YouTuber Indie Hits Upend Hollywood Box Office as Gatekeepers Fall
TBPN
Low-budget films by internet creators outperform traditional studio blockbusters because digital platforms serve as proof-of-concept audition tapes that lower distribution risks.
## Background
Published by TBPN on YouTube on June 2, 2026, this episode is part of Diet TBPN, a 30-minute daily recap delivering highlights from their live tech talk show hosted by John Coogan and Jordi Hays. The show description notes that TBPN covers major tech news and commentary, featuring prominent Silicon Valley guests and supported by corporate sponsors like Ramp and Public.
## TL;DR
The hosts analyze how YouTube creators broke into Hollywood's box office with micro-budget hits like Kane Parsons' *The Backrooms* and Curry Barker's *Obsession*, framing the trend through Ben Thompson's analysis of internet disruption and independent film economics. They examine political and tech developments, including Bernie Sanders' proposed American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act and Anthropic's confidential S-1 IPO filing. The episode rounds out with coverage of Salesforce earnings, Jensen Huang's Computex 2026 keynote introducing Nvidia's RTX Spark Superchip, market commentary, and a viral phone-free party that illustrates the growing demand for analog, real-world experiences.
## Atmosphere & style
Fast-paced, witty, and playfully conversational, the hosts balance insider Silicon Valley analysis with lighthearted humor and crew interaction. The dynamic feels like a casual banter between plugged-in tech enthusiasts, shifting seamlessly from high-level economic commentary to jokes about *Subway Surfers* and simulation games. The narrative carries a sharp, energetic vibe that turns dense corporate news and film economics into engaging, easily digestible commentary.
## Key takeaways
- [00:02](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=2s) 2026 marks a major shift where digital-first YouTube creators successfully break into the Hollywood box office through direct collaboration and high-return micro-budget films.
- [04:43](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=283s) Micro-budget, creator-led indie films like The Backrooms, Obsession, and Iron Lung delivered massive box office returns compared to declining traditional studio blockbusters.
- [06:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=373s) Having a massive YouTube subscriber base does not automatically translate to ticket sales, as proven by the commercial failure of Ryan's World the Movie.
- [06:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=373s) Modern low-budget success relies on 'full-stack' creators who control writing, acting, VFX, and editing, utilizing short feedback loops rather than segmented studio crews.
- [10:16](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=616s) Studios are increasingly shifting away from single $100M+ franchise bets toward agile, creator-led internet IP adaptations like Wesley Wang's projects and Skibidi Toilet.
- [15:08](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=908s) Ben Thompson's 2017 'Goodbye Gatekeepers' thesis has fully materialized, showing how internet distribution dismantled Hollywood's traditional gatekeeping power.
- [15:08](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=908s) YouTube acts as the 'AWS for film,' lowering media production costs so viral hits serve as high-traction audition tapes before major studio investment.
- [22:27](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1347s) Senator Bernie Sanders introduced the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act, proposing a one-time 50% stock tax on major AI labs to grant the public equity and dividends.
- [26:38](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1598s) Anthropic confidentially filed its draft S-1 registration statement with the SEC to prepare for an initial public offering alongside other major AI firms.
- [26:38](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1598s) Salesforce reported record FY27 Q1 revenue driven by enterprise adoption of its Agentic CRM platform and announced a €2 billion expansion plan in France.
- [30:25](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1825s) Nvidia unveiled its ARM-based RTX Spark Superchip, the Vera Rubin CPU, and a flagship open-weight world model at Computex to solidify its AI hardware and software dominance.
- [31:50](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1910s) The market is experiencing a 'content barbell' dynamic, split between mass automated digital media and highly valued, artisanal offline experiences.
## Detailed walkthrough
### [00:02](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=2s) Ads Return to TBPN and YouTubers Break into Hollywood
The hosts open the show with an enthusiastic announcement about advertiser support returning to TBPN. Addressing audience feedback regarding their lower-third Chiron graphics and sponsor spots, they celebrate the return of sponsors like Ramp, humorously claiming viewers actually asked for ads as a "palate cleanser" between segments. They even highlight a live comment from a viewer named Trey stating, "a TBPN without ads is like a human without a heart." Turning to the main headline, the hosts break down the unprecedented success of YouTube creators conquering the box office in 2026, marking a moment where tech analysis writer Ben Thompson took a victory lap for predicting this transition back in 2017.
Rather than standard disruption, 2026 has proven to be a story of full collaboration between traditional Hollywood and digital-first creators. For decades, the film industry faced compounding structural headwinds: mid-2000s piracy, the rise of prestige cinematic television like *Game of Thrones*, streaming services pulling audiences away from theaters, the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down operations, and major writers' and directors' strikes. While traditional shoot days in Los Angeles plummeted post-COVID and never fully recovered, employment across the broader creator economy expanded rapidly.
- **TBPN Sponsoring Partners Mentioned:** Ramp, Public, Cisco, Console, CrowdStrike, Figma, MongoDB, NYSE, Railway, and Shopify.
- **Ben Thompson's Prediction:** Originally forecasted in 2017 that creators would inevitably take over film box offices, taking nearly a decade to fully materialize.
- **Oscars Streaming Milestone:** The Academy Awards are set to stream on YouTube by 2029.
---
[04:43](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=283s) Box Office Numbers: *The Backrooms*, *Obsession*, and *Iron Lung*
For years, cinephiles felt the creator economy lacked real cultural weight; no matter how viral a TikTok went or how much money top creators made, it couldn't replicate the unified cultural touchstone of classics like *The Godfather* or *Titanic*. That dynamic reversed when major franchise installations—such as the latest Star Wars release, *The Mandalorian & Grogu*—experienced box office declines and were eclipsed by three breakout creator-led indie films that achieved massive returns on micro-budgets.
```
+------------------+------------------+-------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| Movie Title | Creator/Director | Production Budget | Domestic Gross | Worldwide Gross |
+------------------+------------------+-------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| The Backrooms | Kane Parsons | ~$10 Million | $81.5M (Opening) | $150 Million |
| Obsession | Curry Barker | ~$1 Million | $104.7 Million | -- |
| Iron Lung | Markiplier | ~$3 Million | $41.1 Million | $51.2 Million |
+------------------+------------------+-------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
```
> "Kane Parsons' *The Backrooms* opened to roughly 81.5 million in North America and 150 million worldwide on a 10 million dollar budget... Curry Barker's *Obsession* hit 104.7 million domestic, becoming Focus Features' highest-grossing domestic release from a movie widely reported to have cost around 1 million."
- ***Obsession*'s Record:** Became Focus Features' highest-grossing domestic release of all time on a reported $1 million budget, spawning daily viral posts on X regarding its return on investment.
- ***Iron Lung*'s Performance:** Self-financed by creator Markiplier for $3 million, opening to $18.2 million domestically before topping $50 million globally.
---
[06:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=373s) Subscriber Conversion vs. Full-Stack Creator IP
The hosts challenge the simple narrative that having a large subscriber base automatically guarantees movie ticket sales. They cite *Ryan's World*—the massive kids' unboxing channel—which adapted its franchise into *Ryan's World the Movie: Titan Universe Adventure*. Despite a $10 million budget and a massive digital footprint, it grossed only $624,000 in theaters due to the transactional disconnect between young audiences and the parents holding the household purchasing power.
Conversion requires genuine filmmaking tradecraft and risk-taking. The creators behind *The Backrooms* and *Obsession* came from modest subscriber counts in the single-digit millions, proving their success stemmed from creativity rather than raw audience size alone. Corey Barker developed his instincts through his YouTube sketch channel, *That's a Bad Idea*, utilizing short feedback loops to master writing, acting, and editing. Similarly, 17-year-old Kane Parsons (Kane Pixels) built *The Backrooms* series in Blender and After Effects, expanding on a creepypasta urban legend born from a single viral 2019 image of a renovated furniture store.
- ***Ryan's World the Movie* Box Office:** $624,000 gross on a ~$10 million budget.
- **The "Full-Stack" Filmmaker:** Modern low-budget successes rely on multi-hyphenate directors who control every layer of production (writing, editing, VFX), unlike traditional studio films that deploy hyper-segmented, expensive crews.
---
[10:16](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=616s) Studio Economics and Up-and-Coming Internet Adaptations
Comparing movie production to venture capital, the hosts question why studio executives historically preferred betting $100 million on a single franchise blockbuster over making twenty to thirty $10 million bets. While traditional executives built careers around guaranteeing returns on massive $200 million tentpoles like *Avatar* or Marvel films, the emerging generation of execs is heavily pursuing agile, creator-led projects.
Several high-profile digital-to-film adaptations are actively moving through the pipeline:
* **Wesley Wang:** Viral creator of the non-horror short *Nothing Except Everything*. TriStar Pictures acquired the project, with Darren Aronofsky’s production company Protozoa attached and Wang set to write and direct.
* **Skibidi Toilet:** Created in 2023 by Alexey Gerasimov (DaFuq!?Boom!). Michael Bay was previously attached to direct a film/TV adaptation.
> "He didn't use Blender and he didn't shoot it with a camera. He actually made the whole series in a video game... a lot of the assets pull from *Half-Life 2* or *Counter-Strike Source*. And so if you want to maintain that, you have to go do a deal with Valve."
- **IP Legal Complexities:** *Skibidi Toilet* was constructed inside Valve's Source Filmmaker using assets from *Half-Life 2* and *Counter-Strike*, creating potential copyright licensing friction with Gabe Newell's Valve Corporation.
---
[13:17](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=797s) Live In-Studio Reviews: *Obsession* vs. *The Backrooms*
The hosts turn to their production crew members, Scott and others in the studio, for firsthand reactions to both *Obsession* and *The Backrooms*. The crew unanimously votes *Obsession* as the superior viewing experience, praising it for blending horror elements with comedic beats—a welcome relief compared to the lingering, deeply uncomfortable dread typical of modern "A24-style" horror like Ari Aster's *Midsommar*.
While the crew applauds *The Backrooms* for its astounding production design, they note that "something was missing" from the overall narrative pacing. Interestingly, despite the source material existing entirely as digital CGI files, the filmmakers physically constructed a massive **30,000-square-foot practical set** for the movie. The segment wraps up with a shoutout to producer Haley Johnson—who produced *Obsession* and attended film school alongside members of the TBPN crew—before transitioning into Ben Thompson's written commentary.
[15:08](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=908s) Ben Thompson on Hollywood’s Lost Moat and the Internet's AWS Moment for Film
The hosts dive into analysis by tech strategist Ben Thompson, who took a "victory lap" on a prediction he made back in 2017 following the Harvey Weinstein scandal. In his article *Goodbye Gatekeepers*, Thompson argued that Hollywood’s traditional power dynamics existed because the supply of aspiring filmmakers and actors vastly exceeded the industry's demand, creating an environment ripe for gatekeeping and predation. He drew parallels to the newspaper industry, which historically controlled both the news supply and monetization through advertising until the internet dismantled those gates. Thompson highlighted that video is fundamentally a zero-sum activity—every minute spent on YouTube (which registers over a billion hours viewed daily) is a minute taken away from traditional cinema.
> "In 2017, when the first public allegations were made against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, I wrote *Goodbye gatekeepers* about how the traditional structure of Hollywood... created the conditions for his predation."
The hosts joke about modern attention spans—picture users staring at two phones simultaneously, scrolling Reels on one while playing *Subway Surfers* on the other—and pitch a joke concept for a "gritty horror" *Subway Surfers* movie adaptation. Returning to Thompson’s commentary, they discuss why it took nearly a decade after his 2017 piece for YouTube creators to break through to major theatrical releases. Thompson noted that digital disruption always moves sequentially: text first, then music, then short-form video, and finally movies. Movies are the hardest to produce and distribute—and demand the most effort from audiences, who actually have to leave their houses. He compares YouTube’s impact on film to how Amazon Web Services (AWS) transformed venture capital: cloud computing reduced start-up costs so dramatically that founders could be evaluated on real traction and products rather than pitch decks. Similarly, viral YouTube hits (like *The Backrooms* with its 82 million views) now serve as high-traction "audition tapes" that prove demand before Hollywood marshals its workforce behind a project.
* **Zero-Sum Video Usage:** YouTube records over 1 billion hours of video watched every single day.
* **The AWS Analogy:** AWS lowered startup production costs to founder time and minor seed funding; YouTube similarly lowered media production costs so creators are judged on finished products and views rather than PowerPoint ideas.
* **Viral Audition Tape:** *The Backrooms* original YouTube video amassed 82 million views, acting as proof-of-concept traction for a major film deal.
---
[18:28](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1108s) How Independent Film Financing and Marketing Budgets Work
The conversation shifts to the financial mechanics behind independent and studio filmmaking. One host admits that despite receiving pitches to invest in movies, he never bit because he doesn't personally watch them, asking how film equity and budgets are structured. The hosts break down the typical Hollywood pipeline: a screenwriter options a script to a production company, which acts as the initial investor. The producer spends money on script revisions and star attachments before shopping the project to larger entities. The final and most expensive phase is theatrical distribution, handled by studios like Universal or Disney, who spend heavily on billboards, global marketing, and Super Bowl commercials once the film itself is complete.
> "When Markiplier says he spent $3 million, that means he spent $3 million paying the actors... I was seeing *Obsession* billboards everywhere around LA. Like at least a million-dollar campaign."
The hosts contrast production budgets with post-production marketing, pointing out that when a creator like Markiplier spends $3 million on a self-funded film, that money goes directly into production costs. Marketing expenses come later, often funded by distributors once a hit is guaranteed—such as the massive, million-dollar billboard campaigns seen around Los Angeles for indie breakout successes like *Obsession*. They also discuss "points on the back end," referencing Robert Downey Jr.’s legendary deal for *Iron Man*, where he took a lower upfront cash salary in exchange for a massive stake in downstream cash flows.
* **Production vs. Distribution:** Initial budgets cover crew, talent, and filming; major distributors (e.g., Disney, Universal) jump in later to fund high-cost marketing like Super Bowl spots and outdoor ads.
* **Back-End Points Example:** Robert Downey Jr. famously accepted a reduced upfront salary for *Iron Man* in exchange for back-end equity in the film's downstream revenues.
---
[20:51](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1251s) Liminal Spaces, Simulators, and Content Trends
The hosts pull up a video exploring the visual history of "liminal spaces," noting how *The Backrooms* draws heavily from this internet aesthetic. Looking around their own studio set—the "Ultra Dome"—they joke that it feels like a liminal space itself and debate adding subtle background details like tape on the wall as an inside joke for viewers who have seen *The Truman Show*. They reflect on how studio executives and producers are now scrambling to source intellectual property from corners of the web they previously ignored or viewed as threats, ranging from YouTube channels and video games to niche simulation games.
> "Studio executives and producers are racing to find movie material in corners of the internet they once dismissed as some of the greatest threats to their business..."
