Latest in Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

Elon Musk's successful takeover bid for Twitter has raised concerns about his plans for the social media platform, because of his political views. Historically those views have teetered left and right, but tend to gravitate towards libertarian. His anti-union stance as CEO of electric vehicle maker Tesla has…

Netflix today unveiled a trailer for Return to Space, a new documentary from Oscar winners Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin that is debuting on the streamer on April 7. Vasarhelyi and Chin have previously summited El Capitan with Alex Honnold for Free Solo and chronicled a similarly harrowing journey into…

EXCLUSIVE: Rhys Ifans (Spider-Man: No Way Home) has signed on to star alongside Annette Bening and Jodie Foster in the Netflix film Nyad, which marks the narrative directorial debut of Oscar, BAFTA and Emmy winners Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (The Rescue, Free Solo). Pic is based on Diana Nyad’s…

Help wanted: seeking anesthesiologist with world-class cave diving skills and experience in underwater rescues. Volunteer position. If a job listing like that went out, it's hard to imagine anyone with the necessary background to apply. Fortunately, one person ticks off all those boxes and more – his name, Dr. Richard…

Free Solo filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin dealt with a mountain of challenges as they worked on their latest white knuckle documentary, The Rescue. The National Geographic release tells the gripping story of the attempt to rescue 12 young members of a Thai soccer club and their assistant coach who…

In the summer of 2018, a story out of Thailand seized the world’s attention: 12 boys who were members of a soccer club and their coach became trapped in a flooded cave, and there was very little hope of rescuing them. British amateur cave divers, a team of American military personnel and Thai Navy SEALS joined forces…

It was always going to be very difficult for documentary filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin to equal their sweaty palms masterpiece Free Solo, but they come close enough with The Rescue. Unlike their 2018 Oscar-winner, which focused on one dare-devil climber's attempt to scale something close to a…

Oscar-winning Free Solo directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin have joined the commercial roster of Stept Studios for U.S. representation. This follows a project for Panerai, with Chin serving as the luxury watch’s brand ambassador. Stept director and founder Nick Martini directed an intimate short film…

EXCLUSIVE: I hear that Oscar-winning Free Solo filmmakers Jimmy Chin and Chai Vasarhelyi have become attached to direct Universal and Cavalry Media’s feature film about the 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue in Thailand.  Wes Tooke, the Midway screenwriter and scribe of USA Network’s Colony, is currently writing the…

EXCLUSIVE: The Spanish- and English-language film and TV studio Exile has launched a creative advisory board, with Originals author Adam Grant serving as the chair. The board members include Diego Luna (Narcos, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), Gael García Bernal (Mozart in the Jungle, Coco), Oscar-winning Free Solo…

Free Solo's path to likely Emmy nominations has been paved with gold—the Oscar kind. The film about mountain climber Alex Honnold's breathtaking ascent of Yosemite's El Capitan—without ropes—won the Academy Award in February for Best Documentary Feature. It's now on Emmy nomination ballots in multiple nonfiction…

As part of the Nat Geo presentation at Deadline’s fourth annual The Contenders Emmys, the filmmakers from the Oscar- and BAFTA-winning documentary Free Solo joined me to discuss the remarkable human feat of free solo mountain climber Alex Honnold, and how they managed to capture it all on film. Joining me in front of…