Original-Cin Q&A: BlackBerry Stars Talk Tech and the Curse of Perfection
By Bonnie Laufer
The compelling new drama BlackBerry tells the story of the meteoric rise and catastrophic fall of the world’s first smartphone.
Developed in Kitchener, Ontario by the company Research in Motion via techie and innovator Mike Lazaridis and cutthroat businessman Jim Balsillie, the device became a worldwide hit in little more than a decade but soon fell victim to the swifter, smoother, and smarter iPhone.
Directed by Matt Johnson from a script by Johnson adapted from Jacquie McNish and Sean Silcoff’s book Losing the Signal: The Untold Story Behind the Extraordinary Rise and Spectacular Fall of BlackBerry, the film stars Jay Baruchel and Glenn Howerton in the lead roles as Lazaridis and Balsillie, respectively. Our Bonnie Laufer spoke with the actors about the film ahead of its opening on May 12.
ORIGINAL-CIN: Full disclosure, I was a tried-and-true BlackBerry girl. I still miss a good game of BrickBreaker! Jay, I understand you were a loyal user too?
JAY BARUCHEL: Yeah, I do miss BrickBreaker! I was a loyal user and had mine for quite a while, up until two years ago actually. But the story of its creation — its rise and ultimate fall — was deeply compelling shit in every possible way and I was shocked that I didn't know about it. Being a self-confessed nerd, I was thrilled to be able to get the chance to play Mike Lazaridis, who developed and created the BlackBerry. I think this movie is a sign of a sneaky melodrama. It's a legitimate epic that plays out like a kind of kitchen sink thing. It feels rough around the edges because of the sort of rhythm and the vibe of it, but it's David Lean more than anything.
O-C: So when Matt Johnson came to you with this idea for a script, you couldn't refuse?
JB: I've been a fan of Matt Johnson’s since his film The Dirties. I always thought that he was one of the more exciting filmmakers working in Canada and was somebody that I wanted to jam with. When Glenn Howerton joined the game, I had this one first sit-down with him and Matt. I was at this hotel in Toronto, and we just started talking about it and I thought, ‘We're gonna write a hit record here, it’s going to be something very special.’ It's a great story, and with Glenn on board playing Jim Balsillie, we couldn’t lose.
O-C: Glenn, taking on the role of Jim was something very different for you. We are used to seeing you in comedic situations. He was under a lot of pressure trying to make this company work. Did you ever get to meet him and talk to him about what he went through?
GLENN HOWERTON: No, not beforehand. We did meet him at the Toronto premiere, which was really cool. But prior to filming, we didn't want to meet Mike and Jim because we didn't want to form any sort of relationship with them that made us feel beholden to their feelings or their thoughts about the thing. We felt like it was almost more valuable.
I know that Matt did more extensive research. It's loosely based on the book and almost more based on conversations that they had with various employees that were there at the time. They gave the real skinny on it. Also, Jim and Mike were involved in the book, so they knew that that was going to be just ever so slightly biased in the way they wanted the story to be told as opposed to you seeing it warts and all. But it was lovely to meet him at the premiere and he's been so gracious about the film, even though I know that he probably struggles with certain aspects of it which is understandable.
O-C: Jay, BlackBerry was developed here in Canada, but hardly anyone knows that. What is it about Canadians that we don't pat ourselves on the back?
JB: I don't know what it was like in your family but the way that it was in mine, with my grandmother and my granddad and my mom, they’d always say, ‘Don't be a showoff.’ To be a show off was about as bad as being anything. So, what you did was you kept it to yourself and you shouldn't expect anybody to pat you on the back for it or write a movie about it. Look, it's like a nice place to start from and I think that that's an important thing.
GH: I think that's a virtue that can also be kind of a setback.
JB: I think it comes from a nice place of virtuousness, but it can hold you back for sure.
O-C: Glenn, no question Jim was a tough cookie and beyond stressed as Chair and co-CEO of Research In Motion. One line that stood out for me is when he says, “Perfect is the enemy of good.” What do you think about that?
GH: I think a combination of perfect is the enemy of good and good enough as the enemy of humanity. I think there's a place where those two things meet. I do think that somebody can be a perfectionist to the point where they can't be objective about their thing anymore and at a certain point, the painting needs to be done. I think too much of that attitude is flippant, irresponsible, and not great. But then, without that, it would have taken them a year or two. If Jim hadn’t put on the pressure and had given Mike a year or more to make that prototype and not forced him into a situation where he had to get it ready the next day, there would have been no BlackBerry. It would have been a palm pilot and some other company would have beaten them to the punch,
JB: They are both right. It’s that kind of the push and pull of the movie that you can agree with both of them and sometimes at the same time.