Profiling billionaire Sir Richard Branson is a Herculean task, but that’s what the new four-part documentary series Branson sets out to do with wonderful success. Directed by Chris Smith, it’s more revealing than even the entrepreneur himself expected, and sometimes, unexpectedly, heartbreaking.
“It was like being in a psychiatrist’s chair,” he recalls as we spoke on Zoom. “The first 4 or five hours we sat and talked, I found it difficult. I have to admit I thought, ‘Oh my God, do I have to go through this?’ but Chris had a job to do and of course he tried to make sure it was the warts and the whole documentary series.
The series not only includes footage of the never-before-seen circle of relatives, including through Branson himself, but also interviews with the tycoon in the days leading up to his historic spaceflight.
I sat down with Branson and Smith to talk about the eye-opening documentary series, the difference between him and Elon Musk, and shoot a video for their loved ones in case he doesn’t return from space.
Simon Thompson: Condensing it into 4 episodes, what’s the biggest challenge?
Chris Smith: One of the things that’s vital to keep in mind is that it’s not a natural biopic. It would take many more episodes to tell the full story. We focused on the adventure aspect and how it resembled Richard’s commercial endeavors. at the root of that. It was something I didn’t know about, but it seemed to bring him back definitively to his mother, Eve.
Thompson: Richard, who, by the way, I didn’t realize was such an endearing and charming woman. Although this documentary is about you, it also feels like a tribute to the way he gave you, as well as an occasional kick. the ass
Richard Branson: (Laughter) I know the other name they thought they would call Son of Eve, which they eventually decided would be harder to promote. In fact, I am my mother’s son. I’m biased, of course, but she was an incredibly tough woman who had to run a lot to keep up, and at all times I went in front of her. I had to faint and play for her and come out myself. , and I am so grateful for how he raised us. I appreciate your words about her because she was special.
Thompson: Several times throughout the series, you don’t seem to forget things you’ve forgotten, things you didn’t know, or things you hadn’t put into position until now. How many were there?
Branson: I think a lot. One of the things Chris’s team was able to do is locate photographs they didn’t know existed. It’s an absolute thrill to see photographs going back decades and I have no idea where they controlled to extract them. The archivists have done a perfect job. It’s a bit like being in a psychiatrist’s chair, especially with Chris. Its reputation as an independent manufacturer is well established. You know it will ask probing questions and try to penetrate under your skin. Being an independent production made it even more interesting. , although there were some difficult questions. I’ve never been to a psychiatrist, but it’s the closest experience I’ve ever had.
Thompson: What is it like?
Branson: The first 4 or 5 hours we sat and talked, I found it difficult. I have to admit that I thought, ‘Oh my God, do I have to go through this?’However, Chris had a task to do and naturally. , he searched to make sure it was the warts and the entire documentary series. There were no questions I didn’t ask. As a subject, I saw a first montage. I’m sure it would have replaced one or two things if I had something to say about it, but it makes for a much bigger and more captivating documentary to have an independent corporation doing it. There are things like the call Branson. Je don’t call me Branson since I’ve been in school. I hate the title, but I have nothing to say. My wife told me today, “I like the title, Branson. If he passed the test, then I’m satisfied. “
Sir Richard Branson photographed at his home on Necker Island.
Thompson: Chris, I want to go back to what Richard discussed about some of the stock footage. There’s no shortage of footage from his career and in public, but the amount of stuff you were given when it came to private video content at home was impressive. How did you achieve that?
Smith: I don’t think even Richard knows, but one of the most attractive things about the archiving procedure was that we got all the original Super 8 reels from his circle of relatives that his mother had taken away. I don’t think anyone learned that his mom what reels deserve and don’t deserve to be developed. He had censored everything, but not because it was controversial; He just said it wasn’t attractive. When Richard refers to many things that have never been noticed before, it is because they had never been transferred. He made the editorial resolution that it wasn’t worth it, which was amazing for us. We were given low-resolution versions of some elements, but in moving everything, once we got the movie, there were twice as many sequences, most of which had never seen the light of day.
