Jesse Armstrong’s Power Move

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I’m currently residing in a grand seven-story mansion nestled within the Wasatch Mountains of Utah, reminiscent of a luxurious ski resort designed by Tony Stark. As we approach late March, actors Steve Carell, Cory Michael Smith (of Saturday Night Live fame), Ramy Youssef, and Jason Schwartzman are filming an extravagant sequence for Mountainhead, the directorial debut of Succession creator Jesse Armstrong. This comedy revolves around four boastful tech tycoons who gather for a weekend getaway that spirals wildly out of control.

In the storyline, Youssef’s character, Jeff, heads a firm that has innovated a tool to detect and censor highly realistic AI-generated images. Character Venis, resembling tennis in pronunciation rather than the body part, is the founder of Traam, a platform similar to Facebook in functionality. Traam is grappling with an influx of politically and religiously provocative false images that have sparked global violence. Randall, or Dark-Money Gandalf as he’s known, played by Carell, is a billionaire venture capitalist who serves as a mentor to the group. Jeff, Venis, and Randall are all multi-billionaires, while Schwartzman’s character, Hugo Van Yalk, is the only one among them not in the billionaire club, hence they call him Souper, a short form for Soup Kitchen.

In the ongoing filming, Jeff discovers that Hugo falsely claimed to know someone at the International Monetary Fund. As proof surfaces, Jeff is given permission to sit on Hugo’s chair, mimicking a wild cat on a tree limb, threatening to “ruffle your thoughts.” Hugo acknowledges his deception, and Youssef ascends the chair and simulates intimate movements against Schwartzman’s head.

During breaks, Armstrong and the performers deliberate on the most appropriate hip movements and Youssef’s explicit vocalizations, adjusting the scene setup for optimal visibility of everyone’s expressions, regardless of the camera angle. Once “action” is called, Armstrong observes the screen, transitioning from amazement to analytical observation. The crew finds it hard not to laugh at Armstrong’s set, with one team member whisper-giggling and exclaiming, “This is pure genius!

Regardless of whether gold is involved or not, that particular scene won’t make it into the final movie. A few weeks after our initial conversation, Armstrong explains that he had to eliminate quite a bit from the film. As the edit is finished and the actors are in a London recording studio re-recording lines, he emphasizes his desire for the movie not to be excessively long.

Apart from being deliberate, Mountainhead intended to keep the production process swift. Fearing that the project might lose relevance if he lingered too much, Armstrong conceived the story in November 2024, presented it to HBO executive Casey Bloys in December, gathered his cast and crew between January and February while simultaneously writing the script, and completed filming over a five-week span this spring for a May 31 release. Stirred by the prospect of diving into something culturally vibrant, he explained that Succession offered a glimpse at an elder grappling with mortality but also explored the transition from one cultural dominance to another, as the real power now lies in social media and technology.

In the autumn of 2023, a seed for a future film was sown when The Times of London tasked Armstrong with reviewing Michael Lewis’s book “Going Infinite,” focusing on Sam Bankman-Fried, a convicted fraudster known for promoting cryptocurrency. This assignment prompted Armstrong to delve deeper into technology-related matters than he had in some time. As his research progressed, he found himself drawn to the distinct “voice” of the tech industry’s power players – a voice characterized by an overt arrogance that was both terrifying and comical due to its obliviousness. He described this attitude as a “first-principles approach,” where questions like “What are we trying to accomplish here, and how can we do it most efficiently?” were posed, appealing yet also comically naive in their disregard for basic human needs such as family and sustenance.

The movie seems akin to a hidden chapter within the realm of the fictional universe portrayed in “Succession”. Similar to Armstrong’s renowned series, it masterfully intertwines intelligence, humor, brutality, and perversion, at times even within the same scene. Before embarking on this project, Armstrong admits that he had no urge to follow contemporary life of the 21st century. “Succession” was loosely influenced by real-life events and characters (specifically the Murdoch family), and at times it seemed to eerily echo current events, particularly during the final season when the children of media tycoon Logan Roy aligned with a fascist American presidential candidate. However, it didn’t mimic specific events as they unfolded because the production scale and cost made that impractical. Furthermore, its purpose was neither to reflect or critique real events nor to provide a dramatic commentary on them, much like Aaron Sorkin’s “The Newsroom” faced criticism for attempting to do so on HBO.

Mountainhead isn’t mimicking the style of Newsroom, instead it’s developing characters that are reminiscent of individuals you might recognize, yet distinctly different. Characters such as Randall, Venis, and Jeff have traits borrowed from figures like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, but they remain unique entities in their own right. These characters exhibit a more authentic brotherly vibe compared to Mark Zuckerberg’s portrayal, no matter his lavish acquisitions. However, it does retain an air of urgency, given its rapid creation. As Carell explains, “It feels like he called me on a Tuesday, we shot it on a Thursday, and then it’s coming out, like, the next Friday!” This is the most condensed production process I’ve ever encountered.

