“Nobody Speak: Hulk Hogan, Gawker and Trials of a Free Press,” a documentary about Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker and the broader implications of the ensuing trial, will hit Netflix on June 23, and the just-released trailer indicates the filmmakers are not messing around.
Based on the two-minute trailer, it’s clear that this documentary goes deeper than just Hogan’s sex-tape and Gawker’s decision to publish it. The film appears to focus heavily on the involvement of billionaire Peter Thiel, while also delving into complicated questions about the limits of a free press. The trailer draws a connection between Thiel’s attempt to punish Gawker and President Donald Trump’s frequent attacks on the American media.
“Nobody Speak” looks about as dramatic, provocative and weighty as a documentary about a celebrity sex tape can be.
“Nobody Speak” first caught Netflix’s attention at the Sundance Film Festival and reportedly paid $2 million for the film’s distribution rights.
The documentary has already been at the center of a minor controversy within the Gizmodo Media Group, the company that was called Gawker Media before being bought by Univision last year. According to Business Insider, Gizmodo staffers attempted to host a public screening of “Nobody Speak” but Univision executives vetoed that proposal and instead allowed only a private screening.
Given the nationwide debate over the balance between privacy and free speech (simply Google “leaks,” for a sampling), “Nobody Speak” certainly has the potential to be explosive.