The conversation turns to the absurdity of converting internet tropes and simulation software into mainstream Hollywood films. The hosts riff on potential movie adaptations based on viral simulation games, imagining theatrical releases for *Data Center Simulator*, *Coconut Simulator* (complete with a "realistic mode"), and a *Capybara Simulator* movie that would essentially just be a nature documentary narrated by David Attenborough.
---
[22:27](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1347s) Bernie Sanders Proposes the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act
The host transitions to political news, highlighting Senator Bernie Sanders’ proposal to create a public stake in artificial intelligence. Sanders argued that because AI models are built on humanity's collective knowledge, the resulting wealth should benefit the public rather than being concentrated among "AI oligarchs" like Elon Musk and Sam Altman. In a *New York Times* op-ed, Sanders outlined the **American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act**, which would levy a one-time 50% tax directly in equity stock on major AI labs. This tax would grant the federal government voting rights, board seats, and the ability to distribute direct cash dividends to American citizens.
> "AI is built on humanity's collective knowledge. The wealth it generates must benefit humanity, not just Elon Musk, Sam Altman, or other AI oligarchs. That's why I'll be introducing the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act..."
The hosts critique the mechanics of the proposal, questioning how the government expects to payout stock dividends when most tech companies take decades to yield cash returns and traditionally rely on stock buybacks after IPOs. They highlight commentary from Dean Ball, who pointed out a logical contradiction in Sanders' recent positions: Sanders previously introduced a data center moratorium act to halt AI infrastructure while simultaneously trying to claim a 50% equity stake in the labs. However, the hosts offer a contrarian take, noting that if Sanders believes these companies will generate enough economic value to warrant a national sovereign fund, he is implicitly "AGI-pilled" and Signal-boosting that AI stocks are massively underrated.
* **Proposed Tax Rate:** A one-time 50% stock tax on major AI laboratories to establish a public sovereign wealth fund.
* **Government Perks:** Under the bill, the U.S. government would acquire board seats, voting power, and dividend distribution rights for citizens.
* **Political Contradiction:** Analysts note the tension between Sanders' proposed data center construction ban and his push to nationalize half of the AI industry's future upside.
---
[26:38](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1598s) Anthropic’s S-1 IPO Filing, Salesforce Earnings, and Benioff’s France Bet
The discussion turns to major market moves, led by Anthropic's confidential S-1 filing for an initial public offering (IPO) with the SEC. Anthropic joins a wave of high-profile tech listings alongside SpaceX, Google, and rumored filings from OpenAI, as companies compete to capture public market capital. The hosts debate which entities actually count as "AI labs" under potential tax or regulatory schemes, joking about how Meta or Salesforce might reframe their businesses to avoid government equity grabs. They highlight Marc Benioff's early $50 million investment into Anthropic in 2023–2024, which could yield a 100x return, and note Salesforce's new commitment to deploy €2 billion into France, where the company employs 1,800 people.
> "Anthropic has confidentially submitted a draft S-1 registration statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission... This gives us the option to pursue an initial public offering."
The hosts also cover Salesforce’s fiscal year 2027 Q1 financial results, highlighting record performance driven by enterprise AI adoption. Benioff emphasized that Salesforce is actively shipping its "Agentic" CRM strategy rather than just talking about it. They conclude the segment by referencing tech writer Brendan Carruthers’ summary of Jensen Huang’s keynote at Computex 2026.
* **Anthropic IPO:** Confidentially submitted its draft S-1 registration statement to the SEC to prepare for a public listing.
* **Salesforce FY27 Q1 Revenue:** Reached a record $11.13 billion, up 13% year-over-year, with $6.7 billion in operating cash flow.
* **Salesforce AI ARR:** Agentforce reached over $1 billion in ARR; combined with Data 360 and Informatica, total AI/Data ARR hit $3.4 billion.
* **Salesforce France Investment:** Marc Benioff announced a €2 billion investment plan for France, supporting 1,800 local employees.
[30:25](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1825s) Jensen Huang’s Computex Keynote and Nvidia’s AI Push
Jensen Huang took the stage at Computex—Taiwan's annual technology expo, often described as an even more enterprise-focused equivalent of CES—to deliver a massive wave of product announcements. Among the highlights was the introduction of the Nvidia RTX Spark Superchip, an ARM-based processor for PCs engineered to run demanding AI workloads directly on local hardware. Huang also revealed that Nvidia’s enterprise Vera Rubin CPU is now in full production, alongside a fleet of foundation models including a flagship open-weight world model.
The hosts analyze the strategic implications of an open-weight flagship AI model coming directly from Nvidia, questioning how its performance benchmarks will stack up against frontier offerings like Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Anthropic 4.8, and Google's Gemini 3.5 models. Up until now, closed-source American models have consistently defined the frontier, while open-source Chinese models have appeared to decelerate or scale linearly rather than exponentially. Beyond general models, Huang also introduced a model targeted specifically at humanoid robotics, while Microsoft coordinated its own rollout for the Surface Laptop Ultra—optimized for the RTX Spark and set for release this fall—in what many view as Microsoft's bid for its own "Apple Silicon moment."
- **RTX Spark Superchip:** ARM-based PC processor engineered for local, on-device AI processing.
- **Vera Rubin CPU:** Enterprise processor now officially entering full production.
- **Hardware Integration:** Microsoft announced the Surface Laptop Ultra, launching this fall, specifically optimized to leverage the RTX Spark.
- **Open-Weight Flagship:** Market watchers are eager to see if Nvidia's open model can bridge the gap between closed-source frontier models and linear open-source developments.
[31:50](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1910s) Techno-Capitalism, Market Bulls, and Analog Art
The discussion moves to a viral commentary by Well Manitis, who warned, "I don't think any of you understand what is about to happen in the market. We are about to live through the craziest 5-year run in techno capital history. God help us all. I pray that when the judgment comes, he can see all that we did to ensure efficient price discovery." The hosts react to his hyper-bullish stance with playful skepticism, riffing on Warren Buffett's classic maxim about being greedy when others are fearful and fearful when others are greedy, ultimately advising listeners to do their own research.
To wrap up the episode, the show highlights a viral story from Adam Fay, who decided to combat digital burnout at his birthday celebration by hiring a live sketch artist. Tired of every life moment being mediated through phones and social media content, Fay asked his guests to leave their phones at home and document the party through hand-drawn physical artwork instead. The hosts praise this as a prime example of the "content barbell"—a market split between low-effort digital slop on one end and highly prized, artisanal, handcrafted experiences on the other, parallel to vinyl records reaching all-time high sales.
- **Well Manitis Quote:** Predicts the "craziest 5-year run in techno capital history."
- **Adam Fay’s Phone-Free Party:** Guests left phones at home while a hired sketch artist drew physical portraits and scenes of the event.
- **The Content Barbell:** Trend showing high demand for both automated mass digital media and handcrafted, tangible offline artifacts.
## Notable quotes
> [04:43](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=283s) Kane Parsons' The Backrooms opened to roughly 81.5 million in North America and 150 million worldwide on a 10 million dollar budget... Curry Barker's Obsession hit 104.7 million domestic, becoming Focus Features' highest-grossing domestic release from a movie widely reported to have cost around 1 million.
> [10:16](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=616s) He didn't use Blender and he didn't shoot it with a camera. He actually made the whole series in a video game... a lot of the assets pull from Half-Life 2 or Counter-Strike Source. And so if you want to maintain that, you have to go do a deal with Valve.
> [15:08](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=908s) In 2017, when the first public allegations were made against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, I wrote Goodbye gatekeepers about how the traditional structure of Hollywood... created the conditions for his predation. — Ben Thompson
> [18:28](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1108s) When Markiplier says he spent $3 million, that means he spent $3 million paying the actors... I was seeing Obsession billboards everywhere around LA. Like at least a million-dollar campaign.
> [20:51](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1251s) Studio executives and producers are racing to find movie material in corners of the internet they once dismissed as some of the greatest threats to their business...
> [22:27](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1347s) AI is built on humanity's collective knowledge. The wealth it generates must benefit humanity, not just Elon Musk, Sam Altman, or other AI oligarchs. That's why I'll be introducing the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act... — Bernie Sanders
> [26:38](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1598s) Anthropic has confidentially submitted a draft S-1 registration statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission... This gives us the option to pursue an initial public offering.
> [31:50](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1910s) I don't think any of you understand what is about to happen in the market. We are about to live through the craziest 5-year run in techno capital history. God help us all. I pray that when the judgment comes, he can see all that we did to ensure efficient price discovery. — Well Manitis
## Mentioned
TBPN, John Coogan, Jordi Hays, Ben Thompson, Kane Parsons, The Backrooms, Curry Barker, Obsession, Markiplier, Iron Lung, The Mandalorian & Grogu, Ryan's World, Ryan's World the Movie: Titan Universe Adventure, That's a Bad Idea, Wesley Wang, Nothing Except Everything, TriStar Pictures, Darren Aronofsky, Protozoa, Skibidi Toilet, Alexey Gerasimov, DaFuq!?Boom!, Michael Bay, Valve Corporation, Focus Features, Scott, Haley Johnson, Bernie Sanders, American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act, Dean Ball, Anthropic, Salesforce, Marc Benioff, Brendan Carruthers, Jensen Huang, Nvidia, Computex, RTX Spark Superchip, Vera Rubin CPU, Microsoft, Surface Laptop Ultra, Well Manitis, Adam Fay, Ramp, Public, Cisco, Console, CrowdStrike, Figma, MongoDB, NYSE, Railway, Shopify
TBPN highlights a structural realignment across entertainment and technology, marked by micro-budget creator-led films outperforming traditional Hollywood studio releases and intensifying policy and market battles over artificial intelligence. The broadcast examines how open digital platforms have lowered distribution barriers for creative IP while major tech firms face expanding regulatory, hardware, and capital-market pressures.
Creator-Led Cinema Disrupts Hollywood Economics (4:43)
In 2026, independent films helmed by digital creators achieved historic box office returns on micro-budgets, reversing long-standing perceptions that online audiences lack offline cultural impact. Kane Parsons' The Backrooms produced an $81.5 million North American opening and $150 million worldwide gross on a $10 million budget, Curry Barker's ~$1 million Obsession grossed $104.7 million domestic to become Focus Features' highest-earning domestic release, and Markiplier's self-funded $3 million Iron Lung generated $51.2 million globally. Analyst Ben Thompson framed this transition as an 'AWS moment' for film, where platforms like YouTube lower production costs and provide measurable proof of consumer demand prior to theatrical release.
The hosts note that audience size alone does not ensure theatrical conversion, pointing to Ryan's World the Movie: Titan Universe Adventure, which grossed only $624,000 on a $10 million budget due to a disconnect with purchasing audiences. Instead, the breakout projects relied on 'full-stack' directors—such as Barker and Parsons—who operate across writing, acting, visual effects, and editing with fast creative feedback loops rather than utilizing bloated traditional studio crews.
Studios Shift Toward Digital IP Adaptations (10:16)
Hollywood studio executives, traditionally inclined to concentrate capital into single $100 million-plus franchise blockbusters, are shifting acquisition strategies toward creator-led digital intellectual property. High-profile adaptations in active development include TriStar Pictures acquiring Wesley Wang's viral short Nothing Except Everything with Darren Aronofsky's Protozoa attached, alongside a feature adaptation of Alexey Gerasimov's Skibidi Toilet previously paired with Michael Bay.
This transition exposes legal and operational bottlenecks tied to internet-native source material. Because Skibidi Toilet was built within Valve Corporation's Source Filmmaker using assets from Half-Life 2 and Counter-Strike, commercial adaptation necessitates IP licensing agreements with Valve. Despite these frictions, studios are actively looking beyond conventional scripts toward web-born aesthetics, liminal space tropes, and viral software simulations.
Proposed Public Equity Stake in AI Labs (22:27)
Senator Bernie Sanders proposed the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act, arguing in a New York Times op-ed that because artificial intelligence models rely on humanity's collective knowledge, their financial returns should benefit the public rather than tech executives like Sam Altman and Elon Musk. The proposal would levy a one-time 50% stock tax on major AI laboratories, granting the federal government voting rights, board seats, and the capacity to pay direct cash dividends to citizens.
Critics and analysts, including Dean Ball, pointed out contradictions in the legislation, highlighting that Sanders previously introduced a data center moratorium to halt the physical infrastructure required for AI models. Industry observers also questioned the mechanics of extracting cash dividends from technology firms that typically favor share buybacks over dividend disbursements.
Tech Offerings Accelerate Enterprise AI and Hardware (26:38)
Capital markets and enterprise infrastructure are aligning around expanding AI commercialization. Anthropic confidentially submitted a draft S-1 registration statement with the SEC to prepare for a public listing. Simultaneously, Salesforce reported record fiscal year 2027 Q1 revenue of $11.13 billion—with its Agentforce platform exceeding $1 billion in annual recurring revenue—and committed €2 billion toward its operations in France.
Hardware developments accompanied these financial shifts at Computex 2026, where Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang unveiled the ARM-based RTX Spark Superchip for local PC processing, announced full production for the enterprise Vera Rubin CPU, and introduced an open-weight foundation world model. Microsoft concurrently aligned hardware distribution by optimizing its upcoming Surface Laptop Ultra around the RTX Spark processor.
While digital platforms have allowed independent filmmakers to bypass traditional studio gatekeeping through verified audience traction, the scaling of artificial intelligence faces unresolved legislative scrutiny over wealth distribution and increasing hardware demands across cloud and on-device environments.
