Story of movie Pirates Of Silicon Valley :
Pirates of Silicon Valley is an original 1999 American made for television biographical drama film, directed by Martyn Burke and starring Noah Wyle as Steve Jobs and Anthony Michael Hall as Bill Gates. Spanning the years 1971–1997 and based on Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine's 1984 book Fire in the Valley: The Making of the Personal Computer, it explores the impact of the rivalry between Jobs (Apple Computer) and Gates (Microsoft) on the development of the personal computer.
| Pirates of Silicon Valley | |
|---|---|
Publicity photo for Pirates of Silicon Valley | |
| Genre | Drama Film |
| Based on | Fire in the Valley: The Making of The Personal Computer by Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine |
| Screenplay by | Martyn Burke |
| Directed by | Martyn Burke |
| Starring | Noah Wyle Anthony Michael Hall |
| Theme music composer | Frank Fitzpatrick |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Leanne Moore |
| Cinematography | Ousama Rawi |
| Editor(s) | Richard Halsey |
| Running time | 95 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Turner Network Television |
| Distributor | Turner Network Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | Turner Network Television |
| Original release |
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| External links | |
| Website | |
Screenplay
Steve Jobs (Noah Wyle) is speaking with director Ridley Scott (J. G. Hertzler), about the creation of the 1984 commercial for Apple Computer, which introduced the first Macintosh. Jobs is trying to convey his idea that "We're creating a completely new consciousness." Scott is more concerned with the technical aspects of the commercial.
Next in 1997 with Jobs, returning to Apple, and announcing a new deal with Microsoft at the 1997 Macworld Expo. His partner, Steve Wozniak or "WOZ" (Joey Slotnick), is introduced as one of the two central narrators of the story. Wozniak notes to the audience the resemblance between Big Brother and the image of Bill Gates (Anthony Michael Hall) on the screen behind Jobs during this announcement. Asking how they "got from there to here," the film turns to flashbacks of his youth with Jobs, prior to the forming of Apple.
The earliest flashback is in 1971 and takes place on the U.C. Berkeley campus during the period of the student anti-war movements. Teenagers Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak are shown caught on the campus during a riot between students and police. They flee and after finding safety, Jobs states to Wozniak, "Those guys think they're revolutionaries. They're not revolutionaries, we are." Wozniak then comments that "Steve was never like you or me. He always saw things differently. Even when I was in Berkeley, I would see something and just see kilobytes or circuit boards while he'd see karma or the meaning of the universe."
Using a similar structure, the film next turns to a young Bill Gates (Anthony Michael Hall) at Harvard University, in the early 1970s, with classmate Steve Ballmer (John DiMaggio), and Gates’ high school friend Paul Allen (Josh Hopkins). As with Wozniak in the earlier segment, Ballmer narrates Gates' story, particularly the moment when Gates discovers the existence of Ed Roberts's MITS Altair causing him to drop out of Harvard. Gates' and Allen's early work with MITS is juxtaposed against the involvement of Jobs and Wozniak with the "Homebrew Computer Club". Jobs and Woz develop Apple Computer in the garage of Jobs' family home, with the help of Daniel (Marcus Giamatti) and Elizabeth (Melissa McBride). Eventually Mike Markkula (Jeffrey Nordling) invests in the company which allows it to expand and move forward. In 1977, Jobs, Woz, and Markkula demo the Apple II at the West Coast Computer Faire. This event is followed by the development of the IBM-PC with the help of Gates and Microsoft in 1981.
The film also follows Jobs' relationship with his high school girlfriend and early Apple employee, Arlene (a pseudonym for Chrisann Brennan, portrayed by Gema Zamprogna), and the difficulties he had acknowledging the birth and existence of their daughter, Lisa. Around the time his daughter was born, Jobs unveiled his next computer, which he named, The Lisa. The Lisa was then followed in 1984 by the (Macintosh), a computer inspired by the Xerox Alto. The main body of the film finally concludes with a 30th birthday toast in 1985 to Steve Jobs shortly before he was fired by CEO John Sculley (Allan Royal), from Apple Inc.
The film ends in 1997, with 42 year old Jobs' return to Apple (after its acquisition of NeXT Computer) and with his announcement at the MacWorld Expo of an alliance between Apple and Microsoft. It also indicates that Jobs is now married, has children, and has reconciled with Lisa.
