The Free Press · October 10, 2026
News briefs: Two Films About Tech Figures Released This Week
- Two films about tech figures released this week: Aaron Sorkin’s The Social Reckoning, a sequel to his 2010 film The Social Network about Facebook’s founding, and Alex Gibney’s documentary Musk, described in the piece as a four-hour film. Elon Musk did not collaborate on the documentary; he posted on X to his 241.5 million followers that he thinks Gibney “is a douche.”
- Upcoming tech titles noted in the piece: Netflix’s The Altruists, about Sam Bankman-Fried (serving a 25-year federal sentence), next month; Artificial, with Andrew Garfield playing Sam Altman, at year’s end; and a documentary about Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, filmed by a comedian in the weeks before she went to prison, next week.
- The Social Reckoning dramatizes Facebook’s 2018 algorithm overhaul, described in the piece as a shift to optimize for “meaningful social interactions.”
Release timing, casting, and the Musk post as reported in the piece; Musk’s statement is his own post on X; Bankman-Fried’s 25-year sentence is a matter of public record. The Free Press is not affiliated with the Detroit Free Press. Original headline: "Big Tech’s Big Flop. Plus…".
Removed: the reviewers’ characterizations (“tsunami of tech flicks,” “tears him to pieces,” “force for ill,” “captivating cinema,” “ugly corporate offices,” “robot”), the weekend watch/eat/read recommendations and personal anecdotes, and the subscription pitch.