Was former Fox News chief Roger Ailes a genius, a monster or both? That’s a question posed by the new documentary “Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes.”
“It’s easy to make somebody into a monster. It’s hard to see that you’re on that path too,” says former Fox News personality Glenn Beck in the first trailer for the film.
Directed by Alexis Bloom and executive produced by Alex Gibney, the doc tells the life story of Ailes, from coaching Richard Nixon as a media advisor to his sexual harassment scandal at Fox News prior to his death. The film describes him as a Shakespearean figure who was “more important than America,” who “was profoundly paranoid” and who used power and manipulation as tools to build his media empire and shape a nation.
One chilling story featured in the trailer involves Ailes sleeping on the top bunk of a bunk bed as a child, his father told him to jump before stepping away and not catching him.
“Don’t trust anyone,” an interview subject says in the trailer. “That story is not true,” another responds.
Magnolia Pictures is releasing “Divide and Conquer” in theaters on demand, on iTunes and on Amazon Prime Video starting Dec. 7.
Watch the trailer above.