BLACKBERRY
Written by
Matt Johnson & Matthew Miller
Shooting Script
Based on, "Losing the Signal"
by Jacquie McNish & Sean Silcoff
TEXT ON SCREEN:
The following fictionalization is inspired by real people
and real events that took place in Waterloo, Ontario.
CORPORATE CREDITS BEGIN AS MUSIC FADES IN.
An authoritative male voice.
MALE VOICE (O.S.)
I'm thinking of the incredible
breakthrough which has been made
possible by developments of
communications. Particularly, the
transistor and above all the
communications satellite. These
things will make possible --
In Black and White archival footage we now see the man behind
the voice, who some will recognize as famed science fiction
author ARTHUR C. CLARKE.
ARTHUR C. CLARKE
-- a world in which we can be in
instant contact with each other
wherever we may be.
OPENING CREDITS BEGIN
INT. DOUG'S 1984 HONDA CIVIC, WATERLOO STREETS - MORNING
DOUG (35) drives a Brown 1984 HONDA CIVIC HATCHBACK with MIKE
(35, grey hair) in the passenger seat.
ARTHUR C. CLARKE
It will be possible in that age,
perhaps only fifty years from now,
for a man to conduct his business
from Tahiti or Bali just as well as
he could from London.
Mike nervously shuffles CUE CARDS, rehearsing as the duo
drive through Waterloo, Ontario.
INT. JIM'S BMW, WATERLOO STREETS - MORNING
We see ECU of JIM BALSILLE (35) driving through rural
Waterloo. His Rolex watch, his Harvard MBA ring.
2.
ARTHUR C. CLARKE (O.S.)
In fact if it proves worthwhile
almost any executive skill, any
administrative skill, even any
physical skill, could be made
independent of distance.
INT. DOUG'S 1984 HONDA CIVIC, WATERLOO STREETS - MORNING
Mike and Doug drive past a horse and buggy. It's farm
country.
ARTHUR C. CLARKE (O.S.)
When that time comes, the whole
world will have shrunk to a point --
INT. JIM'S BMW, WATERLOO STREETS - MORNING
Jim approaches his office.
ARTHUR C. CLARKE
-- and the traditional role of the
city as a meeting place for man
would have ceased to make any
sense.
BACK TO ARTHUR C. CLARKE FOR HIS CONCLUSION
ARTHUR C. CLARKE
In fact, men will no longer
commute. They will communicate.
EXT. PARKING LOT, SUTHERLAND-SCHULTZ, WATERLOO - DAY
Doug pulls into the busy lot and finds a VISITOR spot at the
far end.
DOUG
We're not late!
MIKE
I know but, I am going to throw up.
DOUG
Okay!
Doug and Mike jump out of the car -- They open the trunk --
fumbling to grab a stack of PRESENTATION CARDS and EASEL.
3.
DOUG (CONT'D)
I got it. I got it.
Doug drops the EASEL and PRESENTATION CARDS on the ground.
DOUG (CONT'D)
Shit.
Bends down, gathers.
DOUG (CONT'D)
It's good.
Mike organizes his CUE CARDS as they run towards the main
entrance of SUTHERLAND-SCHULTZ.
We stay outside as Jim pulls into the frame with his BMW...
SPORTS RADIO HOST (O.S.)
...forward Matts Sundin is the
sleepiest of all out there. He's a
proven NHL talent but, not scoring
like the Leafs need him --
Jim pulls into a parking space: "JIM BALSILLIE" and cuts the
engine, killing the radio.
Jim checks himself in the rearview mirror -- notices
something -- turns around...
...sees a limousine unloading well-dressed European business
executives into the parking lot...
INT. RECEPTION, SUTHERLAND-SCHULTZ, WATERLOO - DAY
Jim walks enters and turns to the FACTORY FLOOR towards the
front desk.
SUTHERLAND-SCHULTZ RECEPTIONIST
Your 9 o'clock is here.
JIM
Where's Brock?
SUTHERLAND-SCHULTZ RECEPTIONIST
His office.
YOUNG BUSINESSMAN
Uh, Mr. Balsillie, you wanted to
see this report I --
JIM
Talk to Shelley.
4.
Jim keeps moving, passing Mike and Doug in his office.
INT. JIM'S OFFICE, SUTHERLAND-SCHULTZ, WATERLOO - DAY
Mike and Doug (wearing Sutherland-Schultz visitor name tags)
sit opposite Jim's desk. It's a large office with horrific
masks of all descriptions hanging on the wall behind a raw
mahogany desk and a large picture window looking out over the
office..
The easel is now set up with their presentation cards.
Doug observes Sutherland-Schultz through the window. It's a
bustling mid-90s workplace. Staff buzz around cream cubicles
as fax machines chug out mile after mile of thermal paper.
Every computer runs Windows `95.
Mike practices his speech to himself off his CUE CARDS.
DOUG
I finally understand that quote.
When you grow up, your heart dies.
Mike looks up as though he hears something...
DOUG (CONT'D)
That's from Breakfast Club. John
Hughes.
MIKE
Do you hear that?
We hear it now too. A STATIC DRONE, like the noise of an open
channel on a walkie-talkie.
DOUG
Uhh, yeah. Are you talking about
that buzzing?
Mike nods.
DOUG (CONT'D)
Uh huh, it's an office. I'm sure
they've got a million little
buzzes.
They listen a beat longer.
DOUG (CONT'D)
It's a subtle buzzing.
Mike has found it.
5.
MIKE
There.
It's coming from an INTERCOM on the desk.
DOUG
You've identified it.
Mike picks up the intercom -- sees something --
MIKE
Mmmm.
DOUG
What?
-- shows Doug.
DOUG (CONT'D)
"Made in China". The mark of the
beast.
Mike clicks open the back of the INTERCOM.
DOUG (CONT'D)
Uh... Ummm... Mike?
MIKE
I can't concentrate.
DOUG
And so what? You're going to fix
this?
Mike starts unscrewing the intercom --
MIKE
I'm going to fix it.
Mike has got the screws off and the intercom open -- the
STATIC is louder without the case to muffle it.
DOUG
Uh. Now's not the time. The meeting
starts in like two minutes. Now's
not the time. Now's not the time!
MIKE
Okay. I need like a, uh, paperclip.
Mike continues to mess with the INTERCOM.
6.
DOUG
That's a guy's thing. That's a
guy's fucking thing.
Doug stands up and checks over his shoulder to see if anyone
is watching. Mike has got the screws off and the intercom
open -- the STATIC is louder without the case to muffle it.
MIKE
It has no off switch. I mean, it's
just always on. It's just always
buzzing.
DOUG
Uh huh. Yeah. Um. Oh well -
Doug moves to the easel -- pulls off the paperclip holding
their cards together -- hands it to Mike --
DOUG (CONT'D)
(whispers)
Yeah, go fast.
INT. BROCK'S OFFICE, SUTHERLAND-SCHULTZ, WATERLOO - DAY
Jim walks in and puts his briefcase on the ground.
RICK BROCK (50s, suit and tie) sits behind his desk on the
phone.
RICK BROCK
You can tell him he's - He's not
going to get steel. Alloys, Harry.
Rick sees Jim at his door.
RICK BROCK (CONT'D)
I'll call you back.
Hangs up.
JIM
They're outside.
Rick checks his watch.
RICK BROCK
These guys really are Dutch, huh?
Jim smiles.
7.
