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BreakingNews.ie
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- BreakingNews.ie
Mountainhead review: Billionaires more loathsome than the Roy family
Succession creator Jesse Armstong's first project since the HBO smash hit is the film Mountainhead, and somehow he has managed to come up with billionaires more loathsome than the Roy family. As the world veers into an apocalyptic metldown filled with violence and burning cities (somehow eerily believable), four billionaires gather for a snowy retreat at a luxurious Utah mansion, 'Mountainhead'. Advertisement A social media app called Traam (think TikTok on steroids) is fuelling the real-world violence that has destabilised countries, and its owner Venis ( Cory Michael Smith) is the richest man on the planet. Succession creator Jesse Armstong's first project since the HBO smash hit is the film Mountainhead, and somehow he has managed to come up with billionaires more loathsome than the Roy family. An Elon Musk-type who still has his direct line to the US president, Venis is in denial about the damage his platform is doing and thinks only about the profits. Randall (Steve Carell) is another billionaire whose desire to see the world go 'transhuman' is inspired by a bad medical diagnosis, and he needs to take advantage of Venis and Jeff (Ramy Youssef) to do so. Jeff owns an AI verification app that has the power to curb much of the misinformation on Traam, but refuses to sell to Venis. Advertisement Jason Schwartzman is Soup Kitchen, or Soups, who is the only member worth less than $1 billion, hence the unfavourable nickname. He owns Mountainhead and serves as the mediator of the group. However, they are all pawns to Randall and this leads to their weekend retreat taking a very dark turn. The dialogue is succint and bruta at times as the four billionaires cruelly 'razz' each other. Thinks Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Peter Thiel on a weekend away together. They gleefully plot a 'coup' of the world that will put the concept of the nation-state at an end. However, they are also desperately ignorant of the real world, an actual line from the movie that gives the perfect example is: "Once one Palestinian kid sees some really bananas content from one Israeli kid – it's all over!' The concept is brilliant and the tension built up over the story keeps the film going, however it goes off the boil a bit towards the end. It's no Succession but worth a watch, we give it three out of five stars. Mountainhead is now available to watch on Sky Atlantic and to stream on NOW in Ireland
Forbes
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Ranking How Rich The Billionaires Are In ‘Mountainhead'
From left to right: Jason Schwartzman, Cory Michael Smith, Ramy Youssef and Steve Carell. Warning: Contains spoilers for Mountainhead! The four tech bro billionaires in the new HBO satirical movie Mountainhead are very rich—just ask them. Venis Parish (played by Cory Michael Smith), said to be the world's wealthiest person (net worth: $220 billion), is 'the king of cash, the marquis of Moolah, the North Star of net worth.' Randall Garrett (Steve Carell) is 'the Grand Old Duke of dough,' with $63 billion. The 'young buck making the big bucks,' Jeff Abredazi (Rami Youssef), has $59 billion. Even Hugo Van Yalk (Jason Schwartzman), the 'host without the most' and the 'poor relation who still gets an invitation,' is worth a 'not-too-shabby' $521 million. This is all according to one mountaintop scene, during which the moguls inscribe their fortunes on their chests in (surely expensive) red lipstick. Mountainhead was written and directed by Jesse Armstrong, a British screenwriter who's best known for creating the hit HBO series Succession, which examined the fraught family dynamics of a billionaire media mogul not too dissimilar to Rupert Murdoch. Armstrong's new movie takes place during a winter getaway to Van Yalk's ultra-luxurious, mountaintop Utah home. As the quartet's poker night devolves into bickering and plotting both a world takeover and a murder, alliances—and net worths—shift. At least two of the characters in the movie are likely much richer come morning. Here's a look at how wealthy the four members of the 'Brewster' crew in Mountainhead are, and how they would actually stack up against the real-life billionaire overlords, according to Forbes' Real-Time Billionaires list, which tracks the fortunes of all 3,000-plus billionaires around the globe. WireImage Ven sets off worldwide chaos when his social media giant Traam unleashes deepfake AI tools that run amok. But the richest person on the planet in the movie is actually far too poor to claim that title in real life. The 'North Star of net worth' doesn't burn quite as bright as Elon Musk, who is worth $411 billion as of June 10, despite his feud with President Trump—nearly twice as rich as Ven. In reality, Ven would rank fourth worldwide, behind Musk and Meta's Mark Zuckerberg ($242 billion)—both seemingly inspirations for the character—and Amazon's Jeff Bezos ($232 billion). He's just a hair wealthier than yet another tech tycoon, Oracle's Larry Ellison ($218 billion), though he does have tens of billions on folks like Warren Buffett ($153 billion) and Bill Gates ($116 billion), and with Jeff's AI division in his control, he'll soon be operating at 'full tilt.' Getty Images Jeff rides a wealth rollercoaster in Mountainhead. First worth $38 billion—'59, actually,' he's