## Background
该视频由科技商业访谈频道 TBPN 于 2026 年 6 月 23 日发布在 YouTube 平台。本期为节目精简版“Diet TBPN”，由 John Coogan 与 Jordi Hays 共同主持，简介指出内容聚焦于 YouTube 创作者爆破院线票房、好莱坞护城河的瓦解、伯尼·桑德斯的 AI 主权财富基金提案，以及 Anthropic 秘密递交 S-1 招股书等科技商业前沿大事件。
## TL;DR
节目首先深入剖析了 Kane Parsons 与 Curry Barker 等网络原生代“全栈创作者”凭借《后室》《执念》等极低成本影片引爆全球院线的奇迹，指出内容制作门槛的降低正让电影工业迎来类似风险投资与 AWS 结合的结构性颠覆。随后，主持团队聚焦科技监管与资本动向，尖锐评判了参议员伯尼·桑德斯提议向顶尖 AI 实验室征收 50% 股权设立国家主权基金的激进主张，并探讨了 Anthropic 秘密提交 IPO 对公开市场的深远影响。最后，节目还评述了 Salesforce 凭借 Agentforce 突破 10 亿美元 ARR 的亮眼财报、英伟达在 Computex 2026 发布的 RTX Spark 芯片与开源旗舰模型，并由现场速写画师的故事引发了对当前“反数字浪潮”与内容哑铃效应的哲学思考。
## Atmosphere & style
整期节目散发着典型硅谷科技圈敏锐、机智且极速的信息碰撞感，两位主持人配合极度默契，在辛辣讽刺与深度的商业解构之间游刃有余。无论是调侃赞助广告如同品酒的“清口菜”，还是戏谑扎克伯格面对政府分权时会光速辩解“自己只做视频推荐”，演播室内始终洋溢着松弛幽默的现场笑声与极具感染力的探讨节奏。谈话在拆解万亿美元硬核科技趋势的同时，又能自然穿插好莱坞八卦与生日派对雇速写师的反思，让观众在密集的洞察轰炸中体验到既酷炫又接地气的思辨乐趣。
## Bulletin
- [04:43](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=283s) YouTube 原生创作者逆袭院线：Kane Parsons 的《后室》（成本约 1000 万美元）全球票房达 1.5 亿美元，Curry Barker 的《执念》（成本约 100 万美元）北美砍下 1.047 亿美元创焦点影业纪录，标志着“全栈创作者”打破传统好莱坞制作壁垒。
- [22:29](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1349s) 参议员伯尼·桑德斯提议对顶尖 AI 实验室征收 50% 股权税建立美国 AI 主权财富基金，同时 Anthropic 已正式秘密向 SEC 提交 S-1 首次公开募股招股书草案。
- [28:26](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1706s) Salesforce 发布强劲业绩，Agentforce 业务 ARR 跨过 10 亿美元，AI 与数据产品线 ARR 达 34 亿美元；CEO 贝尼奥夫早年对 Anthropic 的 5000 万美元投资账面收益接近 100 倍。
- [30:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1815s) 英伟达在 Computex 2026 推出面向本地 PC 的 ARM 架构 RTX Spark 芯片，企业级 Vera Rubin CPU 步入量产，并震撼发布开源权重旗舰级 AI 模型与具身智能世界模型。
## Key takeaways
- [01:52](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=112s) 经历盗版、流媒体冲击、双重罢工及外地竞争，好莱坞实景产业陷入萧条，传统以高额预算和超级 IP 构筑的行业护城河正逐步瓦解。
- [01:52](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=112s) 创作者经济长期缺乏像《泰坦尼克号》那样的全民文化共鸣，受众割裂在不同信息茧房，但低成本全栈作品正开始突破圈层走向大众院线。
- [04:43](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=283s) 《后室》、《执念》与《铁肺》凭借极低预算取得夸张的票房投资回报率，颠覆了制片厂豪赌数亿美元于单一超级项目的传统投资逻辑。
- [06:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=373s) 单纯的粉丝规模无法等同于院线号召力，如同儿童大号 Ryan's World 电影票房惨淡，决定成败的是艺术视野与互联网严苛洗礼出的全栈操盘能力。
- [09:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=553s) “全栈电影创作者”在编剧、实操、视效到宣发全流程具备把控力，使制片方无需供养庞大建制即可快速验证爆款，降低前期试错成本。
- [11:46](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=706s) 好莱坞开始疯狂翻阅 YouTube 寻求新 IP，例如《除了所有的一切》及《马桶人》，但改编游戏引擎资产也面临着 Valve 等产权方的潜在法务风险。
- [15:08](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=908s) 本·汤普森提出“守门人的终结”，数字技术按“文本-音乐-短视频-电影”的梯度递进重塑媒介，电影业正迎来类似于 AWS 重构风投的低门槛验证时刻。
- [17:55](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1075s) YouTube 上的自然爆款充当了最佳的“试镜带”与产品市场匹配（PMF）证据，好莱坞巨头的价值逐步转向后期的大规模资本垫付与全球发行宣发。
- [22:29](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1349s) 伯尼·桑德斯主张 AI 源于人类集体知识并提议 50% 股权税，被批评不仅逻辑泛化荒谬且与此前叫停数据中心建设的主张自相矛盾，实则反映了其对 AGI 潜力的极致看多。
- [24:40](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1480s) Anthropic 秘密提交 S-1 意味着公开市场流动资金争夺战打响，同时也引发了传统巨头中究竟何种企业算作“AI 实验室”的监管界定难题。
- [28:02](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1682s) Salesforce 凭借 Agentforce 突破 10 亿 ARR 证明传统 SaaS 巨头在智能体浪潮中的韧性，贝尼奥夫通过高效接地气的“自拍外交”宣布在法国展开 20 亿欧元业务扩张。
- [30:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1815s) 英伟达在 Computex 2026 全面铺开“芯片+全模态模型”矩阵，并联合微软 Surface 打造对抗苹果生态的本地 AI PC 闭环，其开源旗舰模型将直面闭源巨头的挑战。
- [31:50](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1910s) 当下文化消费呈现出鲜明的“哑铃法则”：一端是海量泛滥的 AI 廉价生成内容，另一端则是速写画师、黑胶唱片等返璞归真的高质感线下真实体验。
## Detailed walkthrough
### [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=0s) 赞助广告回归与“YouTube 进军好莱坞”的破局
节目一开始，主持人 John Coogan 与 Jordi Hays 带来了一个既幽默又令老观众会心一笑的消息：节目的赞助广告正式回归了。他们特别提到了赞助商 Ramp 以及其口号“时间就是金钱，两者皆可节省”（Time is money, save both），将企业开销管理整合在一处。Jordi 开玩笑说，他们绝不是在反讽，而是收到了大量观众真情实感的反馈，大家甚至觉得中插广告就像是阅读时的“翻页”或品酒时的“清口菜”（palate cleanser），能在不同话题转换间提供极佳的缓冲节奏。观众 Trey 还在评论区打趣道：“没有广告的 TBPN，就像是没有心脏的人类。”两位主持人对此深表赞同，并表示能帮助热爱的公司一同成长感到非常兴奋。
紧接着，两人切入本期的重头戏——YouTube 创作者在好莱坞与院线票房上的历史性突破。科技与媒体分析师 Ben Thompson 早在 2017 年就做出过这一预测，经历近十年的演进，到了 2026 年，这一趋势终于成为现实，让他得以发文来上一场“胜利巡游”（victory lap）。多年来，外界总将硅谷和好莱坞的碰撞视作你死我活的颠覆战，但眼下发生的一切更像是一种水到渠成的深度协同与共赢，传统制片厂与顶级网络原生代创作者之间，终于找到了真正的合作契机。
---
### [01:52](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=112s) 好莱坞护城河的瓦解与文化碎片的创作者时代
在回顾这场转折时，John 盘点了好莱坞在过去二十年间接连遭遇的重创。本世纪初，网络盗版让数以亿计的用户可以轻易下载最新大片；随后，高端电视剧迎来黄金爆发期，《权力的游戏》等剧集制作水准直逼电影，打破了“只有去电影院才能享受视听震撼”的行业壁垒；流媒体平台的崛起彻底改变了观众进影院的消费习惯；新冠疫情期间的全面停摆、编剧与演员工会的“双重罢工”（double strike），以及全球其他低成本拍摄基地的竞争，让洛杉矶传统的实景拍摄天数呈断崖式下跌，且至今未能完全恢复。
与好莱坞实景产业萧条形成鲜明反差的是创作者经济（Creator Economy）的空前繁荣：流媒体掀起烧钱大战，疯狂采购并立项各种边缘项目；在台前、幕后从事视频创作的人数屡创历史新高。然而，对于真正的影迷而言，这种繁荣曾长期伴随着失落感。无论一条 TikTok 视频点赞破多少亿，或者 MrBeast 豪赚多少收入，它们始终无法产生像《教父》、《泰坦尼克号》或《星球大战》那样的文化同温层与全民共鸣。观众被分割在一个个相互割裂的信息茧房中，每个人都有自己沉迷的头部博主，但一走出自己的圈子，身边的亲友甚至从未听闻其名。
---
### [04:43](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=283s) 票房逆袭奇迹：《后室》、《执念》与《铁肺》打破传统院线格局
好莱坞长年赖以生存的超级 IP 如今正显露疲态，迪士尼与卢卡斯影业的最新星战项目《曼达洛人与古古》（The Mandalorian and Grogu）票房表现持续走低，而三部由 YouTube 创作者主导的低成本电影却在同一时期引爆了全球院线。甚至连奥斯卡金像奖（Oscars）都已敲定将于 2029 年在 YouTube 上进行全球直播，足见权力重心的转移。
```mermaid
flowchart TD
accTitle: YouTuber Box Office ROI Comparison
accDescr: 展现三部由创作者主导的低成本电影与传统项目的票房回报对比
subgraph Creators["网络创作者院线突围"]
A["《后室》(Kane Parsons)<br/>制作成本：约 1,000 万美元"] --> A1["北美开画：8,150 万美元<br/>全球票房：1.5 亿美元"]
B["《执念》(Curry Barker)<br/>制作成本：约 100 万美元"] --> B1["北美票房：1.047 亿美元<br/>(焦点影业历年北美最高纪录)"]
C["《铁肺》(Markiplier)<br/>自筹成本：300 万美元"] --> C1["北美票房：4,110 万美元<br/>全球票房：5,120 万美元"]
end
subgraph Legacy["传统对照组"]
D["《瑞安的世界大电影》<br/>制作成本：约 1,000 万美元"] --> D1["总票房：仅 62.4 万美元<br/>(粉丝转化彻底失效)"]
end
```
这种惊人的投资回报率（ROI）引发了全网热议。社交平台 X 上每天都有关于这些影片微小成本与夸张票房倍数的讨论帖迅速走红。对商业分析者而言，这已不仅是电影圈的奇闻，而是整个传媒娱乐工业底层投资逻辑的重构。
- **《后室》（The Backrooms）**：由 Kane Parsons（Kane Pixels）执导，据报道制作预算仅约 1,000 万美元，北美开画票房高达 8,150 万美元，全球总票房达到 1.5 亿美元。
- **《执念》（Obsession）**：由 Curry Barker 执导，据广泛报道制作成本仅为 100 万美元左右；影片在公映第三周持续逆跌发力，北美累计票房冲破 1.047 亿美元，一跃成为焦点影业（Focus Features）影史北美票房最高的院线发行作品。
- **《铁肺》（Iron Lung）**：由顶级 YouTube 创作者 Markiplier 自掏腰包全额出资制作，制作预算据报道仅为 300 万美元；北美首周末砍下 1,820 万美元，北美累计票房达 4,110 万美元，全球总票房达到 5,120 万美元。
---
### [06:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=373s) 粉丝转化率迷思与全栈创作者的核心优势
许多业内人士简单地将这股浪潮归结为“网红大 V 利用粉丝量直接向院线导流”，但主持人深入剖析后指出，这一推论根本站不住脚。最直接的反例便是坐拥天量低幼粉丝的儿童频道“瑞安的世界”（Ryan's World）。该团队投入约 1,000 万美元制作了长片电影《瑞安的世界大电影：泰坦宇宙历险记》（Ryan's World the Movie: Titan Universe Adventure），最终院线票房却惨淡收于 62.4 万美元。Jordi 解释道，这类儿童频道的死穴在于受众与实际买单者存在断层：8 岁的小观众再喜欢视频，也没办法偷拿父母的钱包和车钥匙自己跑去电影院买票，中间存在一道极难跨越的家庭决策转化层。
不仅如此，从纯数学逻辑来算，“粉丝买单论”也完全解释不通。除了坐拥数千万拥趸的 Markiplier 之外，执导《后室》的 Kane Parsons 和执导《执念》的 Curry Barker，其个人账号订阅量都仅在低个位数百万（single digit millions）。即便让这百万粉丝每人掏 20 美元进影院刷上五遍，也撑不起过亿美元的全球票房。真正让这些电影爆火的，是他们身上媲美 1970 年代好莱坞新浪潮（如乔治·卢卡斯早期创作）的艺术视野、敢于打破常规的冒险精神，以及经过互联网残酷洗礼后练就的“全栈创作者”（Full-Stack Creator）能力。
- **快速迭代与全流程把控**：Curry Barker 早前经营喜剧短剧频道 *That's a Bad Idea*，在自编、自演、自剪的极高频创作中，建立起了与观众实时反馈的严苛肌肉记忆，能精准拿捏叙事节奏与情绪爆点。
- **从网络都市传说到视效长片**：Kane Parsons（Kane Pixels）最初完全依托 Blender 和 After Effects 软件单枪匹马打造《后室》短片系列。该题材最早源自一张在翻修家具店拍摄的泛黄老照片，经过 4chan 等论坛的二次创作发酵成为“都市怪谈”（Creepypasta），最终在 Kane 极具电影感的视觉渲染与叙事扩充下，演变成了价值过亿的现象级院线 IP。
### [09:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=553s) 全栈创作者与好莱坞制片模式的解构
传统电影行业中，仅凭一张网络热图或一段模因走红就拿到好莱坞绿灯、甚至打造成叫座电影的情况几乎不可想象，但如今这一规则正被彻底颠覆。在社交媒体上制造病毒式传播的能力，正在转化为影院票房的号召力。虽然流媒体和好莱坞已经开始引入所谓的“YouTube 化”剪辑（如针对受众留存率的高频节奏剪辑），但更本质的变革在于“全栈电影创作者”（Full-stack filmmaker）的崛起。带着一份剧本敲开好莱坞大门、期待制片厂全权包办后续一切的时代已经一去不复返。传统影视制作中高度分工的团队结构——编剧、摄影指导、声音设计各司其职——对于没有既有 IP 背书的项目而言已经昂贵到不可持续。像《曼达洛人与古古》（The Mandalorian and Grogu）这类背靠星战庞大基本盘的超级大作，依然可以供养由几百人组成的庞大建制；但面对全新 IP，制片方必须确信主创拥有“全栈掌控力”，能把个人印记深度注入制作的每一个环节。
主持人和嘉宾借此探讨了好莱坞高管目前所面临的心理机制与商业算力。电影本质上是一门“爆款驱动”（hits-driven）的生意。如果一家早期风险投资机构拥有 1 亿美元的资金池，最理性的风投策略通常是在基金内分散布局 20 到 30 家创业公司，押注单个项目产生能够覆盖整期基金的超额回报（fund returner）；然而好莱坞的传统逻辑却往往把数亿美元豪赌在单一项目上。这不仅关乎直接的财务回报，更夹杂着好莱坞传统高管追求撮合重磅大单（blockbuster deal）的身份与行业地位。不过，随着行业风向转变，市场上显然正在出现越来越多的 1000 万美元级别低成本电影尝试。
---
