Behind closed doors, influencers around the world in politics, technology and media gathered at an annual retreat hosted by Peter Thiel to network and examine hot-button issues. The Dialogue Community, an invitation-only community that presents itself as a forum for leaders to “discuss informal topics,” maintains a low public profile and has never shared a list of its members. For decades, little or nothing was revealed about the group.
That changed earlier this week when an independent Swiss researcher leaked information about the organization that was left open in the association’s website code. The material offers a glimpse into the inner workings and composition of the group of political and business titans whose decisions set the agenda of global events.
Researcher Maya Arson Cremo presented Hollywood Reporter Materials including membership guide and information about this year’s upcoming forum.
Some familiar Hollywood names linked to Dialog who appeared in the leaked material: Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men, Avengers: Infinity War); Joseph Gordon Levitt (The Dark Knight Rises, 500 Days of Summer); Sophia Bush (One Tree Hill); Scooter Braun (CEO, Hybe America); Isaac Lee (Chairman and CEO of Hybe America); Scott Belsky (Partner, A24); Bing Pasek (composer and producer, La la land, The Greatest Showman); Eva Price (CEO, Maximum Entertainment Productions); Teresa Hsiao (writer and producer, Family man, American father); Zach Shields (executive producer and writer, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Gladys); Nick Thompson (CEO, Atlantic); And Ezra Klein (New York Times).
This retreat puts them in the same room with powerful figures in government, technology and finance, whose work often intersects with entertainment and media. They include Elon Musk, Jared Kushner, Senator Ted Cruz, Treasury Secretary Scott Besent, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, Xbox chief Sarah Bond, OpenAI chief Greg Bruckman, global humanitarian chief Michael Sillitoe, Fortress Investment Group director Pete Briger, and TLG Communications founder Molly Levinson, among nearly 200 others.
Brolin’s spokesman says THR The actor “would like to know what he got himself into.” Others did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The leaked materials outline the full range of session topics at this year’s conference, scheduled to take place in August at a sprawling estate in Dublin, Ireland, with a heavy focus on geopolitics and technology. Many of them relate to controversial issues, such as “Returning Nuclear Weapons,” “Disinformation and Deepfakes,” “Battlefield Technologies,” “Democracy Under Surveillance,” “Taiwan and the AI Race,” and “Three Predictions in Iran.”
Others are more personal. Some examples: “Throwing a Party”, “Money (Does?) Buy Happiness”, “How’s Your Sex Life”, “It’s Fun to Be Responsible”, and “Research-Based Longevity Tricks” (Brian Johnson also appears in the leak).
Some of them sound ominous, including “Build-a-Cult” and “Navigating WWIII.”
The Participation Guide asks members to be brief, present a dissenting point of view, and avoid making reference to the case. “Everyone at Dialog is an overachiever,” the guide says, and stresses never arguing to win. “Share only those aspects of your resume that are most relevant to the conversation or to people who get to know you.”
Since its founding in 2006, Dialog has emerged as one of the most under-the-radar gatherings of CEOs and kingmakers. The organization is preparing for a major expansion, with plans to build a campus on the outskirts of the capital as a permanent hub for informal meetings, Axios reported last year, citing an anonymous source. The decision to build the venue within commuting distance of D.C. indicates that the group plans to increase outreach to lawmakers. The nature of its annual behind-closed-door retreats is intended to avoid public scrutiny and allow members to “speak frankly across ideological lines” and share “controversial and troubling ideas they would not be comfortable sharing elsewhere,” the source said in the Axios report.
Dialogue membership is not limited to conservatives. Several prominent Democrats or figures associated with left-leaning politics are linked to the group, including Senator Cory Booker, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, Colorado Governor Jared Polis, and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman. Attendees are asked about their political leanings, and the choices are “far left,” “left,” “right,” and “far right.”
Leaked materials show that Dialog is conducting membership screening. Applicants are assigned a score that reflects their influence in their field, qualifications, purpose for joining, and the active member who recommended them, among other things.
Hsiao, who did not respond to a request for comment, was given an A. Her reviewer noted that she is “an accomplished television writer and producer known for her work on notable series such as Family man, My father is Americanand Fresh off the boatAs well as its role in joint creativity Awkwafina is Nora from Queens“.
“Hsiao’s work contributes to increasing diversity in television and film, showcasing stories that may not have been told before,” says the compiled profile of Hsiao. “It emphasizes using comedy to uplift rather than degrade, ensuring that those who were previously the ‘butt of the joke’ are now able to tell their own stories.”
Apparently some Hollywood folk were recorded for the purpose of chatting with other movie and TV folk. Hsiao wrote that she was looking forward to connecting with “someone who works in my field,” according to her application.
Meanwhile, Brolin, another first-time interviewer, was given a C by Thiel’s organization. The leaked materials did not mention his interest in joining Dialog. “I grew up on a horse farm, climbed parts of Mount Everest, won Oscars, was nominated, wrote a book, socialized with past Poet Laureates, befriended the greatest artists of our time and smoked pot under a car at 3 a.m. in San Francisco,” wrote the actor, who was nominated by former Uber CEO Ryan Graves.
Another feature of the group appears to be an internal dating function that matches dialogue members with each other. It also provides book recommendations, detailing how civilizations hold together or fall apart and the impact of technology on humanity and the future.
