Alex Gibney, who impressed me with his Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2004) and Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (2014), scores with another “must-see” documentary: The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (2019). The Inventor shows how Stanford University drop-out, Elizabeth Holmes, managed to fool Henry Kissinger, James “Mad Dog” Maddis, George Shultz, and Rupert Murdock and dozens of other wealthy men into investing millions into her company, Theranos. Elizabeth Holmes’s dream was to take a small sample of blood and having her machine, The Edison, run hundreds of blood tests on it. If The Edison had worked, it would have revolutionized medical testing.
But, The Edison never worked and Alex Gibney shows why it failed. Gibney also shows how Elizabeth Holmes built a company–at one time valued at $9 billion dollars (and she owned 50% of the stock!)–based on lies and fakery and phony science. Elizabeth Holmes conned savvy investors, politicians (Presidents Clinton and Obama are shown praising her), and the media (Holmes was on the cover of Fortune). People wanted to believe in her dream and bought into her vague promises. Gibney then exposes how the entire scheme started to unravel. Theranos went bankrupt. Holmes was indicted for fraud and is awaiting trial.
Last year, I chose John Carryrou’s book about Elizabeth Holmes, Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup, as one of my Favorite Books of 2018. The Inventor is sure to be one of my Favorite Films of 2019. Highly recommended! GRADE: A
I suspect that Holmes’s ability to “fool” men like Kissinger and Murdoch was tied primarily to her being a young, pretty blonde female—and had nothing to do with her supposed technological breakthrough.
Deb, you’re right. Elizabeth Holmes mesmerized these men. Plus, they knew NOTHING about blood.
This was mesmerizing. And yes, Deb, for sure.
Patti, Elizabeth Holmes cleverly put people on her Board of Trustees who were not engineers or scientists. Plus, they drank her Kool-Aid.
This one is on our list.
Jeff, I found THE INVENTOR: OUT FOR BLOOD IN Silicon Valley terrific. Elizabeth Holmes fooled a lot of savvy investors!
This sounds really interesting, and it’s been waiting patiently in my DVR for at least a couple of weeks, sharing space with a number of TCM movies that have been there for a year or more. Plus all the stuff on Prime, Netflix, and Hulu clamoring for my attention. It’s just too much. I’m beginning to get nostalgic for “57 channels and nothing on”, or even just ABC, CBS, and NBC. At least back then there was more time to read.
Michael, I know the feeling of being overwhelmed by all the stuff on my DVR! Diane and I make a point of watching at least one recorded program each night just to keep things manageable.
Well, Deb and Patti, she was also smart and had the technical background. If it had been a man, you wouldn’t have said she convinced them because he was a hunky man. A little sexist, I think. Can’t have it both ways. I liked the book and may see the film, if it’s not on some unavailable streaming, whoo-whoo channel.
Rick, I loved BAD BLOOD and I can’t wait to see the movie. This HBO documentary should win awards! Elizabeth Holmes was very crafty in the way she targeted the guys she approached to be involved in her company. BAD BLOOD asserted it, but when you see film of Elizabeth Holmes in action, you see how Holmes manipulated those men.
Rick—
1. If I asked Rupert Murdoch or Henry Kissinger for a few million bucks for my magic blood machine, I daresay I’d end the day with the exact same amount I started with.
2. If a guy who looked like this asked me for a few dollars for his magic blood machine, I might be tempted to tap my 401K:
https://www.amazon.com/Dirty-Nasty-Freaks-Book-ebook/dp/B07BT5N1H3/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=callie+hart+dirty&qid=1554236254&s=gateway&sr=8-1
Deb, I think it’s significant that most of Elizabeth Holmes’s big investors were all MEN!