The Circle (2017)
- Many of the practical effects used in the climax were achieved without any CGI.
- The incredible score for The Circle was composed in just a few weeks after the original composer dropped out.
- The original script for The Circle was written over a decade before production finally began in 2017.
The Circle is a 2017 American techno-thriller directed by James Ponsoldt, based on Dave Eggers's 2013 novel. Emma Watson stars as Mae Holland, a young woman hired at The Circle, a powerful tech company (modeled on a combination of Google, Facebook, and Apple) whose charismatic CEO Eamon Bailey, played by Tom Hanks, champions radical transparency โ broadcasting every moment of employees' lives through tiny cameras and advocating for a world where privacy is eliminated in favor of total openness. When Mae becomes the company's public face by agreeing to live her entire life on camera, the consequences for her relationships, her family, and her freedom become increasingly severe.
The film's exploration of tech-enabled surveillance, data privacy, and the cult-like culture of Silicon Valley was prescient, though critics felt the adaptation oversimplified the novel's ideas. The Circle earned $40 million worldwide on a $18 million budget.