JIM
Uh. Listen, Rick, I've thought
about this a lot and if these guys
take the deal.. I wanna run the new
division.
Beat. This took Rick by surprise.
RICK BROCK
Think you can run this place?
JIM
Yes. Yes.
RICK BROCK (O.S.)
Me too.
RICK BROCK (CONT'D)
Just so we're clear.. If this thing
doesn't go. We never had this
conversation.
JIM
Great... Um... Thank you.
Jim begins to collect his briefcase. Rick interrupts him.
RICK BROCK
There's one adjustment. Apparently
the Americans offered them some
fancy tax-splitting plan. So, we
need to show them the Canadian
version.
JIM
I don't have that.
RICK BROCK
I know. Callaghan worked out
something last minute. We're going
to bring him in to explain it.
Jim looks back into the main office -- sees CALLAGHAN (20s,
very nerdy, BIG glasses, low status)
JIM
Callaghan. Uh... You know what, I
think that's a bad idea.
RICK BROCK
Why's that?
8.
JIM
I'll tell ya what, Rick. Why don't
you have Callaghan explain the tax
thing to me and I'll just work it
into my pitch? I think that's
better.
RICK BROCK
Cal was up all night putting this
together as a favor to me. He gets
to present.
JIM
Rick. I mean.
Callaghan continues going over PRESENTATION NOTES with his
ASSISTANT (20s)...
JIM (O.S.) (CONT'D)
You're going to have this guy
present to Stork? I mean, he looks
like a... a fucking... a total
goof.
RICK BROCK
Jim, I'm not asking.
Jim looks at Callaghan then back to Rick.
JIM
Okay. Great.
INT. JIM'S OFFICE, SUTHERLAND-SCHULTZ, WATERLOO - DAY -
CONTINUOUS
Mike breaks the clip in half and bends it just so -- rips a
wire off the intercom -- carefully replaces it with the
paperclip, leveraging it against the inside of the ON button.
The STATIC stops. Doug sees a man marching towards them...
DOUG
Umm... okay, bald, scary-looking
guy walking towards us right now.
INT. HALLWAY, SUTHERLAND-SCHULTZ, WATERLOO - CONTINUOUS
The man is JIM BALSILLIE (35), hurrying down the hallway and
bumping into an S-S employee.
JIM
Goddamn it!
9.
INT. JIM'S OFFICE, SUTHERLAND-SCHULTZ, WATERLOO - CONTINUOUS
Mike screws the intercom back together -- puts it down on the
desk -- shifts it to a perfect right angle...
INT. HALLWAY, SUTHERLAND-SCHULTZ, WATERLOO - CONTINUOUS
Jim almost spills his COFFEE.
JIM
Watch the fuck out!
INT. JIM'S OFFICE, SUTHERLAND-SCHULTZ, WATERLOO - CONTINUOUS
Doug scrambles to sit back in his seat.
DOUG
Oh shit! Sit down. Sit down.
Mike focuses on the now silent INTERCOM, looks to Doug.
MIKE
Much better.
Jim enters the office, slamming the door behind him. He takes
a seat at his desk, collecting himself, looks across at them.
JIM
Yeah. What can I do for ya?
MIKE
Yes. Hi. Uh, I'm Mike Lazaridis,
CEO of Research in Motion.
Mike awkwardly hands Jim his business card -- Jim takes it.
Mike returns to his cue cards.
MIKE (CONT'D)
We create various computer hardware
systems using both custom-designed
integrated circuits, as well as off-
the-shelf components provided by
major hardware vendors such as
Intel, American Micro Devices, and
Cyrix. Our clients have included:
U.S. Robotics. Rogers Cantel. RAM
Mobile Data--
Jim interrupts and picks up his phone.
10.
JIM
Just a second.
Mike and Doug share a look. Doug motions a thumbs up to Mike.
JIM (CONT'D)
(on phone)
Hey you're on Callaghan's desk,
right? Okay, great. This is Jim
Balsille. Brock wanted me to do a
quick proof of that tax stuff
before the meeting... could you
bring me... Exactly... Okay great,
thanks.
Hangs up -- pulse elevates --
JIM (CONT'D)
Okay. Uh, what is this?
MIKE
So.. We, we had a shop teacher --
Doug attempts to move the PRESENTATION CARDS dropping them on
the ground.
DOUG
(under his breath)
Fuck.
Doug continues to put the PRESENTATION CARDS back together on
the easel. Jim watches the pair, unamused.
MIKE (CONT'D)
Who told us - Oh. We had a shop
teacher in high school named Mr.
Micsinszki who told us "the person
who puts a computer inside a phone
will change the world."Well, we
have a plan to piggyback on the
unused bandwidth of the UHF
spectrum to create an all-in-one
mobile device.
Mike pauses -- Jim's intercom DINGS. Intercom light turns on.
SHELLEY (INTERCOM)
Callaghan's Assistant is here to
see you?
Jim hits the button.
JIM
Send him in.
11.
CLICK. NO STATIC.
Doug nods to Mike. At least that worked.
The door opens -- Callaghan's Assistant nervously walks in
and hands Jim some documents.
JIM (CONT'D)
Great.
Callaghan's assistant doesn't leave.
CALLAGHAN'S ASSISTANT
Sorry, Mr, Balsille. No one, uh. I
didn't realize you needed a copy of
this tax report --
Jim shoots him a look.
JIM
I'm in a meeting right now.
The Assistant gets it now -- leaves immediately -- Jim flips
through the documents with interest...
Doug steps in --
DOUG
So, basically, there is a free
wireless internet signal all across
North America and nobody has
figured out how to use it. There's
free internet in this room right
now. It's like the Force. Sorry,
have you seen Star Wars?
JIM
No.
DOUG
So, okay, picture a pager, a cell
phone and an email machine all in
one thing.
Doug rifles through the PRESENTATION CARDS until he finds the
last one -- revealing concept schematics for a clunky
smartphone, complete with a full clip-art QWERTY keyboard...
MIKE
Uh, we call it, PocketLink.
Jim hardly pays attention.
12.
JIM
(to the guys)
Okay. Uh listen, we don't do
anything like that here. We are a
commercial manufacturing company.
You want to talk to a VC guy.
...something catches Jim's eye -- Rick Brock passing by with
Callaghan and two executives -- Jim picks up the tax notes --
stands --
JIM (O.S.) (CONT'D)
And you need a better name.
-- walks out the door --
Beat.
Mike puts his face in his hands despondent.
DOUG
You're going to cry?! Mike. Oh,
it's just disappointment? You did
great!
INT. BOARDROOM, SUTHERLAND-SCHULTZ, WATERLOO - MOMENTS LATER
A huge Sutherland-Schultz logo shines on the wall.
Eight members of the Stork board (the Europeans from the
limo) sit around a boardroom table. Jim stands in front of
them.
JIM
Well, I saw that Rick sent the limo
to pick you guys up. We must need
this merger worse than I thought.
Rick laughs.
JIM (CONT'D)
So...I Know we got a lot to cover,
but um, I thought we should start
with our tax strategy. Now, I'm
sure you heard it from the
Americans, but, let me assure you,
we also know how to cheat on our
taxes here in Canada. Okay?
Laughs from everyone but Rick and Callaghan.
13.
Jim starts writing numbers on the whiteboard -- Callaghan
looks over at Brock like "what the fuck is he doing?" Brock
narrows his eyes.
