12 Comments
User's avatar
W. Michael Johnson's avatar

I love your name games, but I must confess I am not drawn to stories about obscenely rich dorks.

Expand full comment
Nancy Friedman's avatar

Me neither — I quit watching “Succession” after a single episode — but I confess to a certain obsession with rich tech dorks. And Jesse Armstrong writes terrific dialogue.

Expand full comment
Clare's avatar

Randall Garratt is an English writer's idea of an American's idea of an English-sounding name.

Expand full comment
Will's avatar

Really enjoyed this! I thought “Bilter” was supposed to be a play on “filter.” Because it filters AI-generated videos from real ones.

Expand full comment
Richard Feldman's avatar

Nice to see you give a shout out to TV Tropes, one of my absolute favorite time-sink websites.

Expand full comment
dqw's avatar

Randall Garrett is the name of a long-dead SF/fantasy author. I read some of his stories loooong ago but I can't figure any relevance to Carell's character.

Expand full comment
Nancy Friedman's avatar

Aha — thanks!

Expand full comment
Caroline Smrstik's avatar

This is a wonderfully playful analysis of a too-close-to-the-truth film that I never want to see.

Also, I am always here for "an absolutely spectacular surname." Clearly.

Expand full comment
Nancy Friedman's avatar

One additional thought about "Brewsters," the group name the four Mountainhead bros have bestowed upon themselves: It might be a reference to the Homebrew Computer Club (1975-1986), whose members included Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs. There's now an SF Homebrew Crypto Club, a "member-owned DIY community space" that welcomes "Web3, AI and adjacent stuff on bleeding edge of tech." Memberships cost $169 or $420 (get it? get it?).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homebrew_Computer_Club

https://sfhomebrew.near.page/

Expand full comment
R Feinberg's avatar

My biggest annoyance with this movie wasn't the characters' unlikability or arrogance, it was grasping what their relationship was. About halfway through, I went online to find out the names of some of the actors, and only then did I realize they were four longtime FRIENDS. I thought for sure they were a family named “Brewster,” and the three young guys were all the sons of Steve Carrell’s “papa bear” character!

Expand full comment
Carol Kino's avatar

Why are you so certain that Footlick is a real name?

Expand full comment
Nancy Friedman's avatar

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004132/

It's a rare surname, but well documented.

Expand full comment