The mythical BlackBerry returns… in film. You will be able to discover the rise of this brand of smartphone, but also its fall caused by the iPhone and Android.
Mike Lazaridis and Jim Basillie aren’t as famous as Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg, but in 2002 they launched a smartphone that would revolutionize the way we communicate and end “ in the hands of all the leaders of the biggest companies in the world as Glenn Howerton (playing Jim Balsillie) says in the BlackBerry movie trailer.
Jim Balsillie is the savvy businessman who teams up with founders Mik Lazaridis (Jay Baruchel) and Doug Fregin (Matt Johnson, who is also the director) to launch the first BlackBerry phone. As you may have guessed, this film chronicles their rise (and hints at their downfall caused by the iPhone and Android).
The story is based on the book Losing Signal: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of BlackBerry (on Amazon) by Sean Silcoff and Jacquie McNish. This film promises to see how BlackBerry changed the way people communicated with the famous BlackBerry Messenger.
BlackBerry, a running gag
Although the BlackBerry of yesteryear no longer exists, there is still hope. BlackBerry’s history in the world of smartphones looks like a running gag.
It’s hard to count how many times the maker was pronounced dead before unexpectedly resurfacing. In February 2021, the Chinese giant TCL announced the end of its collaboration with BlackBerry, which foreshadowed a bleak future for the brand in the field of smartphones. However, OnwardMobility had raised hopes of a revival, before finally announcing that the project had been abandoned.
On May 12, 2023, the BlackBerry Movie will be released in theaters in the United States. For the moment, its distribution has not been formalized outside the United States.
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