JIM (CONT'D)
Here's what we can do: We run
payroll out of Ontario, but we pay
all our vendors from The
Netherlands. Split that fucker
right in half. The left won't know
what the right is doing. Plus we
get a nice little provincial
kickback on manufacturing labor.
Rick sits in a look of disappointment.
JIM (O.S.) (CONT'D)
We get a massive federal tex credit
because they don't know whether we
are private or public.
INT. ELEVATOR, SUTHERLAND-SCHULTZ, WATERLOO - SAME TIME
Mike and Doug wait at the elevator. Doug awkwardly holds
their presentation cards. Mike is transfixed with the image
of Jim across the office leading the pitch...
Ding! The elevator opens. Both get inside.
OPENING CREDIT SEQUENCE CONTINUES
A cacophony of sounds and images from the mid-1990s
WILLIAM SHATNER AS CAPTAIN KIRK
Beam me aboard.
COMMERCIAL ANNOUNCER
Taken prisoner and held captive
within the digital world of the
computer itself.
FROM BLADE RUNNER
Hello?
FROM 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
Hello?
FROM MIGHTY MORPHIN' POWER RANGERS
So what you're saying is you just
touch and talk.
14.
MARIO LOPEZ AS A.C. SLATER
You can use you cellular phone to
order me a pizza.
PRIME-CO WOMAN
And that includes fifty minutes of
air time.
LITTLE GIRL
We'll page you.
BILL GATES
It's very hip to be on the internet
right now.
JONNY LEE MILLER IN HACKERS
HACK THE PLANET!
MATTHEW LILLARD IN HACKERS
HACK THE PLANE--
STEVE JOBS
I still think Apple has a future.
The way out is not to slash and
burn, it's to innovate.
TITLE CARD: 1996
EXT. STRIP PLAZA, RIM 1, WATERLOO - DAY
Doug's Honda Civic peels into a 2-storey plaza and parks. The
lower level is retail, a Supermarket, Shopper's Drug Mart,
flower shop and restaurants. Upstairs are professional
offices. Dentists, lawyers and one lone tech startup, denoted
by a small RIM placard in the window.
Mike and Doug get out -- Mike starts walking towards the
entrance.
DOUG
Okay, here's what I think. Mike,
super simple, hit them with the
"good news, bad news" routine. Good
news - Bad news routine. They're
going to say -
Mike walks ahead of Doug as he gathers the presentation cards
from the backseat.
DOUG (CONT'D)
Mike! Wait.
Doug catches up to Mike.
15.
DOUG (CONT'D)
Everything's going to be fine, we
still have the U.S. Robotics deal.
We're like... what did the cave say
about Aladdin? Diamond in the
rough?
Doug stops abruptly.
DOUG (CONT'D)
Oh fuck!
MIKE
What?
DOUG
I forgot the easel.
MIKE
Oh, we have to change the name.
Product needs a new name.
DOUG
You're giving that guy too much
credit man. He hasn't seen Star
Wars. He's bald. How much you want
to bet they don't even mention the
phone?
Mike opens the door...
INT. MAIN OFFICE, RIM 1, WATERLOO - DAY
The office is a disaster. Food wrappers, styrofoam coffee
cups, random tools, circuit boards and mechanical drawings
strewn all over the place.
PRANAY
Are you Office-Dad?
Dude! Make a, make a.. Make a
thing. Make a Scott sucks --
The desks are unfinished plywood balanced on cinder blocks.
SCOTT
I can't. I can't. I can't. That's
why I'm using your computer.
Some tabletops are just doors taken off their hinges.
Five RIM employees ALLAN, ETHAN, SCOTT, PRANAY & STEVE (20s,
nerdy) are goofing off instead of soldering circuit boards.
16.
PRANAY
Twenty-One Boy Canada.
ETHAN
That's me. Uh, this guy is telling
me about sniffing his, sniffing his
--
They all turn in unison as Mike and Doug walk in.
ALLAN
Did they buy the phone?
Beat.
DOUG
So... we got good news and bad
news.
Beat.
DOUG (CONT'D)
Uh, okay.. The bad news is that --
Yeah, the presentation -- We were
not heard and they did not
understand the product and so they
did not buy the phone.
Beat.
MICHAEL ALLAN
What was the good news? What's the good news?
DOUG
Emergency movie night. Right now.
Stephen Spielberg's Raiders of the
Lost Ark. Letterboxed --
Engineers jump up with excitement simultaneously.
INT. MAIN OFFICE, RIM 1, WATERLOO - LATER
The office is dark. Windows covered. A TV/VCR cart like in
elementary school sits at the front of the room playing
Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark (Widescreen). Above
the TV hangs a dot matrix banner: "Movie Night".
INDIANA JONES (O.S.)
You said their headpiece had
markings only on one side, are you
absolutely sure? Belloq's staff is
too long.
17.
The entire RIM staff watch in anticipation as Harrison Ford
and John Rhys-Davis realize that Belloq's staff is too short.
The whole room shouts in unison with the movie...
EVERYONE
They're digging in the wrong place!
DOUG & ALLAN
Bad dates!
INDIANA JONES (O.S.)
Bad dates.
The only person not having the time of his life is Mike, who
sits at his desk at the back of the room trying to work...
PRANAY (O.S.)
Couple of bad dates.
DOUG
Couple bad dates. Couple bad dates.
STEVE
That was there, why'd they go the
other one? That was right there.
Mike eats fruit from a Tupperware and brainstorms new names
on a legal pad. Byline, Blade, Outrigger...
DOUG (O.S.)
Mike, you're missing your favorite
movie, man!
We see a CU of a framed newspaper article from the Waterloo
Region Record on the wall beside him. It's a black and white
photo of a young Mike and Doug standing next to twin
televisions with "ADVERTISE ON ME" scrolling across them. The
headline reads "The Drop-Out Boy Genius".
INT. JIM'S OFFICE, SUTHERLAND-SCHULTZ, WATERLOO - EVENING
The lights are off. A JANITOR pushes his cart.
One by one Jim takes his masks down from the wall -- sets
them carefully in a cardboard box.
Jim collapses in his chair. He looks over at the presentation
easel -- sees one forgotten slide from Mike and Doug's
presentation -- the image of the phone with the keyboard on
it...
18.
EXT. STRIP PLAZA, RIM 1, WATERLOO - DAY
Jim pulls into the plaza.
SPORTS RADIO HOST (O.S.)
Toronto wins it by a count of five-
to-four. Doug Gilmour had 3
assists. Felix Potvin finished the
game with thirty saves including
three in the extra period, but
obviously the story was...
INT. MAIN OFFICE, RIM 1, WATERLOO - DAY
Mike sits at his desk trying to plug in his NEIKO HILTEX
MAGNIFYING LIGHT -- he can't find the right power adapter,
but there is chaos in the office. A game of COMMAND & CONQUER
is being played.
STEVE
Are they top or bottom left? Send,
Send everything, let's take a
gamble, let's go for Scott --
MIKE
Anyone have a Type-C Coax?!
SCOTT
They don't even know. I'm not even
top left.
DOUG
Scott, you're attacking me!
SCOTT
What?!
DOUG
You're attacking me.
SCOTT
Oh, I'm sorry.
STEVE
Send the dogs in. Send the dogs in.
They're rushing --
DOUG
Bottom Right.
SCOTT
I'm sending another, another.
19.
DOUG
Dude, they got rockets! I got run
down.
