Just when Hollywood thought it had caught its breath after the “Succession” finale, Jesse Armstrong is back to remind everyone why he’s the king of eat-the-rich entertainment. His latest venture? A deliciously twisted romp through the snow-capped peaks of Park City, Utah, where billionaire bros are about to get the Armstrong treatment.
“Mountainhead” — wrapping production as we speak — marks Armstrong’s first foray into feature directing. And darling, the timing couldn’t be more perfect. With wealth inequality reaching fever pitch in early 2025 (hello, tech baron space races), who better to skewer the privileged class than the mastermind behind TV’s most savage family dynasty?
The cast? Simply *chef’s kiss*. Steve Carell fresh off his surprisingly nuanced turn in “The Four Seasons” series. Jason Schwartzman, riding high from “Between the Temples” and “Queer.” Then there’s Ramy Youssef and — perhaps most intriguingly — Cory Michael Smith, whose recent “Saturday Night” appearances have been nothing short of revelatory.
But here’s where it gets really interesting.
Armstrong hasn’t just assembled an A-list cast — he’s brought the whole “Succession” dream team along for the ride. Frank Rich, Lucy Prebble, Mark Mylod… it’s like getting the band back together, except this time they’re trading boardroom battles for what promises to be an absolutely savage takedown of billionaire bromance culture. (And let’s be honest, after watching certain tech titans’ playground spats on what-used-to-be-Twitter last month, this couldn’t be more timely.)
Speaking of “Succession” — at January’s rather rain-soaked Emmy ceremony, Matthew Macfadyen effectively crushed hopes for any Roy family reunions. “Highly unlikely,” he muttered, between sips of presumably very expensive champagne. “We left them… to carry on in their strange and crappy world.” Fair enough, though some of us are still in denial.
The HBO original film drops May 31st at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT (streaming on Max, naturally), and early whispers from Park City suggest Armstrong hasn’t lost his touch for making the ultra-wealthy squirm. His Oscar-nominated “In The Loop” proved he could translate that signature acidic wit to feature length — now, with HBO’s coffers and creative freedom at his disposal, “Mountainhead” looks set to be the kind of sophisticated skewering that premium subscribers live for.
After all, in a world where billionaires are buying up bunkers in New Zealand faster than vintage Birkins, we could all use Armstrong’s particular brand of catharsis. May can’t come soon enough.
Leave a Reply