Quick summary
- Amanda Seyfried says she began filming for “You Can See Everything” without telling her agents or having a deal signed.
- She says she had “no approval” over anything shot, a point co-director Nathan Fielder confirmed.
- Variety reports the film has been in US theatres for nearly a month and is heading past $80 million domestically.
- The comments come from Seyfried’s first joint interview with Fielder and co-director Lance Oppenheim, given to Rolling Stone.
The Nathan Fielder documentary “You Can See Everything” has a new behind-the-scenes twist. Amanda Seyfried says she started filming with Fielder and Lance Oppenheim before her agents or lawyer knew, according to Variety, which summarised her interview with Rolling Stone published this week.
How Seyfried came on board
Fielder told Seyfried he found her number through Emma Stone. A 30-minute Zoom followed. All she agreed to, he said, was to let the team come over with cameras, show her what became the first half of the film, and talk about it.
Seyfried recalled being a little starstruck. Her sister is a big fan of Fielder’s earlier series “Nathan for You”, she said, though she had only seen “The Curse” herself. When he mentioned 90 minutes of footage, she assumed he wanted advice on her experience of playing Holmes and researching the part. She said it was his energy, the time he had put into the project and the secrecy around it that won her over.
Her first scenes were of her watching the footage Fielder had shot inside the beach house. That is how she enters the documentary, about halfway through.
“Not the normal process”
Seyfried said she had felt real risk in the back of her mind. When she told her agent and lawyer she had already filmed, the lawyer’s response was that her deal now had to be set up retroactively so she was protected. She described it as “not the normal process”, but said she sometimes goes off and does her own thing.
At that point, she said, reenactments were not even being discussed. Fielder agreed the early arrangement was just a visit and a conversation. Later the talks turned to whether she would play Holmes again on camera, because the directors wanted to recreate some of their earlier off-camera conversations with the real Holmes.
No scripts, no approval
Fielder said that because it is a documentary, the team would not discuss scenes or share scripts in advance. Seyfried would simply show up, and the scenes would be talked through on camera. He stressed she had no creative control.
Seyfried was blunt: “No approval. Whatsoever.” She said she worried about hurting her career or being drawn into what she called a wasp’s nest, and about saying the wrong thing. Still, she said her drive to go ahead was stronger.
The Billy Evans meeting
After watching the footage, the one thing Seyfried wanted was to meet Holmes’s partner, Billy Evans. She told Rolling Stone it “felt dangerous” and that she wanted answers about who was pulling the strings. She said her opinion of him “only got worse” after they met. Variety’s headline says she felt disrespected by him. The report we could read in full is cut off before the detail of that exchange, so we have not described it.
What happens next
The film is nearly a month into its theatrical run, and Variety says it is on track for $80 million at the domestic box office. Our earlier coverage looked at how the film blurs fact and staging and its Australian release. Find more in our Movies section.
Frequently asked questions
Who directed “You Can See Everything”?
Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, according to Variety.
Did Amanda Seyfried have approval over the film?
No. Both she and Fielder said she had no approval or creative control over what was filmed.
How did Fielder reach Seyfried?
He said he got her phone number through Emma Stone, then held a 30-minute Zoom with her.
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