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Struggling tech giant Facebook is at the center of a scripted drama series titled Apocalyptic machine. Claire Foy, who just picked up her second Emmy win for playing Queen Elizabeth II in The crown, is set to take on the role of Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg in the project, from Anonymous Content (Spotlight, Mr. Robot) and wiip (Easttown Mare, Dickinson).
Created by Elegy of the Fatherland author Ayad Akhtar, Apocalyptic machine is based on the bestselling book by Sheera Frenkel and Cecilia Kang An Ugly Truth: In the Battle for Facebook Dominance as well as their New York Times report and the report of the New Yorkeris Andrew Marantz. The book was published by Harper, an imprint of Harper Collins, in July 2021.
Apocalyptic machine chronicles the political and social minefields that Facebook has navigated in its relentless pursuit of growth. It focuses on Sandberg (Foy) and Mark Zuckerberg, who have shaped the way billions of people around the world communicate and consume information.
The series covers the period beginning with disinformation and the 2016 elections and covers the internal struggles that led to the most recent revelations reported in the the Wall Street newspaper and NOW: the disclosure of XCHECK, a program that protected VIP users, including Donald Trump, from the platform’s normal rules and regulations; the news that the company was aware of the mental health risks Instagram poses to young users despite their public minimization of the problem; and pressure from Zuckerberg to use the news feed to spread positive stories on Facebook to help shape public opinion.
The announcement of the project follows explosive testimony Wednesday in the Senate by Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, who urged lawmakers to impose stricter regulations on the social media giant.
Zuckerberg was previously played by Jesse Eisenberg in the 2010 film Social network, which traces the origins of Facebook. He did not present Sandberg as a character.
AC Studios and wiip will serve as co-studios on Machine of the end of the world, who assembled a list of top journalistic consultants. Frenkel & Kang are both consultants and EP on the project alongside Marantz, author of Antisocial: Online Extremists, Techno-Utopians, and the American Conversation Diversion, who shaped episodes with Akhtar.
Akhtar is a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and novelist. His most recent novel, Elegy of the Fatherland, was selected as one of the 10 best books of 2020 by the NYT and the Washington Post and ranked by President Obama as his best book of 2020. Akhtar is currently adapting his serial novel for FX. In addition to his work as a writer, he is also President of the PEN America Foundation.
Foy won his second Emmy for Netflix last month The crown. It is currently visible in Louis Wain’s electric life and just finished production on Women who talk, by Plan B and Orion Pictures by MGM and starring Frances McDormand and Rooney Mara. Foy is replaced by UTA and Oliver Singer at Independent Talent Group.
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