The so-called “crackberry” is back.
IFC Films has released the first official trailer for the upcoming comedy-drama film, “BlackBerry,” which provides a peek into exactly how the handheld device revolutionized the cell phone industry.
Director Matt Johnson, along with co-screenwriter Matthew Miller, adapted Jacquie McNish and Sean Silcoff’s book “Losing the Signal: The Untold Story Behind the Extraordinary Rise and Spectacular Fall of BlackBerry” for the big screen.
Johnson plays BlackBerry co-founder Douglas Fregin in the film, alongside Glenn Howerton as chair and co-CEO Jim Balsillie, Jay Baruchel as co-founder Mike Lazaridis and Cary Elwes as Palm CEO Carl Yankowski. The cast also includes Saul Rubinek, Michael Ironside, Rich Sommer, Michelle Giroux, Mark Critch and SungWon Cho.
The trailer gives a first look at Johnson and Baruchel as Doug and Mike, who discover an untapped wireless signal in North America which leads them to developing the first-ever mobile device that has both phone and email capabilities. After pitching Howerton’s Jim, the trio work together to build the BlackBerry empire that would eventually come crumbling down in the wake of the smartphone revolution and introduction of the Apple iPhone.
Matthew Miller, Fraser Ash, Niv Fichman and Kevin Krikst serve as producers, alongside executive producers Nate Bolotin, Maxime Cottray, Adrian Love, Jay McCarrol, Noah Segal, Nick Spicer, Aram Tertzakian and Robert Upchurch.
Ahead of “BlackBerry’s” May 12 premiere, the film has already screened at both Berlin Film Festival and SXSW Film Festival. The film has received favorable reviews so far, with Variety‘s Peter Debruge calling it “frantic, irreverent and endearingly scrappy.”
Watch the “BlackBerry” trailer below.