This should be a compelling watch.
Unless you're an avid documentary watcher, the chances are you won't have heard of Alex Gibney. However, that doesn't change the fact that he's one of the most prolific and important factual filmmakers on the planet and, for his next piece, he's taking on Tiger Woods.
Gibney's filmography is as eclectic as it is impressive. He's examined everything from the United States' use of torture to combat the War on Terror (
Taxi to the Dark Side), the life and works of Hunter S Thompson (
Gonzo) and garnered widespread acclaim for his absorbing film looking at the history of the Scientology (
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief).
Gibney also recently released
No Stone Unturned in which he attempted to expose the collusion which shielded the perpetrators of the 1994 Loughinisland massacre from justice.
Now, he's set his sights on the world's most famous golfer. According to
Variety, Gibney is developing a docuseries based on Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian’s controversial new biography on the 14-time major winner.
The aim is to provide an exhaustive, fastidious and perhaps definitive account of Woods' life and career, from his early years as a golfing prodigy to a superstar who transcended the sport, dominating the game for a decade before a sex scandal that prompted a spectacular fall from grace.
The project is in its earliest stages of development and does not yet have a release date, or indeed a distributor. But it is certainly interesting to hear that Gibney has made Woods the centrepiece of his next project.
The new biography on Woods, simply titled
Tiger Woods, hit shelves this week. Following its release, Mark Steinberg and Glenn Greenspan, two of the golfer's top representatives, alleged that the book is "littered with egregious errors" and the authors "can't even manage basic truth and accuracy."
In response, Benedict and Keteyian issued the following statement:
"Between January 2016 and February 2018, we made repeated attempts to interview Tiger himself through his representatives, Glenn Greenspan and Mark Steinberg. As we write in our book, they imposed conditions for Tiger’s cooperation that no serious journalist would accept.
"As for our sourcing and research, as responsible biographers we are very open in our book about the use of Tiger’s own extensive written and public statements as a crucial source of insights, facts, and reflections. We credit these and other previously written books and articles about Tiger Woods for providing valuable reference and verification for our narrative.
"If we have made any inadvertent typographical or factual errors, we will correct them in future printings of the book.
"But let us be clear: We stand by the accuracy of our reporting and are proud to have produced a critically acclaimed book that answers a question many have asked for many years: Who is Tiger Woods?"
https://twitter.com/OTLonESPN/status/979054029169885189
Woods is set to play at The Masters next week, with the 42-year-old aiming to clinch his first Green Jacket since 2005 and his first major since the 2008 US Open.