Mike is ignored by the gang, who are too distracted.
MIKE
Anyone have any Type-C Coax cables?
Doug detonates Steve's Command Centre. It's over.
DOUG
Oh, the plungers moving! The
plungers moving, dude!
Doug runs to Steve's desk, yanks a CEREMONIAL TOILET PLUNGER
off the top of his monitor, the monitor comes with it,
smashing on the ground.
DOUG (CONT'D)
Come on! Come on! Oh shit! I'm
sorry boys but it's back!
Doug slams the plunger down on top of his monitor. It sticks.
DOUG (CONT'D)
It's back!
SCOTT (O.S.)
You had them--
DOUG
Back!
The office erupts into cheers and laughter as Jim enters the
office. After a moment he clears his throat.
Beat.
INT. MIDWAY DINER, WATERLOO - DAY
Mike and Doug sit across from Jim in their usual booth.
Waitress #1 places their food on the table.
DOUG
Thank you.
MIKE
Thank you so much.
JIM
Nothing for me, thanks.
20.
Doug holds Jim's BUSINESS CARD -- the phone number for
SUTHERLAND-SCHULTZ is scratched out and another is written in
pen...
JIM (CONT'D)
So, I know how to sell your phone.
I know how to market it, and I know
who we can sell it to.
MIKE
Who?
Doug looks up from the business card.
DOUG
What do you mean "We"?
JIM
Here's the deal. I will leave my
job at Sutherland-Schultz if you
make me CEO of Research in Motion.
DOUG
Are you serious?
JIM
That was the worst product pitch
I've ever seen in my life. You guys
don't stand a chance out there. You
need me.
DOUG
Sorry... I don't know who you think
you are, but WE, are just fine. We
have a sixteen million dollar deal
with U.S. Robotics.
JIM
Sixteen million?
DOUG
That's right.
JIM
Wow. Okay and what did they buy?
DOUG
Modems. Ever heard of `em?
JIM
Are they like The Force in Star
Wars?
21.
DOUG
Very funny. You know, your logo
literally is SS?
JIM
And how much have they paid you on
that 16 million?
MIKE
Yeah, nothing.
JIM
Zero?
DOUG
Nothing yet. We haven't delivered
the modems.
Doug looks to Mike.
MIKE
Well, we shipped them product
samples months ago. Their
accounting department won't even
return our phone-calls.
DOUG
(to Mike)
Yeah, but... They're... What's
going on? They are going to pay us.
We have a sixteen million dollar
deal with U.S. Robotics.
JIM
Yeah, so, uh, you guys are getting
fucked.
MIKE
Why would you? Why do think? Why do
you say that?
JIM
Well because I would do the same
thing. Little operation like
yours... They know they can
withhold payment until the last
possible second and then crush you.
These guys, they're.. they're
pirates.
The Waitress arrives and puts the bill down -- Doug quickly
grabs it.
22.
DOUG
Uh huh. We got it. Thank you. Um.
Doug pulls out his wallet -- snaps open the change pouch.
DOUG (CONT'D)
How do you know anything? What the
fuck do I care.
(to Mike)
How much money do you got?
Mike pulls a random assortment of coins from his pocket and
lays them on the table.
Jim watches these two titans of business negotiate $2.43.
MIKE (O.S.)
Yeah. Um.
DOUG (O.S.)
How about I get that tip? Two, two
fifty?
JIM
Okay. Guys. Here's what I'm going
to do. I will give you $20,000,
cash, today. I'll sell the phone,
I'll work out this problem with USR
but I want 50% of the company. And
I've gotta be CEO.
Mike looks at Doug like "what do you think?"
DOUG MIKE
Are you joking? No. Well, let's think about it
Obviously. No. No.
DOUG
Mike?
MIKE
Okay.. Okay.
JIM
Who is in charge here?
MIKE
Oh, I mean, technically--
DOUG
Mike's in charge, and he says no.
MIKE
I am in charge and I say... sorry.
23.
DOUG
You don't need to do what this guy
says! We just met him! He's not
your dad.
JIM
Okay.
Beat.
Jim gets up -- puts down a twenty -- walks out.
MIKE
Thanks. Thank you.
DOUG
Very sassy man, would you say? He
had... he had a sass --
MIKE
Modems, ever heard of those or
whatever?
DOUG
No, I sassed him too but he sassed
me back. And what's he trying to
say we don't have our modem deal?
INT. STORAGE ROOM, RIM 1, WATERLOO - DAY
The makeshift storage room in a corner office, is PACKED with
boxes labelled MODEMS FOR USR. Floor to ceiling.
Mike paces with a phone to his ear...
It's RINGING...
Mike looks out the door into the office. A few of the guys
solder modems while other play DOOM.
USR RECEPTIONIST (O.S.)
U.S. Robotics, how may I direct
your call?
MIKE
Uh, yeah. It's Mike Lazaridis...
From Research in Motion... We're
actually building circuit boards
for you guys--
USR RECEPTIONIST (O.S.)
One moment please.
24.
Click. Hold.
Mike is distracted from the BLINKING RED LIGHT of their USR V-
SERIES MODEM.
CASEY COWELL
Mike, is that you?
MIKE
Yes. Hi. So uh. I was just
wondering if it would, if it would
be at all possible for us to uh,
invoice you for the first half, or,
uh third of our um, of your order
from us. If... If... Can we, can we
invoice you for some, some of our
order?
Beat.
CASEY COWELL (O.S.)
(laughing)
What? What?
MIKE
... If that's okay?
CASEY COWELL (O.S.)
Did you not get my fax?
MIKE
Uh. We don't have a fax machine.
CASEY COWELL (O.S.)
Mike... Those modems you sent us
back in March. They were defective.
MIKE
I'm sorry, what?
CASEY COWELL (O.S.)
Yeah. They didn't work. We had to
cancel the whole order but this
was months ago, buddy.
Mike looks to the stack of modems behind him.
CASEY COWELL (O.S.) (CONT'D)
I really thought you guys had a fax
machine. Hey, I'll tell you what.
Why don't you let me make it up to
you? I'll have USR send you one,
free of charge. On me. Okay?
25.
MIKE
Um. Yeah. Okay. Thanks.
CASEY COWELL (O.S.)
Great, okay, well good luck Mike.
MIKE
Yeah.
CASEY COWELL (O.S.)
Bye bye.
MIKE
Bye.
Click.
Mike lowers the phone -- his eyes shift to Doug... They share
a look.
DOUG
What?
INT. SMALL CONFERENCE ROOM, RIM 1, WATERLOO - MOMENTS LATER
Doug has clearly received the bad news.
DOUG
Here's what you gotta do. You got
to call him back. You gotta
Glengarry Glen Ross this guy. You
gotta grind him!
MIKE
Yeah. I don't think I can grind
him.
DOUG
This is exactly what that Rolex-Guy
said was gonna happen, right? He
predicted it. What did he say? He
said U.S. Robotics are pirates. He
was fucking dead on.
Mike looks around the mess on the boardroom desk. Amidst the
circuit boards, disassembled electronics and unpaid bills, he
finds what he's looking for -- Jim's folded business card.
Mike reaches for the phone -- picks it up -- hears the
GARBLED TECH BLARE of a dial up modem --
Mike looks into the office and sees Steve with Netscape
Navigator open to the Hotwired home page.
26.
MIKE
(to Steve)
Hey. Steve - Steve, I need the
phone line.
