Its moguls are ripe subjects for drama, and there is huge anticipation for forthcoming features The Social Reckoning and Artificial. But other projects have failed as the film industry is increasingly colonised by IT empires
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‘I know there are easier enemies to make,” tech reporter Jeremy Allen White tells his colleague in a recent trailer for The Social Reckoning. “The mafia would be an easier enemy to make,” comes the reply. They’re talking about Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, but they might as well be discussing big tech as a whole. As The Social Reckoning promises to underline, it’s become clear that these people are not on our side – “us” being the whole of humanity except billionaire tech overlords and their mates. But for an industry that loves a clear-cut baddie, Hollywood has barely landed a blow on the tech industry. Now it finds itself in mortal danger of being absorbed by it. Is it too late to fight back?
The Social Reckoning’s predecessor, The Social Network, showed how this kind of thing is done. It was pacy, buzzy and full of weirder-than-life characters – not least the young Zuckerberg, portrayed by Jesse Eisenberg as an obnoxiously smart mogul-in-the-making, whose mission to connect the world stood in stark contrast to his own social deficiencies. Directed by David Fincher and co-written by Aaron Sorkin, it was also a commercial and critical hit, winning three Oscars. But a big part of what made The Social Network work, and makes its sequel such a threat, is that it was about the actual, real-world Silicon Valley, which is where a lot of recent entertainment has gone wrong.
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© Photograph: Everett Collection Inc/Alamy
© Photograph: Everett Collection Inc/Alamy
© Photograph: Everett Collection Inc/Alamy
Five-day showcase reveals leaps Beijing has made in humanoid tech, but also its limitations as US rivals come up from the rear
With exploding pelvises, enough comic pratfalls for a Buster Keaton show reel and the odd moment of ruthless violence, the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing gripped the world this week with an unsettling mixture of hilarity, trepidation and relief.
The five-day showcase staked out China’s claim to undisputed leadership in humanoid robotics as android martial artists landed knockout roundhouse kicks and robot teams marched into the arena heralded by flag-waving captains astride giant robotic dogs. The games’ blue-riband event, the 100m, did not disappoint when the robot-sprinters ran quicker than Usain Bolt before slamming mindlessly into a padded wall in a blaze of sparks, flames and flying mechanical limbs.
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© Composite: Alex Mellon for the Guardian : Getty Images
© Composite: Alex Mellon for the Guardian : Getty Images
© Composite: Alex Mellon for the Guardian : Getty Images
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