Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer

Nominated for 3 Emmy® Awards

Best Documentary
Outstanding Investigative Journalism, Long Form
Outstanding Editing

This documentary feature takes an in-depth look at the rapid rise and dramatic fall of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer.

Nicknamed “The Sheriff of Wall Street,” when he was NY’s Attorney General, Eliot Spitzer prosecuted crimes by America’s largest financial institutions and some of the most powerful executives in the country. After his election as Governor, with the largest margin in the state’s history, many believed Spitzer was on his way to becoming the nation’s first Jewish President.

Then, shockingly, Spitzer’s meteoric rise turned into a precipitous fall when the New York Times revealed that Spitzer – the paragon of rectitude – had been caught seeing prostitutes. As his powerful enemies gloated, his supporters questioned the timing of it all: as the Sheriff fell, so did the financial markets, in a cataclysm that threatened to unravel the global economy.

With unique access to the escort world and well as friends, colleagues and enemies of the ex-Governor (many of whom have come forward for the first time) the film explores the hidden contours of this tale of hubris, sex, and power.

About the Filmmaker

Alex Gibney

Alex Gibney directed the 2008 Oscar-winning film “Taxi to the Dark Side” and the 2006 Oscar-nominated film “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room.” Other credits as director include Magnolia Pictures’ releases “Casino Jack and the United States of Money” and “Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson.” His credits as producer include the Oscar-nominated “No End in Sight” (Executive Producer), “Who Killed the Electric Car?” (Consulting Producer), and “Herbie Hancock: Possibilities” (Producer).

Gibney’s other music films include “Jimi Hendrix and the Blues” (director) and “Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues” (Producer), an 8-film documentary series (and accompanying book and multiple CD release) on the blues, including films by Scorsese, Wim Wenders, Mike Figgis, Clint Eastwood and Antoine Fuqua.

In 2010-2011, Gibney released four films as director: “My Trip to Al-Qaeda,” based on the one-man play by Lawrence Wright, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “The Looming Tower”; “Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer”; a segment on Sumo wrestling in the omnibus film, “Freakonomics”; and “Magic Trip”, a time travel immersion experience about the famous 1964 bus trip taken by Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters.

In addition to the Oscar, Mr. Gibney has received numerous other awards, including the Grammy, multiple Emmys, the Peabody Award, and the DuPont-Columbia Award for Broadcast Journalism.

Gibney recently finished a film for ESPN’s series “30 for 30,” called “Catching Hell,” which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and is at work on a documentary feature for Universal on WikiLeaks.