David Byrne is entering the 2027 Oscar conversation with an original song for Alex Gibney’s Musk, the upcoming documentary about Elon Musk. Titled “Let Me Sell You a Dream,” the song was written and performed by Byrne alongside Oscar-nominated composer Daniel Pemberton and is being submitted for consideration in the Best Original Song category. The development gives Gibney’s film another notable connection to the Academy as it heads toward its festival and theatrical release.
Directed by Alex Gibney, Musk focuses on one of the most closely watched figures in the technology world. Gibney is known for documentaries including Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Going Clear: Scientology & the Prison of Belief and Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine, many of which examine influential individuals, companies and institutions. With Musk, the filmmaker turns his attention to Elon Musk, his rise as a businessman and the influence he has built through his companies and technological projects.
The documentary has a reported runtime of 232 minutes, making it an unusually expansive feature-length documentary. Rather than offering a brief overview of Musk’s career, the film uses its extended running time to develop a detailed portrait of its central subject.
Musk is scheduled to make its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 8, 2026, before heading to the Toronto International Film Festival. It is then scheduled to receive a U.S. theatrical release through Bleecker Street on October 16. The combination of major festival premieres and a theatrical release places the documentary directly in the middle of the 2026-27 awards season.
Byrne’s original song adds another creative dimension to the project. “Let Me Sell You a Dream” draws on statements Musk has made publicly, meaning the song is directly connected to the documentary’s central subject rather than serving simply as an unrelated musical contribution.
Pemberton’s involvement further strengthens the song’s awards credentials. The composer previously received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song for “Hear My Voice,” featured in The Trial of the Chicago 7. His collaboration with Byrne brings together two artists with established connections to the Academy’s music categories.
For Byrne, the project also marks a potential return to the Oscars nearly four decades after his previous Academy recognition. He won the Academy Award for Best Original Score in 1988 for Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor, sharing the award with Ryuichi Sakamoto and Cong Su. A nomination for “Let Me Sell You a Dream” would therefore bring Byrne back into an Oscar music category many years after his earlier win.
However, the song’s submission does not guarantee an Oscar nomination. It must still go through the Academy’s eligibility requirements and voting process before the final nominees are determined. For now, its submission simply puts the song into contention during an increasingly competitive awards season.
From a cinematic perspective, Byrne’s contribution gives Musk another element likely to attract attention as it moves toward its festival debut. The documentary combines Gibney’s filmmaking with original music from Byrne and Pemberton while examining one of the most recognisable public figures of the current era.
With Venice and Toronto ahead and its U.S. theatrical release scheduled for October, Musk is moving from a documentary project into the wider public awards conversation. Whether Byrne’s song ultimately earns an Oscar nomination will be determined later, but its presence adds another intriguing dimension to Alex Gibney’s ambitious film.