In "Succession", screenwriter Jesse Armstrong portrayed the family around media mogul Logan Roy and the struggle to take over the family's media empire after his resignation – and subsequent death.
Now, Briton Armstrong is back, with a TV film about four tech billionaires who meet for a poker weekend in a remote cabin, while the world outside due to decisions they made. They themselves are most occupied with internal power struggles.
Musk stepped in
The film "Mountainhead", starring Steve Carell and Jason Schwartzman in the lead roles, premieres on Max on June 1.
It's satire, but reality has a tendency to surpass fiction sometimes.
During the time between the manuscript was finished and filming began in March, tech billionaire Elon Musk stepped into the scene – and created chaos in the world, as responsible for President Donald Trump's dismantling of the public sector in the USA.
It didn't feel good for me personally to see it happen, but it really felt like exactly what I was trying to write about, says Jesse Armstrong and laughs.
He admits it was strange.
Yes, I really feeling that the film is about this world, what's happening right now before our eyes.
100 darts
Armstrong emphasizes that he does extensive research before he writes. Then it's easy to be touched.
Trying to depict the present is like throwing 100 darts at the board. If you've done good research, it's always some darts that hit.
He takes another example from the film:
There's a reference to a major power outage in parts of Europe and it was just recently a major power outage in Portugal and Spain. So it happens sometimes, but it's creepy when it's so close.
Armstrong originally wanted to do something different, but tells that he got onto the tech track after listening to a long series of podcasts, where entrepreneurs laid out their worldview. Their boundless self-confidence fascinates him.
Sometimes you could hear how the self-confidence cantered over into some form of arrogance, which is a goldmine for a screenwriter to draw from and that's what attracted me.
Mikael Forsell/TT
Facts: Jesse Armstrong
TT
53 years old. Has written for several British comedies such as "Peep show" and "Trist herr minister" as well as the film "In the loop", for which he received an Oscar nomination.
Created "Succession" which aired between 2018 and 2023 on HBO and HBO Max. Armstrong received eight Emmy Awards for the series.
"Mountainhead" is his debut film as a director.
