Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999)

History of Apple and Microsoft.

Director:

Martyn Burke

Writers:

Paul Freiberger (book), Michael Swaine (book)

Stars:

Anthony Michael Hall, Noah Wyle, Joey Slotnick

Nominated for 5 Primetime Emmys. Another 2 wins & 4 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

This is a semi-humorous biographical film about the men who made the world of technology what it is today, their struggles during college, the founding of their companies, and the ingenious actions they took to build up the global corporate empires of Apple Computer Corporation and Microsoft Inc.

---

Plot Keywords:

microsoft | apple computer | bill gates | business rivalry | software company | 

---

Taglines:

Good artists copy... Great artists steal.

---

Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 June 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pirates of Silicon Valley

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Haft Entertainment, St. Nick Productions, 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 introductory comments were made not by Steve Jobs, but by Noah Wyle, reprising his role in this movie. The real Jobs emerged shortly after and traded jokes with Wyle.

---

Goofs

In 1980, Ballmer, Allen and Gates are using an IBM PC XT and an AT. However, neither was available at that time. The PC was announced in 1981, the XT in 1983 and the AT in 1984.

---

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...

---

Crazy Credits

Janja Vujovich is credited as "Post Sound Goddess".

---

Alternate Versions

Aspect ratio was re-cut to 1.78:1 for some TV broadcast and DVD releases.

---

Connections

Version of Steve Jobs (2015)

---

Soundtracks

Burning Down The House
Written by David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison and Tina Weymouth
Performed by Talking Heads

User Reviews

Apple vs. Microsoft: A Geeks-Eye View!

I recently saw a rough-cut of TNT Originals' Pirates of Silicon Valley. (It airs in June -- premiere's on Sunday June 20.) It's the story of Steve Jobs (Co-founder of Apple Computers) and Bill Gates (Co-founder of Microsoft) and their competitive rivalry to dominate the computer industry. Sounds boring, right? It's not! It's actually pretty cool! Here's why:

Casting Anthony Michael Hall as the world's biggest geek, Bill Gates, was genius. Hall has done such crap in the past few years that we all forgot what a great character actor he is. His best characters have always been misfits and geeks. In Pirates, he captures everything that's both creepy and sympathetic about Bill Gates. He's totally believable!

Noah Wyle's character as Steve Jobs is right on! Here I always thought Apple was the underdog. Turns out -- Apple had it all over Microsoft until the mid-eighties. Wyle plays Jobs as this power-hungry hippie gone awry. It's a nice change from his do-good doctor on ER. And Wyle makes the jump to full-length film effortlessly. Look for him on the big screen battling aliens any day now.

The story is somewhat standard but filled in with cool details that keep it interesting Jobs as a deadbeat Dad; Gates pitching his product to IBM (the IBM guy actually thinks all the money is in the hardware!), and the late-night screaming matches between Jobs and Gates.

Here's the thing that just boggles my mind -- these two are pretty average guys especially for their generation. Sure, they're two of the most powerful men in the world (Gates is the richest man in the world) but you could totally see either one showing up at your bar-b-que in Khakis and an ill-fitting shirt.

Pirates of Silicon Valley is quite entertaining it's weird, it's funny and quirky-- I say check it out!