This year's film slate is unusually critical of Silicon Valley. Movies such as Aaron Sorkin's The Social Reckoning, Nathan Fielder's You Can See Everything, Alex Gibney's Musk, and Luca Guadagnino's Artificial take aim at Mark Zuckerberg, Elizabeth Holmes, Elon Musk, and Sam Altman respectively. Unlike earlier portrayals like The Social Network, these works draw on critical reporting and present their subjects as threats to democracy or manipulative figures.
The business angle is that these projects are colliding with studios' own financial ties to tech. Amazon pulled out of distributing Artificial in June, months after announcing a $50 billion investment in OpenAI. The source suggests Amazon and other studios with AI investments may be reluctant to release projects critical of the technology's creators.
Distribution has also faced interference. X blocked ads for Gibney's Musk documentary, and TikTok refused to run ads even after YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram reversed their initial decisions. The film is set to air on HBO in January, per a promise from Skydance's David Ellison. The episode illustrates how tech platforms can influence the reach of critical content.