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Editors note: This review was originally published February 17, 2023 after the film’s world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival. It releases in theaters Friday.

Who knew a Canadian biopic of an infamous smartphone could be this entertaining, even poignant and moving? I am here to tell you today’s world premiere Berlin Film Festival competition entry BlackBerry is all that and more.

In the hands of co-writer (with Matthew Miller), director and co-star Matt Johnson (The Dirties), this long and winding tale of the rise and fall of the BlackBerry, the revolutionary device that first combined a computer with a phone all in one, is at once wonderfully funny, suspenseful and ultimately tragic. Here is a business story that has it all, and has much in common with other movies that focus on iconic tales of new-age businesses like The Social Network, Moneyball and The Big Short. Those movies had...

BlackBerry Trailer — Matt Johnson‘s BlackBerry (2023) movie trailer has been released by IFC Films. The BlackBerry trailer stars Jay Baruchel, Glenn Howerton, Matt Johnson, Michael Ironside, Saul Rubinek, Cary Elwes, Rich Sommer, SungWon Cho, and Michelle Giroux. Crew Matt Johnson and Matthew Miller wrote the screenplay for BlackBerry. Poster BlackBerry Movie Poster Plot Synopsis BlackBerry‘s plot synopsis: “Two mismatched [...]

Continue reading: Blackberry (2023) Movie Trailer: The Rise & Fall of the Legendary Business Phone in Matt Johnson’s Film...

IFC Films has debuted the official trailer for the biographical drama ‘BlackBerry.’

The film tells the true story of the meteoric rise in the early 2000s followed by the catastrophic demise of the world’s first smartphone and is dubbed “a whirlwind ride through a ruthlessly competitive Silicon Valley at breakneck speeds”.

The story covers the business relationship between co-founders Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie as their Canadian company Research in Motion released the once-ubiquitous device. It subsequently floundered in legal disputes and lost its market advantage to competitors such as Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy range.

Matt Johnson directs the film which stars Jay Baruchel, Glenn Howerton, Saul Rubinek, Cary Elwes, Michael Ironside, Rich Sommer, SungWon Cho and Michelle Giroux.

Also in trailers – “Meet the resistence…” Trailer drops for Damon Lindelof’s Mrs. Davis

The movie is set to have for a U.S. release on May 12th.

The so-called “crackberry” is back.

IFC Films has released the first official trailer for the upcoming comedy-drama film, “BlackBerry,” which provides a peek into exactly how the handheld device revolutionized the cell phone industry.

Director Matt Johnson, along with co-screenwriter Matthew Miller, adapted Jacquie McNish and Sean Silcoff’s book “Losing the Signal: The Untold Story Behind the Extraordinary Rise and Spectacular Fall of BlackBerry” for the big screen.

Johnson plays BlackBerry co-founder Douglas Fregin in the film, alongside Glenn Howerton as chair and co-ceo Jim Balsillie, Jay Baruchel as co-founder Mike Lazaridis and Cary Elwes as Palm CEO Carl Yankowski. The cast also includes Saul Rubinek, Michael Ironside, Rich Sommer, Michelle Giroux, Mark Critch and SungWon Cho.

The trailer gives a first look at Johnson and Baruchel as Doug and Mike, who discover an untapped wireless signal in North America which leads them to developing the first-ever mobile device...

Once upon a time, in ye olde 1996, people didn't really take their phones everywhere with them. In fact, if you had a cellular phone, it was a massive brick without a screen, more like a glorified walkie-talkie than a real phone. There was a cellular network in place, but technology for the phones just wasn't totally there yet. Then along came Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, who developed the first smartphone, the BlackBerry, and forever changed how we communicate. The story behind the BlackBerry is just as interesting and full of colorful characters as "The Social Network" and that film's take on Facebook and creator Mark Zuckerberg, and now audiences will finally get a chance to know that tale. 

"BlackBerry," starring Jay Baruchel as the tech-oriented and more sheepish Lazaridis and Glenn Howerton as cutthroat businessman Balsillie, will tell the story with comedic flair, based on Jacquie McNish and Sean Silcoff...

"You want to be great, you need to sacrifice. The more painful the sacrifice, the greater you'll be." IFC has revealed the trailer for the Canadian film BlackBerry, telling the remarkable success and downfall story of the Canadian company Research in Motion (known as Rim) - creators of the BlackBerry handheld device. This recently premiered at the 2023 Berlin Film Festival, where it received mostly positive reviews. IFC set it to open in theaters starting May in the US. BlackBerry tells the story of Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, the two men that charted the course of the spectacular rise and catastrophic demise of the world’s first smartphone. BlackBerry is "a whirlwind ride through a ruthlessly competitive Silicon Valley at breakneck speeds." Starring Jay Baruchel as Mike Lazaridis, Glenn Howerton as Jim Balsillie, Matt Johnson as Doug Fregin, plus Michael Ironside, Saul Rubinek, Cary Elwes, Rich Sommer, SungWon Cho, and Michelle Giroux.

