BlackBerry has underperformed the smartphone market for years, but the device that once dominated the ... BlackBerry is back in public - Jay Baruchel, A comedy biopic starring Glenn Howerton and directed by Matt Johnson.



Now that the latest iPhone is in people's hands, Google's annual Android flagship isn't far off. It's time to release a movie about a once-iconic device.


BlackBerry didn't appear on store shelves with them for years, effectively killing off the remaining devices last January when the company behind them stopped supporting them.


It's an undignified end to a world-changing gadget that's become ubiquitous in boardrooms and offices (including some oval-shaped ones) and a true fashion statement.


Not far from BlackBerry's Ontario HQ, Matt Johnson, the director, put it in the spotlight in 2023.


However, in a remarkable contrast, there is no history of the world's first smartphone.


"The timeline of the product is one of the main things I'm interested in," the 37-year-old said.


"A film about the late 90s/early 2000s transition from a more analogue world to a digital world.

"It's a great opportunity to explore the cultural landscape that I grew up in."


The 'hacker style' nerds who changed the world

BlackBerry (the movie, not the product) was founded in 1996 by the technology company Research In Motion.

At that time, Its ragtag engineers had no idea what they were doing with perhaps their country's most famous export since maple syrup.

Mike Lazaridis (Jay Baruchel) and friend Douglas Fregin (Johnson) have doubts about their "PocketLink" idea for an email-enabled phone, but lack the business sense to turn the concept into reality.

BlackBerry's president Mike Lazaridis and (below) in the film, played by Jay Baruchel

Pic: National Amusements/Piece Of Magic Entertainment

Johnson says they were interested in solving practical problems, but had "no vision of a cultural revolution".

Enter the ruthless and opportunistic Jim Balsillie (Glenn Howerton), who sees enough potential in the pitch to brute force his way into becoming co-CEO and set up a pitch with the US telecoms giant that would become Verizon.

BlackBerry's co-CEO Jim Balsillie and (below) Glenn Howerton

BlackBerry's co-CEO Jim Balsillie and (below) Glenn Howerton

The film, based on the book Losing The Signal, takes some liberties with the BlackBerry story - and the real players involved have said some portrayals are closer to satire.


Balsillie's depicted as a hilariously foul-mouthed demon of the boardroom, while Lazaridis and Fregin lead a team of "almost hacker-style" nerds who love video games and office movie nights.


What the film undoubtedly nails is the BlackBerry brand's ascendancy to stardom.

The film presents the RIM team as a ragtag crew, including Lazaridis (left) and Fregin (in headband). Pic: National Amusements/Piece Of Magic Entertainment

Cracking the market


The first device in 1999 had email and two-way paging, with a keyboard and modest monochrome display.


By 2002, calls, texts, and internet browsing were features of an increasingly popular product with business types.


But the game-changing launch of BlackBerry Messenger in 2005 took it truly mainstream, bringing WhatsApp-style encrypted messaging we now all take for granted.


The world's addiction to typing on the go saw "CrackBerry" named Webster's Dictionary's word of 2006.


It was the phone of choice for millions of people, endorsed by celebrities and even the US president.


At its peak, BlackBerry controlled almost half of the global smartphone market.






Anyone who's anyone wanted a BlackBerry

Apple makes its move


But 2007 heralded the iPhone - and the world would be about to change all over again.


Steve Jobs ruthlessly mocked the BlackBerry's reliance on a keyboard during the grand unveiling, as observers swooned over the large multitouch display in his hand.


For many analysts, it marked the beginning of the end for BlackBerry.


Steve Jobs unveils the iPhone. Pic: AP

For Johnson, it wasn't necessarily the iPhone itself that killed the BlackBerry - but its creators' response to it.


It saw the company hastily assemble a Frankenstein-like competitor which tried to combine a touchscreen with the satisfying clicks of a physical keyboard.


"It's a keyboard... on a screen... on a keyboard," is how Baruchel's Lazaridis pitches it to his engineers, tragically unconvincingly.


The resulting BlackBerry Storm, released in 2008, was a disaster.


Issues with the new touchscreen, which had one enormous button underneath, saw Verizon have to replace all one million devices it sold and claim $500m in losses.

The BlackBerry Storm was a direct attempt to cash in on the excitement around the iPhone

'How do you do, fellow kids?'


It put the Canadian company on the back foot, and left its executives grappling with an identity crisis as Apple's trendsetter went from strength to strength.


BlackBerry still had its loyal users, with one Barack Obama among those happily using them for years after.


The company even welcomed Queen Elizabeth II for a visit to its headquarters in 2010.


But by then it was clear the company's direction had become muddled, and the masses and phone carriers were batting their eyelids in the iPhone's direction.


BlackBerry had gone from status symbol to "how do you do, fellow kids?" in the blink of an eye


'How does one text Philip?'

Blind revolutionaries


Johnson sees BlackBerry's demise as a cautionary tale; But it is also a sad thing.


"They set the stage for a revolution, but they didn't know it was going to happen," he said.


"The iPhone is not a better product," Johnson said.


“Compared to Reality In Motion, it's more about the vision of a company like Apple.


"People say they're part of the 'Apple ecosystem,'" he said. Brands mean more than products.


“BlackBerry is not interested in that.


"Eventually, these original engineers became so detached from what they built that they didn't even believe in what they built."

The moment the iPhone is announced as portrayed in the film. Pic: National Amusements/Piece Of Magic Entertainment

BlackBerry has had a shortage of iPhone-style touchscreen devices, but has found itself swimming against an even stronger tide thanks to the popularity of Android.


In 2016, the company moved away from making phones and into the software security business, licensing the BlackBerry name to other manufacturers.


The latest heatwave is the 2018 BlackBerry KEY2 LE from China's TCL. At the base of the touchscreen is an awkwardly assembled jack of all trades that accidentally snags the keyboard.


Lazaridis' original "texts, phone calls, emails" vision for the phone, and what Johnson envisioned, would be a significant rebound.

It was the future once...

Nostalgia-driven "dumb phones" from Nokia have made a resurgence as consumers seek a detox from social media, with newcomers like the Light Phone boasting the ability to do nothing but text and make calls.


"I think if BlackBerry goes back to that philosophy, they can be successful," he said.


One thing is for sure, no company can afford to rest on its laurels in the constant crisis of Silicon Valley.


The modern smartphone may be vulnerable to innovation, but as both the BlackBerry and the iPhone have proven, the future can emerge with time.


BlackBerry will be released in UK and Irish cinemas on October 6.