“Divide & Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes” traces the rise and fall of the eponymous media mogul. Alexis Bloom’s upcoming documentary details how Ailes worked as Richard Nixon’s media advisor, served as a sort of “kingmaker” for conservative politicians, and eventually launched the #1 cable news network, Fox News. As he was building his legacy, the trailer stresses, Ailes was also using his power to harass women — something that would eventually end in his downfall.
“He liked to pick on the people who needed him,” an interviewee explains. “Women were easy targets.” Another commentator reveals that, while working for Ailes, she had to sit at a see-through desk. “He said, ‘If you want to play with the big boys, you have to lay with the big boys,'” one woman recalls.
Ailes was forced to resign from Fox News in summer 2016, after news broke about anchor Gretchen Carlson’s sexual harassment case against him and Megyn Kelly came forward with similar accusations. He received a $40 million settlement. Ailes helped get Trump elected before his May 2017 death. He was 77.
“Fair and Balanced,” a narrative feature about the Fox News women who made allegations against Ailes — and eventually brought him down — is currently in the works. Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, Kate McKinnon, Margot Robbie, and John Lithgow are among the stars.
Bloom received two Emmy nominations for the HBO doc “Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds,” which she directed with Fisher Stevens. She won a PGA Award for producing “We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks.” She previously helmed episodes of “Nova Science Now” and produced projects such as “Speaking with Light.”
“Divide & Conquer” premiered at TIFF this fall and also screened at the New York Film Festival. It hits select theaters and VOD December 7.
