''TED 2023'', also known as ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra'', ''The Peter Weyland Files: TED Conference, 2023'' and ''Peter Weyland's 2023 TED Talk'', is a

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

based on the

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

media franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program, o ...

'' Alien''. Released in parts from February 28 and June 11 to October 9, 2012, as promotion for the franchise's fifth film, ''

Prometheus In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning "forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titans, Titan. He is best known for defying the Olympian gods by taking theft of fire, fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technol ...

'', the film was directed by Luke Scott and written by

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is an English film director and producer. He directs films in the Science fiction film, science fiction, Crime film, crime, and historical drama, historical epic genres, with an atmospheric and highly co ...

and

Damon Lindelof Damon Laurence Lindelof (born April 24, 1973) is an American screenwriter, comic book writer, and producer. Among his accolades, he received three Primetime Emmy Awards, from twelve nominations. In 2010, ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine named ...

, through RSA Films and

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

. Starring

Guy Pearce Guy Edward Pearce (born 5 October 1967) is an Australian actor. List of awards and nominations received by Guy Pearce, His accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award, and nominations for an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a British Academy Film Aw ...

Peter Weyland ''Alien (franchise), Alien'', a science fiction film, science-fiction action film, action Horror film, horror media franchise, franchise, tells the story of humanity's ongoing encounters with Alien (creature in Alien franchise), Aliens (xenomorph ...

, the film follows the CEO as he delivers a speech about his vision for the future at the 2023

TED Conference TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "Ideas Change Everything" (previously "Ideas Worth Sprea ...

. The film depicts the character's narration of the

tale from

classical mythology Classical mythology, also known as Greco-Roman mythology or Greek and Roman mythology, is the collective body and study of myths from the ancient Greeks and ancient Romans. Mythology, along with philosophy and political thought, is one of the m ...

and the intended

apotheosis Apotheosis (, ), also called divinization or deification (), is the glorification of a subject to divine levels and, commonly, the treatment of a human being, any other living thing, or an abstract idea in the likeness of a deity. The origina ...

of humanity. It streamed on YouTube on October 7, 2012. The first short film in the ''Alien'' franchise, it received a generally positive critical reception on its initial release, and further positive appraisal in 2023 for perceived comparisons between Pearce's portrayal of Weyland and the controversies of

Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a businessman. He is known for his leadership of Tesla, SpaceX, X (formerly Twitter), and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has been considered the wealthiest person in th ...

Plot

In 2023, almost a century before the events of '' Alien'' (1979), and almost seventy years before the events of ''

'' (2012), famous entrepreneur/inventor and the founder of the latest form of the Weyland Corporation, Sir Peter Weyland, gives an influential talk at the annual 2023 TED conference in

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

after having a glass of

whiskey Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...

. After quoting ''

Lawrence of Arabia Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British Army officer, archaeologist, diplomat and writer known for his role during the Arab Revolt and Sinai and Palestine campaign against the Ottoman Empire in the First W ...

'', Weyland lists humankind's major technological breakthroughs before a captivated audience, he lays out the company's ambitious plans for the future, stressing the tale of

and

of man in his talk.

Production

As a part of the

viral marketing Viral marketing is a business strategy that uses existing social networks to promote a product mainly on various social media platforms. Its name refers to how consumers spread information about a product with other people, much in the same way th ...

for the 2012

film ''

'', several short films revolving around the film's characters in the years preceding the events of the film were released, the first of which, ''TED 2023'', would star

, following him delivering a speech about his vision for the future at a futuristic vision of a TED conference, an annual technology and design event held in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, in 2023. The segment was conceived and designed by

and

, and directed by Scott's son, Luke. The production was made in collaboration with, and made available through TED because Lindelof wanted to introduce new audiences to the conference itself, having felt "it would be really cool to have one of the characters from the movie give a TED Talk". Lindelof said that the scene takes place in a futuristic stadium because "a guy like Peter Weyland—whose ego is just massive, and the ideas that he's advancing are nothing short of hubris—that he'd basically say to TED, 'If you want me to give a talk, I'm giving it in

. TED community director Tom Rielly helped the film's producers gain approval for the use of the TED brand, which had not previously been used for promotional purposes. Rielly was involved in designing the 2023 conference, and said that the association generated millions of unique visits to the TED website. The video's release was accompanied by a fictional TED blog about the 2023 conference and a tie-in website for the fictional Weyland Corporation.

