GFF 2023: Matt Johnson on telling the rise and fall of BlackBerry

The Cineskinny

In hilarious fashion, BlackBerry chronicles the rise and sharp decline of the world’s first smartphone. We down with writer-director and star Matt Johnson while he was attending the UK premiere at Glasgow Film Festival to discuss the film.

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Jay Baruchel plays the naive inventor of the BlackBerry, Mike Lazaridis; Only Sunny in Philadelphia’s Glenn Howerton is fantastic at Jim Balsillie, the shark-like businessman who helps Mike sell BlackBerry to the world; and Johnson himself plays Doug Fregin, the vest-wearing tech bro who started the company with Lazaridis but would rather have a good time than be in business.

The film is a delight, and a world away from tragic moral tales like The Social Network or Jobs. Johnson's approach is less ostentatious, bringing these tech giants down to a human level and telling a story full of wit and pathos.

Glasgow Film Festival runs 1-12 March, get full details and tickets at glasgowfilm.org

TIMESTAMPS:

Glasgow, Limmy and deep-fried pizza (1:22)

Why make a film about the deeply uncool BlackBerry (3:38)

Casting Always Sunny's Glenn Howerton (7:47)

The film's 'fly-on-the-wall' style (10:30)

Borrowing from Robert Altman (14:12)

Making an honest story about capitalism (14:55)

Johnson's similarity to all three main characters (18:33)

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Music: Too Cool by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4534-too-cool) License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license