Pirates of Silicon Valley (TV 1999)

History of Apple and Microsoft.

Director:

Martyn Burke

Writers:

Paul Freiberger (book), Michael Swaine (book),

Stars:

Noah Wyle, Joey Slotnick, J.G. Hertzler

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

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 DiMaggio	...	Steve Ballmer
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

Storyline

Biographical look at the men who founded Apple and Microsoft and a look at the early days of the companies. Noah Wyle and Joey Slotnick portray Apple founders Steve Job and Steve Wozniak. Anthony Michael Hall and John DiMaggio play Microsoft's Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer. The film attempts to compare the two firm's operations and differences in the founder's operations.

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Plot Keywords:

apple | microsoft | computer | bill gates | apple computer | 

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Taglines:

Good artists copy... Great artists steal.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 June 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Szilícium-völgy kalózai

Filming Locations:

5843 Balcom Ave, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Haft Entertainment, St. Nick Productions, Turner Network Television (TNT)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

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.

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Goofs

In an early scene, where Woz and Jobs were chatting about the future (in Captain Crunch's bedroom or dorm room), there is a Star Trek poster hanging on the wall. The Enterprise shown is the earliest version from the original TV show, but the poster ("All I need to know about life I learned from Star Trek") was produced in the 1990s. The words above "Star Trek" have been trimmed off.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Steve Jobs: I don't want you to think of this as just a film - some process of converting electrons and magnetic impulses into shapes and figures and sounds. No. Listen to me. We're here to make a dent in the universe. Otherwise, why even be here? We're creating a completely new consciousness, like an artist or poet. That's how you have to think of this. We're rewriting the history of human thought with what we're doing.
Ridley Scott: Right. Well, Steven, at the moment I'm a touch more worried about getting...

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Connections

Spoofs Saturday Night Fever (1977)

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Soundtracks

"No Time"
Performed by The Guess Who

User Reviews

the atmosphere is preserved

To see this film for me was like breathing that air again - the freedom, the innovation, the possibilities. Everything I love about America. Highly recommend. Spare the tiniest details for the historicians. It's a Movie!