Release

''TED 2023'' was first released on February 28, 2012 as ''Peter Weyland's 2023 TED Talk'' (titled onscreen as ''TED 2023''), running three minutes long. A three-minute preceding opening, ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra'', was made available via a hidden

Easter egg Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are commonly used during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The ...

link to the website "Whatis101112.com" during the

closing credits Closing credits, aka end credits or end titles, are a list of the cast and crew of a particular motion picture, television show, or video game. While opening credits appear at the beginning of a work, closing credits appear close to or at th ...

of ''

'', released on June 11, 2012. while an extended seven-minute version of the film (melding both segments together), ''The Peter Weyland Files: TED Conference, 2023'' (again titled onscreen as ''TED 2023''), was released with the

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

disc and DVD release of ''

'' on October 9, 2012.

Online game

On March 6, 2012, the Weyland website was updated to allow visitors to "invest" in TED 2023 as part of an

online game An online game is a video game that is either partially or primarily played through the Internet or any other computer network available. Online games are ubiquitous on modern gaming platforms, including PCs, consoles and mobile devices, a ...

, which would reveal new media in promotion of ''

''.

Reception

Matt Goldberg of ''

Collider A collider is a type of particle accelerator that brings two opposing particle beams together such that the particles collide. Compared to other particle accelerators in which the moving particles collide with a stationary matter target, collid ...

'' complimented ''TED 2023'' as "a clever and captivating piece of

hich Ij () is a village in Golabar Rural District of the Central District in Ijrud County, Zanjan province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq ...

makes me want a spin-off featuring just eterWeyland", while lauding

's "hypnotic erformanceas the ambitious, eloquent, and somewhat terrifying CEO", while Jordan Raup of ''The Film Stage'' praised the film as "a breath of fresh air" compared to "so many

ther Ther may refer to: * ''Thér.'', taxonomic author abbreviation of Irénée Thériot (1859–1947), French bryologist * Agroha Mound, archaeological site in Agroha, Hisar district, India * Therapy A therapy or medical treatment is the attempte ...

viral campaigns seemingly going through the motions". In a 2023 retrospective, Toussaint Egan of ''

Polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain. The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its '' edges'' or ''sides''. The points where two edges meet are the polygon ...

'' called ''TED 2023'' as "weird premonition in itself", noting it as "just one example of how the inexorable march of time has eclipsed the wildest prognostications of speculative fiction

ith The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometers, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is i ...

the most interesting thing about the video eingnot its thematic or narrative relationship to ''

'', but how it stands as an inadvertent time capsule of a moment in our collective culture when tech CEOs were, as a whole, held in a much higher regard", in particular in comparison to

, "

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...

's wealthiest pariah", who is noted like Pearce's portrayal of Peter Weyland as "a man who wants to do whatever he wants, and obe adored for being the guy who can do whatever he wants", before concluding to call the film "a fascinating touchstone of sci-fi popular culture and Hollywood ephemera

hat is A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mechan ...

more than worth revisiting, if not to put into stark relief the ways in which our collective culture's depiction of

tech Tech or The Tech may refer to: * An abbreviation of technology or technician A technician is a worker in a field of technology who is proficient in the relevant skill and technique, with a relatively practical understanding of the theoretical ...

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

s has or has not evolved, then just to see Guy Pearce hamming it up as Weyland in all his vainglorious glory".

References

External links

*
''Peter Weyland's 2023 TED Talk'' (3 minutes)
at

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

''The Peter Weyland Files: TED Conference, 2023'' (7 minutes)
at

{{Alien 2012 films 2012 short films 2012 science fiction films 20th Century Studios short films Alien (franchise) mass media American short films American science fiction short films Elon Musk Films set in 2023 Films set in London TED (conference) Wembley Stadium Films set in the 2020s Films about businesspeople Greek and Roman deities in fiction Prometheus