### [11:46](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=706s) 从短片到大银幕：新兴 YouTube 爆款改编潮
好莱坞高层中固然有一批精英，其核心能力完全绑定于“如何有效配置 1 亿至 2 亿美元预算并确保回报”，深耕《阿凡达》、漫威、DC 或《哈利·波特》等巨型特许经营权；但面向下一代观众的新赛道已被 YouTube 创作者抢占。低成本、高回报率的恐怖类型片（如《Obsession》与《后室》The Backrooms）率先破圈，而更多非恐怖类别的 YouTube 短片也在火速被主流片厂收编：
- **韦斯利·王（Wesley Wang）的《除了所有的一切》（Nothing, Except Everything）**：这部非恐怖类的病毒式 YouTube 短片版权已被索尼旗下三星影业（TriStar Pictures）拿下，由达伦·阿伦诺夫斯基（Darren Aronofsky）的 Protozoa Pictures 负责制作，韦斯利·王本人担任编剧并执导长片改编。
- **阿列克谢·格拉西莫夫（Alexey Gerasimov）的《马桶人》（Skibidi Toilet）**：2023 年横空出世的现象级网络动画。尽管设定荒诞无厘头，却构建了庞大的世界观架空背景（lore），播放量极其庞大。好莱坞曾传出迈克尔·贝（Michael Bay）介入接洽、探讨制作电影或剧集的传闻。
- **游戏资产的版权雷区**：《马桶人》系列并非用常规的 Blender 制作，也非实拍，而是创作者利用 Valve 的《起源电影制作器》（Source Filmmaker）并在游戏引擎中运镜生成的。其核心模型大量借用了《半条命 2》（Half-Life 2）与《反恐精英：起源》（Counter-Strike: Source）的资产。要想正式登上大银幕，必须与加布·纽维尔（Gabe Newell）掌管的 Valve 达成版权交易，而 Valve 过去曾就第三方利用资产发出过下架通知，这使得此类 IP 的商业改编谈判充满变数。
好莱坞高管们如今已经开始频繁翻阅 YouTube 上那些隐秘的播放列表，试图在小众网络角落淘金。
---
### [13:31](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=811s) 演播室观影评价：《Obsession》对决《后室》
演播室的幕后制作团队成员受邀分享了实际观影体验。在对比近期两部脱胎于网络文化的爆款影片时，现场工作人员一致把选票投给了《Obsession》：
- **恐怖疲劳与幽默平衡**：制作团队指出，以阿里·艾斯特（Ari Aster，代表作《仲夏夜惊魂》Midsommar）为代表的现代恐怖片往往让观众看完后陷入数天挥之不去的阴郁恶心感；而《Obsession》在恐怖中巧妙融入了喜剧元素与充沛的互联网迷因基因，观影体验更加轻快爽快。团队同时向该片制片人海莉·约翰逊（Haley Johnson）致敬，她正是演播室成员电影学院的前校友。
- **《后室》的置景奇观与叙事缺位**：对于《后室》，制作团队赞叹其美术置景水准足以斩获工业大奖，但成片在叙事上仍欠缺火候。令人意外的是，这部起源于 Blender 纯三维渲染短片的电影，在拍摄时竟然实际搭建了占地达 30,000 平方英尺的实体片场。虽然直接拿开源 3D 文件套用 CGI 显然更廉价、甚至从原教旨角度更贴近原作的数字质感，但实体搭建的实景确实带来了极为震撼的物理视觉张力。
---
### [15:08](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=908s) 本·汤普森的“守门人终结”与电影业的 AWS 时刻
科技分析师本·汤普森（Ben Thompson）在其知名专栏 Stratechery 中就当前现象发表评论，回顾了自己在 2017 年哈维·韦恩斯坦（Harvey Weinstein）丑闻曝光时写下的经典文章《再见，守门人》（Goodbye gatekeepers）。汤普森指出，好莱坞传统的权力寻租与剥削环境，本质上源于其结构性垄断：渴望进入电影业、渴望演戏的供给者数量，远远超出了好莱坞制片体系的需求，这种极度不对称赋予了少数制作人无限的裁决权。这一形态曾存在于传统报业——报纸掌握新闻发布的闸口，并通过广告变现，但互联网彻底砸碎了报业的闸门。
```mermaid
flowchart TD
accTitle: 互联网对传统媒体形态的渐进式重塑流程
accDescr: 展示互联网从文本、音乐、短视频到最终重塑电影业的演进路径
subgraph Phase1["数字化低门槛阶段"]
A["文字媒介 (新闻/博客)"] --> B["音乐流媒体 (MP3/Spotify)"]
B --> C["短视频与UGC (YouTube/TikTok)"]
end
subgraph Phase2["传统媒体堡垒被攻破"]
C --> D["院线电影 (最高制作门槛/实体出门消费)"]
end
```
汤普森认为，数字媒介对传统行业的颠覆遵循着严密的物理规律：先从文本开始，随后是音乐，再到短视频；而电影作为传统媒体的终极形态，制作最难、院线分发最繁琐，对用户的要求也最高——观众必须实际走出家门买票。因此，YouTube 创作者在院线电影维度的爆发，比他当年的预测整整晚了近十年。
在探讨 YouTube 创作者能否最终颠覆好莱坞时，汤普森提出了一个深刻的科技商业类比——**AWS（亚马逊云服务）对风险投资行业的重构**：
- **降低进入门槛**：过去创办一家科技公司，需要向风投做幻灯片演示（PowerPoint），以换取购买昂贵 Sun 伺服服务器的资金；AWS 出现后，创业的前期成本骤降到仅剩创始人自己的时间机会成本与几名工程师的种子轮资金，催生了整个天使投资人群体。
- **以产品与市场信号为锚**：VC 不再依据纸面上的商业计划书估值，而是依据已经上线的产品及真实市场信号做出判断。电影行业正在经历同样的逻辑：生产制作工具的廉价化与普及，让制片厂不再需要凭借一纸剧本去赌新导演的空想，创作者凭借已经在线上被数千万次观看检验过的既有作品与狂热受众，直接完成了“产品市场匹配”（PMF）的验证。
### [17:55](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1075s) 从 YouTube 原型到好莱坞：内容创作与风投的逻辑互通
在当下这个时代，YouTube 上的自然增长与爆款内容本身就是最硬核的试金石。以获得 8200 万次播放量的《后室》（The Backrooms）为例，这种在平台上跑通的短片系列，本质上就是递给好莱坞工业体系的一份顶级“试镜带”，能够直接调动起庞大的传统制作资源跟进扶持。这种路径与初创企业带着已有产品、分发渠道、早期客户和 ARR（年度经常性收入）前往沙丘路（Sand Hill Road）寻求 A 轮融资如出一辙。创作者或创业者不再需要耗费 1000 万美元去打造一个初始原型，凭借极低成本即可先行验证——在人工智能时代，这种原型落地的门槛被进一步拉平。
### [18:28](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1108s) 好莱坞的融资运转机制与后端分成
针对独立电影动辄百万美元预算的融资与股权运作逻辑，节目展开了详细拆解。一部电影的落地通常要跨越层层关卡：编剧首先将拍摄期权出售给制作方或制作团队，制作公司往往扮演最初的投资人角色，随后继续注资用于剧本修改并招募大牌明星加盟；在阵容成型后，项目再被推向更高级别的制片人或大型发行厂牌。最大的资金支出发生在发行宣发阶段，当环球影业或迪士尼这类巨头接盘时，它们会在超级碗广告、全美广告牌等宣发渠道砸下巨资。例如 Markiplier 宣称其自制电影花费了 300 万美元，这主要指付给演员和直接制作的硬成本；而像《着迷》（Obsession）走红后，洛杉矶街头随即铺天盖地出现耗资数百万美元的广告牌，正是项目验证成功后发行端进一步追加投入的典型体现。
```mermaid
flowchart TD
accTitle: 传统好莱坞电影层级融资与制作流程
accDescr: 展示从剧本期权出售、制作开发、明星绑定到巨额发行宣发及利润分成的递进过程
subgraph Development["孵化开发阶段"]
A["编剧出售期权<br/>Option Sale"] --> B["制作公司注资<br/>剧本修改与润色"]
B --> C["敲定核心卡司<br/>绑定明星演员"]
end
subgraph Production_Distribution["制作与发行阶段"]
C --> D["制片人/资方进场<br/>覆盖直接制作成本"]
D --> E["大型发行商承接<br/>(迪士尼/环球等)"]
E --> F["巨额宣发投入<br/>(超级碗/广告牌)"]
end
subgraph Returns["收益回收"]
F --> G["票房与下游现金流"]
G -.->|"后端分成 (Back-end Points)"| H["核心主创/明星分红"]
end
```
在各阶段的投资交易中，还广泛存在以实物或劳务换取权益的方式，即好莱坞熟知的“后端点数分成”（Points on the back end）。其中最著名的范例莫过于小罗伯特·唐尼（Robert Downey Jr.）出演《钢铁侠》：他前期只拿了非常微薄的固定现金片酬，却通过争取该系列极为庞大的下游现金流分成赚得盆满钵满，被主持人们盛赞为商业运作上的神级存在（Goated）。
- 制作预算的结构性差异：前期制作费用（如演员薪酬）与后期宣发预算完全不同，大宣发往往在作品被证明具备爆款潜质后才重金压上。
- 后端分成机制让主创可以用极低前期现金换取长期高额杠杆回报。
### [20:50](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1250s) 阈限空间美学与好莱坞的新 IP 矿藏
节目的视觉背景随后切入对“阈限空间”（Liminal Spaces）美学史的探讨，《后室》在网络上的爆火正是依托了这种空旷、过渡性质且带有轻微超现实窒息感的情绪共鸣。演播间里甚至打趣讨论起是否要在他们的录影棚“极度苍穹”（Ultra Dome）墙上贴上美纹纸胶带，营造类似《楚门的世界》或知名数码博主 Unbox Therapy 那种极简且带有某种隔离感的空间氛围。
与此同时，传统好莱坞对互联网原生内容态度的转变极为剧烈。引用 Dan Shipper 的观察，好莱坞制片高管们如今正竞相涌入他们曾经视作生存威胁的互联网边角地带寻找素材——从 YouTube、日本动漫到《地铁跑酷》（Subway Surfers）等手机游戏，传统且刻板的叙事正让位于源自网络的有机生长型 IP。主持人调侃称，照这个趋势发展下去，未来或许连《数据中心模拟器》（Data Center Simulator）、《椰子模拟器》（Coconut Simulator）甚至《水豚模拟器》（Capybara Simulator）都能被改编成好莱坞院线大片，后者干脆直接请大卫·爱登堡（David Attenborough）来配音当成自然纪录片即可。
### [22:29](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1349s) 伯尼·桑德斯的 AI 主权财富基金提案与“集体知识”争议
话题转向宏观政治：参议员伯尼·桑德斯（Bernie Sanders）在《纽约时报》发表全篇专栏文章，提出激进的《美国 AI 主权财富基金法案》（American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act）。桑德斯主张 AI 是建立在“全人类的集体知识”之上，其创造的财富必须造福大众，而非被埃隆·马斯克、山姆·奥特曼等“AI 寡头”独吞。他提议直接对各家顶尖 AI 实验室征收一次性 50% 的股票税，以此注资设立国家级主权财富基金，使联邦政府拥有相应企业的投票权与董事会席位，并直接向美国公民发放分红。
主持团队对这一提案的可行性与核心逻辑提出了尖锐质疑：
- **分红周期的现实落差**：科技公司往往需要历经数十年才开始以回购或分红形式向股东返还现金，更何况多数 AI 实验室当前还在大规模烧钱，短期内根本无现金可分。
- **“人类集体知识”话语的泛化荒谬**：如果建立在集体知识上就必须被征收一半股权，那么轮子、道路、内燃机衍生出的所有现代产物，甚至连 TBPN 播客自身都是全人类集体知识的产物，主持人戏谑道：“照这逻辑，美国公民很快就要拥有 TBPN 50% 的股权了。”
- **全民基础代币（Universal Basic Tokens）**：与其画饼根本不存在的现金分红，倒不如直接给公民发放基础算力代币更加符合 AI 时代特征。
### [24:40](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1480s) 监管自相矛盾还是极致看多？Anthropic 秘密提交 IPO
针对桑德斯的立场，智库学者 Dean Ball 指出了极大的政策矛盾：桑德斯此前还在积极推进《数据中心暂停法案》（Data Center Moratorium Act），试图全面叫停数据中心建设；如今却又要求无偿拿走 AI 公司一半的股权与收益。这种一手要封杀、一手要分肥的做法，暴露了其将“AI 存在风险”作为道德包装、实质意在攫取资本的真实意图。
然而，节目也给出了逆向视角的解读：桑德斯的举动客观上代表了他对 AI 行业极度看多（AGI-pilled）。他潜意识里认定这些前沿实验室绝不可能归零，反倒将成长为重构美国整体经济的万亿级巨兽；既然封杀数据中心的尝试注定难以落地，便转而谋求对资本的掌控权。
随后，科技圈曝出重磅里程碑：Anthropic 已正式秘密提交首次公开募股（S-1 / IPO）文件，与传闻中正在酝酿上市的 OpenAI、已公开上市的谷歌以及筹备中的 SpaceX 一并步入资本市场聚光灯下。这一动作让桑德斯提案中的界定难题更为棘手：
- 究竟什么样的企业才算提案中应当被收归 50% 股权的“AI 实验室”？
- 谷歌作为核心研发前沿拥有领先大模型，是否也在征收之列？
- 若以此类推，全面押注 AI Agent 的 Salesforce 等传统软件服务巨头，又是否会被划入 AI 征税范畴？行业概念的边界正变得极其模糊。
### [27:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1621s) 扎克伯格光速切割：从政府收编 AI 到 Anthropic 秘密递交 S-1
主持人探讨了关于政府入股 AI 公司的政策讨论（对应伯尼·桑德斯等政客主张公共利益参与 AI 收益的呼声）。两位主持人调侃起 Meta 首席执行官马克·扎克伯格（Mark Zuckerberg）遇到这种情况时会作何反应——扎克伯格绝对会第一时间光速撇清关系，连连摆手辩解：“我？造什么个人超级智能？我根本不是一家 AI 公司啊！你凭什么要分走我半个公司？我们甚至都不是 AI 实验室，只不过是用几块 GPU 做做小实验，用来给用户推荐点更好的视频罢了，纯粹是内容推荐算法！”现场顿时一片哄笑，主持人打趣称 Meta 恨不得把责任推得干干净净。
随后话题转向科技圈另一条重磅动态：Anthropic 已经正式向美国证券交易委员会（SEC）秘密提交了 S-1 注册招股书草案。待 SEC 审核完成，公司即可随时启动首次公开募股（IPO）。主持人分析指出，资本市场上目前正在上演一场白热化的“吸金竞速赛”，SpaceX、OpenAI 和 Anthropic 都在抢夺公开市场的海量流动资金。此前市场上曾弥漫着所谓“SaaS 终结日”（SaaS-pocalypse）的悲观情绪，但现在看来看衰言之过早。不少老牌 SaaS 公司的股价大幅反弹，一方面得益于它们早期持有的 Anthropic 股权升值，另一方面则源于其自身业务基本盘展现出的强韧生命力。
---
### [28:02](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1682s) 贝尼奥夫豪赌法国与百倍回报：企业巨头的“自拍外交”
说到从 Anthropic 投资中获利，Salesforce 首席执行官马克·贝尼奥夫（Marc Benioff）无疑是最大赢家之一。主持人们指出，贝尼奥夫大约在 2023 或 2024 年向 Anthropic 投资了 5000 万美元，如今账面上看几乎是一笔“暴赚 100 倍”的神级操作。春风得意的贝尼奥夫随即宣布将在法国投资 20 亿欧元。Salesforce 在法国已拥有 1800 名员工，他宣称将比以往任何时候都更加坚定地在当地推动企业创新和智能体（Agentic）业务的增长。
```mermaid
flowchart TD
accTitle: 传统公关与新自拍商业模式对比
accDescr: 对比传统耗费巨资的宏大宣传片模式与当下由科技巨头引领的即时自拍社交宣发模式。
subgraph OldWay["传统宣发模式"]
A["高成本宏大宣传片"] --> B["剪辑高超音速战机与火箭"]
B --> C["层层公关审批后发布"]
end
subgraph NewMeta["当下自拍新风向 (The New Meta)"]
D["敲定数十亿商业交易"] --> E["与合伙人即兴自拍合影"]
E --> F["直接发推宣发 / 真实高效"]
end
```
针对贝尼奥夫在社交平台公布合作的方式，主持人高度评价了这种当下的“自拍新风向”（the new vibe real meta）：如今商业大佬们谈成重大合作，根本不需要大费周折去拍那种剪满高超音速喷气式战机、航天火箭的历史感大片；只需要掏出手机跟合作伙伴随手拍一张自拍发到网上即可，既高效又真实接地气。甚至有一位主持人笑着表示，看到贝尼奥夫投入真金白银，自己单方面对法国的“个人恩怨”即刻烟消云散：“只要贝尼奥夫全力信任他们，那我也全力信任。这 20 亿欧元可比之前引发争议的那笔投资多得多，恩怨正式一笔勾销！”
---
### [29:26](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1766s) Salesforce 亮眼财报：Agentforce 突破 10 亿 ARR 与智能体企业浪潮
贝尼奥夫随后公布了 Salesforce 令人瞩目的 2027 财年第一季度业绩数据，进一步证明了传统巨头在 AI 时代的进化速度：
