power works. Because if you don’t understand the criminals, you can’t figure out how to stop the crimes. Alex Gibney Read Quote
The whole macho thing has to be reexamined. Because in my view, the Bush administration was weak, not strong. To engage in a policy of torture is a weak policy. Because ultimately, it encourages the terrorists. It undermines our own values. It corrupts our system. And it doesn’t get good intelligence. Alex Gibney Read Quote
People who lie, particularly those who lie really big, can’t do it effectively unless they feel that there’s a righteous power behind what they’re doing. You’re entitled to lie because the end justifies the means. Alex Gibney Read Quote
It’s hard to make a living doing documentaries. Frankly, if it takes you five years to do a film, and that’s the only film you’re doing, you’re in trouble. Alex Gibney Read Quote
I think of my films as not necessarily political but more moral. Between my father, my stepfather, and my mother – they all felt pretty passionately about the importance of standing up and doing the right thing, and none of them were suck-ups. What motivates me is usually abuse of power. Alex Gibney Read Quote
I thought it was a classic David and Goliath story, and I was fully onboard Team WikiLeaks. I was very pro the leaks, barring the redaction issue. But I see WikiLeaks as a publisher. Alex Gibney Read Quote
I am furious at the way that we have allowed money to subvert our democracy. I am appalled at the way that the U.S., a very wealthy nation, permits and even encourages a level of poverty that other wealthy nations would not even consider. Alex Gibney Read Quote
