Post date: Nov 09, 2013 1:46:9 AM
NVO - Oscar-winning documentarian Alex Gibney was not alone in being duped by Lance Armstrong and his strident denials that he had doped and cheated his way to cycling's biggest prizes over the years.
But Gibney was in a unique position as the director who had set out to make what he called a "feel-good" film about Armstrong's comeback in the Tour de France in 2009. That feel-good film was scrapped once doping allegations snowballed, a federal investigation was launched, and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency confirmed he had cheated.
When Armstrong finally admitted as much to talk show host Oprah Winfrey earlier this year, the film was revived and resulted in a very different documentary called "The Armstrong Lie."
Alex Gibney saying:
"The tricky aspect of doing the film was to understand that the story now was a lot about Lance's myth-making process. That's why we call it 'The Armstrong Lie,' I mean, there are a number of reasons why we call it 'The Armstrong Lie,' but one of them was that this was a lie that was hiding in plain sight because Lance was its curator, and a very careful curator of his own myth. And the Oprah Show was part of that myth-making process."
Gibney is still in touch with Armstrong, who didn't like the new name of the film, but seemed to accept it. The filmmaker said Armstrong has had to accept some tough truths - including a federal whistleblower lawsuit that could end up costing him over $100 million if he loses.
"The Armstrong Lie" opened in U.S. theaters on Friday (November 08).