Unseen Two-Hour Elizabeth Holmes Interview From Theranos Peak Could Be Released

A two-hour interview with Elizabeth Holmes, recorded when she was at the top of her success as the founder of Theranos, may soon reach the public. Oscar-winning documentarian Errol Morris, known for The Thin Blue Line, says he has a couple of hours of footage with Holmes and would like to put it out.

Morris explained in comments to Variety that his connection to the company went beyond this interview. "Yes, I did all the advertising for Theranos," he said. He noted that the work came at a time when Holmes appeared on the cover of Forbes and many other magazines. "She was riding high, and this was before everything collapsed."

Asked whether he had any reason at the time to think Holmes was a fraud, Morris answered plainly: "I did not." He added that this changed as time went on.

At some point, Morris said, he asked Holmes if he could film an interview with her, and she agreed. The result was a two-hour conversation that he describes as not very well-known, "if it is known at all." He said he recently rewatched it, and that people have never seen his long interview.

Morris also said he once tried to make a documentary about Holmes but could not get the project off the ground. Litigation and Holmes' indictment stood in the way.

Now he is interested in releasing the interview in unedited form. He suggested it would offer a striking contrast with the version of Holmes shown heading to prison in A24's hit film You Can See Everything. "It [would give] you a comparison of Elizabeth before and Elizabeth after, which I think is interesting in and of itself," he said. His impression, he added, was that Holmes truly believed in what she was doing.

The timing coincides with strong box office results for the A24 film. You Can See Everything has earned $45 million domestically after only 10 days in theaters. For its second week, the film grew from 855 theaters to 2,655.

Some observers speculate that the documentary could even reach the coveted $100 million mark. That would be especially notable given the film's three-hour run time.