“Mountainhead” Writer/Director Jesse Armstrong on Tech Bros, Murdoch and AI

On with Kara Swisher

New York Magazine

News Commentary, News, Society & Culture

4.2 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 5 June 2025

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

From media moguls to tech billionaires, Oscar-nominated and Emmy award-winning writer, producer and director Jesse Armstrong knows how to tap into the psyche of the rich and powerful. In the “Succession” creator’s new HBO movie, “Mountainhead,” a tech-bro poker weekend turns into a life-or-death battle over who will control the future — in both business and the real world. From their isolated lair in Utah, four millionaire/billionaire friends (played by Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman, Cory Michael Smith, and Ramy Youssef) watch as deepfakes created on one of their platforms lead to massacres, assassinations, and government takeovers around the world. This sparks the friends’ imperialistic fantasies and some unfriendly inter-group competition. Kara talks to writer-director Jesse Armstrong about the real-world inspirations for these characters, how tech founders think about their own role in society, and whether the tech oligarchy has replaced legacy media giants like Rupert Murdoch. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	I'm more eager to hear what you think about all this stuff than to hear myself.
0:04.2	I have a lot of thoughts about your show.
0:05.8	Can I interview you back?
0:06.8	Yes, please.
0:08.0	It's on.
0:15.0	Hi, everyone from New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network. This is on with Kara Swisher, and I'm Kara Swisher.
0:25.4	My guest today is Oscar-nominated Emmy Award-winning screenwriter, producer, and director Jesse Armstrong.
0:31.5	He's best known as the creator of Succession, the series about a family that's strikingly similar to the Murdoch clan. I did a podcast about
0:39.2	Succession and I had a great time because I love the show and I talked to Jesse a lot throughout
0:44.1	the process and interviewed him many times about his work. I've always thought it's amazing
0:49.1	and the teams he brings together are top level. Jesse's film directorial debut, Mountainhead, was just released on HBO.
0:57.9	It's about four tech bros whose poker weekend turns into a life or death battle of the wills.
1:03.9	Corey Michael Smith plays Venus, a tech renegade whose AI is allowing users to create undetectable deep fakes.
1:12.7	Venus is desperate to convince his buddy Jeff, played by Rami Yusuf, to sell him his, quote, good AI, to flag the deep fakes before
1:18.7	Venus's app gets shut down. Meanwhile, Randall, the philosopher wannabe investor, Papa Bear,
1:24.9	played by Steve Correll, is fighting cancer. He's willing to do anything to help
1:29.6	Venus so that his AI will help him stave off death. And the host and poorest friend, Super,
1:35.7	played by Jason Schwartzman, just wants them to invest in his meditation lifestyle app so he can
1:41.0	finally cross the $1 billion net worth mark.
1:45.1	The friends watch on their phones while Venus's AI deepfigs lead to massacres and political
1:50.2	assassinations around the world, sparking the friend's imperialistic fantasies along with some
1:55.9	unfriendly intergroup competition.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 16 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from New York Magazine, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of New York Magazine and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.