quick to correct—he soon overtakes Garrett with a 'very chunky number' that the movie never specifies, based on the skyrocketing stock of his AI 'guardrail' company. It's unclear how rich he ends up after agreeing to sell his AI division to Parish's Traam for $45 billion, but HBO has promoted the movie as being about 'Four friends. $371 billion net worth. Zero culpability.' After factoring in Hugo's glow up (see below), Forbes is attributing the rest of the additional wealth to Jeff—giving him a lot of copay cash for some much needed therapy. Getty Images The investor and technologist 'Papa bear' is clearly rankled when Jeff surpasses him in wealth. He's also peeved that he hasn't been able to buy a cure for cancer. But he's still about as rich as another shadowy billionaire, controversial crypto kingpin CZ ($66 billion). And when it comes to government connections, he's brags he's 'pretty deeply embedded in terms of hardware, software, payment rails, wages.' How can you put a price on the ability to control Belgium's electric grid? Getty Images 'The poorest relation,' Hugo is nicknamed 'Souper'—as in, soup kitchen—for being the least rich of the bunch. 'I can't go unicorn,' he laments in one scene. 'I cannot make my billion.' But, by the end of the film, the group's 'petroleum insurance policy' pays off big and Souper's 'lifestyle super-app' gets 'bought out at 2 bil.' Assuming he swapped his shares for Traam stock—or avoided taxes if he fully cashed out, as billionaires often find ways to do—he's now got a couple billion. That, plus 'Mountainhead'—the Utah mansion where the movie is set, worth north of $50 million—pushes his net worth to at least $2.1 billion. 'Congrats, Souper,' Randall tells him, 'your centi-millionaireship is over.'
Hindustan Times
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Mountainhead movie review: A hangout trip with tech billionaires turns nasty in this blunt satire by Jesse Armstrong
Mountainhead movie review Cast: Ramy Youssef, Cory Michael Smith, Steve Carell, and Jason Schwartzman Director: Jesse Armstrong Star rating: ★★★ The shadow of Succession looms large over the premise of Mountainhead- a hilariously morbid, tragically fierce takedown of the ultra-rich. Eat the rich yes, but it is the rich who want to eat themselves. The action begins at a mansion nestled in the snow-capped mountains, where four notoriously rich tech bros meet over the course of a weekend, while the world begins to fall apart. {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} Peppered with deliciously cold dialogues and twisty characters, this feels like familiar terrain for director Jesse Armstrong, fresh-off the feverish success of Succession. One can almost say this could be a spin-off from the Emmy-winning HBO show. The premise Mountainhead is essentially a chamber piece, where the entire action unfolds within the interiors of this mansion tucked away in the mountains. It is the brainchild of Hugo (Jason Schwartzman), the founder of a successful wellness app, trying to take up his millionaire status a few notches higher. He basically wants to be on the same page as his three billionaire friends whom he has called to stay over the weekend. One of them is Venis (Cory Michael Smith), who owns the social media app called Traam. He seems to casually refer to acts of mass violence as fake, even as the same app's AI features have caused global outrage. 'This is so hyper-real it can't be real,' he says. Then there is Jeff (Ramy Youssef), whose AI company is a potential threat to Venis. He becomes the moral compass of the group. The papa bear in the group is Randy (Steve Carell), the billionaire investor who gets to shoo away a doctor after receiving some bleak health report. 'My view, and it's essentially Hegelian, is that the whole of history essentially operates on the 'F***! What? Cool!' principle,' he believes. {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} What works {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} What works {{/usCountry}} {{^usCountry}} This is just a specimen of the brutally sharp and twisted dialogues that abound in Mountainhead- a film that is wry, unhinged and incredulous, often in the same breath. Armstrong seems to be playing a game here- flirting with an idea with such passive-aggressive distance that it never really takes itself too seriously. The build-up to the central crisis is hilarious and shocking in the way these men try to justify what they are about to do. They are desperate, hungry and absolutely feral; and the film digs into the satire that often trespasses into Lord of the Flies territory. The rich would kill themselves if need arises. The rest of the world can go to smoke. {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} This is just a specimen of the brutally sharp and twisted dialogues that abound in Mountainhead- a film that is wry, unhinged and incredulous, often in the same breath. Armstrong seems to be playing a game here- flirting with an idea with such passive-aggressive distance that it never really takes itself too seriously. The build-up to the central crisis is hilarious and shocking in the way these men try to justify what they are about to do. They are desperate, hungry and absolutely feral; and the film digs into the satire that often trespasses into Lord of the Flies territory. The rich would kill themselves if need arises. The rest of the world can go to smoke. {{/usCountry}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} However, Mountainhead