- Noah Wyle as Steve Jobs
- Anthony Michael Hall as Bill Gates
- Joey Slotnick as Steve Wozniak
- John DiMaggio as Steve Ballmer
- Josh Hopkins as Paul Allen
- Gailard Sartain as Ed Roberts
- Jeffrey Nordling as Mike Markkula
- Allan Royal as John Sculley
- J. G. Hertzler as Ridley Scott
- Gema Zamprogna as "Arlene" (a pseudonym for Chrisann Brennan)
- Brooke Radding as Lisa Brennan-Jobs
- Marcus Giamatti as Daniel Kottke
- Melissa McBride as Elizabeth Holmes
Development
Burke notes that when he was shown the first draft of the screenplay, which is based upon Freiberger and Swaine's Fire in the Valley, "It was all about how the ‘286 computer’ became the ‘386’ and so on ... I was bored by it." After the studio asked him for suggestions Burke states that "I’m a great believer in Shakespeare, and what we had was a modern equivalent of Hamlet, featuring two young princes, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs ... the more I read about Steve in particular, the more I saw him in those Shakespearean terms. He was brilliant, volcanic, obsessive, suspicious, even vicious in a business sense. He was about conquest, always conquest. I said, ‘That’s the sort of movie I want to make." Burke was thus hired as director of the project and rewrote the screenplay. In developing the characters themselves, Burke also stated that he chose not to speak with any of the central figures portrayed in the film:
I did not want to do an "authorized biography" on either Microsoft or Apple, so we made the decision going in that we would not talk or meet with them. With a team of Harvard researchers, I embarked on a seven-month research project that encompassed virtually everything we could find on the history of both companies, including old technical magazines from the '70s. I intended every scene to be based on actual events, including such seemingly fantastic moments as Bill Gates' bulldozer races in the middle of the night and Steve Jobs' bare feet going up on the board room table during an applicant's job interview. I have two or more sources that verify each scene.
Casting
Burke sought Noah Wyle for the part of Jobs. Wyle originally turned down the role, but changed his mind after Burke had him watch the 1996 documentary, Triumph of the Nerds. Wyle states that he watched the documentary "for ten seconds and knew I'd kick myself for the rest of my life if I didn't play this part." He also noted that Triumph of the Nerds led him to be "taken by presence, his confidence, smugness, smartness, ego, and his story's trajectory. He seemed to be the most Shakespearean figure in American culture in the last 50 years I could think of – the rise of, the fall of, and the return of. The truest definition of a tragic hero—but you get the 'bonus round' that F. Scott Fitzgerald said didn't exist. Jobs has had one hell of a second act." Burke later credited Wyle for the success of the film stating that, "whatever was in the air, just absorbed i ... he became Jobs. It was a remarkable transformation. We had a photo of Steve Jobs at about 28 years old, from the cover of Fortune magazine. We did a mockup with Noah and it was almost impossible to tell them apart." Burke also credits Joey Slotnick's interpretation of Steve Wozniak (who was so impressed that he flew to Los Angeles to have lunch with Slotnick) with Wozniak's enthusiasm for the film. He notes that, "Steve Wozniak made several speeches in which he said that the film accurately portrays how things actually happened," Burke says. "To me that was better than any awards or nominations the film could get."
Anthony Michael Hall, who was cast as Bill Gates, commented on his interest in the role, stating that he, "really fought for this part because I knew it would be the role of a lifetime ... it was a thrill and a daunting challenge to play someone of his stature and brilliance."
Filming
Pirates of Silicon Valley was originally scheduled to be shot in Toronto, Ontario in Canada, with over $1 million in sets. However, when Wyle was not able to receive a long enough release from ER (TV series) to shoot in Canada, the film temporarily shut down. Filming began again later in Los Angeles. During the filming, the cast broke down into PC and Mac factions, arguing over the merits of each platform. Burke states that he began the film as a PC user and ended a Mac user.
One of the central thematic aspects of the screenplay is the representation of a young Steve Jobs, who while participating in aspects of the 1960s counterculture, interprets his role in it differently. Actor Noah Wyle, who portrays Jobs, stated in an interview with CNN, "These kids grew up 30 miles south of the (University of California) Berkeley campus, which was ripe with revolution and they couldn't have cared less about the politics going on. They were in the garage tinkering with their electronics and starting a revolution that was a thousand times greater than anything that was going on the college campuses, politically." Director Martyn Burke also noted in an interview that, "Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are the true revolutionaries of our time. Not the students who occupied the dean’s office in the late ’60s. Not the anti-war marchers who were determined to overthrow the establishment. Jobs and Gates are the ones who changed the way the world thinks, acts and communicates."
The soundtrack is made up of classic rock, disco and new wave from the 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s.
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