"BlackBerry" is a new feature, directed by Matt Johnson, based on the book ”Losing the Signal: The Untold Story Behind the Extraordinary Rise and Spectacular Fall of BlackBerry” by Jacquie McNish, starring Glenn Howerton, Jay Baruchel, Matt Johnson, Rich Sommer, Michael Ironside, Martin Donovan, Michelle Giroux, SungWon Cho, Mark Critch, Saul Rubinek and Cary Elwes, opening April 28, 2023:

“…in 2009, ‘BlackBerry’ controlled half of the smartphone market. Today that number is less than one percent. What went so wrong? Losing the Signal is a riveting story of a company that toppled global giants before succumbing to the ruthlessly competitive forces of Silicon Valley…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

Rachel Bilson, Jack Davenport, and Reid Miller star in season one episode three of Fox’s new anthology series, Accused. Episode three, “Danny’s Story,” will air on Tuesday, January 31, 2023 at 9pm Et/Pt.

Episode three also stars August Maturo, Andi Hubick, Michelle Giroux, Camille James, and Neil Whitely. Jon Mostow (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) directed from a script by Howard Gordon and Daniel Pearle.

“Danny’s Story” Plot: After the death of his ailing mother, a teenager suspects foul play when he discovers his mother’s former hospice caretaker is now dating his father.

Season 1 Episode 1 “Scott’s Story” Preview Season 1 Episode 2 “Ava’s Story” Preview Reid Miller and Jack Davenport in the “Danny’s Story” episode of ‘Accused’ (Photo by Keri Anderson © 2022 Fox Media LLC)

The Plot:

Accused is a collection of 15 intense, topical, and exquisitely human stories of crime and punishment. Each episode is a...

Michelle Giroux, in a star making performance, stars as Nicole, a woman trapped in the mediocrity of her life. Her marriage has lost its excitement, she works at a pharmacy where her boss watches her every move and she spends her free time making sandwiches and driving her teenaged kids around town. Her life takes a turn for the exciting when she receives a mysterious envelope. It's addressed to her with no return address and no postmark. Inside is a letter introducing the anonymous writer, simply referred to as "a friend," making it quite clear that whoever wrote the letter has intimate knowledge of Nicole's life. At first she's confused but curiosity eventually gets the better of her and Nicole places the green card that was enclosed with the letter, in her window, an indication that she's open to continued correspondence. [Continued ...]...

Whistler Film Festival Offers Sneak Peek of 2012 Film and Summit Programming Early Bird Industry Registration, Festival Passes and Accommodation Now Available. The countdown has begun! The 12th annual Whistler Film Festival returns November 28 to December 2, 2012 and the Festival is proud to offer a sneak peek of the first wave of confirmed films as well highlights from its industry program designed to foster innovation, connections and deals. Set in North America’s premiere mountain resort, the Whistler Film Festival combines an esteemed international film competition with a concentrated screen-based industry Summit organized to address the ever-evolving landscape crossing borders and platforms in the digital age. The Festival hosts filmmaking luminaries for an intimate five-day program of screenings, tributes, industry initiatives and special events. Up to 90 innovative and original films from Canada and around the world will be presented. Recognized by filmmakers and film lovers alike as one of Canada’s most important showcases for film, the Festival is a place where artists are celebrated, audiences are inspired, new ideas are discussed, and business opportunities are solidified.

