Latest news with #RamyYoussef
BreakingNews.ie
5 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
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ramy Youssef on Juggling ‘Mountainhead,' ‘#1 Happy Family USA,' ‘Mo,' ‘The Studio' and Perhaps — Eventually — a Baby
Ramy Youssef seems to have a banner year every year. The last time he appeared on Variety's Awards Circuit Podcast, he was promoting his HBO standup special 'More Feelings' and a hosting stint on 'Saturday Night Live,' having just come off of a press campaign for his first movie role in 'Poor Things' — plus Netflix had just set a comedy series co-created by Youssef and Will Ferrell. More from Variety 'Bridget Jones' Director Michael Morris on the Emmy Longform Conundrum: What's The Difference Between a Film and a TV Movie? Emmy Voters: Don't Forget About Zahn McClarnon and 'Dark Winds': He's Your Next Leading Man Short and Sweet: From 'Adolescence' to 'Sirens,' This Season's Best New Shows Are Barely Longer Than a Movie This time around, he's outdone himself with four projects to promote simultaneously: The animated Amazon Prime Video series '#1 Happy Family USA'; the second and final season of Netflix's 'Mo,' which he co-created with Mo Amer; his role in Jesse Armstrong's HBO movie 'Mountainhead'; and his guest appearance in 'The Studio' on Apple TV+. He's also doing stand-up again, on a tour called 'Love Beam 4000.' We talk all about that and more on the latest edition of the Awards Circuit Podcast — listen below! The next time Youssef joins the podcast, he jokes, he may only have one thing to promote: 'If I have a baby, could we just have a podcast where I talk to you about my baby? Could we do an FYC for my baby? And there'd be no project, because I'll just be home with my wife and the baby.' That one has yet to be greenlit — 'We're in development on 'Baby,'' Youssef jokes — but there's plenty on his mind until then. If there's a throughline between the disparate things he's working on, it's that each one feels urgent, deeply connected to an of-the-moment struggle. Take 'Mountainhead,' for example. The film examines the complicated and even violent friendships between a group of tech billionaires who are wading through real-life, apocalyptic consequences of AI. 'I write a lot about man versus system, and [Armstrong's] version of it, and his entry points to it, are different than the ones that I gravitate towards as a writer,' Youssef says. 'But as an actor, it all made so much sense to me the second I read it.' Later in the conversation, Youssef relates that idea to 'Mo,' which follows an undocumented Palestinian refugee who tries, fails and tries again to get his green card in the U.S. 'With 'Mo,' we looked at man versus system in an on-the-nose way,' he says. 'You're watching him go through these courts, and through these double standards […] I felt compelled that this thing has to exist, because there is no humanization — of not just Palestinians, but even refugees. People think 'refugee' and they just see a random CNN image of people displaced on a boat near a shore. And those images need to be tethered to real families and real stories and things that you can understand.' Youssef expanded on his thoughts from a previous Variety interview, where he and Amer shared why they chose not to reference the current war in Gaza in 'Mo' Season 2, emphasizing that they wanted to be timely while still making sure the show would hold up years after the war's eventual end. This is a skill Youssef first honed by observing his comedy idols. 'I love watching old specials. Pop on an old Eddie Murphy, pop on an old George Carlin,' he says. 'Carlin's great at this, because he'll talk really topically about the time, but it always has this core emotional thing that's actually the bedrock of the joke. I don't know the senator he's talking about from the '90s, but I know exactly what he's feeling.' In '#1 Happy Family USA,' Youssef applies the Carlin treatment to 9/11. More than 20 years on, he's still meditating on how Americans at large responded to the terrorist attacks, and how that response impacted Muslim families like his own. To him, the emotional truth that still resonates today is the way he was taught to 'code switch,' or present a version of himself in public that was different from the person he truly was at home. So in the series, the Hussein family goes to absurd lengths to make the white people they meet in public more comfortable. 'Everyone has this part of themselves that they go, 'I gotta hide this now that I'm going outside.' In a way, it's the premise of 'Severance' — that thing of, 'I gotta be somebody else when I'm not home,'' Youssef says. 