Despite not having an established big-league directing role until now, the 54-year-old Armstrong has accumulated numerous hours in writing, producing, or overseeing editing for various TV shows (such as Armando Iannucci’s political satire “The Thick of It,” where he served as writer-producer, and sitcoms like “Fresh Meat” and “Peep Show,” collaborating with his friend Sam Bain). Therefore, this transition might appear more like a formality. Youssef, who gained Armstrong’s attention through his Hulu series “Ramy,” where “Succession” actor Hiam Abbass portrays Youssef’s mother, was confident that Armstrong wouldn’t find directing a small movie challenging, especially not after “Succession.” As Youssef puts it, “It was thrilling to witness Jesse work with such nonchalance, like ‘Sure, I could do a movie — I usually handle ten of these per season.’

Armstrong expresses a deep respect for directors like his friend Mark Mylod, whom he considers true experts in their field. He feels it would be disrespectful to presume understanding of film direction before stepping onto a set. This attitude might stem from his extensive knowledge and appreciation of films, but it also seems rooted in his caution against overestimating one’s expertise due to achievements in one area, especially when dealing with the billionaire culture he portrays in his work. He cautions against assuming that success in one field makes one an expert in all areas, as this can lead to arrogance and a self-centered mindset, which seems particularly prevalent in tech culture today.

Armstrong appears humble and self-effacing at first glance, which might give the impression of insecurity or submissiveness. However, observing him during direction reveals that beneath his modest facade lies a masterful swimmer gliding effortlessly through water. He has clear visions for each scene and an accommodating approach to realizing them without causing conflict. For instance, when addressing cinematographer Marcel Zyskind or executive producer Jill Footlick, he might propose an idea, followed by a disclaimer such as, “Of course, if it’s completely unrealistic or impractical, we can always skip it.” He may also inquire about complex adjustments, like reducing the temperature during line readings or repositioning a camera, and then ask, “What do you think?

Armstrong, a university-educated Englishman, references scholars like Plato, Marcus Aurelius, and Immanuel Kant in conversation, yet he’s cautious to avoid coming off as pretentious. Steve Carell describes him as “extremely intelligent, but he doesn’t flaunt it.” What surprised me was discovering that Armstrong has a goofy, silly side. During a break between scenes, I mentioned that the setup of Mountainhead resembled the 1962 satire by Luis Buñuel, titled The Exterminating Angel, in which a dinner party’s guests are trapped due to their indecision and lack of skills. Armstrong played with this comparison for a few minutes, but when Zyskind called him away to discuss the next shot setup, he nudged me and stage-whispered, “He thinks I know who Luis Buñuel is! Help me out here!

Armstrong typically wears a captivated smile while observing actors perform his scenes on set, as seen on ‘Succession’. Unlike other productions that film scenes out of order or in fragments, this show consistently shoots scenes sequentially from start to finish with two cameras. This approach, preferred by Schwartzman since he started watching ‘Succession’, builds momentum and keeps the performers concentrated. He refers to the series as a magnet for a “geeky” side within him that views acting as an elite athletic endeavor, where masterful technique serves as its own thrill. “It appeared to me, though I might be mistaken,” he explains, “that as the series progressed, scenes seemed to last longer; it felt like we were witnessing actors in extended, complete takes, delivering these intense and powerful performances.” This method was truly motivating to watch.

In the style of “Succession,” Armstrong occasionally interspersed alternate lines into script pages (labeled as ALTS) to keep actors on their toes and prolong takes even after the designated end point, allowing performers to savor awkward silences until someone finally spoke up to relieve the tension. To Armstrong, interrupting with “cut” felt impolite because you never know when an actor might come up with something unexpected; he prefers to be courteous, and often this approach yields additional, valuable performances.

In spite of the cramped timetable, which limited us to only a handful of attempts for each scene, the set of Mountainhead was remarkably laid-back. There was an eagerness among everyone to consider ideas from their peers, regardless of their specialized fields. For instance, when Stephen Carter, one of several department heads from Succession, joined the team in Utah, he proposed that Schwartzman’s character owned costly band equipment. This idea was further developed when Schwartzman suggested that the instruments should appear unused.

Armstrong shared with me an idea he once considered: setting the film “Mountainhead” within the universe of “Succession,” by having the wealthy characters watch a news report on ATN, Logan Roy’s channel. However, he ultimately decided against it as he felt it was too contrived and wanted the movie to maintain its unique identity. And it does, with a blend of humor and a dark, unsettling tone. Scenes like Randall walking into a glass door or the men writing their net worths on their bare chests create comic moments, but there’s an underlying emptiness and a hint of corruption. Unlike the Succession siblings who sometimes feigned goodness and principles, the characters in Mountainhead are driven by greed, nihilism, and delusions of divinity; they aim to control as much of the world as possible while watching it burn. Youssef points out that the tech billionaires in Mountainhead differ from the Royco players because, in his interpretation, there’s less nepotism among them. The Mountainhead quartet came into wealth independently and viewed themselves as underdogs, a mindset that fueled their success, but has not been tempered by the reality of their power.

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2025-05-20 14:55