More or Less · Topics · Episode #166
An Altman Movie, a Musk Movie, and a Theranos Movie Are All Coming — Plus Who Wins the US Open
Clip from the full recording, 51:45–56:12 · download mp4
Jess counts off an unlikely wave of tech biopics landing in the next few months before the group closes with hot picks for the US Open semifinals.
Jess runs down an unusually stacked slate of upcoming tech movies: an Altman biopic, a Musk documentary from Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney, a “social reckoning” film about Facebook/Meta, and a Theranos film — on top of Elizabeth Holmes’s own pre-prison “Nathan for You”-style project. Dave name-checks a fifth title, “Wild Horse Nine,” recommended by filmmaker friend Jessica Siddig (fresh off a Telluride premiere) as the best film of the festival — with John Malkovich and Steve Buscemi, and a shot at award season. Brit, riffing on the sudden wave of tech-world film content, proposes the group start throwing its own red-carpet screening events for tech movies in SF.
The episode wraps on lighter ground: US Open semifinals weekend, with Jess (an Alcaraz “ride or die”) rooting for Ben Shelton after he knocked out her favorite, plus Coco Gauff/Pegula on the women’s side. The conversation drifts into the controversy over matches running past 3am due to scheduling and long tiebreak-heavy matches — Jess, self-deprecatingly “not a tennis expert,” explains the logistics (25,000 people can’t easily be moved between sessions, and player rest-window rules cascade delays) before the group signs off for the week, noting they’ll miss Sam’s energy next episode.
Key points
- Upcoming tech biopics/documentaries: an Altman movie, a Musk documentary from Alex Gibney, a Facebook/Meta "social reckoning" film, and a Theranos film.
- Elizabeth Holmes reportedly did her own pre-prison documentary-style project in the "Nathan for You" mold.
- Dave's pick, via filmmaker friend Jessica Siddig: "Wild Horse Nine" (John Malkovich, Steve Buscemi), the best film she saw at Telluride.
- Brit proposes the group host its own red-carpet screening events in SF for tech-world films.
- US Open semifinals: Jess rooting for Ben Shelton (after Alcaraz's exit) and Coco Gauff/Pegula on the women's side.
- Late-night match controversy explained: venue logistics (25,000 people, hard to run multiple sessions) plus player rest-window rules cascade delays into 3-4am finishes.
Where they landed
Quotes
“By my count, in the next several months we are going to have an Altman movie, a Musk movie by Alex Gibney, a social reckoning movie about Facebook slash Meta, and a Theranos movie, guys.”— Jessica
“I asked her what the best film from Telluride was and she said Wild Horse Nine... it's like John Malkovich, Steve Buscemi. It looks amazing.”— Dave
“It usually happens when you have a combination of very long, tight competitive matches that go long with tiebreaks... it's hard to move twenty-five thousand people around.”— Jessica
Suggested tweets
Coming to a theater near you: an Altman movie, a Musk documentary from Alex Gibney, a Facebook 'social reckoning' film, and a Theranos movie — all within a few months of each other, per Jess Lessin's count.
Tweet this →Brit Morin's idea after tracking the tech-biopic wave: SF should start doing its own red-carpet premieres for tech movies. Someone book the venue.
Tweet this →Why do US Open matches end at 3am? Jess Lessin (self-described non-expert) explains: 25,000 fans, tiebreak-heavy tennis, and player rest rules that cascade delays all night.
Tweet this →All topics · Full episode #166 + transcript · Subscribe on YouTube · Spotify