often lacks a sort of momentum and emotional bandwidth because these men are simply too untrustworthy and impossible to witness. The film is almost too cold, too rigid. I could almost feel the absence of a Shiv Roy-like figure in the room, someone who could slightly shake off these men off their blissful ignorance. Nevertheless, the film is elevated to a degree because of the performances of the cast. Final thoughts Steve Carell and Jason Schwartzman are in fine form, and Cory Michael Smith is extremely effective in finding the comic vulgarity in Venis. But the real standout is Ramy Youssef- who sees through the rest of them a little more, and makes sense of the deception and manipulative behaviour that lies ahead in the game- poker or not. {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} Mountainhead is a film that is driven by temptations and amoral impulses. It is a shot at the dark end of despair. The tone is extremely precise in its bleakness and doom, given how immediately transfixing these global threats of AI and global crisis have become. There is a moment where a riot in shown in India, and the men watch the scene on Television- with nothing remarkable to note. They are half-convinced of it, and half-bothered in equal measure. But these men have all the power in the world, and we can't help but be alarmed. Mountainhead is available to watch on JioHotstar. 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Newsweek
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
The Real-Life Tech Bros that Inspired HBO Max's 'Mountainhead'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Entertainment gossip and news from Newsweek's network of contributors The newest project from "Succession" creator Jesse Armstrong, "Mountainhead" follows the story of four tech billionaires as they are isolated on a weekend retreat in the mountains while multiple disasters due to AI deep fakes take place around the world, with each mogul considering how to use the chaos to their advantage. The film stars Steve Carell as Randall Garrett, Jason Schwartzman as Hugo "Souper" Van Yalk, Cory Michael Smith as Venis "Ven" Parish, and Ramy Yousseff as Jeffrey "Jeff" Abredazi. More Entertainment: How To Watch the New Jesse Armstrong Film 'Mountainhead' After premiering on HBO Max on May 31, multiple questions have been brought up regarding whether the film is based on real events and who each billionaire is specifically based on. So let's take a look at everyone and everything in 'Mountainhead.' Cory Michael Smith, Steve Carell, Ramy Youssef, and Jason Schwartzman in HBO's 'Mountainhead.' Cory Michael Smith, Steve Carell, Ramy Youssef, and Jason Schwartzman in HBO's 'Mountainhead.' Fred Hayes/HBO Is 'Mountainhead' Based on a True Story? While the events in "Mountainhead" seem unfortunately plausible in a modern world, nothing that happens is actually based on real events; instead, it operates as a look at the rising fears surrounding artificial intelligence. More Entertainment: Stephen King 'Carrie' Remake Officially Reveals Main Cast Particularly, Armstrong notes that "Mountainhead" looks at possible events AI leaders have warned about. "If somebody who knows the technology better than anyone in the world thinks there's a 1/5th chance that it's going to wipe out humanity—and they're some of the optimists—I think that's legitimately quite unnerving," Armstrong said, per Andrew R. Chow of Time. Who is 'Mountainhead' Based On? While the plot of "Mountainhead" is not based on a true story, its characters do take inspiration from real people. Specifically, Armstrong refers to the four leads as "Frankenstein monsters with limbs sewn together," breaking them down into four archetypes: The Father, The Dynamo, The Usurper, and The Hanger On. Carell's Randall Garrett is The Father, the eldest member of the group and an investor in the others' projects. He is based on Marc Andreessen and Peter Thiel, the latter of whom founded PayPal and was an early investor in Facebook. More Entertainment: Cory Michael Smith Embraces Chaos in Jesse Armstrong's 'Mountainhead' Speaking of Facebook, Smith's Venis "Ven" Parish is based on the likes of Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. Known as The Dynamo, he is the richest of the group, founder of the social media company Traam, and created the AI programs that led to the aforementioned disasters While Youseff's Jeffrey "Jeff" Abredazi and Schwartzman's Hugo "Souper" Van Yalk don't necessarily have direct real world interpretations, their archetypes can easily be seen in the world of tech. Abredazi is The Usurper, looking to constantly improve his status and rise in the ranks of the tech industry no matter what. Van Yalk is The Hanger On, the poorest of the group and operating as an outsider, he is constantly trying to win the approval of the other three. Where was 'Mountainhead' Filmed? The entirety of "Mountainhead" takes place at Hugo's mansion in the mountains, and it turns out that this is a real spot. Located in Park City, Utah, the mansion is actually a ski home in Deer Valley Resort designed by Upwall Design Architects. More Entertainment: Star Wars Icon Says He's Done With The Franchise New on Prime Video: Full List of Movies, Shows Hitting the Streaming Platform in June 2025 New on Peacock: Full List of Movies, Shows Hitting the Streaming Platform in June 2025 For more film and entertainment news, head on over to Newsweek Entertainment.