STEVE
(typing fast in a forum)
Some guy is trying to say Noonian
Soong is a Q...
MIKE
Yep thanks..
STEVE (O.S.)
Alright.
DOUG
What are you doing?
MIKE
I think we should take this deal.
DOUG
No. So, you don't get into business
with people like this. That guy is
sketchy.
MIKE
I think... He's - I don't think
he's sketchy.
Doug picks up Jim's business card -- holds it up.
DOUG
His business card is literally
SKETCHED OUT!
Mike looks at the card...
DOUG (CONT'D)
The guy's a shark.
MIKE
Okay. Do you know.. Do you know
who's afraid of sharks? Pirates.
DOUG
Oh fuck.
INT. SMALL CONFERENCE ROOM, RIM 1, WATERLOO - NIGHT
Mike sits across from Doug, phone at his ear.
27.
MIKE
(into receiver)
Um. So uh, we've been talking here
and we, uh - We would like to make
a counter offer.
Doug mimes a phone.
DOUG
You came crawling back. Like bugs.
Like grubs.
It's just a rehearsal...
MIKE
Yeah um, so, we would like to offer
you --
Doug covers his mimed phone receiver and whispers to Mike.
DOUG
(Whispering)
Low.
MIKE (CONT'D)
Ten percent for five-hundred-
thousand dollars.
DOUG
(as Jim)
Are you out of your fucking mind?!
I look at a hundred thousand deals
a day. I pick one!
(as Doug)
Is that the quote? No.
(as Jim)
I look at a hundred deals a day. I
pick one!
(as Doug)
Wall Street.
MIKE
Uh, okay. Uhhh. 25% for $250,000.
DOUG
(as Jim)
50% for fifty bucks!
MIKE
33% for $125,000 and you can run
the company with me.
28.
DOUG
(as Doug)
Mike! No! No!!
(as Jim)
Yes, deal.
(back to Doug)
Easy. Dude. It's going to be
totally fine. You are going to
negotiate this guy to death.
INT. LIVING ROOM, JIM'S TOWNHOUSE, WATERLOO - NIGHT
Jim sits in front of the TV. Leafs vs Canadiens.
HOCKEY ANNOUNCER
Shoots! Right on. Potvin covered.
Malakhov? No shot. Turgeon, in too
far. Scores!
Leafs down 1-0.
HOCKEY ANNOUNCER (CONT'D)
He fooled everybody and banked it
in off Potvin.
He eats Ruffles right from the bag.
The PHONE RINGS -- Jim picks it up beside him, eyes fixed on
the TV...
JIM
Yeah?
Jim keeps staring at the TV.
INT. SMALL CONFERENCE ROOM, RIM 1, WATERLOO - CONTINUOUS
MIKE (O.S.)
Hi Jim! It's Mike Lazaridis from
Research in Motion, we met at the
office the other day.
Mike waits anxiously for the right moment to "negotiate Jim
to deal" -- Doug is keyed up, standing on the desk...
DOUG
(whispering)
Low. Low.
Mike looks up at Doug in a panic. Doug waves him on like "Go!
Go!" Mike looks down at his handwritten notes...
29.
MIKE
So. We'd like to offer you 33% of
our company for $125,000 and you
and I would be Co-CEOs.
Doug shakes his hands like "wtf are you doing you idiot that
was our final price, holy shit you just fucked us!!!" Mike
covers his face in shame. He fucked up. He really fucked up.
INT. LIVING ROOM, JIM'S TOWNHOUSE, WATERLOO - CONTINUOUS
Beat. Jim is clearly distracted.
JIM
Sure.
Jim hangs up.
INT. SMALL CONFERENCE ROOM, RIM 1, WATERLOO - CONTINUOUS
Mike is completely stunned.
Doug waves him out of it. Mike looks up in pure disbelief.
MIKE
Deal.
DOUG
Awesome! Awesome! Dude! Mike!
Doug looks out into the office, sees Scott still working.
DOUG (CONT'D)
Scott! Scott! He did it!
SCOTT
What do you mean?
DOUG
Have you not heard anything that's
been going on in this room?
EXT. STRIP PLAZA, RIM 1, WATERLOO - DAY
Jim arrives at RIM in his BMW.
INT. SMALL CONFERENCE ROOM, RIM 1, WATERLOO - CONTINUOUS
Mike watches Jim put the roof of his convertible up and get
out of his car.
30.
MIKE
Maybe you should tell him about the
modems?
DOUG
Oh! Where do you want to put him?
INT. JIM'S OFFICE, RIM 1, WATERLOO - DAY
The storage room has been rearranged to make room for Jim. A
DESK IN A BOX sits in the middle of the room with a phone on
top of it.
Mike and Doug stand at the door as Jim takes it in.
JIM
What the fuck is this?
DOUG
That's uh, yeah, everyone builds
their own desk. That's a tradition.
JIM
Yeah. I'm not doing that.
Beat.
MIKE
Um, U.S. Robotics pulled out of the
deal.
JIM
Told ya. What's our exposure?
MIKE
...Exposure?
JIM
How much money did you spend on the
modems?
MIKE
Oh. One-point-six million.
Jim drops the smile. Doug looks at Mike.
JIM DOUG
What? One point what?
MIKE
We spent one-point-six million in
materials and labour.
31.
JIM
Where'd you get one-point-six
million dollars?
MIKE
I got a loan from the Bank of
Montreal.
DOUG (O.S.)
Mike, come on..
-- Jim shouts outside the room --
JIM
Get me U.S. Robotics!
Beat.
DOUG
Uh, sorry, who are you talking to?
MIKE
Yeah?
Jim realizes he doesn't have an assistant here -- picks up
the phone himself -- GARBLED TECH SOUND of the modem blares
through the speaker -- Jim pulls the phone away.
JIM
What the fuck is that?
MIKE
Oh. It's called a carrier wave.
(beat)
The calling modem is uh --
Jim hangs up the phone -- turns -- scans the main room...
...sees STEVE on his computer, browser open --
JIM
Hey!
Everyone in the office turns around, including Steve...
Jim points right at him...
JIM (CONT'D)
Get off the fucking internet!
Steve pulls the plug out of the wall and throws his hands in
the air as though he's being arrested.
Mike hands Jim a USR business card.
32.
MIKE
I think it's Casey.
JIM
Uh huh.
DOUG
(to Steve)
It's going to be fine. It's going
to be fine.
Jim dials...
DOUG (CONT'D)
(to Jim)
You don't get to talk to our team
like that.
(to Mike)
He doesn't get to talk to our team
like that.
CLICK.
CASEY COWELL (O.S.)
Mike!
JIM
Hi, actually no, this is Jim
Balsillie. I'm CEO here now.
DOUG
Co-CEO.
CASEY COWELL (O.S.)
Okay. Jim, what can I do for ya?
JIM
I wanna talk about these modems.
CASEY COWELL (O.S.)
There's nothing to talk about
sadly. We can't accept a defective
product.
DOUG
(to Mike)
This is not working --
Mike cuts him off, he wants to listen to the negotiator.
JIM
Let's cut the bullshit here. Two-
point-five Million all in for the
entire order.
33.
CASEY COWELL (O.S.)
Yeah, no. Can't do it, Jim.
JIM
I'll decimate it for you. One-point-
six Million. And if you don't take
that I'll turn around and sell them
to Rockwell for even less.
Mike and Doug can't believe what they're watching.
