Antitrust (2001)

A computer programmer's dream job at a hot Portland-based firm turns nightmarish when he discovers his boss has a secret and ruthless means of dispatching anti-trust problems.

Director:

Peter Howitt

Writer:

Howard Franklin

Stars:

Ryan Phillippe, Tim Robbins, Rachael Leigh Cook

2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ryan Phillippe	...	Milo Hoffman
Rachael Leigh Cook	...	Lisa Calighan
Claire Forlani	...	Alice Poulson
Tim Robbins	...	Gary Winston
Douglas McFerran	...	Bob Shrot
Richard Roundtree	...	Lyle Barton
Tygh Runyan	...	Larry Banks
Yee Jee Tso	...	Teddy Chin
Nate Dushku	...	Brian Bissel
Ned Bellamy	...	Phil Grimes
Tyler Labine	...	Redmond
Scott Bellis	...	Randy
David Lovgren	...	Danny
Zahf Paroo	...	Desi (as Zahf Hajee)
Jonathon Young	...	Stinky

Storyline

This movie is the fictional story of computer programming genius Milo Hoffman after graduating from Stanford and getting out into the competitive world of computer software. In his contemplation of where to begin his career, he is contacted by Gary Winston whose character is loosely based on Bill Gates. Winston is the CEO of a company called NURV, and they are on the brink of completing the global communication's system, Synapse. They need Hoffman to help them meet their launch date, so after much thought and with the full support of his girlfriend Alice, he accepts the job. Tragedy soon after strikes and Milo becomes suspicious of the company he has been wrapped up in. He learns that trusting anyone could be a mistake, and that nothing is as it seems.

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Plot Keywords:

startup company | job | computer | communications | genius | 

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Taglines:

Truth can be dangerous... Trust can be deadly.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some violence and brief language

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 January 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Antitrust

Filming Locations:

Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,486,209, 14 January 2001, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$10,965,209, 4 February 2001

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$6,867,516, 31 December 2001

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Hyde Park Entertainment, Industry Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

DTS SDDS Dolby SR

Color:

Color (DeLuxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Similarity between NURV and Microsoft : The Gary Winston's Right-Hand man is not a blatant geek, and is bald...much like Steve Ballmer of Microsoft

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Goofs

When Milo and Teddy's pictures are being circled in the yearbook, you can see an "email Milo" and "email Teddy" link under their descriptions.

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Quotes

Inspector: [looking for fingerprints on a keyboard] Dust the colon and the backslash key! Only geeks use those keys.

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the cast list in the end credits, there is a section entitled "Geeks", much in the same vein as "Stunts".

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Alternate Versions

Region 4 DVD comes with the following deleted scenes:

• "Lisa's Duplicity" - Lisa confides in Milo that her journal that goes missing and then is returned.
• "Milo & Lisa" - Milo and Lisa sleep together
• "Alice's Suspicion" - Alice is suspicious of Milo and Lisa and quizes him over where he was.
• "Lisa Gets Caught" - When Lisa is taking photos of the satellite dishes, she is caught by a security guard.
• "Gary & Milo's Game" - Gary Winston asks Milo to help him in a game of Diablo.
• "Sleeping With The Enemy" - Milo has rough sex with Alice after he finds out that Alice was sent to spy on him.
• "The Rise And Fall of NURV" - An alternate opening & ending sequence. Opening Sequence is a speech by Gary Winston in front of the NURV logo, at his online presentation. Milo is typing away at a computer watching him. The Ending Sequence is Gary Winston preparing his statement for the press. We then hear him start to cry. Milo & Alice are trying to get out of the compound and are stopped at the gate, it doesn't open until a car coming into the compound flashes an FBI badge and enters. Milo and Alice then drive out while the gate is still open. We then see the NURV logo as seen in the opening deleted sequence and hear different media reports until the end. The final media report states ".. Nurv's monopoly over the software industry is over"

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Connections

References The Firm (1993)

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Soundtracks

Angel
Written by Robert Del Naja (as Robert Del Naja), Andrew Vowles (as Andrew Vowles),
Horace Andy (as Horace Andy) and Grant Marshall (as Grantley Marshall)
Performed by Massive Attack
Courtesy of Virgin Records Ltd. / Virgin Records America, Inc.

User Reviews

Techno thriller panders to a digital generation

I praise Hollywood for creating a movie that does not have mass appeal. Too often movies of this type are designed to be for too wide an audience and all credibility is lost. This film avoids this, for the most part, by primarily appealing to a core target audience in the 15 to 35 age range.

The credits sequence began and I immediately cringed and thought, "Hacker 2...ugh." but it didn't turn out that way, much to my pleasure. Horrible computer idiocy was kept to a minimum, and generally only used for dramatic effect rather than the "computerz r kewl" aspect.

The dramatic performances were very good in my opinion and the film was superb in creating suspense. The soundtrack is rather excellent as well.

By my guess, huge changes were made to this film (based on the trailer) and I look forward to seeing an alternate version or cut-scenes on the DVD.

I definitely recommend this movie for anyone who likes technology and computers. For everyone else, I don't know if you would like it, honestly, but I can tell you it's not a whole movie about computers.