THE HEDONIST — Friday, 15 May 2026

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Articles #

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MAMET BRINGS THE ALGORITHMS TO THE RIVIERA #

David Mamet stood in the humid heat of the Palais des Festivals this week, but he wasn't just there to talk about dialogue. The legendary playwright has lent his name to a new AI-powered production system called New Hollywood, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival. Alan Pao, the independent producer who backed Andrew Garfield’s Under the Silver Lake, is the man behind the curtain. According to Deadline, the platform promises to automate the messy work of filmmaking by creating…

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ALTMAN SELLS CORPORATE SOULS FOR FOUR BILLION DOLLARS #

Sam Altman walked up the concrete steps of a federal courthouse in Oakland on Tuesday, looking every bit the man who owns the future. While he was there to testify in Elon Musk’s lawsuit over OpenAI’s for-profit conversion, the real news was happening in the boardroom. OpenAI has formally unveiled…

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ELI LILLY BUILDS A NINE BILLION DOLLAR OBESITY PALACE #

David Ricks, the CEO of Eli Lilly, is doubling down on the world’s obsession with the perfect waistline. The pharmaceutical giant announced an additional $4.5 billion investment in its Indiana manufacturing sites, bringing the total commitment to a staggering $9 billion. The money is being poured into the Lilly Lebanon…

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THE BIOLOGICAL VELVET ROPE BREAKS ON A LUXURY LINER #

Three passengers were evacuated from a luxury cruise ship off Cape Verde this week, and the smell of salt was replaced by the scent of bleach. A hantavirus outbreak has…

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WASHINGTON TRADES BORDER COPS FOR CRYSTAL CHANDELIERS #

Two hundred and forty thousand Department of Homeland Security employees woke up without a paycheck this week, but the Senate has found a way to keep the lights on in…

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In Brief #

FARAGE SMASHES LABOUR AS EPSTEIN SCANDAL STINGS

Nigel Farage’s Reform U.K. has seized the Havering council as Labour voters defect in droves over the Peter Mandelson-Epstein archive scandal. The British establishment is in a terminal crisis of legitimacy, proving that old ghosts have very long reach.

IRANIAN TERROR WAVE HITS LONDON AND BENELUX

Police have arrested 31 suspects linked to Ashab al-Yamin, a militant group conducting arson attacks on synagogues and ambulances. Intelligence agencies warn the group is a front for Tehran, bringing the shadow war to European soil.

SPENCER PRATT USES AI ADS IN MAYORAL RACE

Reality TV star Spencer Pratt has upended the Los Angeles mayoral race with a barrage of viral AI-generated attack ads. Pratt trails Karen Bass with 33 percent of the market, proving that in 2026, the loudest algorithm wins the vote.

AUSTRALIA PETITIONS FOR SYNTHETIC DNA BORDER SCREENING

Biosecurity experts in Australia are demanding mandatory border checks for synthetic DNA to prevent AI-designed pathogens from entering the country. The move follows warnings that agentic AI can now help rogue actors engineer high-efficiency biological threats.