He was the subject of Gay Talese's 2016 article "The Voyeur's Motel" in The New Yorker, in which Talese disclosed that Foos was a long time voyeur of people staying in his hotel, having installed grilles in the ceiling of most of the rooms that enabled him to view his guests without their knowledge.
In April 2016, Steven Spielberg purchased the rights to create a film based on Foos's life, with director Sam Mendes tapped to direct.
The film was cancelled in November 2016 after Spielberg and Mendes learned of an upcoming documentary feature about the same subject.
The reporter pointed out that Foos hadn't owned the hotel for part of the time recorded in his journals.
[7] The documentary film, directed by Myles Kane and Josh Koury, was released on Netflix December 1, 2017, with the title Voyeur.