When it comes to a fact-based film, placing the narrative into its historical context is as important as conflict, structure and character development. Here, we look at how the writers of Blackberry took us back to the 1990s and (re)-introduced us to a time when smartphones were nascent technology.
Screenwriters: Matt Johnson and Matthew Miller
Based on: Losing the Signal by Jacquie McNish and Sean Silcoff
Script source: Deadline
Summary
Waterloo, Ontario, 1990s. Two brilliant “nerds” score success when a brash businessman takes over their small, struggling tech company and helps them turn their fledgling communication device into the world’s most successful cell phone. But a combination of greed, dodgy stock deals and the emergence of the iPhone threaten to consign the BlackBerry to history and send the trio to jail.
Historical context & narrative development
One of the main challenges of fact-based film is often that the history is known, which can serve to dissipate the drama. In this case, the popularity of the BlackBerry and its later fall from grace is well documented. So, the over-arching question is not whether the device will become a success, but how did it go so wrong?
BlackBerry opens with a prophetic voiceover and archive footage featuring Arthur C. Clarke setting out a vision of a future in which people can communicate and work from anywhere in the world. This serves two main purposes:
1. Sets out the main thrust of the story – the battle to control a new era of portable communication.
2. Establishes a world that, while relatively recent, is far-removed from the one we know today.
Clarke’s words are intercut with our heroes, Doug and Mike, driving in their 1984 Honda Civic through Waterloo, Ontario, nervously rehearsing the presentation they are about to give. We also meet Jim, in a BMW, with his Rolex and Harvard ring.
Over the next few pages, we learn that Doug and Mike are meeting with Jim, an executive at manufacturing firm Sutherland-Schultz. We also quickly learn that Jim knows the business world, while Doug and Mike are all about the technology. In addition, there are some set-ups which will pay off later in the story. The historical context is further underlined by such details as the office’s fax machines. The guys then launch into their presentation, which includes a “how it works” summary of the wireless internet infrastructure.
On page 12, we get to the heart of the matter, as Doug unveils his prototype PocketLink device, a pager, cell phone and email machine all in one. Jim is unenthusiastic, to say the least. This reminds us that technological innovation is not always an easy sell. Jim also tells Doug and Mike they need a better name for their device.
Following a short burst of images and sounds from the era, which reference computing, the internet and communication, we enter the world of Doug and Mike’s strip mall-based company, Research in Motion. It’s essentially a teenager’s bedroom, where a bunch of nerdy, tech-mad friends hang out. Again, we are never far from the 1990s, with the guys’ movie night involving a VHS tape of Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).
By the end of Act One, Jim has left his company and has entered Doug and Mike’s world, pitching them his services as CEO to get PocketLink to market. After some humorous back-and-forth negotiations, Jim takes the helm at Research in Motion and sets about whipping the nerds into shape.
As well as heightening the conflict, this block of action underlines Doug and Mike’s naivety about the business side of tech. It also emphasises Jim’s strengths and weaknesses as the driving force behind the device. In terms of the plot development and the historical context, we learn that rival company U.S. Robotics is planning a similar communications device. This sets the clock running on the PocketLink. It also prefaces the bigger battle to come when Apple joins the party.
Over the next pages, the guys set about getting their prototype to market, which includes a name change, courtesy of a fruit stain. Around midpoint, the device hits the shelves. We then get a montage of media from the time publicising the device, including Oprah touting it on her show – a sure sign of success!
These are the good times as the guys’ hard work pays off, leading to lots of money, bigger offices and Research in Motion becoming a professional tech firm, complete with big-shot hires. We also see the evolution of the BlackBerry, such as the development of free, two-way messaging, again reminding us that it wasn’t too long ago that the functionality we now take for granted was disrupting the industry. Of course, this all sets up the personal conflicts and downfall, as the success of the device and its technological limitations take their toll.
On page 89, we see Steve Jobs giving a presentation at MacWorld 2007, introducing the iPhone with its game-changing touchscreen.
Not only does this bring the BlackBerry back down to earth, it reminds us how much time has elapsed since we first met the guys.
At this point, things unravel, as the SEC catches up to Jim over some dodgy dealings and it’s revealed that the iPhone will feature “applications” from third-party developers. Even the next-gen BlackBerry BOLD and BlackBerry STORM can’t stave off the decline, as the iPhone takes over the market.
By the time we reach the end, the tech world has moved on, leaving Doug and Mike behind (albeit richer). We are left with the usual “summing up” section letting us know what happened in real life. Among other things, we get the sobering statistic that while at its height, the BlackBerry controlled 45% of the cell phone market, today, it accounts for 0%. Quite the ride.
Overall
In an early scene in BlackBerry, Doug quotes his old high school teacher as saying, “The person who puts a computer inside a phone will change the world.” Indeed, the device Doug and Mike, et al, invented might have largely gone the way of the ZX80 and the Walkman, but, at the time, the “PocketLink” was at the forefront of mobile communication.
The great thing about working with fact-based material is the opportunity to tell stories like this, highlighting achievements, documenting downfalls, and showing the struggle that moved the needle in some way.
Even when the outcome of a story is known, the journey provides the narrative pull, as much as when it concerns the “losers” as when it tells a success story, such as Steve Jobs (2015). Indeed, history is always about passing a baton to the next generation, the next leaders, the next visionaries.
The takeaway
Unlike the BlackBerry, a fact-based screenplay should never become a museum piece! It is important the audience knows the stakes for the character and – crucially – how their story relates to the world we know today. Therefore, presenting a fact-based story in the most authentic way, means placing it into its historical context from the first page.