- **季度总营收**：达到 111.3 亿美元，同比增长 13%，对于一家体量庞大的成熟软件巨头而言，这一增速超出预期。
- **营运现金流**：录得 6.7 亿美元的强劲现金流入。
- **Agentforce 业务线**：年度经常性收入（ARR）已正式跨越 10 亿美元大关。
- **AI 与数据综合 ARR**：整合了 Data 360 与 Informatica 之后，公司在 AI 与数据产品线的 ARR 总和已攀升至 34 亿美元。
在财报披露的动态中，贝尼奥夫自豪地宣称：“我们不仅在畅想智能体的未来，我们正在交付它。作为排名第一的智能体 CRM，我们正驱动着整个行业规模化迈向智能体企业（Agentic Enterprises）。势头确凿无疑，未来势不可挡！”主持人对此调侃道，贝尼奥夫在结尾甚至不忘加上一个标志性的“燃烧火焰”Emoji，足见其意气风发。
---
### [30:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1815s) Computex 2026 黄仁勋演讲：RTX Spark、Vera Rubin 与开源旗舰模型
节目的核心话题随后转向了 Computex 2026（台北国际电脑展）上英伟达首席执行官黄仁勋的主题演讲。科技评论员布伦丹·卡拉瑟斯（Brendan Carruthers）对这场堪比“面向企业端深度定制版 CES”的重磅发布会进行了系统梳理：
```mermaid
flowchart TD
accTitle: Computex 2026 英伟达生态版图
accDescr: 展示英伟达在硬件端、模型端以及与微软生态协同方面的全方位布局。
subgraph Hardware["硬件底层创新"]
H1["Nvidia RTX Spark Superchip<br/>(ARM 架构 PC 芯片 / 本地运行 AI)"]
H2["Vera Rubin 企业级 CPU<br/>(宣布正式进入量产阶段)"]
end
subgraph Models["全模态模型矩阵"]
M1["开源权重旗舰级 AI 大模型"]
M2["世界模型 (World Model)"]
M3["人形机器人专用具身智能模型"]
end
subgraph Ecosystem["终端系统协同"]
E1["微软发布 Surface Laptop Ultra"]
H1 -->|全面深度优化| E1
E1 -->|打造 Windows 阵营的 Apple Silicon 时刻| E2["推动本地 AI PC 落地"]
end
```
硬件方面，黄仁勋正式推出了专为 PC 打造的 ARM 架构芯片 **Nvidia RTX Spark Superchip**，旨在让个人电脑在本地高效处理复杂的端侧 AI 工作负载；同时宣布企业级 **Vera Rubin CPU** 现已进入全面量产。在软件和模型层面，英伟达更是祭出全套组合拳：发布了多款基础大模型，包括专门针对人形机器人开发的模型、世界模型（World Model），以及一款重磅的**开源权重（Open-weight）旗舰级 AI 模型**。
这一开源举措引发了主持人的深度讨论。此前黄仁勋曾透露在基础模型研发上投入了数十亿美元，外界高度关注英伟达这一开源旗舰究竟能在基准评测上交出怎样的答卷——特别是对比闭源前沿的顶级模型（如 Anthropic 的后续版本或 Google 的 Gemini 3.5）。主持人指出，此前有数据显示海外部分开源模型和部分中国开源模型在性能增速上正面临瓶颈或趋于线性增长，未能彻底追上美国顶级闭源模型拉开的前沿差距；英伟达以开源权重方式强势入局，究竟会补齐开源生态的短板还是重新定义竞争格局，充满悬念。与此同时，微软也同步发布了全新 Surface Laptop Ultra，该设备针对 RTX Spark 进行了底层深度适配并将在秋季发售，业内普遍将其视为微软联手英伟达复刻“苹果 Apple Silicon 奇迹”的关键战役。
---
### [31:50](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1910s) 狂热的科技资本周期与“反数字”浪潮：速写画师引发的思考
面对当前日新月异的技术与资本狂飙，主持人援引了知名投资人兼创业者威尔·马尼迪斯（Will Manidis）极具戏剧张力的市场预警：“我认为你们根本没有人意识到市场上即将发生什么。我们即将经历科技资本历史上最疯狂的 5 年黄金狂飙期。愿上帝保佑我们所有人。我只祈求当最后的审判降临时，主能够看到我们为了确保高效的价格发现所付出的一切努力。”
主持人调侃马尼迪斯近来极度看多（Bullish）的态度，笑称这种超级乐观情绪反而让人生疑：“当最狂热的人彻底看多时，你反而得警惕是不是该转为空头了；‘在别人贪婪时恐惧，在别人恐惧时贪婪’，各位观众还是得自行做好研究并独立决策。”
节目最后以制作人亚当·费兹（Adam Faze）的一则生活趣事作为收尾。费兹最近在自己的生日派对上特意雇了一名“法庭/现场速写画师”（Sketch Artist），要求所有来宾把手机留在家里，纯粹靠画师的现场速写来记录夜晚。费兹感慨道：“我太厌倦生活中的一切体验都被手机和数字内容全盘吞噬了。”主持人们对这一举动大加赞赏，认为这完美体现了当下的“内容哑铃法则”（Content Barbell）：一端是泛滥成灾的廉价 AI 数字垃圾内容（Content Slop），另一端则是黑胶唱片销量创历史新高、现场手工速写等返璞归真的极度精致化实体体验。在对这场“手工艺术战胜手机屏幕”的探讨与欢笑中，主持人挥手道别并预告明日节目。
## Notable quotes
> [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=0s) 时间就是金钱，两者皆可节省 — Ramp 赞助标语
> [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=0s) 没有广告的 TBPN，就像是没有心脏的人类。 — 观众 Trey
> [15:08](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=908s) 再见，守门人 — Ben Thompson
> [22:29](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1349s) 照这逻辑，美国公民很快就要拥有 TBPN 50% 的股权了。 — John Coogan / Jordi Hays
> [27:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1621s) 我？造什么个人超级智能？我根本不是一家 AI 公司啊！你凭什么要分走我半个公司？我们甚至都不是 AI 实验室，只不过是用几块 GPU 做做小实验，用来给用户推荐点更好的视频罢了，纯粹是内容推荐算法！ — Jordi Hays（模拟 Mark Zuckerberg 语气）
> [28:02](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1682s) 只要贝尼奥夫全力信任他们，那我也全力信任。这 20 亿欧元可比之前引发争议的那笔投资多得多，恩怨正式一笔勾销！ — TBPN 主持人
> [29:26](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1766s) 我们不仅在畅想智能体的未来，我们正在交付它。作为排名第一的智能体 CRM，我们正驱动着整个行业规模化迈向智能体企业。势头确凿无疑，未来势不可挡！ — Marc Benioff
> [31:50](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1910s) 我认为你们根本没有人意识到市场上即将发生什么。我们即将经历科技资本历史上最疯狂的 5 年黄金狂飙期。愿上帝保佑我们所有人。我只祈求当最后的审判降临时，主能够看到我们为了确保高效的价格发现所付出的一切努力。 — Will Manidis
> [31:50](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k&t=1910s) 我太厌倦生活中的一切体验都被手机和数字内容全盘吞噬了。 — Adam Faze
## Mentioned
John Coogan, Jordi Hays, Ben Thompson, Kane Parsons (Kane Pixels), Curry Barker, Markiplier, Wesley Wang, Darren Aronofsky, Alexey Gerasimov, Michael Bay, Gabe Newell, Haley Johnson, Ari Aster, Robert Downey Jr., Bernie Sanders, Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Dean Ball, Mark Zuckerberg, Marc Benioff, 黄仁勋 (Jensen Huang), Brendan Carruthers, Will Manidis, Adam Faze, TBPN, Ramp, Focus Features (焦点影业), TriStar Pictures (三星影业), Protozoa Pictures, Valve, YouTube, Meta, Anthropic, OpenAI, SpaceX, Google, Salesforce, Nvidia (英伟达), Microsoft, SEC (美国证券交易委员会), 《后室》(The Backrooms), 《执念》(Obsession), 《铁肺》(Iron Lung), 《瑞安的世界大电影：泰坦宇宙历险记》, 《曼达洛人与古古》, 《除了所有的一切》(Nothing, Except Everything), 《马桶人》(Skibidi Toilet), Source Filmmaker, 《半条命 2》, 《反恐精英：起源》, Agentforce, Data 360, Informatica, Nvidia RTX Spark Superchip, Vera Rubin CPU, Surface Laptop Ultra, 《美国 AI 主权财富基金法案》, 《数据中心暂停法案》
## Video description
Sign up for TBPN’s daily newsletter at TBPN.com
Diet TBPN delivers the best of today’s TBPN episode in 30 minutes. TBPN is a live tech talk show hosted by John Coogan and Jordi Hays, streaming weekdays 11–2 PT on X and YouTube, with each episode posted to podcast platforms right after.
Described by The New York Times as “Silicon Valley’s newest obsession,” the show has recently featured Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman, Mark Cuban, and Satya Nadella.
TBPN is made possible by:
Ramp - https://ramp.com
Public - https://public.com
Cisco - https://www.cisco.com
Console - https://www.console.com
CrowdStrike - https://www.crowdstrike.com
Figma - https://www.figma.com
MongoDB - https://www.mongodb.com
NYSE - https://www.nyse.com
Railway - https://railway.com
Shopify - https://www.shopify.com/
Follow TBPN:
https://TBPN.com
https://x.com/tbpn
https://open.spotify.com/show/2L6WMqY3GUPCGBD0dX6p00?si=674252d53acf4231
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/technology-brothers/id1772360235
https://www.youtube.com/@TBPNLive
Chapters:
00:00 Ads Are Back + YouTubers Hit Hollywood
01:52 How Hollywood Lost Its Moat
04:43 Backrooms, Obsession, and Iron Lung Break Out
06:13 Why Subscribers Don’t Automatically Become Ticket Sales
08:24 Full-Stack Creators and Viral IP
13:17 Obsession vs. Backrooms + The End of Gatekeepers
22:24 AI Sovereign Wealth, Anthropic IPO, Salesforce, Nvidia + Analog Wrap
[Source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxhfs8OVp8k)
Source quotes
[0:00] Ramp 赞助标语: 时间就是金钱，两者皆可节省
[0:00] 观众 Trey: 没有广告的 TBPN，就像是没有心脏的人类。
[15:08] Ben Thompson: 再见，守门人
[22:29] John Coogan / Jordi Hays: 照这逻辑，美国公民很快就要拥有 TBPN 50% 的股权了。
[27:01] Jordi Hays（模拟 Mark Zuckerberg 语气）: 我？造什么个人超级智能？我根本不是一家 AI 公司啊！你凭什么要分走我半个公司？我们甚至都不是 AI 实验室，只不过是用几块 GPU 做做小实验，用来给用户推荐点更好的视频罢了，纯粹是内容推荐算法！
[28:02] TBPN 主持人: 只要贝尼奥夫全力信任他们，那我也全力信任。这 20 亿欧元可比之前引发争议的那笔投资多得多，恩怨正式一笔勾销！
[29:26] Marc Benioff: 我们不仅在畅想智能体的未来，我们正在交付它。作为排名第一的智能体 CRM，我们正驱动着整个行业规模化迈向智能体企业。势头确凿无疑，未来势不可挡！
[31:50] Will Manidis: 我认为你们根本没有人意识到市场上即将发生什么。我们即将经历科技资本历史上最疯狂的 5 年黄金狂飙期。愿上帝保佑我们所有人。我只祈求当最后的审判降临时，主能够看到我们为了确保高效的价格发现所付出的一切努力。
[31:50] Adam Faze: 我太厌倦生活中的一切体验都被手机和数字内容全盘吞噬了。
Source quotes
[4:43] Kane Parsons' The Backrooms opened to roughly 81.5 million in North America and 150 million worldwide on a 10 million dollar budget... Curry Barker's Obsession hit 104.7 million domestic, becoming Focus Features' highest-grossing domestic release from a movie widely reported to have cost around 1 million.
[10:16] He didn't use Blender and he didn't shoot it with a camera. He actually made the whole series in a video game... a lot of the assets pull from Half-Life 2 or Counter-Strike Source. And so if you want to maintain that, you have to go do a deal with Valve.
[15:08] Ben Thompson: In 2017, when the first public allegations were made against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, I wrote Goodbye gatekeepers about how the traditional structure of Hollywood... created the conditions for his predation.
[18:28] When Markiplier says he spent $3 million, that means he spent $3 million paying the actors... I was seeing Obsession billboards everywhere around LA. Like at least a million-dollar campaign.