Newsweek
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
New on Mubi: Full List of Movies, Shows Hitting the Streaming Platform in June 2025
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Entertainment gossip and news from Newsweek's network of contributors Sixteen new titles to delve into will land on MUBI throughout June 2025, and the streaming service has officially unveiled what they will be. Kicking off with Cory Michael Smith (Saturday Night, May December, Sentimental Value) collaborating with the platform to hand-select a couple of titles to add this month, we see Yen Tan's 1985 and Peter Sattler's Camp X-Ray arrive on June 1. Twin Peaks will arrive on MUBI on June 13, 2025. Twin Peaks will arrive on MUBI on June 13, 2025. MUBI READ: How To Watch the New Jesse Armstrong Film 'Mountainhead' Other highlights from June 1 include a selection of films curated for MUBI's "This is Not a Coming Out Story" season, celebrating visionary queer cinema. Among them are Levan Akin's Crossing, Gregg Araki's The Living End, and Daniel Riberio's The Way He Looks. Later in the month, David Lynch fans are in for a treat because, on June 13, MUBI will add seasons one and two of Twin Peaks to the platform, along with Twin Peaks: The Return. That's not all that arrives on June 13, with Simon Hacker's 2024 film Notice to Quit also gracing our screens. The film stars Michael Zegen as Andy Singer, an out-of-work actor now struggling as a realtor in New York City. When his estranged 10-year-old daughter shows up on his doorstep in the middle of his eviction, his whole world comes crashing down around him. Beyond the select few listed above, there's plenty more heading to MUBI throughout June. You can read everything new on MUBI in June 2025 below. What's New on MUBI in June 2025? June 1 Camp X-Ray , directed by Peter Sattler | Hand-picked by Cory Michael Smith , directed by Peter Sattler | Hand-picked by Cory Michael Smith 1985 , directed by Yen Tan | Hand-picked by Cory Michael Smith , directed by Yen Tan | Hand-picked by Cory Michael Smith Stranger by the Lake , directed by Alain Guiraudie | This is Not a Coming Out Story , directed by Alain Guiraudie | This is Not a Coming Out Story The Way He Looks , directed by Daniel Riberio | This is Not a Coming Out Story , directed by Daniel Riberio | This is Not a Coming Out Story The Living End , directed by Gregg Araki | This is Not a Coming Out Story , directed by Gregg Araki | This is Not a Coming Out Story Totally F***ed Up , directed by Gregg Araki | This is Not a Coming Out Story , directed by Gregg Araki | This is Not a Coming Out Story I Am Divine , directed by Jeffrey Schwarz | This is Not a Coming Out Story , directed by Jeffrey Schwarz | This is Not a Coming Out Story Keep the Lights On , directed by Ira Sachs | This is Not a Coming Out Story , directed by Ira Sachs | This is Not a Coming Out Story Naz + Maalik , directed by Jay Dockendorf | This is Not a Coming Out Story , directed by Jay Dockendorf | This is Not a Coming Out Story Party Girl , directed by Daisy von Scherler Mayer , directed by Daisy von Scherler Mayer Majorie Prime, directed by Michael Almereyda June 6 Việt and Nam, directed by Minh Quý Trương June 13
