Even after a successful premiere that led to their documentary becoming not only one of the best reviewed films out of Sundance 2024, but one of the biggest acquisitions out of the festival, “Will & Harper” director Josh Greenbaum and subject Harper Steele were not aware of just how long the journey to becoming an Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special Emmy nominee would take them.
“I had no idea we were even eligible for an Emmy, quite honestly,” said Steele to IndieWire over Zoom. “Depending on the mood I’m in, it was either a cherry on the top or a sad surprise,” she joked, thinking back on the prospect of a second year of awards campaigning.
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“Will & Harper,” about Steele going on a road trip with famous friend Will Ferrell to re-establish their relationship now that she has come out as a transgender woman, is the latest example of the lengthy awards campaign run a celebrated documentary may take, should it not receive an Academy Award nomination.
After months of screening the film for Oscar voters, “Will & Harper” did eventually make the shortlist for the Best Documentary Feature category (as well as Best Original Song for credits song “Harper and Will Go West,” performed by fellow “Saturday Night Live” alum Kristen Wiig,) but was ultimately snubbed by the Academy when Oscar nominations were announced. It’s a trajectory similar to the 2023-Sundance-premiere-turned-January-2024-Emmy-winner “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie.”
The presumed reasoning behind why the film was ignored is multilayered. One possibility: comedy superstar Ferrell is one of the subjects of the film, even though “Will & Harper” does not dwell on his celebrity in a way that is similar to a rising documentaries focused on famous people. The film is much more about Steele’s experience transitioning during a fraught time for transgender Americans.
“We were sort of locked into the documentary world, and the doc people vote amongst themselves, basically, in the Oscar campaign or some of those awards. It’s open to a lot of European doc makers, a lot of people who I don’t think understood exactly the complexity of the American situation right now with trans people, which is fair. They don’t have to,” said Steele. “I think there’s a built-in envy that we had Will Ferrell, so we probably had money, which Josh can refute.” (Greenbaum responded, “We had a lot of beef jerky, just not a lot of money.”)
“There is a little backlash against celebrities doing things like this. Bud Light did something like this with a celebrity once, and they lost millions of dollars,” said Steele. “We’re not talking about virtue signaling here. We’re talking about an act of political kindness, and I feel like that’s what we’re getting out of Will Ferrell.”
It may not even be that the Documentary Branch has still holds a perception that championing celebrity-focused films, regardless of their substance, might lead to a market dominated even more by those projects. Consider that the specific group of Academy members in charge of determining the Best Documentary Feature nominees has also avoided nominating any Netflix films since populist pick “My Octopus Teacher” won the Oscar in 2021 (Note: “To Kill a Tiger” had not been acquired by the streaming service until after it received a nomination in January 2023.)
Even with those two possible knocks against the film from the Documentary Branch’s embrace, Greenbaum explains that the benefits of being on Netflix far more align with the motives behind making “Will & Harper.” “They’ve been wonderful partners who fully believe in the project, and have been getting it out there, and having tons of screenings, and just really making sure people are aware of the film, and are driven toward it to watch it,” said the director. “It’s that combination of obviously Netflix’s accessibility, but also Will Ferrell’s accessibility. You could be searching for a Will Ferrell film one night on Netflix, and stumble [on it]. I’m sure there’s a lot of people who are like, ‘Oh, what’s this, Will and Harper? Looks like Will’s in a new comedy. Let me check it out.’”
Especially after the 2024 presidential election, in a time in which the transgender community has been increasingly demonized on a national level, Greenbaum points out that “Will & Harper” being on Netflix allows audiences to privately watch the film at home with judgement. “I love the idea that people who maybe weren’t going to potentially engage in watching this film or this story have a way to do so. I hate saying it, but I also think that there’s a lot of people who would never go see this film publicly. I know people in certain states who’d be like that, so they might be curious,” said the current Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program Emmy nominee. “They don’t know a trans person, so they’re curious and there’s sort of the safe space of watching it at home, and I’m grateful for that. It is reaching people that it wouldn’t normally reach, thanks to that.”
Steele, who is a former “SNL” head writer, has not felt like the need to downplay her showbiz experience as much — a real positive of the Emmys campaign, in her eyes. “Trans people in this country are thought of by most of the country as unfortunate or a pathology. It’s absolutely not true. This is what the reality is. I’m not a pathology. I’m a very successful comedy writer. That needs to be out there,” said the past Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program Emmy winner. “There are so many of us who are so successful in Congress all over the country, and those images need to be out there more.”
Steele added, “Talking about our wonderful and fun, exciting careers is just another way to demonstrate trans joy. Will and I do it to this day when we’re on a panel or something. People will ask us an ‘SNL’ question, you can see us brighten. I think people sharing their successes is more important than people sharing their trauma in some ways.”
That is the kind of feedback on the film that now sticks out to her. “I’ve been in places all across this country since the thing has come out and people will recognize me and say, ‘The film meant something to me,’ so that’s wonderful. I’m not talking about Leonardo DiCaprio level people. I’m talking about random people, but that’s a victory. That’s, again, that is the power of Netflix probably as much as anything,” said Steele.
“It’s been surprise after surprise as to the reception. It continues to be in the conversation. For better or for worse, it continues to be in the conversation, because politicians are keeping it in the conversation,” said Greenbaum of how “Will & Harper” has been received globally since its January 2024 premiere. “I said to Harper once, ‘I look forward to the day when a generation watches this film and goes like, “So what? What was the story there?”’ But we’re not there yet, and so there is a story here, and it’s obviously one we’re grateful is out there in the world.”
As busy as her two years of promoting “Will & Harper” have been, Steele is happy to continue speaking about the awards contender for however long people are willing to listen to her. “It’s keeping the project alive. The project was not something that was meant to be consumed and taken home, and then you had a great night at the movie. This is a project that’s supposed to do work,” she said. “It’s trying to change hearts and minds. As long as that keeps out there, and keeps moving, and keeps getting any kind of publicity, then I’m all for it. Let’s get award seasons next year. I’m ready.”
“Will & Harper” is now streaming on Netflix.
