Coming out of the premiere Los Angeles screening of You Can See Everything this week, a recent Oscar nominee for Best Documentary Feature proclaimed Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim‘s riveting Elizabeth Holmes film “exceeded every expectation.” That’s a sentiment shared by viewers since the film’s surprise sneak peek at Telluride. Indeed, the inside-the-room profile of the disgraced Theranos mastermind has been gaining momentum among industry voters and professional pundits as a potential Best Picture contender — which would be a first for a documentary.
As of Thursday, You Can See Everything had ticked up 5% since the L.A. showcase, and now sits at No. 17 with just over a 10% chance at a Best Picture nomination. Those are the same odds as the blockbuster Michael, putting You Can See Everything in plum position in an unsettled 10-film field ahead of its release on Oct. 16.
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But while You Can See Everything has major Oscar aspirations and is likely to be competitive at contests like the Film Independent Spirit Awards or the Producers Guild Awards, the film has virtually no path forward at another major precursor: the Golden Globes.
The reason is simple: documentaries are ineligible at the Globes. Since its launch in 1944, the Globes have excluded unscripted fare, and a Globes source confirmed that remains the case, noting that the submissions guidelines are explicit about what qualifies for the film categories.
Per the rules: Feature-length, scripted motion pictures (70 minutes or longer) that have been both released and made available for viewing to all Golden Globes voters pursuant to these rules during the qualifying year (January 1 through December 31).
Though Fielder’s TV series The Rehearsal racked up four Emmy nominations last year in comedy categories, including writing and directing nods for Fielder, the Globes abides by its own rules for comedy — and You Can See Everything, while oftentimes uproarious, is not, by the Globes’ definition, a scripted motion picture, thereby disqualifying it from contention in the Best Picture race. The nearly three-hour-long doc follows Holmes and her partner, Billy Evans, in the weeks before she reported to prison in 2023 to serve her 11-year sentence for defrauding investors. Fielder, Oppenheim, and crew moved in with the couple in her final days at home, having near-unfettered access to her life.
The Globes source did note that the film’s distributor, A24, could appeal to seek a special dispensation in film categories, but such a move would be unlikely to succeed. However, there is one potential landing spot on the Globes ballot for You Can See Everything that does not discriminate against docs. Cinematic and Box Office Achievement is, per the rulebook, designed “to recognize the year’s most acclaimed, highest-earning and/or most-viewed films that have garnered extensive global audience support and attained cinematic excellence.” In its three-year existence, the category’s nominees skew toward blockbusters, which would put You Can See Everything — a supersized doc in limited release — at a competitive disadvantage in a year filled with Spider-Mans, Odysseys, Toy Storys, Michaels, and Project Hail Marys.
You Can See Everything isn’t the only potential Oscar player without a viable path to a Globe. Best Song Oscar submissions from David Byrne (for Alex Gibney’s Musk) and Brittany Howard and Robert Glasper (for Ava DuVernay’s 14th) can’t contend because they were written for docs. It’s the same reason previous tunes from the likes of Lady Gaga, Elton John, Sting, and Diane Warren received Oscar nods but didn’t notch corresponding Globe nominations.
Even if You Can See Everything misses out on the Globes, expect the film to be a fixture in the cultural conversation through awards season. As an Emmy nominee told us on the way out of the L.A. screening, summing up the general feeling in the room: “It’s a f–king masterpiece.”
Golden Globes producer Dick Clark Productions is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Eldridge and Penske Media Corporation, which owns Gold Derby.
