The forthcoming documentary "You Can See Everything," about Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, is drawing attention because of its co-director Nathan Fielder. Known for cult TV shows like "Nathan for You" and "The Rehearsal," Fielder has a background in business satire. He graduated from a Canadian business school, a fact that contrasts with Holmes, who dropped out of Stanford.
In "Nathan for You," Fielder devised elaborate publicity stunts for struggling small businesses, such as marketing smoke alarms as musical instruments to avoid shipping costs. He also opened a parody coffee shop called Dumb Starbucks and staged a fake animal rescue that fooled news outlets. These schemes relied on careful readings of laws and media manipulation.
Experts quoted in the source say Fielder's deadpan, awkward interviewing style often prompts surprising confessions. A film professor suggests Holmes, who built a $9 billion company on a nonexistent product, represents an ultimate test for Fielder's methods. The source positions Fielder as uniquely able to grasp the scale of deception involved in the Theranos fraud.