Photo: Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures
The late and disgraced Fox News chiefRoger Ailesis the subject of a new, revealing documentary.
Hedied10 months later, on May 10, 2017, at age 77 afterfalling and hitting his headin his bathroom.
“On a political level and a cultural level, we always knew that Roger was shaping our world,” says director Alexis Bloom of Ailes, who, after becoming CEO of the network in 1996, helped three future Republican presidents rise to power. “We live in Roger Ailes’ world, to some extent.”
Roger Ailes.Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures
The film introduces surprising, lesser-known facts about the Fox News chief; for example, he carried a gun with him at all times, and his favorite form of exercise was tap-dancing.
Celeste Sloman
“I don’t think we would have Trump without Ailes,” Blooms tells PEOPLE. “Roger allowed [Trump] to make that pivot to political legitimacy. Roger gave him that platform.”
Ailes (far right) with the future president Richard Nixon (center).Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures
Bloom credits growing up in apartheid South Africa with helping her understand Ailes as she worked on the documentary.
“He was an ordinary human being who was capable of extraordinary cruelty,” she adds. “I think that demonizing him and making him monstrous is a mistake. He was a regular guy who was capable of monstrous acts.”
Divide and Conquerwill be in theaters and on demand Dec. 7. Find tickets and screening informationhere.
source: people.com
