Before iPhones and Androids ruled the world, there was the Blackberry. Armed with his unique keyboard and Internet access, the story of the company’s unprecedented rise and catastrophic fall is told in Blackberrywhich released its official trailer on Wednesday.
Jay Baruchel plays Mike Lazaridis, the founder of Blackberry. Along with Douglas Fregin, played by director Matt Johnson (Operation Avalanche), the duo is approached by Jim Balsillie (It’s always sunny in Philly Glenn Howerton), who would help turn Blackberry from an exciting idea into a multi-billion dollar company. The relationship between Lazaridis and Balsille turned rocky towards the end as the company faced competition from Apple and Google.
Blackberry is billed as an insane, outrageous, idiotic, and great “true story.” The ensemble cast includes Cary Elwes (Strange things) as Carl Yankowski, Saúl Rubinek (true romance) as John Woodman, Michael Ironside (abandonment) as Charles Purdy, Rich Sommer (Fair play) as Paul Stannos, Sung Won Cho (bird girl) as Ritchie Cheung, Michelle Giroux (delia is gone) as Dara Frankel.
Blackberry is directed by Johnson from a script he co-wrote with Matt Miller (nirvanna the band the show). The movie is based on Losing Signal: The Untold Story Behind BlackBerry’s Extraordinary Rise and Spectacular Fall Jacquie McNish and Sean Silcoff.
The film premiered at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival and recently screened at South by Southwest. Reviews have been positive, with Deadline calling it a “triumphant and tragic” story that is “entertaining, even poignant and moving.”
Blackberry opens in theaters on May 12.
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