Thompson: That relates well to everything that one of the contributors, and I, one of Richard’s Virgin colleagues, mentioned. They said that for every story, there’s its editing, Richard’s editing and the truth.
Brandon: (Laughter)
Thompson: So Richard, how does it feel to have those 3 versions in combination so publicly?And Chris, how did you weave everything together in combination, so that there is nothing to contradict the others?
Smith: We all have our own memories of how events spread and our version of them. This is not unique to Richard. We all have memories of what we see. You may only be with friends, don’t forget anything else entirely, and you’re probably wrong. There was nothing singular about that idea, however, we’re talking about data and stories from 30, 40 or 50 years ago, and I think it was a clever nod to the fact that, while you’re looking for those things, you need to keep that in mind. That was my opinion. Richard and I never talked about that sequence, so I don’t know if he has another vision.
Thompson: Branson begins with captivating images. It is Richard who films his posthumous message in case his adventure in space ends in tragedy. Richard, you struggled with it and it’s hard to see. How is it?
Branson: I’ve been through this once before, where I was taken to a broadcast truck just before taking off in a balloon over the Pacific and found out they were doing an obituary for me, so I look. On this occasion, I will have to admit that I had some tears in my eyes. It’s to see a story about you leaving, but you’re still here. Since they had all the apparatus prepared for this documentary series, I asked the cameraman if I could do it and he handed me the tape. As you can see, I got a bit of a choked look for doing this. Of course, I also had to deal with the other people in the spaceship with me. It wasn’t until later that Chris called on the phone and said, “Would you mind if we used some?” You had to think about it. Do we have a brain? At the time, we basically expected it to be used tastefully, as much as possible, and it was. I had to sit several times in my life. Every time I go on an adventure, climb a mountain or cross an ocean, I sit down and plan what will happen if I don’t come back. We all have to do it at some point, and it forces us to do it and think about what will happen if we don’t come back.
Thompson: Is it the last frontier for you, Richard?
Branson: Well, I just came from Mount Kenya.
Thompson: Sure, Ricardo!
Branson: (Laughs) I think I’m lucky that my kids love adventure, and I think that comes out of the documentary. We have one or two wonderful adventures combined every year. We do Lapland in February and Bhutan in the fall, and I love the camaraderie of doing those things with my kids and friends. At the same time, we raise some money for smart reasons. Will we do something as excessive as space? It is less likely than most likely, however, we will continue to challenge ourselves.
Thompson: You’ll have your own perspectives on that. Chris, what do you think distinguishes Richard from today’s Richard Bransons, like Elon Musk?And Richard, what do you think sets you apart from them?
Branson: I think I’m very curious. I love learning and I like new challenges. As it was transparent in the documentary, I can’t say no and I see life as a long learning process. One in the documentary, and it was weird because it was done through a close friend and someone knew it for years, was that he was talking about the essentials and saying, “This is vital for Richard. “I don’t think it ever has been and never will be. Keep creating things I can be proud of until I fall.
Smith: One of the things that drew me to this assignment was that I knew so little about it. There are other people like Elon Musk or Richard Branson, whom you think you know because they have a secure profile in the public eye. As I got deeper into the task, I realized that I didn’t really know anything about Richard. He was unaware of his family background and unaware of his adventures; there were so many things I didn’t know. So to try and make a comparison to someone like Elon Musk, there’s probably as much I don’t know about him as there is about Richard. It is a most unlikely thing. I just did true crime and went from that to a surf series called Hundred Foot Wave, which is also on HBO, and then to this assignment. It was great to be in a world that I call optimistic, with other people striving to make the most of their lives. I felt like back then, going through Covid and all, those stories are just as valid or vital, if not more so, for us to have windows into those global ones that can be a mirror image for other people who need to make the most of their time while they’re here.
Branson airs on HBO Max. The first episode debuted on Thursday, December 1, 2022, with new episodes following Thursdays.