“The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer” at the Tribeca Film Festival

Documentary on former NY governor Eliot Spitzer premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival

The much anticipated documentary about former New York governor Eliot Spitzer premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film is directed by Alex Gibney, whose “Taxi to the Dark Side” won the 2007 documentary Oscar. Many of those interviewed for the film were in attendance Saturday evening, Eliot Spitzer ie… client number 9 was not. Director Alex Gibney interviewed Spitzer four times over a two year period to make the film.

At the moment the film is billed as yet unfinished. According to Alex Gibney the film was “mostly finished.” ,but does not have a title. He made the film in tandem with author Peter Elkind, whose book “Rough Justice: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer” was recently released.Ashley Dupre, the former call girl involved in the scandal, was also not interviewed for the film.She had asked for editorial control, which Gibney refused.Also interviewed on camera were former CEO Cecil Suwal of the Emperor’s Club VIP escort service and Spitzer rivals former New York Sen. Joe Bruno and Kenneth Langone, a former director of the New York Stock Exchange.

The documentary attempts to track Spitzer’s meteoric rise in New York politics and his crusades against Merrill Lynch, AIG and the New York Stock Exchange. The film also spotlights his inability to stop seeing escorts and also raises questions about the investigation into the Emperor’s Club, suggesting that political motives may have been behind the investigation.

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