Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999) (TV)

Director:

Martyn Burke

Writers (WGA):

Paul Freiberger (book) and
Michael Swaine (book) ...

Release Date:

20 June 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

Good artists create... Great artists steal.

Plot:

History of Apple and Microsoft.

Plot Keywords:

Apple | Apple Computer | College | Bill Gates | Computer

Awards:

Nominated for 5 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Noah Wyle	...	Steve Jobs
Joey Slotnick	...	Steve Wozniak
J.G. Hertzler	...	Ridley Scott
Anthony Michael Hall	...	Bill Gates
Wayne Pére	...	Captain Crunch
Sheila Shaw	...	Mrs. Wozniak
Gema Zamprogna	...	Arlene
John Di Maggio	...	Steve Ballmer (as John DiMaggio)
Josh Hopkins	...	Paul Allen
Gailard Sartain	...	Ed Roberts
Allan Kolman	...	Therapist
Richard Waltzer	...	Homebrew Tech
Harris Mann	...	Longhair #1
Clay Wilcox	...	Longhair #2
Marcus Giamatti	...	Dan Kottke

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Iceland:L | Singapore:NC-16 | Germany:6 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Royce Hall - 340 Royce Drive, UCLA, Westwood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Haft Entertainment

Trivia:

At the 1999 Macworld conference, shortly after the premiere of this TV movie, the audience was stunned to learn that the introductory comments were made not by Steve Jobs, but by Noah Wyle, reprising his role in this movie. The real Jobs emerged and traded jokes with Wyle.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Japan did not manufacture or use Microsoft-run computers when Windows was introduced, China manufactured the computers. Jobs states that his people came back from Japan with computers with the first copies of Windows.

Quotes:

Mike Markkula: Steve Wozniak's employee number one, you're number two.
Steve Jobs: Wait a minute. I'm employee number one. Woz?
Steve Wozniak: Doesn't matter to me.
Steve Jobs: I'm employee number one around here.
Mike Markkula: I'm not saying anything. I wasn't implying anything.
Steve Jobs: All right, then I'll be zero. Woz, you can be number one. I'll be zero. Okay?

Movie Connections:

References The Godfather (1972)

Soundtrack:

I Put A Spell On You

A college dropout and a visionary in his garage change the world.

This is one of the best made for TV films that I have seen in a while. It is very well made and offers both humor and insight into the internet and computer revolution. It is the story of two men who changed the world. I absolutely love how it contrasts the difference between Gates and Jobs. Jobs was a visionary who got caught up in his own philosophy. Gates, the brilliant and ruthless businessman who built an empire. Oh yeah and if you want to laugh yourself to death just watch the scene where Bill Gates (Anthony Michael Hall) tries to pick up women in the roller rink. This was a story that needed to be told and it was told really well. I don't know where you can find this film, but if you see it in your local video store and want to know how the computer world was set on end by a guy in his garage and a college dropout then rent this movie.