Hollywood Turns Against Tech Giants in a Wave of Films

- Sam Altman believes that the upcoming film "Artificial," which covers his biography, looks terrible. The founder of OpenAI recently told CNBC regarding the film set to be released during the Christmas season: "I watched the trailer for the film. It looks like a horrific movie, but I appreciate the creativity of those behind it and I truly support that."

This film, directed by Luca Guadagnino and featuring Andrew Garfield as Altman, is one of a series of major films this year that focus on a small group of eccentric tech company founders who are increasingly dominating public and private life. In the coming weeks, audiences will also see Jeremy Strong as Mark Zuckerberg, who appears very domineering and awkward in the film "The Social Reckoning," which is the long-awaited sequel to Aaron Sorkin's "The Social Network."

There will also be the film "Musk," a comprehensive 4-hour documentary by Alex Gibney that explores the life of the richest man in the world. Additionally, there is the story of the downfall of Sam Bankman-Fried, the currently imprisoned founder of the cryptocurrency platform, which will soon be featured on Netflix in a series titled "The Altruists," along with a documentary directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim that tells the story of Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of Theranos, who fell into disgrace...

It is a tidal wave of films centered around the tech world. People used to consider tech founders as their saviors, viewing them as geniuses said to usher in a new era of communication and productivity.

Now, they have lost their luster as the sector faces a phase of accountability and scrutiny, at least in the eyes of public opinion. With artificial intelligence dominating headlines with frightening stories day after day, the vast majority of Americans are expressing concern, not excitement, about AI and data centers, according to a recent survey conducted by the Horizon News Network.

Katie Drummond, editor-in-chief of WIRED magazine, pointed out that this cinematic trend addressing technology figures reflects a "justified resentment among many Americans; they see these elites - those people living in an isolated bubble, who possess unimaginable wealth - imposing technologies on them that they do not necessarily want in their lives." She added, "People are looking for outlets to express this feeling, but those outlets are very few."

The rise of machines The film "The Social Network" is considered the foundational cinematic work for the genre of "tech bros," and the starting point for this type of film. The film, written by Sorkin and nominated for Best Picture in 2010, traces Zuckerberg's journey from his days at Harvard University, where his behavior was marked by social awkwardness, to the establishment of what would later become Facebook, which was originally a site for rating his female classmates based on their attractiveness.

The young Zuckerberg character, portrayed by Jesse Eisenberg, appears as a rude and selfish person striving to achieve his ambition; he treats his girlfriend poorly and betrays his close friend, played by Garfield, in his first step towards the fame associated with the tech world. However, this character, who does not conform to traditional hero standards, possesses a boyish and bold energy that sometimes evokes sympathy, making following him an enjoyable experience. Nevertheless, Zuckerberg did not like the film, stating that he found it "painful."

In contrast, actor Jeremy Strong embodies Zuckerberg's character around 2021, after he had been a billionaire for over a decade and faced a series of scandals that made the acts of betrayal depicted in "The Social Network" seem like mere child's play. Strong's version of Zuckerberg, including his very short hair at the forehead, exudes a discomforting rigidity; he appears as an unpleasant tyrant, a darker image reflecting how the honeymoon phase of the relationship with the tech sector has completely ended.

Drummond stated, "That enthusiasm, positivity, and trust that was once prevalent among the public - though not universal - has eroded to the point where the situation now seems irreparable." Film researcher and author of the book "Silicon Valley Cinema," Joe Street, noted that Hollywood's portrayal of the tech sector has gone through several phases.

In the early second decade of the 21st century, that golden period which saw Zuckerberg harshly criticized in the film "The Social Network," and at the same time being chosen as "Person of the Year" by Time magazine, shows like "Silicon Valley" on HBO depicted tech company founders as technology-obsessed and pitiable individuals. The biographical film "Jobs" in 2013 portrayed Steve Jobs as a genius with a complex nature.

However, in the late part of the same decade, a series of popular commercial films presented tech company founders in the roles of villains, including films like "Jurassic World," "Venom," and "Terminator Genisys." Street describes this archetypal character as the "ruthless capitalist tech pioneer," a person who places profit above ethics and human lives. At the same time, major tech companies began to face the first waves of backlash against them; the "Cambridge Analytica" scandal erupted in 2018, revealing how the personal data of millions of Facebook users was used without their consent, sparking widespread public scrutiny.

Recently, actor Ed Norton embodied a billionaire resembling Elon Musk in the film "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery," while Taika Waititi played a narcissistic and fraudulent CEO in the film "Free Guy." Street noted that the common thread among these films is that the villains receive their just desserts; for example, the life of the greedy tech company founder played by Irrfan Khan in "Jurassic World" ends with him becoming dinosaur food.

He commented on this, saying: "There is a kind of wish fulfillment here"; in these films, the fictional founders ultimately appear as intellectually limited humans, and nature will take care of bringing them down. Now, the "Tech Pioneers" films of 2026 are fundamentally different; instead of mocking tech founders through fictional stories, these films address the real-life stories of men who have gained more influence than ever, far from facing any punishment.

The founders are not pleased with this "cinematic gnawing" at their reputation, as Musk described the documentary about him as a "defamatory attack" lacking integrity. As for Zuckerberg, he has not yet commented on the film "The Social Reckoning" despite still insisting that "The Social Network" completely misrepresented his motives, although it accurately depicted his choices regarding clothing.

It seems that the production of films about technology giants is becoming more complex as this sector expands and its dominance over the economy increases, including the entertainment industry. Let's take the film "Artificial" as an example; it was initially scheduled to be distributed by "Amazon MGM Studios," which is the film and television arm of the tech giant.

However, "Amazon" abandoned the film last June, justifying that it "would have a better chance if another studio took over its distribution." This decision came a few months after it entered into a massive partnership with "OpenAI," and ultimately, a much smaller distribution company, "Neon," stepped in to save the film, which is set to premiere in theaters during Christmas.

Drummond described the rescue of the film "Artificial" as something "hopeful," but she also pointed out that there are "warning signs indicating that things are not right." On his part, Altman seems to be aware of the reasons that might make the headlines talking about the "end of the world due to artificial intelligence" turn him into a target for ridicule, and he accepts the jokes directed at him personally, or so he says.

He stated to CNBC saying: "I understand why people feel concerned. And if they need to project that concern onto someone, or vent a little by making fun of me, that doesn’t bother me."

In light of the threat posed by artificial intelligence to creative jobs, Street, a researcher specializing in cinema, said that "Hollywood faces a real threat from Silicon Valley at the industry level." He added that films criticizing the founders of tech companies "seem like a warning to us, but at the same time, they are a way to reaffirm Hollywood's importance in our culture."

While production studios fear, on one hand, angering technology sector leaders by portraying them negatively, they are, on the other hand, clearly aware of the public's interest in stories revolving around some of the most powerful men of our time. Katie Drummond noted that this could represent a way for ordinary people to vent feelings of 'anger, disappointment, and alienation' towards tech giants who seem to wield absolute power, especially regarding the rapid spread of artificial intelligence.

She questioned, saying: 'Isn't it great to go out on a Friday night to watch a movie that allows you to direct some of that anger towards a character like Mark Zuckerberg played by Jeremy Strong, or the character of Sam Altman portrayed by Andrew Garfield? You want to feel that your anger is justified and in place, and I think these films will provide the audience with an outlet for that.'

Ultimately, Hollywood has always loved villainous characters, and Drummond added: 'Characters like Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman, and Elon Musk - for very good reasons - make excellent models for villains in cinematic works.'