Why I’m writing about wealthy individuals once more

Jesse Armstrong, one of many UK’s most profitable screenwriters, is just not one to relaxation on his laurels.

Hot off the again of his hit present Succession, which adopted the twists and turns within the lives of media mogul Logan Roy, performed by Brian Cox, and his 4 kids, Armstrong is again together with his first feature-length movie, Mountainhead.

It’s a satire movie a few group of 4 tech billionaire pals who go away to a mountain resort for the weekend however discover themselves and their social media corporations below scrutiny as social unrest spreads throughout the globe.

Speaking on the Hay Festival, Armstrong says: “People begin by saying, ‘Why are you doing these wealthy individuals once more? And it is a truthful query. They’re tech billionaires. Succession was a few massive media household. And I believe it is as a result of I’m involved in energy, I do not suppose it is about simply wealth.

“Succession was very clearly about why is the world like it’s, who has energy?”

HBO’s Mountainhead, starring Steve Carrell and Ramy Youssef, was made in a short time.

“We did it at nice velocity. I pitched it in December and wrote it in January… carried on re-writing it by pre-production after which shot it in 22 days, then edited it.

“We solely completed (modifying) a few week in the past and it is on TV this weekend!”

Armstrong, 54, needed to do a fast turnaround on the movie to attempt to seize the sensation and tempo of technological developments and society’s concern about maintaining.

“The anxieties that we now have about know-how, particularly AI, really feel very current and transfer fairly quick. And I needed to try to write it in the identical temper as you is perhaps whenever you’re watching it, so I used to be eager to do it shortly,” he says.

“Another attraction for me was that I’ve by no means directed something earlier than and it made me really feel much less anxious to run at it and do it actually, actually shortly.”

Armstrong, who reduce his tooth in kids’s TV earlier than writing for reveals equivalent to The Thick of It and happening to co-create collection like Peep Show and Fresh Meat, mentioned the inspiration for Mountainhead got here from listening to podcasts.

“I wrote a book review about Sam-Bankman-Fried, the crypto fraudster, after which I learn increasingly about tech, and I began listening to podcasts of senior tech figures, from Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg and Sam Altman, but in addition the mid-level individuals and even decrease stage – it is an ecosphere.

“I could not cease fascinated with the voice of those individuals. I do love getting the vocabulary proper. For me, that opens the door, as soon as I can hear them speaking. And because it looks as if the AI corporations are scraping a lot of our arduous work to coach their fashions, I assumed I’d scrape them again [using their podcasts]!”

Armstrong instructed the Hay viewers that whereas he knew his job was to interact viewers, writing the movie “was a means of expressing a load of emotions about that world and about these males – they’re nearly all males in that world – and it is cathartic”.

His reveals are recognized for his or her darkish humour and Armstrong says if he needed to write his job description in his passport utility, he would put down “comedy author”, including that he does not consider himself as a storyteller.

“I’m attempting to make a narrative participating that may in all probability contain individuals laughing. And the bit that I discover most difficult is discovering a narrative as a result of individuals keep in mind jokes, however you simply will not make it by that half hour or hour until that story is is compelling sufficient to make an viewers observe alongside.”

Many writers and showrunners find yourself directing episodes of the collection that they’ve created however Armstrong says he could not try this on Succession, which gained a number of awards together with 14 primetime Emmys.

“I all the time felt just like the individuals who did it have been so good at it that it was quite impolite of me to recommend I may simply are available and do it simply as nicely.”

Armstrong does not look like your stereotypical assured showrunner, coming throughout as fairly shy and humble, regardless of his success.

“Sometimes very inventive individuals have an actual ‘screw you’ perspective to authority, and I haven’t got that. Maybe I’m a bit extra fearful, a bit extra amenable. I like everybody to be completely happy. I need to to provide individuals what they need in fairly an honest and humane means.

“I haven’t got a confrontational perspective to individuals I work with, until somebody’s a jerk – I hope I can rise up for myself and the work.”

Mountainhead is launched on HBO and Max on 31 May