[20:51] Studio executives and producers are racing to find movie material in corners of the internet they once dismissed as some of the greatest threats to their business...
[22:27] Bernie Sanders: AI is built on humanity's collective knowledge. The wealth it generates must benefit humanity, not just Elon Musk, Sam Altman, or other AI oligarchs. That's why I'll be introducing the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act...
[26:38] Anthropic has confidentially submitted a draft S-1 registration statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission... This gives us the option to pursue an initial public offering.
[31:50] Well Manitis: I don't think any of you understand what is about to happen in the market. We are about to live through the craziest 5-year run in techno capital history. God help us all. I pray that when the judgment comes, he can see all that we did to ensure efficient price discovery.
Original transcript
[0:02] We have some really exciting news. We
[0:05] heard you loud and clear.
[0:07] >> Loud and clear.
[0:08] >> on the Chiron, which is area.com.
[0:11] >> back.
[0:11] >> We are back and we're going to tell you
[0:13] about Ramp. Time is money, save both.
[0:16] Easy use corporate
[0:19] All in one place. That's right. You
[0:22] wanted [applause] ads, we're bringing
[0:23] you ads. Uh and we're very excited that
[0:26] we have more
[0:27] >> We are
[0:28] >> more supporters of the show.
[0:29] >> incredibly back.
[0:30] >> Uh yes, we're very excited. So, expect
[0:32] to hear ads throughout the show.
[0:34] >> It's funny, we we heard over and over
[0:35] and over, I'm not joking. You know I get
[0:38] sarcastic a lot.
[0:40] Uh but we heard over and over and over
[0:41] that they're nice palate cleanser. It's
[0:43] like turning the page, right? In between
[0:45] different topics and uh we are excited.
[0:48] >> love these companies. We want to help
[0:49] them grow. We've always been huge fans
[0:51] of the companies that we work with. So,
[0:52] we're very excited to have them back.
[0:53] Let's turn over to YouTube and Hollywood
[0:56] uh breakout news uh in Hollywood. Uh
[1:00] YouTubers winning at the box office,
[1:01] YouTubers finally breaking through to
[1:03] Hollywood. Feels super long overdue. Ben
[1:06] Thompson had a good victory lap post
[1:08] because he predicted this all the way
[1:10] back in 2017. It took a decade to get
[1:12] here, but uh YouTubers are fully in
[1:15] control of Hollywood and there's a bunch
[1:17] of crazy statistics, but 2026 really is
[1:20] the year that Hollywood and YouTube
[1:22] finally It feels like they found a way
[1:24] to work together in perfect harmony. It
[1:25] honestly seems win-win here.
[1:27] >> Yeah, not total disruption.
[1:29] >> Yeah.
[1:30] >> Right? But collaboration.
[1:31] >> Actual collaboration. And so, I mean, we
[1:33] all know Hollywood's been faced with a
[1:35] ton of challenges. I was just listing
[1:37] them off off the top of my head. What's
[1:39] this?
[1:39] >> Trey says a TBPN without ads is like a
[1:42] human without a heart.
[1:43] >> Couldn't say it better myself. Um I was
[1:46] just
[1:46] >> All right, Ryan says calling in to the
[1:48] waiting room and not the restream
[1:49] waiting room was a crime.
[1:51] >> Yes, that's [laughter] true.
[1:53] Um so, I I was just listing off like all
[1:56] of the challenges that Hollywood has
[1:58] faced over the past couple decades and
[2:01] it's so bad. It's piracy. Like you used
[2:04] to just be able to for a lot for all
[2:06] through like the mid-2000s, people just
[2:08] download movies. Uh then better TV
[2:10] shows. Like TV just got so so much
[2:12] better that that really took a lot of
[2:14] gas out of Hollywood because it used to
[2:17] be if you wanted something cinematic,
[2:19] you had to go to the theater. And then
[2:20] Game of Thrones came out and all of a
[2:22] sudden TV uh we went through like the
[2:24] era of great TV. Uh streaming, obviously
[2:27] that moved a lot of people out of
[2:28] theaters. Uh COVID, that shut down the
[2:31] movie industry entirely. There were
[2:32] strikes, the double strike, writers and
[2:35] uh directors strike and a whole bunch of
[2:37] other strikes that went on. Uh there was
[2:39] competition from other production
[2:40] markets, lower cost and that, you know,
[2:42] that can sometimes help certain elements
[2:44] of Hollywood, but it also hurts
[2:45] Hollywood the physical place.
[2:47] >> Yeah, mean meanwhile streaming just
[2:49] created such a massive boom
[2:51] >> Yeah.
[2:52] >> in spending on like a bunch of random
[2:54] projects, not necessarily like like
[2:56] blockbusters, but just like every
[2:58] platform needed more content and there
[3:00] was a lot of competition.
[3:01] >> Yeah. So throughout all of that, there
[3:03] was sort of a silver lining. I mean, the
[3:06] the streaming thing is a big one of that
[3:07] that there were jobs and projects that
[3:09] were getting greenlit on streaming
[3:10] platforms, but also just the creator
[3:11] economy. Like even though the number I
[3:14] was looking at the number of uh like
[3:16] shoot traditional Hollywood shoot days
[3:18] in Hollywood, it's fallen off a cliff
[3:20] post-COVID, never fully recovered, but
[3:22] the number of people working in front of
[3:25] the camera, behind the camera, around
[3:26] the camera in broadly has obviously gone
[3:30] up throughout the creator economy boom.
[3:32] This was always unsatisfying to
[3:35] cinephiles though because no matter how
[3:37] viral a Tik Tok goes or no matter how
[3:40] much money uh Mr. Beast or some other
[3:42] creator like makes, uh it never feels as
[3:46] uh as culturally important as The
[3:48] Godfather or some other or the Titanic
[3:51] or some some movie that everyone comes
[3:53] together, everyone has this shared
[3:54] cultural experience around. We were all
[3:56] in these like little bit of these like
[3:57] isolated niches and oh, yeah, I I'm
[4:01] really into this creator. Uh but anytime
[4:03] I try and bring it up to anyone, they
[4:05] don't know what I'm talking about.
[4:06] >> Yeah, our our our shared our our moment
[4:08] is I see a meme starting to grow.
[4:11] >> Yeah.
[4:11] >> And I tell you I I make the call to you.
[4:14] >> And and then we just kind of bet on it,
[4:16] basically.
[4:16] >> But even those, it's very hard for them
[4:18] to break out to such a degree that you
[4:21] can bring it up to anyone, your your
[4:24] little nephew or your
[4:25] >> Sure.
[4:25] >> uncle and they both have an
[4:27] understanding like they did during the
[4:29] Titanic era, like they did during the
[4:30] Godfather era, like they did during Star
[4:32] Wars, which is at the center of this
[4:35] story because The Mandalorian and Grogu
[4:37] is the latest Star Wars project and it's
[4:40] actually been declining in the box
[4:41] office. It's been eclipsed and there's
[4:43] been three movies that have been really
[4:46] really breakout performances. So, also,
[4:48] the Oscars are going to be streamed on
[4:50] YouTube in 2029. It feels like by 2029,
[4:54] this this whole this whole trend is
[4:55] going to be in full force. So, look at
[4:57] the stats. So, Kane Parsons Backrooms
[5:00] opened to roughly 81.5 million in North
[5:03] America and 150 million [snorts]
[5:06] worldwide on a 10 million dollar budget,
[5:08] reportedly. Curry Barker's Obsession
[5:10] climbed is climbing in its third weekend
[5:13] and hit 104 million, 104.7 million
[5:15] domestic, becoming Focus Features
[5:17] highest grossing domestic release from a
[5:19] movie widely reported to have cost
[5:21] around 1 million. That seems really
[5:22] >> And right now on X, every single day,
[5:25] there's a post that goes viral about
[5:28] Obsession's
[5:30] return budget.
[5:30] >> Yeah.
[5:31] >> They're like, this million dollar film.
[5:33] You know, it it's just happening over
[5:35] and over and over.
[5:35] >> Yeah.
[5:36] >> And then And so, like the business story
[5:38] >> Oh, it's huge.
[5:38] >> to me is like way more I mean, is
[5:40] everything.
[5:41] >> Definitely, definitely. And then we also
[5:43] talked about this earlier and it's sort
[5:45] of looped in with this, but Markiplier,
[5:47] another YouTuber, released Iron Lung,
[5:49] which he financed himself, $3 million
[5:51] production budget reportedly, and opened
[5:54] to 18.2 million domestically before
[5:56] grossing 41.1 million domestic, 51.2
[5:59] million worldwide, huge return on
[6:01] investment. And so, it's easy to point
[6:04] to these as sort of the story is
[6:07] YouTuber with a big audience just
[6:09] converts that audience into ticket
[6:11] sales.
[6:12] But, that's not exactly It's not really
[6:15] that clean. And there's a bunch of
[6:16] counter examples. So, are you familiar
[6:17] with Ryan's World? Ryan's World is this
[6:20] massive kids YouTube channel. And
[6:24] yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Ryan would unbox
[6:27] toys, and it became a huge, huge
[6:29] channel. And they actually made Ryan's
[6:31] World the Movie, Titan Universe
[6:33] Adventure, but it grossed only $624,000
[6:37] on something like a $10 million budget.
[6:40] And so, he wasn't able to convert that
[6:42] audience directly over. And I think with
[6:45] someone like Ryan Young
[6:47] >> Was he encouraging children to take
[6:49] their parents' keys and wallet and just
[6:52] go down to the movie theater? Cuz that's
[6:54] part of the issue with these channels
[6:56] and and monetizing them is there's
[6:58] somewhat of a There's a disconnect
[7:00] between the audience and who the actual
[7:02] like buyer is, the person that controls
[7:04] purchasing power in the household. So,
[7:07] you might have like an 8-year-old kid
[7:08] who loves these videos, but anytime they
[7:10] actually want to act on the content,
[7:13] they have to
[7:14] >> There's a translation step. Sometimes
[7:16] that can work though. You know, you see
[7:18] the advertisements of the the toy on the
[7:20] cereal box, and the kids demand the toy.
[7:23] What is different about Backrooms
[7:25] Obsession and Iron Lung is that the
[7:27] filmmakers had They'd shown They we
[7:30] didn't just have huge audiences. Like,
[7:32] some of these Markiplier is a truly
[7:34] large creator, but the folks behind
[7:36] Backrooms Obsession are in like the
[7:38] single digit millions.
[7:40] Alone, if if they didn't have the
[7:42] creativity, if they didn't have the the
[7:44] risk-taking abilities to actually
[7:46] produce something that could sort of
[7:49] you know, draw attention in theaters, I
[7:50] don't think they could have just
[7:51] converted their subscribers over. Like
[7:53] the conversion rates just don't match up
[7:55] because if you're on 1 million
[7:57] subscribers and you did 100 million in
[8:00] box office, it that the math just
[8:02] doesn't match up. Did some Did everyone
[8:04] go Did all of your subscribers go see it
[8:05] five times and make $20 each time? No
[8:07] way. Like that's not what happened.
[8:08] Yeah. The idea of like this creativity,
[8:10] risk-taking,
[8:11] uh new IP, this is like at the core of
[8:14] uh of Hollywood successes. I uh I was
[8:17] reading The Hollywood Reporter, they
[8:18] were saying like, "This hearkens back to
[8:19] like the 1970s." George Lucas's first
[8:21] film, Ben Thompson has a great analysis
[8:23] that we can read through. But uh these
[8:25] creators aren't just big influencers
[8:26] with millions of fans. Uh they do have
[8:28] big audiences, but they also stand above
[8:30] their peers in terms of their artistic
[8:32] vision. So, Corey Barker had a YouTube
[8:34] sketch channel called That's a Bad Idea
[8:36] where he learned how to quickly and
[8:37] effectively write, act, and edit for a
[8:39] tight audience feedback loop. Backrooms
[8:41] has a similar story. Kane uh Kane
[8:43] Parsons, who goes by Kane Pixels,
[8:45] produced his original series The
[8:46] Backrooms in Blender and After Effects.
[8:49] Uh and the internet myth had laid a bit
[8:51] of the groundwork, and we can go into
[8:52] some of the lore of Backrooms. It's a
[8:54] very fascinating story. It all started
[8:56] with like a single image of a furniture
[8:59] store that was being renovated at the
[9:01] time, and that picture just went viral
[9:03] and went uh and just like kept building
[9:06] lore and became one of these like
[9:07] creepypastas, and then eventually, you
[9:09] know, turned into this YouTube series,
[9:11] which turned into this film. And uh it's
[9:13] one of these like very interesting uh
[9:16] origin story behind a piece of
[9:17] intellectual property. Typically, you
[9:19] don't see just a random image go viral
[9:22] and become a movie. But let alone a
[9:24] successful movie. But here we are. Being
[9:26] able to create something engaging for
[9:27] social media virality is probably
[9:29] somewhat important to creating a film
[9:31] that works in theaters. I think there is
[9:32] some stuff that translates. We're seeing
[9:35] this with the sort of like
[9:36] YouTube-ification or retention editing
[9:38] on Netflix, but I think the bigger value
[9:41] is being like a full-stack filmmaker.
[9:42] So, gone are the days of showing up to
[9:44] Hollywood with a manuscript and just
[9:47] expecting the studio to do the rest for
[9:49] you. I think that the traditionally
[9:52] segmented teams on productions are
[9:53] simply too expensive to do to be
[9:55] deployed on anything but existing IP.
[9:57] So, the dedicated writer, the dedicated
[9:59] cinematographer, the dedicated sound
[10:00] designer, that will show up for The
[10:01] Mandalorian and Grogu because they know
[10:04] that there's a certain amount people
[10:05] that will just see every single Star
[10:06] Wars movie, but to take a risk on new IP
[10:09] from a new creator, you have to
[10:11] understand that that creator is going to
[10:12] be able to leave their fingerprints and
[10:14] actually drive every piece of the
[10:15] production.
[10:16] >> Yeah, how do you how do you think the
[10:17] big studio execs are processing, you
[10:20] know, these two these two films? Because
[10:23] you would think, okay, movies are a
[10:25] hits-driven business. If you have a $100
[10:27] million budget, like thinking about it
[10:29] like an If you're an early-stage
[10:31] investor,
[10:32] like super early-stage seed, series A,
[10:34] and you have $100 million to invest,
[10:36] like sometimes the best move would be
[10:38] putting $100 million into one team, but
[10:41] there's a reason that people say like,
[10:42] "Hey, we're going to make 20 to 30
[10:45] investments across this fund, maybe
[10:46] maybe more depending on the strategy."
[10:48] >> They're doing a lot more $10 million
[10:49] films.
