The Truth vs. Alex Jones | |
---|---|
Directed by | Dan Reed |
Produced by |
|
Edited by |
|
Music by | David Schweitzer |
Production companies |
|
Distributed by | HBO |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 121 minutes [1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
The Truth vs. Alex Jones is a 2024 American documentary film, directed and produced by Dan Reed. It follows families of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, taking radio show host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to court for spreading lies about the shooting.
It had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 11, 2024, and was released on March 26, 2024, by HBO.
Families of victims from the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting take InfoWars radio host Alex Jones to court for spreading conspiracies and lies. [2]
Dan Reed received exclusive access to the courtroom of the trial of Alex Jones, after the judge permitted cameras and microphones. [3] Reed attempted to interview Jones for the film, who declined. However, Jones would turn to the cameras and wink or smile, which Reed found strange. [4]
It had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 11, 2024. [5] It was released on HBO and Max on March 26, 2024. [6]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 100% of 21 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.2/10. [7] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 86 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". [8]
The Daily Telegraph 's Anita Singh wrote, "What the families' lawyers – and this documentary – did so effectively was to show that Jones believes none of this and is simply out for financial gain. He knows that putting out garbage on his channel... brings online traffic and a resulting uptick in sales for the vitamin supplements he flogs", and gave the film 4/5 stars. [9] Lucy Mangan of The Guardian also gave it 4/5 stars, writing, "The madness of it, and the knowledge that Jones's rants are giving a certain rabid demographic exactly what they want, the dizzying sense of unreality and the multiplying questions as you watch – about how and why any of this can possibly be – fries your circuits even at this remove of time and space." [10]
Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4, writing: "Sharply edited, sensitively constructed, and expertly crafted. It's a reminder of how to tell this story well in a documentary film instead of dragging it out for the common docuseries trend." [11] Fletcher Peters of The Daily Beast called it "A scathing portrait of Jones and the vile misinformation he spread about the Sandy Hook tragedy." [12]
Other documentaries that also featured Alex Jones:
Alexander Emerick Jones is an American far-right radio show host and prominent conspiracy theorist. He hosts The Alex Jones Show from Austin, Texas, which is the longest-running online news and politics talk show, and was previously broadcast by the Genesis Communications Network across the United States via syndicated and internet radio. He is the founder of InfoWars and Banned.Video, websites that promoted conspiracy theories and fake news.
Jeffrey Wright is an American actor. He has received numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Tony Award, and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to a nomination for an Academy Award. Wright began his career in theater where he gained prominence for his role in the Broadway production of Tony Kushner's Angels in America (1993), for which he won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play. He reprised his role in the acclaimed 2003 HBO miniseries adaptation, earning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie.
InfoWars is an American far-right conspiracy theory and fake news website created by Alex Jones. It was founded in 1999, and operated under Free Speech Systems LLC.
James Joseph Gandolfini Jr. was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Tony Soprano, the Italian-American Mafia crime boss in HBO's television series The Sopranos (1999–2007). For this role, he won three Emmy Awards, five Screen Actors Guild Awards, and one Golden Globe Award. His role as Tony Soprano has been described as one of the greatest and most influential performances in television history.
The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut. The perpetrator, Adam Lanza, fatally shot his mother before murdering 20 students and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and later committed suicide. A number of fringe figures have promoted conspiracy theories that doubt or dispute what occurred at Sandy Hook. Various conspiracy theorists have claimed, for example, that the massacre was actually orchestrated by the U.S. government as part of an elaborate plot to promote stricter gun control laws.
The Genesis Communications Network, often referred to as GCN, was a radio network that operated from 1998 to 2024, owned by Ted Anderson. The network, at its peak, produced 45 shows, distributed on more than 780 radio stations nationwide. The network was known for talk programming; Alex Jones was its most prominent syndicated personality.
HBO Documentary Films is an American production and distribution company, a division of the cable television network HBO that produces non-fiction feature films and miniseries.
Deadwood: The Movie is a 2019 American Western television film directed by Daniel Minahan and written by David Milch for HBO. It is a continuation of the television series of the same name, which was created by Milch and ran for three seasons from 2004 to 2006. The film reunites the majority of the large ensemble cast, including Timothy Olyphant, Ian McShane, Molly Parker, Paula Malcomson, John Hawkes, and Gerald McRaney, and premiered on May 31, 2019.
Abortion: Stories Women Tell is a 2016 American documentary film directed and produced by Tracy Droz Tragos. The film centers on different women on either side of the abortion debate in the state of Missouri. It had its premiere at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival on April 18.
Leaving Neverland is a 2019 made-for-television documentary film directed and produced by Dan Reed. The documentary focuses on two men, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who allege they were sexually abused as children by the American singer Michael Jackson.
Leonard Pozner is the father of a Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victim, Noah Pozner. He is the founder of the HONR Network, a nonprofit organization that supports victims of mass violence who experience hate speech and harassment online.
What's My Name: Muhammad Ali is a 2019 documentary film directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by Steven Leckart. The film is produced by Glen Zipper, Sean Stuart, Maverick Carter, Maren Domzalski, Antoine Fuqua, Bill Gerber, Noor Haydar, LeBron James and Kat Samick under the banner of SpringHill Entertainment and Sutter Road Picture Company and is distributed by HBO. The film is based on the life of Muhammad Ali.
Becoming Mike Nichols is a 2016 documentary film directed by Douglas McGrath about the life of Mike Nichols. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 29, 2016, and was later broadcast on HBO on February 22, 2016.
Murder on Middle Beach is a four-part documentary by director Madison Hamburg about the unsolved 2010 murder of his mother Barbara Hamburg. It premiered on November 15, 2020, on HBO.
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street is a 2021 American documentary film directed by Marilyn Agrelo. Based on the non-fiction book Street Gang by Michael Davis, the film chronicles the development and airing of the children's television program Sesame Street, featuring interviews with series creators Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett, as well as writers, actors, and artists involved in its creation.
Q: Into the Storm is an American documentary television miniseries directed and produced by Cullen Hoback. It explores the QAnon conspiracy theory and the people involved with it. It consisted of six episodes and premiered on HBO on March 21, 2021. The series received mixed reviews, with some critics praising its insight into the conspiracy theory, and others finding it to be overlong and lacking in analysis of the impacts of QAnon. Some reviewers have criticized the series for not following best practices outlined by extremism researchers for reporting on extremism and conspiracy theories.
Dan Reed is a British film director whose film, In the Shadow of 9/11, about the Liberty City Seven, aired on Frontline on PBS. Reed is widely known for the controversial, critically acclaimed documentary Leaving Neverland for which he won an Emmy and a BAFTA. His production house is Amos Pictures.
Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth is a nonfiction book written by journalist Elizabeth Williamson and published in 2022 by Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
Burden of Proof is an American psychological thriller and true crime documentary miniseries directed and produced by Cynthia Hill. It follows Stephen Pandos as he begins a search for the truth about his sister Jennifer, who disappeared in 1987. It premiered June 6, 2023, on HBO.
The Synanon Fix is an American documentary series directed and produced by Rory Kennedy. It explores the rise and fall of Synanon, told through the eyes of former members, into its descent into a cult.