Hollywood studios are burying films critical of Big Tech billionaires like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel to protect billion-dollar AI partnerships, proving the same platforms that censor everyday Americans also use economic leverage to silence their own industry's critics.
The economic leverage Big Tech holds over the entertainment industry is creating a new chill on free expression. Amazon dumped Luca Guadagnino's AI drama "Artificial," which features an unsympathetic Sam Altman, after inking $88 billion in deals and investments with OpenAI. A24 and Netflix have stalled projects on Musk and Thiel. The same tech giants that deplatform conservatives now dictate what stories Hollywood can tell. Meanwhile, Washington politicians are waging a parallel war on Musk, demanding he pay Social Security taxes beyond the legal cap despite his already contributing $10 billion in a single year.
Follow the money. Amazon bought "Artificial" as a pitch in 2023, but the relationship soured after OpenAI signed a $38 billion deal with Amazon Web Services in November. Three months later, Amazon announced a strategic partnership to invest another $50 billion in the AI giant. Amazon kicked the film to the curb. Neon eventually picked it up, but with no minimum guarantee—a blow for a $40-50 million film with awards ambitions. Even Mubi, the only other viable suitor, faced complications over the film's Israeli hero, Ilya Sutskever, and its own backers' ties to the Israeli military, which Page Six noted could spark boycott threats in a polarized climate.
Other tech critiques are stuck in development hell. Darren Aronofsky's Musk movie at A24 has had no forward movement since its splashy announcement three years ago. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's "Killing Gawker," which features Peter Thiel as a main character, is not in development at Netflix despite the duo's deal there. One top agent told Page Six the skittishness mirrors Hollywood's cowardly kowtowing to China: "Film executives keep their jobs by maximizing profits, not by being cultural provocateurs."
While Hollywood censors to protect its cash flow, Washington tries to fleece the same targets. Benzinga reports that Washington Senator Patty Murray slammed Musk for paying the same Social Security taxes as an electrician making $185,000. Murray called it "outrageous" and demanded the cap be scrapped so the "richest people in the world pay their fair share."
Investor Ross Gerber pushed back, noting that Social Security is a government-administered savings plan, not a tax, and Musk will get the same retirement payout as that electrician. The current IRS wage base limit is capped at $184,500. Musk himself noted he paid over $10 billion in taxes in a single year. Rep. Ro Khanna has also pushed a 5% wealth tax on Musk, a move that would force him to liquidate assets just to fund universal childcare—a scheme billionaire David Friedberg rightly called out, challenging Khanna to lead by example and pay 5% of his own wealth.
Whether it's Amazon killing a movie to protect a partnership or D.C. politicians trying to break the Social Security cap to fund their spending sprees, the establishment targets independent power it cannot control. The only difference is which lever they pull.