'With that being at the bedrock of it, we can get super wild and crazy and really go at this with a satire that that period of time has never really gotten from the perspective that we show.' He continues: 'There were so many people who were really sidelined from having their own experience for a really long time in this country. And that time is back and even worse. Anyone who lived through the early 2000s as an adult, who is Muslim, will tell you that it's worse now. This idea of needing to prove your patriotism. It's why the show is called '#1 Happy Family USA.' It's this idea that you gotta get out there on that front lawn and shout it to everybody in order to be deemed safe and worthy of living in the neighborhood.' And while the stakes of the headlines referenced in 'The Studio' are less life-and-death, the Seth Rogen-led comedy is still cut from the same 'man versus system' cloth. Even though Youssef only appears once, as the host of the Golden Globes in Episode 8, it was a logical addition to his rolodex of timely and prescient projects — though he didn't need much convincing, considering he got to bring his dog to the shoot. Also on this episode of the Awards Circuit Podcast: Variety's Clayton Davis talked this spring to star/EP Forest Whitaker about MGM+'s 'Godfather of Harlem,' now in its Season 4. The show picked up in Season 4 with Bumpy Johnson, played by Whitaker, as he continued his bloody war for control of Harlem against New York's mafia families, while contending with the emergence of a potential rival in newly arrived Black gangster Frank Lucas. Variety's 'Awards Circuit' podcast, hosted by Clayton Davis, Jazz Tangcay, Emily Longeretta, Jenelle Riley and Michael Schneider, who also produces, is your one-stop source for lively conversations about the best in film and television. Each episode, 'Awards Circuit' features interviews with top film and TV talent and creatives, discussions and debates about awards races and industry headlines, and much more. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or anywhere you download podcasts. Best of Variety 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts? Emmy Predictions: Documentary Programs — Nonfiction Races Spotlight Pee-wee Herman, Simone Biles and YouTube Creators 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ramy Youssef on playing a billionaire tech bro in "Mountainhead" amid Trump-Musk break-up
Actor and comedian Ramy Youssef stars in the new satirical film "Mountainhead," which follows four tech bros gathered at a mountaintop mansion, in the midst of widespread fallout and violence from AI tools they created. MSNBC's Ayman Mohyeldin, Catherine Rampell, and Elise Jordan speak with Youssef, who said about the movie's characters: "In a lot of ways, they reminded me of myself when I was 13. I kind of played my character as if I was my own 13-year-old self, but also with a lot of money, an
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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Vogue
03-06-2025
- Business
- Vogue
Just How Accurate a Portrait of the Tech-Bro World is ‘Mountainhead'?
It can be a lot of fun to see a world you know well get lampooned, which is maybe why I felt ever-so-slightly out-of-the-loop while watching Mountainhead. Jesse Armstrong's feature directorial debut stars Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman, Ramy Youssef, and Cory Michael Smith as the world's most powerful and annoying tech-bro clique convening for a weekend retreat in the midst of roiling, worldwide chaos that one of them may or may not be responsible for (and that more than a few of them feel uniquely capable of quelling). I've never worked in tech—except for a few months temping at a search-engine giant that shall remain nameless, from which I stole a ton of pens before unceremoniously quitting—so it was hard for me to tell whether the rapidly paced, Succession-esque dialogue of Mountainhead bore any relationship to the real thing (especially since nobody who was permanently employed at said company spoke to me at my temp job). So, I turned to some anonymous current and former big-tech employees for their thoughts on how the film reflected their industry. Below, find analyses of Mountainhead from some of the people who would know best: Anonymous tech-world veteran and startup founder: 'Mountainhead felt like somebody had listened to a LOT of All-In podcasts in the creation process. I think it over-rotated on the bro-ness of the guys. Tech moguls may do bro-y stuff, but they don't have bro-y personalities. They're still more nerdy than they are bro-y. The 'sure, we can run the world' casual confidence is more common amongst venture capitalists than people who actually operate companies.' Cory Michael Smith (as Venis), Steve Carell (as Randall), Ramy Youssef (as Jeff), and Jason Schwartzman (as Hugo Van Yalk, aka Souper) in Mountainhead. Photo: Courtesy of HBO Anonymous journalist who has covered tech: 'This whole 'We can marry a Facebook-like company to AI and it will become superhuman overnight' thing is ridiculous. Naturally, so is killing the head of the AI company. Tech has too much power, but AI is going to be at least as good as it is bad (for a while, at least). Everyone in the movie is either a doomer or a tech boomer; it's silly.' Anonymous big-tech alum: 'Was Jason Schwartzman gay? He should have been. Visibility matters! Ramy's look was the best because it was the most schlubby. That hit. But someone should have looked absurdly bad, if you asked me, i.e. Sam Altman's Henleys or Mark Zuckerberg's current Eastern Bloc-drug-dealer phase. The chat was so slick from the beginning and, in my experience, these guys have a lot more awkward pauses. I would have had more security, both in person (Elon has more security than Trump!) and on their phones. The venue was right, in that rich techies love an expansive breakfast bar that no one eats, so I was happy to see that. The decor was also right; modern-ish and quiet luxury-ish, but not, like, mid-century-modern chic. I also liked that the chief of staff was a woman old enough to be Cory's mom (that's the Sheryl Sandberg nod).'