"This year's Whistler Film Festival program will prove to be an exciting and eclectic mix of traditional quality festival fare, sprinkled with a large sampling of the unusual, the unexpected and the just plain entertaining," comments Paul Gratton, Wff’s Director of Programming. "From the sublime to the outrageous, the films at Wff this year will offer something for everyone, with more than a few surprises along the way. The Summit will complement our film programming by addressing key challenges and opportunities facing the industry this year." The Whistler Film Festival is pleased to announce the first round of confirmed titles. Leading off the charge in this year's Borsos Competition for Best Canadian Feature are two world premieres, named in honor of legendary Canadian filmmaker Phillip Borsos. The Mad Ship, a first feature from Winnipeg based filmmaker David Morton, presents some of the most breathtaking shots of the prairies ever committed to film, and tells the true story of a Scandinavian immigrant caught in the Depression-era dustbowl where drought destroyed the farming hopes of a generation of would-be Prairie settlers. Having lost everything, he embarks on the Sisyphean task of building a boat in the middle of nowhere, far from any body of water. The Mad Ship features performances by Gil Bellows, Martha Burns and Aidan Devine, with Nikolaj Lie Kass in the lead. Sean Garrity's pulse-pounding thriller Blood Pressure about an unhappy wife who starts receiving anonymous notes enticing her to perform certain inexplicable acts of voyeurism directed towards a mysterious young man. Michelle Giroux, Tatiana Maslany and Jonas Chernick are featured. Another Borsos contender returns Garrity and Chernick with My Awkward Sexual Adventure, undoubtedly the funniest Canadian sex comedy ever made. A nerd is dumped by his true love for being a lousy lover. When he attempts to drown his sorrows, a Toronto stripper played by Emily Hampshire takes pity on him and teaches him the ropes, so to speak. Also featured in the Borsos Competition is Michael McGowan's moving new film, Still, featuring unforgettable performances by James Cromwell and Genevieve Bujold, who play an aging couple that lead the fight against diminished faculties by attempting to build their own dream house, despite objections from family members and the Maritime municipality in which they live. A film that will have everyone talking is the English Canadian premiere of Martin Laroch’s faux documentary Fair Sex (Les Manèges Humains), featuring a courageous, unforgettable performance by Marie-Evelyne Lessard, who plays an African-Québecoise making a documentary on her summer job with itinerant country fair workers. What starts out as a light-hearted treatise on how to lock up a ferris wheel at night, soon transforms itself into something far more substantial, as a shocking reveal at the halfway mark leads to the most human, extended sex scene between a young woman with a very particular request and an older man in his 40s who reluctantly agrees to her proposal. This is one movie that will not leave you indifferent.

Other titles confirmed for Whistler include Mountain Culture entry The Mountain Runners, an engrossing docudrama about the first mountain footrace held in Bellingham, Washington in 1911 directed by Todd Warger and Brian Young. Two other American indie films, both featuring the charismatic Julia Stiles as part of talented ensemble casts who is confirmed to attend this year’s fest, will have their BC premieres at Whistler. It's a Disaster is a dark comedy about four couples who get together for Sunday brunch regularly, only on this particular occasion, a 'dirty' bomb has gone off in downtown San Francisco, forcing them to seal up their windows, and try to carry on as usual, with David Cross and America Ferrara. Also starring Ms. Stiles is Dan Mirvisch's first feature Between Us (David Harbour, Taye Diggs and Melissa George) about two couples who get together after years of estrangement to patch up old differences, only to find that some broken things can't be mended. Taking place during the 2012 Whistler Film Festival, the Whistler Summit features three concentrated days of business programmes and networking where industry can delve into the ever-evolving convergence of the art, technology and commerce of cinema. Wondering about digital platforms and distribution, how to break into the China market, the latest trends in Visual FX, or the business of made for TV movies? Offering in-depth conversations, lively debates, and critical insight into a broad range of issues vital to the international and domestic film communities that address crossing borders and platforms in the digital age, Whistler is the place to be, to connect and to deal. New for 2012 is the China Canada Gateway for Film® Script Competition, a dynamic pitching competition designed to stimulate international financing for Canadian feature film projects by introducing experienced Canadian writer/producer teams to Chinese studios with up to $15 million on the table for three selected projects. “This year’s festival marks our 12th edition and we have some major developments which will reinforce Whistler’s reputation as being an important place to experience fresh films and connect with industry leaders,” says Whistler Film Festival Society Executive Director Shauna Hardy Mishaw. “Prepare to be inspired; our lineup this year promises to exceed expectations.” The Festival’s online box office is now open for early bird industry registration, festival passes and ticket packages until October 31st. Best accommodation rates are also available starting from $79* per night until November 8th. The Festival lineup and film schedule will be available online on November 1st. Individual film and special event tickets go on sale on online November 1st (until December 2nd). The Festival Box Office opens November 1st for phone sales and on November 22nd for walk-in sales. For information, go to www.whistlerfilmfestival.com The Whistler Film Festival is supported by Telefilm Canada, the Province of British Columbia, the Resort Municipality of Whistler and Tourism Whistler, and is sponsored by Bell Media, Variety, the Directors Guild of Canada - British Columbia, American Airlines, Sorel, Kokanee and the Westin Resort & Spa Whistler. About the Whistler Film Festival Society The Whistler Film Festival Society (Wffs) is a charitable cultural organization dedicated to furthering the art of film by providing programs that focus on the discovery, development and promotion of new talent culminating with a must attend festival for artists, the industry and audiences in Whistler. Wffs produces one of Canada's leading film festivals and plays a leadership role in offering project development programs and opportunities for filmmakers. About Whistler Located in the spectacular Coast Mountains of British Columbia, and just two hours north of Vancouver, Whistler is Canada’s premier, year-round destination. Consistently ranked the number one mountain resort in North America, Whistler features two majestic mountains, epic skiing and snowboarding conditions, four championship golf courses, more than 200 shops, 90 restaurants and bars, accommodations galore, hiking trails, spas and arguably the best mountain bike park in the world. In short, Whistler has everything you will ever need to have the time of your life - and so much more.