Hollywood films portray tech CEOs as modern villains

Hollywood is seeing a surge in high-profile projects that portray technology CEOs as modern-day villains, questioning their ethics and influence on politics and culture.

In the upcoming film ‘Artificial’, directed by Luca Guadagnino, Andrew Garfield portrays a character based on OpenAI leader Sam Altman. The film explores the creation of ChatGPT and dramatizes the period surrounding Altman’s dismissal and reinstatement at OpenAI. Reports suggest the film faced distribution challenges after Amazon MGM Studios passed on the project, following a major collaboration agreement between OpenAI and Amazon.

Elon Musk is also set to appear in ‘Artificial’ as a secondary character, played by Ike Barinholtz. Additionally, director Alex Gibney has released a nearly four-hour documentary titled ‘Musk’, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival and provides a profile of the Tesla and X CEO.