MIKE
(whispers to Doug)
Nice negotiation.
Beat.
CASEY COWELL (O.S.)
Okay, how about this. We'll take
the modems, if you throw in the
patent on Mike's phone.
Jim shoots Mike a look --
JIM
What phone?
CASEY COWELL (O.S.)
I thought we weren't bullshitting
each other, Jim? We've been
building our own for a year... We
want Mikes --
Jim hangs up.
JIM
How long to build a prototype of
the phone?
MIKE
PocketLink? Yeah um, a year.
JIM
No, no, no. A prototype Mike. A
shell I can wave around in a
meeting. It can be a complete piece
of shit.
MIKE
No it can't - We're not doing that.
DOUG
Mike's not doing that.
34.
JIM
Listen to me. U.S. Robotics is
building their own phone. We're now
in a race to get this thing to
market and we're a year behind. So
I don't care what you need to do,
get these fucking nerds to drop
everything and build this fucking
phone!
The guys turn to see ALLAN at the door...
JIM (CONT'D)
WHAT?
ALLAN
Sorry guys. Um, my girlfriend tried
to cash my cheque this morning and
it bounced. Um and she said I'm not
supposed to come in - allowed - I
shouldn't come in here anymore. And
she agreed... I won't be coming in
here any longer until I'm getting
paid.
Jim picks up the phone -- THROWS IT AGAINST THE GROUND --
makes for the exit -- SLAMS the door shut.
Mike picks up Jim's destroyed phone -- walks out --
MIKE
I can fix this.
INT. BANK, WATERLOO - DAY
Jim sits across from a BANK MANAGER at her computer.
BANK MANAGER
OK. Research in Motion... Looks
like your account has exceeded its
overdraft balance.
JIM
Didn't they just deposit a cheque
for $125,000 from me?
Typing...
BANK MANAGER
Yes.
Beat.
35.
JIM
Okay... Alright. Um. I have a
mortgage with you guys. Can we pull
that up please?
BANK MANAGER
Spell your last name please?
JIM
B-a-l-s-i-l-l-i-e
BANK MANAGER
Ball-sillie?
JIM
Balsillie.
INT. MAIN OFFICE, RIM 1, WATERLOO - DAY
Doug, having assembled Jim's desk looks for a chair to pair
with it.
DOUG
Anybody going to miss this red
chair?
ENGINEERS ETHAN
No. You're good.
Jim enters the office with SHELLEY (30), his assistant from
Sutherland-Schultz. She follows him with a small box of her
belongings. The staff at RIM instantly orient towards her, as
if a woman has never been anywhere near this office.
Jim holds NEW CHEQUES over his head.
JIM
Alright, everybody! Listen up! From
now on cheques will be coming every
two weeks. You will come get them
from Shelley. This is Shelley.
SHELLEY
Hi.
Jim pushes one of the engineers's desk so it sits outside his
corner office.
JIM
Alright. That's you, Shel.
Shelley puts her things down and starts organizing. The staff
remain silent and still, unsure of how to behave around her.
36.
JIM (CONT'D)
Mike!
Mike picks up Jim's fixed phone and proceeds towards his
office, passes Doug.
DOUG
Me too?
MIKE
Yeah sure.
INT. JIM'S OFFICE, RIM 1, WATERLOO - CONTINUOUS
Jim is unpacking his things and plugs in his new INTERCOM
(same model as the one in his Sutherland-Schultz office) --
the HISS begins to emanate from the machine as Mike and Doug
creep in -- Mike holding Jim's REPAIRED PHONE.
DOUG
Um, sorry, who... so, who is
Shelley?
Jim hits a button on his intercom --
JIM
Shelley?
Mike and Doug look at the intercom. Same STATIC HISS...
DOUG
Oh, dude. That thing's haunting
you.
JIM
No, I'm motivating you, and don't
call me "that thing", I'm your
boss.
DOUG
No, you're not.
In walks Shelley.
SHELLEY
Yeah?
JIM
Get me John Woodman at Bell
Atlantic.
SHELLEY
You got it.
37.
Shelley leaves.
MIKE
Wait. What are you doing?
JIM
We're selling the phone. Mike. I
need a prototype.
MIKE
I told you, I don't, I --
SHELLEY (O.S.)
Connecting you.
RING... STATIC GETTING LOUDER...
JIM
Guys. We are over a million dollars
in debt with no assets, no
contracts, and no products.
Someone picks up the line.
BELL ASSISTANT (O.S.)
John Woodman's office.
JIM
(changes tone)
Hiiiii. This is Jim Balsillie, CEO
of Research in Motion.
DOUG
Co-CEO.
Jim motions to Doug to shut up.
BELL ASSISTANT (O.S.)
One moment please.
JIM
(to Mike)
Okay?
DOUG
No! He said there's no phone!
JIM
I'm not asking you!
JIM (CONT'D)
(to Mike)
Mike...?
38.
MIKE
Okay.
DOUG
Okay? Well, what do you mean
"okay"? No. No. No. Wait, wait a
minute. Wait a minute. Wait a
minute. Wait a minute. Wait a
minute.
JOHN WOODMAN (O.S.)
John Woodman...
JIM
Mr. Woodman, I am about to make you
insanely rich.
Doug can't take it anymore -- reaches out and hangs up the
phone -- Jim looks up like "are you ready to die?"
DOUG
Mike does not agree with this.
JIM
He just fucking did!
DOUG
That was duress. Okay? You're
manipulating him! It's obvious.
(to Mike)
What do you want me to do? What?
MIKE
So, there's a reason why your
intercom is emitting white noise.
It's because it was manufactured in
China by engineers who didn't care,
and now every office in the world
has to suffer an annoying hiss, a
blinking red light, fifteen
different power cords that are
utterly incompatible with one
another. So, uh. We are not doing
that. We are not just adding to the
hiss. I will build a prototype, but
I'll do it perfectly or I don't do
it.
JIM
Mike, are you familiar with the
saying "Perfect is the enemy of
good?"
39.
MIKE
Well, "Good Enough" is the enemy of
humanity.
Beat.
Mike leaves, having made his point. Doug follows.
Jim waits a beat...
...hits the intercom --
JIM
Shelley, get John Woodman back on
please.
INT. MAIN OFFICE, RIM 1, WATERLOO - MOMENTS LATER
Mike and Doug sit with the boys. Doug is hyped.
DOUG
...So I reach out, hang up the
phone. He looks up at me like "are
you ready to die?"
Laughter from the group.
DOUG (CONT'D)
No, no, no, and I'm prepared to die
on it, right? Mike steps in between
us, brings the glasses down and
goes "bitch, I tell you when you
when we set the god damn meeting".
And he backs off.
The guys are impressed.
Jim enters. He's putting on his blazer to leave for the day.
JIM
Alright. Woodman wants to see it.
We're going to Bell Atlantic
tomorrow.
MIKE
What? What?
JIM
New York City. Tomorrow.
DOUG
But. He said--
40.
JIM
You've got until 8am.
MIKE
...to do what?
Jim turns and walks out. The room is stunned silent.
PRANAY
So you didn't call him a bitch, did
you?
DOUG
Okay, new plan, everybody we are
all going to chip in and build this
thing tonight. Okay.
Mike stands up -- goes to his desk.
BUILDING MONTAGE BEGINS
INT. NUTECH ELECTRONICS, WATERLOO - DAY
Mike and Doug look around at all kinds of hardware and
electronic gak.
