SPOILER ALERT: This article contains major spoilers for “You Can See Everything,” in theaters now.
“You Can See Everything” could rewrite the rules of Oscar season.
Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s A24 documentary, which follows the Theranos founder through the 34 days before her incarceration and continues to roll afterward, opened to a staggering $15 million over the weekend, a number most nonfiction films never see in their entirety. It also boasts a record 99 on Metacritic, 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, and holds a 4.7 (out of 5) on Letterboxd and 9.4 on IMDb (as of Monday, October 19). If the IMDb score holds up, it will surpass longtime No. 1 “The Shawshank Redemption” (1994) as the highest-rated film of all time.
In addition to being eligible for Best Documentary Feature at the 99th Academy Awards, the film will also be submitted across the board, as seen on the A24 awards site: Best Picture (Nathan Fielder, Lance Oppenheim, Tatiana Bears, Maggie Ambrose and Jack Davis), Director (Fielder and Oppenheim), Production Design (Alex DiGerlando and Rebecca Meis), Cinematography (David Bolen), Costume Design (Katina Danabassis), film editing (Adam Locke-Norton), makeup and hair (Stephanie Pasicov and Kerrie Smith), sound (Paul Hsu and Richard Carlos) and original music (Ari Balouzian).
Variety has exclusively confirmed after the film made its surprise world premiere (and general existence became known) at the Telluride Film Festival that Amanda Seyfried, credited in the film as Elizabeth Holmes, is eligible for Oscars in the acting categories. Seyfried, who also appears in her own role while reprising her Emmy Award-winning turn as Holmes from “The Dropout,” will campaign in the supporting actress category. If she gets the nomination, it would be her second, after “Mank” (2020). She would get there for playing two people at once: herself and the woman for whom she had already won an Emmy statue.
Fielder may also be eligible to appear as a performer, although he is credited as himself. If eligible and submissive, the logical focus would be the main actor. No actor has ever been nominated for their own role. The closest we got to seeing was someone from another A24 film, “Sing Sing” (2023), in which co-writer and star Clarence Maclin was in the race for best supporting actor, but was ultimately overlooked.
Christopher Abbott, who also appears in the film as Holmes’ wife Billy Evans in recreated scenes, is also eligible for acting consideration in the supporting actor category.
Sources close to the awards campaign say that promotion of the acting will be focused on Seyfried anyway.
No documentary has ever been nominated for Best Picture in 98 ceremonies. The zeitgeist says this one can be. The awards circuit that usually leads the way is another matter.
We are in uncharted territory.
Courtesy of the Everett Collection
Golden Globes: Not eligible under current written rules, but there might be an avenue.
The Globes don’t recognize documentaries, which means no picture, no director and no Seyfried. The film cannot be submitted in any category. However, with the acting eligibility lingering, sources share that the band may be considering him for this upcoming tour. That doesn’t mean he can be eligible at all levels. And then in that case, do they consider it a drama or a comedy/musical?
Critics’ Choice Awards: Eligible in all areas, including acting races.
This makes Critics Choice the only major stop this season where performances of “You Can See Everything” could gain significant recognition ahead of the Oscar nominations.
Acting Award: Not eligible but could they make an exception?
The ceremony formerly known as the SAG Awards does not recognize documentaries because they are not narrative films, even with the narrative reenactments woven throughout it. Seyfried’s path to a supporting actress nomination seemed to avoid the precursor vote of her fellow actors. However, the commission that rules on films would review the film to see if it can indeed be eligible.
BAFTA: Still a little question mark but it doesn’t look promising.
Current rules and guidelines say the film can be submitted in the early categories, but sources say BAFTA may not participate. It’s less clear whether Seyfried and Fielder can compete in the acting races. However, there are indications that it could eventually be recognized if voters choose to do so.
Writers Guild of America: Not eligible.
The film has no credited screenplay, which is not unusual for a documentary but is also not universal. Michael Moore’s “Bowling for Columbine” won the WGA Original Screenplay Award more than 20 years ago. That won’t be the case here, so “You Can See Everything” won’t be eligible for the original or adapted screenplay categories at the Oscars.
Directors Guild of America: Eligible in the first two categories.
This is where it gets interesting. The DGA has a separate documentary category and its top prize is awarded to directors of a theatrically released feature film. The questions began to creep in because of RaMell Ross, whose “Hale County This Morning, This Evening” was nominated for documentary feature at the Oscars before his first narrative film, “Nickel Boys,” was entered in the directorial debut category at the DGA, a category he later won.
This is Fielder’s first directorial credit for a feature-length documentary, but that’s not the case for Oppenheim, who directed “Spermworld” (2024) and “Some Kind of Heaven” (2020). Therefore, the film will not be eligible for a first feature film. However, Oppenheim made his narrative feature directorial debut with the A24 thriller “Primetime” starring Robert Pattinson, Merritt Wever and Skyler Gisondo. He will fight for one of the five places in this category.
More importantly, under the future-oriented rules, Fielder and Oppenheim are eligible for the DGA’s top prize in addition to the documentary prize. That means they could take a spot otherwise reserved for Christopher Nolan (“The Odyssey”) or the other directing duos in the race, including Los Javis (“La Bola Negra”) and Phil Lord and Chris Miller (“Hail Mary Project”).
ACE Swirls: Eligible
The guild that represents film editing separates feature-length cinema films into four categories: drama, comedy, documentary and animation. According to the rules, “You can see everything” should choose a category to submit to. A similar situation occurred with Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s animated non-fiction film “Flee” (2021), which was submitted to the guild as a documentary and nominated by ACE Eddie.
ASC (American Society of Cinematographers): Eligible, but only as a documentary.
According to the rules governing the highest award given to filmmakers, “All feature-length documentaries and episodes of documentary series must be submitted in the Documentary Award category. »
Producers Guild of America: Eligible for both the Cinema Cinema Prize and the Documentary Prize.
Add it up and you get a competitor without a conventional card. Best Picture winners are usually announced via the guilds, with a PGA win, a DGA nod, a berth in the overall Actor Awards, and a Globe or two along the way. “You Can See Everything” probably won’t be at the Globes. The actors can’t offer it. BAFTA would be a drag if the rules applied. That leaves the DGA, PGA, and Critics Choice as the only places the film can win a top prize and indicate whether it’s a historic nominee or something bigger.
And that raises a bigger question: What if the first documentary nominated for Best Picture went all the way to the top prize?
A few studios are trying to frame the race as David versus Goliath as to how they can possibly topple Christopher Nolan’s billionaire sensation, “The Odyssey.” What if it was actually Ulysses versus Elizabeth Holmes?
One caveat that applies to all of the above: Each voting body and guild writes its own rules, and any of them can convene a committee to review eligibility. This is all subject to change.
Holmes built a business on the promise that a single test could see All. Awards season has at least six major competitions, and right now, none of them can agree on what it is. In fact look.
Gn entert
