To be or not to be?

Dicks: Do you need to be one to be a successful leader?

Filmmaker Max Joseph has a pressing question—is he too nice to be a great director? An essay-like exploration ensues, which is a fascinating watch for young creatives everywhere.

Dicks: Do You Need to Be One To Be a Successful Leader? The lengthy title is only matched by its lengthy 30+ minute runtime, but it’s a fascinating back to basics move for Joseph, employing his kinetic and humorous editing style while leveraging the charismatic persona he’s honed on TV to tackle a question that’s haunted him since We Are Your Friends—to what extent does a successful director need to be tyrant? Was his feature hurt by him being too nice of a guy?

It’s a fascinating question, as Joseph homes in on area where the culture provides a lot of conflicting advice. Generally, treating people well is considered a virtue, but we do love to lionize leaders whose behavior can only be characterized as abusive: Stanley Kubrick, Steve Jobs, Donald Trump. Is their asshole nature an asset?

The conundrum around to be or not to be a dick is really an investigation into styles of leadership, and to get to the bottom of this Joseph embarks on an approach similar to provocateurs before him like Michael Moore and Morgan Spurlock, turning the camera onto himself as he hunts down smart people to get their takes. He interviews successful filmmakers like Davis Guggenheim and Karyn Kusama, as well as writers like Wharton School of Business Professor Adam Grant. A repeatedly delayed interview with director Peter Berg provides a running thru-line to the film that humorously dramatizes the issue at hand. The advice he receives is all over the map, but he does arrive at some key takeaways. You have to watch the film to find them out though!