MIKE
Alright. Give me a fillmore toggle
switch, give me a 33 PF--
DOUG
Yeah.
Mike compares a few SPEAK AND SPELLS, VTECH WHIZ-KIDS, and
anything else he can find with keyboards, letters or numbers.
MIKE
I think it's like, something kind
of like a hybrid of one. So, I like
the look of--
Doug is distracted looking at two different TMNT figurines.
EXT. TOYS'R'US, WATERLOO - DAY
Mike and Doug rush to the car with bags full of gear.
INT. SMALL CONFERENCE ROOM, RIM 1, WATERLOO - DAY
Ethan and Scott waste time.
41.
ETHAN
I thought you were playing Civ.
Mike and Doug enter the office with the goods.
DOUG
We're back!
- They rip open boxes and take toys apart.
- They separate everything into piles; circuit boards,
keypads, wires, plastic and metal frames, displays...
MIKE
What feels better?
DOUG
That's why to me, like, remote
controls, things that people are
used to touching, and the buttons
need to be small enough that --
- Doug and Scott look over Ethan's shoulder at his computer
monitor.
SCOTT
Nero connection lost it's --
- Scott heads out for the night.
DOUG
Taking off?
SCOTT
Yeah. I'll see you guys tomorrow?
DOUG
Uh, yeah.
- Doug and Mike look at the print out together, mull it over.
MIKE
So, add in the lithium ion--
- Mike works on the hardware/casing.
- Mike looks over Doug's shoulder as he solders.
DOUG
Still hot. Still hot. You're good.
Montage Ends
42.
INT. MAIN OFFICE, RIM 1, WATERLOO - EARLY MORNING
Doug is asleep on the conference table.
A CAR HORN HONKS from outside. Doug shoots up.
DOUG
(groggy)
I had a dream we were rich.
Mike, still awake, opens the blinds revealing the early
morning sun and Jim waiting outside his BMW. Jim honks again.
Doug rolls over to see what Mike did while he was asleep --
his eyes light up -- he picks up THE PROTOTYPE -- stares at
it. We can only see the back of it in his hands.
DOUG (CONT'D)
"And sometimes my dreams occur
exactly as I dreamt them."
JIM
(from the car)
MIKE! LETS GO!
MIKE
What's that from?
DOUG
Dune.
EXT. STRIP PLAZA, RIM 1, WATERLOO - MOMENTS LATER
Mike emerges from the building clutching a heavy-duty
carrying case. Jim's in the driver's seat with the engine
running. Mike leans in the passenger window, sees a TAILORED
SUIT draped across the seat in a garment bag.
JIM
You'll get dressed at the airport.
MIKE
Thank you. Um, should Doug come
with us or...?
JIM
No.
MIKE
Cause... He has a lot to do with
this.
43.
JIM
He's a goof. Get in the car.
MIKE
I think he really wants to come.
JIM
Lemme tell you the best advice I
ever got at Harvard. If you want to
be great, you need to sacrifice.
And the more painful the sacrifice,
the greater you'll be.
MIKE
He's my best friend.
JIM
Okay great, I saw him put a toilet
plunger on a computer.
Doug watches from the window as Mike gets into the car and
closes the door.
INT. GATE 36, PEARSON AIRPORT, TORONTO - DAY
Mike and Jim sit at the gate with the other travelers waiting
to board. Mike, wearing his new suit, sleeps.
INTERCOMM (O.S.)
Attention passengers on flight AC42
to New York. Your flight is now
boarding.
Jim elbows Mike awake.
JIM
Mike.
Mike jolts up dropping the prototype case.
JIM (CONT'D)
Oh, Mike.
EXT. JFK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, NYC - DAY
Mike and Jim emerge from the terminal. Mike moves awkwardly
in his new shoes, clutching the prototype close to his body.
Jim hails a taxi.
They climb in.
44.
INT. CAB, NYC - LATER
Mike excitedly raps on the prototype case, looking out the
window at the big city-- he takes out a Tupperware of fruit --
starts eating -- drops a piece of fruit on his shirt, leaving
a dark stain -- he tries to rub it out -- Jim watches in
dismay...
JIM
So, if you hear me crinkling a
piece of paper, that means stop
talking.
MIKE
Like, in general or...?
JIM
No. In the pitch.
MIKE
Oh. Yeah. Gotcha.
Jim notices the car is moving too slow for him.
JIM
(to driver)
Hey, we gotta move here, man! My
wife's in labour. Let's go.
The driver floors it!
Mike looks at Jim, evaluating his feelings about that lie...
MIKE
May I ask why your business card
had the phone number crossed out?
JIM
I have no idea what you're talking
about.
Beat.
MIKE
Hey, let's make a deal, okay? You
and I never lie to each other.
The cab stops.
JIM
Sure. I didn't quit my job. I was
fired. I just mortgaged my house to
pay our staff. So, if this doesn't
work out, I'm fucked.
45.
Beat.
MIKE
Why'd they fire you?
JIM
`Cause they're idiots.
Jim gets out... Mike follows.. Forgetting the prototype case
in the taxi.
INT. RECEPTION, BELL ATLANTIC HQ, NYC - DAY
Elevator doors open onto the 80th floor -- Jim and Mike exit.
The BELL ASSISTANT greets them.
BELL ASSISTANT
Hi. Research in Motion?
JIM
How are ya?
BELL ASSISTANT
Fantastic. Can I get you anything?
Coffee? Water?
JIM
We're good. We're good.
BELL ASSISTANT
Okay. They'll be with you shortly.
MIKE BELL ASSISTANT (CONT'D)
Okay. Thank you. Alright.
The Assistant directs them towards a small waiting area. Mike
nervously raps on his legs -- stops -- looks down.
Suddenly Mike becomes panicked -- he looks around --
MIKE
Jim...
JIM
No. No. No. No. Never take the
drinks. Thirst is a display of
weakness.
MIKE
No. I may have forgotten the
phone...
46.
JIM
Please tell me you're joking.
MIKE
No I'm completely serious.
JIM
Fuck!
Jim realizes he's making a scene -- drags Mike back to the
elevator bank...
JIM (CONT'D)
Alright, here's what we're going to
do. I need you to draw out a little
sketch. Something that shows the
keyboard just like you did in my
office --
-- Jim walks over to the Assistant --
JIM (CONT'D)
Excuse me miss, could I trouble you
for a pen and paper please?
DING. The elevator opens and Mike goes inside. Jim turns
around just in time to see the doors close behind Mike.
BELL ASSISTANT
They're ready for you.
JIM
Great.
INT. BOARDROOM, BELL ATLANTIC HQ, NYC - CONTINUOUS
The room is PACKED with Executives. CEO JOHN WOODMAN (late
50s, no tie) sits dead centre.
JOHN WOODMAN
Oh wait, wait. Here he is. Hey.
JIM
Hi.
JOHN WOODMAN
Hi.
JIM
How are you?
47.
JOHN WOODMAN
Good. Good. We uh, are we waiting
for anyone?
Jim looks back to John --
JIM
I'm alone.
JOHN WOODMAN
Okay.
JIM
Good.
(beat)
Alright, guys. Here's how I see it.
I know your marketing team tells
you that you sell togetherness -
family, "staying connected"
whatever. But, let's be honest, you
sell minutes. Period. I mean, your
market is minutes. So, your biggest
competitor isn't other cell phone
companies, it's home phones and
office phones. Those are free
minutes. Those are wasted minutes.