[10:50] >> Yeah, and so and so it it feels like it
[10:52] makes so much sense because one film can
[10:55] generate the entire
[10:57] can be a fund returner, but at the same
[10:59] time, there is it is it studio execs
[11:01] that just love the rush of just like
[11:03] doing a big deal, right?
[11:06] Is there some
[11:07] Not like not basically like direct
[11:09] financial incentive where like there's
[11:12] just something like the status
[11:13] associated with putting together like a
[11:15] blockbuster?
[11:16] >> I don't know. I do think we will see
[11:18] more $10 million films, more more
[11:20] lower-budget films.
[11:22] It feels like there's definitely a
[11:24] certain breed of Hollywood executive
[11:26] that their whole skill set is aligned
[11:29] to, how can we put $100 million, $200
[11:31] million to work and actually guarantee a
[11:34] return on that. So, they're going to be
[11:36] working on the avatars and the Marvel
[11:38] movies and the DC movies and the and the
[11:40] Harry Potter movies. Um but for the next
[11:42] generation, uh that that track feels
[11:45] like very much bought in. So, there are
[11:47] already more of these sort of like
[11:48] YouTube adaptations in the works. Uh one
[11:51] is from Wesley Wang who went viral for
[11:54] interestingly, uh Obsession and
[11:55] Backrooms are both horror films which
[11:57] are notorious for being uh cheap to
[11:59] produce and potentially very high
[12:01] return. He went viral for a non-horror
[12:04] YouTube short called Nothing Except
[12:06] Everything. TriStar picked it up with
[12:08] Darren Aronofsky's Protozoa producing
[12:10] and Wang set to adapt it as
[12:12] writer-director. Uh and then there's
[12:14] also the much sillier but extremely
[12:16] viral Skibidi Toilet which was created
[12:18] by Alexey Gerasimov in 2023 and that
[12:22] project has been going back and forth
[12:24] but reportedly Michael Bay was attached
[12:25] at one point. They were thinking maybe
[12:27] TV show, maybe uh movie. But that as
[12:30] silly as that sounds and as ridiculous
[12:32] as that series is, it did build like a
[12:34] little bit of a lore world. It captured
[12:36] a lot of people's fascinations and the
[12:39] numbers are really staggering. Um there
[12:41] is a little bit more nuance there
[12:43] because on the IP side because it was
[12:46] created in Source Filmmaker which is
[12:48] basically like Half-Life or
[12:51] Counter-Strike. Uh so, you design the
[12:52] level and then you can move the camera
[12:54] around through that. He didn't use
[12:55] Blender and he didn't shoot it with a
[12:56] camera. He actually made the whole
[12:58] series in a video game. Um
[13:01] and a lot of the assets pull from
[13:02] Half-Life 2 or Counter-Strike Source.
[13:05] And so, uh if you want to maintain that,
[13:07] you have to go do a deal with Valve
[13:09] which, you know, is a private company
[13:11] owned by Gabe Newell doesn't necessarily
[13:13] need to just allow someone to do this
[13:14] and there's already been back and forth
[13:16] on like takedown notices. So, that's a
[13:18] whole different negotiation if that
[13:19] winds up making it to the silver screen.
[13:21] Um but I do think there will be uh more
[13:23] unpredictable breakouts in the coming
[13:25] years uh and I wouldn't be surprised if
[13:26] we see Hollywood executives combing
[13:28] through obscure YouTube playlists for
[13:30] new gems.
[13:31] >> And uh some members of our production
[13:33] team saw both Backrooms and Obsession,
[13:36] and I want to get some reviews. What do
[13:37] you What What did you guys think? Which
[13:39] one was better? Take us through it.
[13:41] >> My vote's Obsession.
[13:42] >> Obsession.
[13:42] >> Scott, what did you think?
[13:43] >> Obsession.
[13:44] >> Okay. And what did you like about each
[13:46] one? What did you dislike about each
[13:48] one?
[13:48] >> So, Obsession was great. I feel like the
[13:53] filmmakers have gotten too good at
[13:54] making horror movies sometimes
[13:55] >> Okay.
[13:55] >> Like this like Ari Aster type wave.
[13:58] >> Okay.
[13:58] >> Remember leaving Midsommar and just
[13:59] feeling like like like gross for like
[14:01] days. And I feel like Obsession like
[14:03] walked it back a little bit, and it was
[14:04] a bit of a comedy, too. So, it was fine.
[14:05] I felt like the the memes are all over
[14:07] it, which is great.
[14:08] >> Yeah.
[14:08] >> Um Backrooms, we all kind of walked out.
[14:11] I love Backrooms. Production design
[14:13] should win an award, but something was
[14:14] missing from the movie, I think.
[14:15] >> Apparently, they built 30,000 square
[14:18] feet of actual set for Backrooms. They
[14:21] really designed it, as you said, the
[14:23] production design was fantastic. And
[14:25] that feels like I mean, the source
[14:26] material is literally in Blender. It
[14:29] would be so tempting just to be like,
[14:30] "Yeah, just send us the Blender files.
[14:32] Like, we'll just continue using Like,
[14:34] you're already working in CGI. Like,
[14:36] it's not like, 'Oh, this isn't true to
[14:38] the source material.' Like, it's
[14:39] actually less true to go build the set."
[14:42] But, they did, and clearly uh you
[14:44] enjoyed that look and feel and sort of
[14:47] worked out.
[14:47] >> it was really fun. Scott's got
[14:48] something.
[14:48] >> I want to shout out Haley Johnson, who
[14:50] produced Obsession, too. She went to our
[14:52] film school.
[14:55] >> Uh fantastic. Um let's go over to Ben
[14:57] Thompson.
[14:58] >> your guys's class at your film school,
[15:01] which I think no longer [laughter]
[15:02] exists, truly insane caliber of talent
[15:06] to come out of that school.
[15:07] >> Okay.
[15:08] >> So, uh Ben Thompson reflected on this,
[15:10] as well. He was uh taking this victory
[15:13] lap on calling this in 2017. He said,
[15:16] "In In 2017, when the first public
[15:18] allegations were made against Hollywood
[15:19] producer Harvey Weinstein, I wrote
[15:21] Goodbye gatekeepers about how the
[15:24] traditional structure of Hollywood where
[15:25] the supply of people who wanted to make
[15:27] and be in movies far exceeded the demand
[15:30] for movies to be made by Hollywood
[15:32] created the conditions for his
[15:34] predation. So, he had a lot of power as
[15:38] he noted in the article a similar
[15:39] structure used to be the case in
[15:40] newspapers which not only gated what
[15:42] news was reported but also leveraged
[15:44] that gate to monetize via advertising.
[15:46] However, the internet had long since
[15:48] broken down the gate in both regards.
[15:50] Meanwhile, I raised the spectre of
[15:52] something similar happening to movies.
[15:53] Don't forget YouTube. Video is a
[15:55] zero-sum activity. Time spent watching
[15:57] one source of video is time spent not
[16:00] watching another. And YouTube showed
[16:01] over a billion hours of video every day.
[16:04] >> with two phones.
[16:06] >> Watching two things.
[16:07] >> Reels on both phones.
[16:08] >> Yeah, Subway Surfers. Yeah.
[16:10] >> Just going like this.
[16:11] >> Well, if you have VR, you can have way
[16:12] more screens open because you can just
[16:14] >> You can't. What what when is Subway
[16:16] Surfers getting an adaptation? That
[16:18] feels like that's due for a trilogy.
[16:21] >> [laughter]
[16:21] >> Subway Surfers the movie? I think we got
[16:24] something. I I think I think has we
[16:26] cannot be the first people to think of
[16:28] Subway Surfers movie.
[16:28] >> Birds is like a you know
[16:30] >> Oh, yeah, they're making a third one or
[16:32] >> No, but I want it to be a movie where
[16:34] you're just like you're basically just
[16:36] going one direction.
[16:38] >> No, it has to be a gritty horror film
[16:40] that takes place in in the Subway
[16:42] Surfers universe. Um so, Ben Thompson
[16:45] continues he says, "It's not a surprise
[16:46] that the breakthrough moment for YouTube
[16:48] stars in film took nearly a decade to
[16:51] materialize after that article. I've
[16:53] long noted the sequence through which
[16:55] the internet and digital media has
[16:56] affected media. Text first, then music,
[16:58] then short-form video, etc. Movies, the
[17:00] pinnacle of traditional media, are the
[17:02] hardest to both make and distribute,
[17:04] particularly if the goal is to make it
[17:06] into theaters. And of course, movies ask
[17:08] the most of customers in return. They
[17:10] actually have to leave the house." Ben
[17:11] Thompson continues he says, "That leads
[17:13] to two true but ultimately unsatisfying
[17:16] answers as to why YouTube stars might
[17:18] succeed in movies. First is that this is
[17:21] simply a new place to discover talent,
[17:22] and that's certainly true. The analogy I
[17:24] would draw is to the impact of AWS had
[17:26] on venture capital.
[17:27] Cloud computing reduced the cost of
[17:29] starting a company to nothing more than
[17:30] the opportunity cost for the founder's
[17:31] time, and perhaps a bit of seed funding
[17:33] for a few engineers, and that created an
[17:35] entirely new asset class of angel
[17:37] investors. Venture firms meanwhile
[17:38] didn't evaluate companies based on a
[17:40] power point point to to fund Sun
[17:42] servers, but rather on actual products
[17:45] and market signals. So it is with this
[17:47] new wave of talent, the cost of
[17:49] production has plummeted such that a
[17:50] creator can be evaluated on their
[17:52] creations, not that not just their
[17:53] ideas. That's what I was talking about.
[17:55] The YouTube growth and the YouTube
[17:56] product and the YouTube series that gets
[17:59] 82 million views in the in the example
[18:01] of backrooms. Like that is the audition
[18:04] tape that gets you the production
[18:06] workforce behind Hollywood to to
[18:08] actually marshal behind you, and that's
[18:10] the same thing with, you know, the
[18:12] startup that shows up on Sand Hill Road
[18:14] raising a series A that already has a
[18:16] product and some distribution and some
[18:18] customers and ARR. And all of that is
[18:20] possible because you don't need $10
[18:22] million to do a single prototype. You
[18:25] can just build it.
[18:27] More true than ever in the age of AI.
[18:28] >> Ben, Scott, how do you films actually
[18:31] get funded?
[18:32] I've been I've been
[18:34] I've been pitched like invest in my
[18:37] movie before, but given that I don't
[18:39] watch movies, feel like it was really my
[18:41] strike zone. But how does it typically
[18:43] get structured? Like if a film needs a
[18:45] million dollar budget, are the investors
[18:47] getting like an independent film needs a
[18:49] million dollar budget? How does equity
[18:52] work? Any any rough ideas?
[18:55] >> Typically there's there's a series of
[18:57] buyers and investors. Very similar Very
[18:59] similar
[19:00] similar to
[19:02] So so so so often times a screenwriter
[19:06] will sell an option to to make a movie
[19:08] to a producer, uh sort of production
[19:11] team. They are the the the the
[19:12] production company is often times the
[19:15] investor. They buy it and then they
[19:17] might invest more money to bring on
[19:19] revisions, other script writers. Uh
[19:22] they might attach a
[19:23] they might go pitch a do the deal to to
[19:26] bring on a star. And then from there
[19:28] they go to another producer. And then
[19:30] the last the last time the last moment
[19:33] is is the actual like marketing phase.
[19:36] And so those dollars are the biggest. So
[19:37] when you go and you get Universal or
[19:40] Disney to be the distributor, they're
[19:42] putting in a ton of money because
[19:43] they're going to buy the billboards and
[19:44] like the Super Bowl ads and that's
[19:46] really expensive. The movie has to be
[19:47] made at that point. But there's a series
[19:49] of sort of gates in the typical
[19:51] Hollywood fashion. And so when
[19:54] Markiplier says he spent $3 million,
[19:55] that means he spent $3 million paying
[19:58] the actors
[19:59] >> Yeah, because even with Obsession,
[20:00] >> Yeah.
[20:01] >> I was seeing Obsession billboards
[20:04] everywhere around LA.
[20:05] >> Yeah.
[20:06] >> Like a at least a million dollar
[20:07] campaign
[20:08] >> Yep.
[20:08] >> right when the videos were coming out
[20:10] saying like Obsession just turned 750k
[20:13] and
[20:14] 100 million dollars. And so I was like,
[20:16] well,
[20:17] >> So a lot of times that might happen
[20:18] after the fact.
[20:18] >> Yeah, that's an after there's more money
[20:20] being spent to like, you know, it's
[20:22] like, "Hey, we have a hit now. Let's
[20:23] like
[20:24] >> And then and then basically at every
[20:25] phase there can be sort of an in-kind
[20:28] investment where you get they call it
[20:30] like points on the back end basically,
[20:32] but it it's basically like the the most
[20:35] famous example of this is probably
[20:36] Robert Downey Jr. in Iron Man. He he
[20:39] took a very low salary up front cash up
[20:42] front, but he got a huge stake in the
[20:45] downstream cash flows from that series.
[20:47] >> So you're saying he's goated?
[20:47] >> He's goated. There's also a a cool video
[20:51] here of the history of liminal spaces.
[20:53] We should pull up because Backrooms, of
[20:55] course, is pulling from a lot of
[20:58] interesting videos. Let's play this. Can
[20:59] we zoom in this at all?
[21:02] There we go.
[21:03] Truman Show? Haven't seen it. I've seen
[21:05] it. It's great.
[21:06] >> [laughter]
[21:08] >> I can't believe you've never seen Truman
[21:09] Show. It's so good.
[21:09] >> Should we get some liminal spaces here
[21:11] in the Ultra Dome?
[21:12] >> The The Ultra Dome is a little bit of a
[21:14] liminal space.
[21:15] We should make it more of a liminal
[21:17] space.
[21:18] Uh there are some There are some
[21:19] podcasters that have liminal space type
[21:21] setups. Uh Unbox Therapy [music] is a
[21:24] famous one.
[21:25] >> You guys haven't seen it, but do you
[21:26] know like the tape on the wall? Do you
[21:27] know what that is?
[21:27] >> No. What's that?
[21:28] >> Okay. I mean, I guess no spoilers, but
[21:30] >> Oh, okay.
[21:31] >> Yeah.
[21:31] We can put tape on the wall. People who
[21:33] have seen it will know what that means.
[21:35] >> Anyway.
[21:38] We can just vibe out
[21:40] >> [laughter]
[21:40] >> to the liminal spaces for the rest of
[21:42] the show.
[21:43] Let's see what Dan Chipper has to say.
[21:45] Uh this will happen to
[21:46] >> with AI in about a decade. Studio
[21:49] executives and producers are racing to
[21:50] find movie material in corners of the
[21:52] internet they once dismissed as some of
[21:54] the greatest threats to their business,
[21:55] from YouTube to anime to video games. We
[21:57] talked about Subway Surfers. Uh we're
[22:00] seeing the tide shift from these more
[22:02] conventional Hollywood narratives to
[22:04] something that feels more organic. Ooh.
