‘The Six Billion Dollar Man’ director on exposing the hidden truths behind Julian Assange and WikiLeaks

Gold Derby ^ | November 20, 2025 | Denton Davidson

[Red Badger]

Filmmaker Eugene Jarecki opens up about uncovering secrets, working with Pamela Anderson, and the global power struggle that turned the WikiLeaks founder into a political target.

For filmmaker Eugene Jarecki, the story of The Six Billion Dollar Man began with a leak — one that shook even a seasoned documentarian known for tackling political corruption and moral collapse.

“It started about five years ago,” Jarecki says. “My producing partner Kathleen Fournier and I came into possession of absolutely groundbreaking and shattering information on the Assange case that had never been seen by the public before.” That information, he adds, revealed “crimes committed by the United States — not only the crimes that Julian Assange and WikiLeaks exposed, but the crimes committed in the campaign to destroy him.”

The title refers to the $6 billion bounty that made Assange’s life in the Ecuadorian embassy increasingly precarious. “At a certain point he was safe — and then he wasn’t,” Jarecki says. “There was a $6 billion bounty that made him unsafe.” He joined our recent Gold Derby "Meet the Experts: Spotlight" panel.

From that point forward, making the film became an exercise in secrecy. “We were working in a highly securitized environment because the material we had was so sensitive,” he explains. “Every five seconds the landscape around the case was changing — both politically and legally.”

Accessing Assange’s inner circle proved equally complex. “For insiders within WikiLeaks, it was about earning their trust that they wouldn’t get burned again,” Jarecki says. “They’d been betrayed by the media over many years. They were burned by their own partners when things got dicey.” Even some former operatives who worked against Assange chose to appear on camera. “They stepped up because they saw a case that had become an abortion of justice,” he adds. “They were targeting a human being — and in him, they were targeting publishing itself.”

Among the film’s most unexpected voices is Pamela Anderson, who forged a close friendship with Assange during his years in exile. “She’s an international treasure,” Jarecki says. “She used her celebrity to remind the world there was a person in that embassy — not just a plaything for the rumor mill. If you haven’t seen her on The View defending him, you should. She goes on like barbed wire. Nobody is left standing.”

Jarecki knew that telling this story came with risks. “You can see that I’m speaking to you from an undisclosed location,” he jokes, though his point is serious. “At the end of the day, Julian Assange kicked America’s ass. He revealed our crimes, and when we went after him and ruined his life for 15 years, he came out victorious.”

Ultimately, Jarecki sees The Six Billion Dollar Man as a test of moral will — both for journalists and for audiences. “They charged him with one thing: journalism,” he says. “His victory stands for all journalists. It shines a light on the depravity of the Espionage Act and how it contradicts the U.S. Constitution. It renders the First Amendment feeble.”

This article and video are presented by Charlotte Street Films.

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TOPICS: Arts/Photography; History; Society; TV/Movies
KEYWORDS:

[Thommas]

I have always thought that Julian Assange had a small role to play in WikiLeaks, but this “message” from filmmaker Eugene Jarecki doesn’t say Jack-Sh%t about anything.

[LastDayz]

She’s breaking up.... she’s breaking up.... smash, crunch, smash... er.... NVM.

[Robert DeLong]

Tantalizing story, but it reveals nothing. I guess there is a doumentary, yet they direct one as to where they can learn more or see the documentary.