[22:06] All the simulators. Maybe there will be
[22:08] data center simulator the movie.
[22:11] Can you imagine? We got data center
[22:13] simulator
[22:14] or uh what was the other one? Coconut
[22:16] simulator? You got to get coconut
[22:18] simulator in the movie. Realistic mode.
[22:21] >> Capybara simulator the movie.
[22:23] >> Uh that's just a nature documentary. Get
[22:25] Get Get David Attenborough in there.
[22:27] You're done. Uh well, Bernie Sanders is
[22:30] uh talking about taking a stake in the
[22:33] AI labs. He says AI is built on
[22:35] humanity's collective knowledge. The
[22:37] wealth it generates must benefit
[22:40] humanity, not just Elon Musk, Sam
[22:41] Altman, or other AI oligarchs. That's
[22:44] why I'll be introducing the American AI
[22:46] Sovereign Wealth Fund Act to give the
[22:49] public a direct ownership stake. And he
[22:52] penned a full op-ed in The New York
[22:55] Times. Senator Bernie Sanders is
[22:57] proposing a one-time 50% tax directly in
[23:00] stock from the AI labs, which will be
[23:02] used to fund the American AI sovereign
[23:04] wealth fund. This would give the
[23:06] government voting rights and board seats
[23:08] and then directly pay a dividend to the
[23:10] American citizens. That's interesting
[23:12] because So, you take it 50%. Like, when
[23:15] would these companies actually produce a
[23:16] dividend? I mean, it takes many tech
[23:18] companies like decades to actually
[23:21] return cash to shareholders. They're
[23:23] known for stock buybacks or something.
[23:26] Yeah. After the IPOs.
[23:29] He's just [laughter]
[23:30] He's just like, this is the top.
[23:31] >> you how there was going to be a
[23:32] dividend.
[23:33] >> A dividend in
[23:35] in sales.
[23:36] >> Um No, it's I mean, the the positioning
[23:39] I'm I'm trying to get into the New York
[23:40] into my New York Times account, too. But
[23:42] the positioning Blank is built on
[23:44] humanity's collective knowledge.
[23:46] >> Yeah.
[23:46] >> What is not built on humanity's
[23:48] collective knowledge?
[23:50] >> Yeah, I was looking at a lot of those.
[23:52] >> and is built on TBP and is built on
[23:54] humanity's collective knowledge.
[23:56] >> True.
[23:56] >> If If humanity hadn't figured out wheels
[23:59] and roads and combustion engines.
[24:02] >> Hey, be careful what you say. The
[24:04] The United States American citizens
[24:06] might own 50% of TBP and soon. You never
[24:08] know with this.
[24:09] >> You never know.
[24:10] >> It might
[24:10] >> You just [laughter] never know.
[24:13] But uh
[24:14] >> Bad example.
[24:15] >> But yeah, the the the other thing is um
[24:18] you know, we we have
[24:19] >> Yeah, AI 2027 talks about this. I think
[24:21] that's a it it it is it is right in
[24:24] line. He's clearly in the milieu of that
[24:26] crew and uh we'll see we'll see where
[24:29] all this goes. I don't know.
[24:31] We'll see. Um it's uh a lot of people
[24:34] are are sort of framing it as
[24:35] >> rather have universal basic tokens."
[24:37] >> Mm. Maybe that would be the dividend. I
[24:39] don't know.
[24:40] >> But it's interesting. So, he's trying to
[24:41] ban data centers with the data center
[24:43] moratorium
[24:44] >> Yes.
[24:45] >> act. But then he also wants half.
[24:48] >> Yeah.
[24:48] >> Those two things feel like like it feels
[24:50] like he's just kind of throwing stuff at
[24:52] the wall.
[24:52] >> Yeah. So, Dean Ball pointed out this
[24:54] sort of like
[24:56] you know, misalignment here. He says,
[24:58] "I am so confused by the Bernie Sanders
[25:00] stance on AI. Is AI an existential risk
[25:03] that needs to be banned or a public good
[25:05] that should be redistributed?" He wants
[25:07] to have it both ways, which is the tell
[25:09] that his flirtation with AI safety is
[25:11] mostly for show. This is about capital.
[25:14] Interesting. At the same time, I I think
[25:17] that there is a world where if you if
[25:19] you do think AI is an existential risk,
[25:22] having a board seat, having control,
[25:24] having votes over that does enable,
[25:27] especially if you have a board seat over
[25:28] every AI lab, you could actually do the
[25:32] thing where you say, "We're all going to
[25:33] slow down simultaneously." That's a lot
[25:36] easier to implement if you have 50%
[25:37] control over everything. Uh Tyler, what
[25:40] do you
[25:40] >> Yeah, but you can just do like the AI
[25:41] FDA,
[25:42] >> Yeah, yeah.
[25:42] >> You don't need like actual equity.
[25:44] >> Yeah.
[25:44] >> Okay, this is my kind of contrarian
[25:46] take. But this seems like extremely
[25:47] bullish, right? Because Bernie, you
[25:49] don't think of him as being this kind of
[25:50] classically capitalist person,
[25:52] >> Yeah.
[25:52] >> but he implicitly saying like these are
[25:54] going to be the cheapest
[25:56] >> He's saying that the stock's underrated.
[25:57] >> Yeah, he's saying that these are going
[25:58] to be the biggest
[25:59] >> Yeah, because because all the stocks are
[26:01] going to zero.
[26:01] >> so big that this is going to be like
[26:02] disruptive to the economy. Sure. Like
[26:04] this seems like he's extremely AGI'd
[26:06] pilled.
[26:07] >> It seems like it, yeah.
[26:07] >> Yeah, and it's like this seems like he's
[26:09] he's basically saying like
[26:10] >> Wait, so
[26:11] >> the the data center stuff is like
[26:12] probably not going to work out. I'm not
[26:13] going to be able to ban these things.
[26:14] >> Yeah.
[26:15] >> Uh Mark in the chat says, "Mr. Sanders
[26:17] [snorts] is your crazy uncle that your
[26:20] mom and dad uses a baby center
[26:22] babysitter when there are no other
[26:24] options."
[26:27] >> Interesting.
[26:27] >> You think that Bernie has been getting
[26:31] his AI takes from Jason Oppenheim?
[26:33] >> I I I'm not going there yet. We'll get
[26:35] there, but
[26:37] >> [laughter]
[26:37] >> uh
[26:38] first off, I mean, the big news today,
[26:40] Anthropic is confidentially filed for
[26:42] IPO. They should be out. SpaceX is going
[26:45] public. Google's public. OpenAI, there's
[26:47] rumors of
[26:48] an IPO filing.
[26:49] >> Well, yeah, and that's what that's what
[26:50] gets really crazy here, right? Because
[26:52] is is Google Google's a leading lab?
[26:55] >> For sure.
[26:55] >> Does Bernie Bernie want
[26:57] >> yeah, but then is is Salesforce an AI
[27:00] company?
[27:01] >> Is meta?
[27:02] >> Is meta? Yeah, meta is
[27:03] >> Mark Mark would be We were talking about
[27:05] this earlier. Mark would quickly be
[27:07] like, "Me? Try to build personal super
[27:10] >> I'm not I'm not an AI company.
[27:12] [laughter] You can you take half my
[27:13] company?"
[27:14] >> I'm not an AI lab.
[27:15] >> doing some experiments
[27:16] >> GPUs to to recommend better viewers.
[27:20] >> for creative is just recommendations.
[27:21] >> half of all birds.
[27:23] >> Oh, no.
[27:24] >> [laughter]
[27:24] >> Uh we talked about the dueling
[27:26] narrative. So, Anthropic is IPO'ing or
[27:29] or they have they have confidentially
[27:31] submitted a draft S-1 registration
[27:33] statement to the Securities and Exchange
[27:35] Commission pending completion of SEC
[27:37] review. This gives us the option to
[27:39] pursue an initial public offering. Uh
[27:41] there's a race between uh SpaceX,
[27:43] OpenAI, and Anthropic to get out hoover
[27:46] up those public market dollars. Um
[27:48] meanwhile
[27:49] it was so over for the all the SaaS
[27:52] companies, but uh the SaaS-pocalypse
[27:54] might be canceled. That's what we're
[27:56] seeing. A lot of companies are up. Some
[27:58] of them are up on Anthropic holdings,
[28:00] but others are just up on continued
[28:01] traction in their
[28:02] >> Mark's got to be feeling good. He
[28:04] invested 50 million into Anthropic I
[28:07] think in 2023 or 2024.
[28:09] >> Cheeky 100X?
[28:10] >> Very cheeky. Very cheeky. He's feeling
[28:13] good. He's now going to deploy 2 billion
[28:15] euros into France.
[28:16] >> Love it.
[28:17] >> Uh
[28:18] he has 1,800 employees in France.
[28:21] >> Wow.
[28:21] >> Uh more committed than ever to driving
[28:23] in event innovation and agentic growth
[28:26] across the country. And I love this new
[28:29] meta. I think this picture is this is
[28:31] the new This is the new vibe real meta.
[28:34] So, anytime you do a business
[28:36] transaction, snap a selfie with your
[28:39] business partner, post it. You don't
[28:40] need to make a video with a bunch of you
[28:42] know sort of uh videos throughout
[28:45] history of of you know hypersonic jets
[28:47] and rockets and things like that.
[28:49] Um just take a selfie, post it, you're
[28:51] good to go. Much more efficient.
[28:54] >> Okay, so
[28:55] >> And I'm dropping after this partnership,
[28:57] I just got to say I'm we're canceling my
[29:00] personal beef with uh France.
[29:02] >> Oh, that's right.
[29:03] >> This is a fantastic progress.
[29:06] >> Benioff won you over.
[29:07] >> And uh yeah, if if they have Benioff's
[29:10] full faith, they have my full faith. And
[29:13] uh already this 2 billion euros, I think
[29:15] is significantly more than their uh
[29:19] their their the previous investment that
[29:21] they announced that created the original
[29:23] beef.
[29:23] >> Yeah, yeah.
[29:24] >> So.
[29:24] >> Beef squashed, it's good to see. Good to
[29:26] see. Well, uh Benioff gave some more
[29:28] context on Salesforce's progress, the
[29:31] fiscal year 27 Q1 results, uh record
[29:35] revenue 11.13 billion up 13%
[29:38] year-over-year. This is a very mature
[29:40] company, still growing very quickly,
[29:42] very good news. Uh operating cash flow
[29:44] of 6.7 billion, Agent Force crossed 1
[29:47] billion uh ARR or yeah, ARR. Uh combined
[29:52] with Data 360 and Informatica now at 3.4
[29:55] billion in AI data ARR.
[29:58] >> We're not just talking about the here.
[30:00] >> We're not just talking about the Agentry
[30:02] future, we're delivering it. The number
[30:05] one Agentry CRM powering a shift to
[30:08] Agentry enterprises at scale. The
[30:10] momentum is real, the future is
[30:12] unstoppable. Fire emoji.
[30:15] >> Uh anyway, let's go through uh what
[30:17] Brendan Carruthers uh summarized from
[30:20] Jensen Huang's uh Computex 2026 keynote.
[30:23] Uh Nvidia CEO made several announcements
[30:25] during his keynote speech at Computex,
[30:27] Taiwan's annual technology expo. I guess
[30:30] it's their CES, but more
[30:32] enterprise-focused even. Uh he
[30:34] introduced the
[30:35] RTX the Nvidia RTX Spark Superchip, an
[30:39] ARM-based chip for PCs designed to
[30:41] process AI workloads locally. He
[30:44] announced that the enterprise Vera Rubin
[30:46] CPU is now in full production, and he
[30:49] announced several foundation models, a
[30:50] world model at open weight flagship AI
[30:52] model. Uh that seems like big news. Open
[30:55] weight flagship AI model. We heard that
[30:56] he was investing billions of dollars in
[30:58] that, but I I think everyone's
[31:00] very interested to see where it
[31:01] benchmarks against the 55s, the
[31:04] What What What is uh Anthropic 48 now?
[31:06] Um
[31:07] and uh and the 35s from Google. Like the
[31:10] closed source models have been on the
[31:12] frontier, and there's been the chart
[31:14] showing that the open source models from
[31:16] China have been sort of decelerating, or
[31:18] they're just uh they're they're growing
[31:20] more linearly than the uh than the
[31:23] American closed source models. So, is
[31:25] there a gap there? Where does Nvidia fit
[31:26] in with their open weight model? That'll
[31:28] That's an interesting question. Um and
[31:30] he also released a model specifically
[31:32] designed for humanoid robots. A lot of
[31:34] the attention from the keynote came is
[31:36] going to the RTX Spark, which is being
[31:38] viewed as a Microsoft's attempt to
[31:40] create its own Apple Silicon moment. And
[31:42] Microsoft coordinated its announcements
[31:44] of its new Surface Laptop Ultra, which
[31:46] will be optimized for RTX Spark and will
[31:48] be released this fall. Uh well, we can
[31:50] close with Well Manitis. He says, "I
[31:52] don't think any of you understand what
[31:53] is about to happen in the market. We are
[31:55] about to live through the craziest
[31:56] 5-year run in techno capital history.
[31:58] God help us all. I pray that when the
[32:00] judgment comes, he can see all that we
[32:02] did to ensure efficient price
[32:05] discovery."
[32:06] >> He's bullish.
[32:06] >> He's
[32:08] >> That's enough for me.
[32:08] >> extremely bullish recently. Which I
[32:11] don't know if that's bullish or
[32:12] >> Him being bullish, bearish.
[32:15] If he's bearish, he should be bullish.
[32:17] Be bullish when other people are
[32:18] bearish. Be fearful when other people
[32:20] are greedy. Who knows? Do your own
[32:22] research. Make your own decisions.
[32:25] Uh
[32:25] Adam Face also hired a sketch artist for
[32:29] a party. He said, "I'm so tired of how
[32:31] many experiences of my life have been
[32:32] now been taken over by phones and
[32:34] content. So, for my birthday party this
[32:36] year, I told my friends to leave their
[32:37] phones at home and had a sketch artist
[32:39] capture the night instead. Well, this is
[32:42] a very very cool, wildly different, and
[32:45] like all of these can be printed or
[32:46] framed. I mean, I guess they're they're
[32:48] physical pieces of art, but they could
[32:49] also be replicated for the party-goers.
[32:53] Very very cool analog. This is why vinyl
[32:56] records are at an all-time high. There
[32:58] is a demand for both the content barbell
[33:01] >> This is very cool.
[33:02] >> slop and the artisanal handcrafted
[33:05] sketch artist from Adam Fay. Very very
[33:07] cool. And we will see you
[33:09] >> an honor.
[33:09] >> tomorrow.
[33:10] >> Go flashback.
[33:12] >> [screaming]