So, how do we get those minutes
back?
Jim lets the question hang in the air.
JIM (CONT'D)
We reinvent the cell phone. We put
a computer in it. We put the
internet in it. We make your
cellphone so fucking useful that
you never have to come to the
office again. Does email, text
messaging, however you want to
communicate. Total individualism
all in one device, that fits in
your fist.
Jim thinks he has them, is moving in for the kill.
JIM (CONT'D)
So, you can tell your marketing
team you're not selling
togetherness anymore. You're
selling self reliance.
But John seems a bit bored, he and the execs share a look.
48.
JOHN WOODMAN
Uh, you are not a tech guy, are ya?
JIM
I'm not a -- ?
JOHN WOODMAN
The whole world, the whole fucking
world is trying to do emails on a
cell phone. We had an entire
devision working on it for, I don't
know, eight months or so? You know
how many phones they got to at the
same time?
Jim is frozen.
JOHN WOODMAN (CONT'D)
Eleven. It's a network that's
built for pagers. That's all it can
do. You're in La La land on this
one, kid. I think, you know, some
nerds took you for a ride.
The walls close in around Jim. Outta options. Backed into a
corner...
JIM
Okay.
Knock knock knock.
Jim turns to see Mike outside the glass of the boardroom, out
of breath -- Mike points at the prototype with a big smile --
Jim marches at him with embarrassment -- Jim opens the door a
crack for a private exchange with Mike...
JIM (CONT'D)
Mike...
MIKE
What happened?
JIM
It won't work.
MIKE
What do you mean it won't work?
JIM
Mike. They tried it already.
49.
MIKE
(to the room)
How did you try this already?
JOHN WOODMAN
Hey guys, I think the meeting is
over.
MIKE
Did you just put your devices
directly on the network as though
they were clients?
JOHN WOODMAN
...That's right.
MIKE
Yeah. Right and so what'd you get,
like ten phones working at the same
time?
Beat. That earned him their attention.
JOHN WOODMAN
Uh.. yeah..
Mike hands Jim the prototype box --
MIKE
(to Jim)
Here, just hold this a second.
-- walks over to the whiteboard --
MIKE (CONT'D)
Okay so, here's your issue: When
you use a phone as a client, what's
it doing? It's just sitting on your
network, constantly asking the same
question "Did I get an email? Did I
get an email? Did I get an email?"
So it is forever pulling on your
servers whether you got an email or
not. We have a fix, okay?
All at once Mike has gathered his breath and command of the
room. He turns to face the whiteboard him and starts drawing.
MIKE (CONT'D)
So we are going to build, a giant
computer, that will act as a sort
of massive client, that is hard
wired directly to the internet with
our phone as server. Okay?
50.
Mike draws a few more details.
MIKE (CONT'D)
So, when a user gets an email,
Waterloo pulls it in, packages it,
and then sends it.
He draws multiple arrows between Waterloo and his phone
diagram.
MIKE (CONT'D)
We engage with your network, maybe
a split second, like...
Mike snaps.
MIKE (CONT'D)
Less time than that.
John is under Mike's spell.
JOHN WOODMAN
So how much - sorry - how many --
MIKE
So a month's worth of traffic would
be less bandwidth than a local
phone call. So you could have half
a million devices working
simultaneously.
The room is stunned, waits for John's next move.
JOHN WOODMAN
Can we see it?
Jim opens the prototype case -- hands it to John --
MIKE
So it's a prototype. It's a long
way off from, uh, oh it's just a
long way off. It's a prototype.
JOHN WOODMAN
Well it's definitely the world's
largest pager.
Laughs from his team.
MIKE
No, it's actually the world's
smallest email terminal.
John looks to Mike.
51.
JOHN WOODMAN
Oh.
Mike hiccups.
MIKE
Sorry.
John shuts up -- looks down at the device like a precious
jewel. We finally get to see the ramshackle beta of the first
smartphone... It's awesome. Frankenstein's monster but put
together with true precision. John clicks the makeshift
keyboard with one hand, causing text to appear faintly on the
screen...
JOHN WOODMAN
I see, this is uh... Oh this,
this...? Yeah.
Mike motions to him, to hold it in both hands.
MIKE
Uh. So. Try it with your thumbs,
try typing with your thumbs.
John gets it now.
JOHN WOODMAN
Oh yeah.
He types some more.
JOHN WOODMAN (CONT'D)
What do you call it?
Oh shit... the name... Jim looks at Mike -- sees the stain on
his shirt...
NEWS MONTAGE #1 (1996-2003) BEGINS
OPRAH
It's called a BlackBerry! It sends
and receives email messages. It is
also a cell-phone.
Shots of the BlackBerry device as depicted on Oprah. This
footage is intercut with home movie footage of Mike, Doug and
the Engineering team in the newer, larger and much nicer RIM
offices.
It is a joyous time, filled with excitement, optimism and
hope.
52.
TITLE CARD: 2003
EXT. RIM 2, PARKING LOT - DAY
Jim approaches the new RIM offices in his Porsche
convertible.
PARKING ATTENDANT 1
Morning Mr. Balsillie.
The gate arm raises allowing Jim to drive through to his
parking spot.
Jim pulls into a spot marked "JIM BALSILLIE Co-CEO."
MONTAGE ENDS
EXT. PARKING LOT, RIM 2, WATERLOO - MOMENTS LATER
Jim gets out of his car -- walks towards the front doors...
INT. ATRIUM, RIM 2, WATERLOO - CONTINUOUS
Jim enters the bustling lobby with authority. Staff scurry
back and forth through the atrium.
RIM EMPLOYEE 1
Morning Mr. Balsillie.
Big placards on the wall have a huge image of the BLACKBERRY
957 with "Meet Your New Partner" written under it.
A receptionist, PEGGY (20s) smiles at Jim from behind the
reception desk.
PEGGY
Good morning Mr. Balsillie.
Shelley looks up from behind the desk -- stands up and walks
towards Jim with fresh copies of The Wall Street Journal,
Report on Business and The New York Times.
JIM
Mike's here before me?
SHELLEY
He didn't leave last night.
Shelley hands Jim the Wall Street Journal.
53.
SHELLEY (CONT'D)
You are mentioned on page nine.
Jim flips to it.
SHELLEY (CONT'D)
Carl Yankowski from Palm Pilot
keeps calling.
JIM
Yeah. Well. Tell him if he wants to
talk to me he can come to Waterloo.
Shelley jots it all down on her BlackBerry 957 as she follows
Jim.
SHELLEY
That's what I said. Ted Rogers
wants to have lunch in the city. He
booked Canoe.
People subtly clear the way as he enters the hallway. He's
indestructible.
JIM
No. I'm not going to fucking
Toronto unless there's a game. Oh,
and call Gary Bettman's office
about those Leaf tickets. Fucker
tried to stick me in the third row.
SHELLEY
Fucker, third row, got it.
INT. ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, RIM 2, WATERLOO - DAY
Mike turns to the back corner of the room.
MIKE
(shouting)
Alright. Try one-fourteen and one-
fourteen!
Allan, exhausted, types into a screen of code...
ALLAN
Go for 1-1-4.
MIKE
Okay. Sending.
Mike clicks SEND.
54.
The icon spins...
Mike and Doug stand together in the middle of the room,
flanked by 15 other young engineers, all tired and bleary
eyed. They collectively stare between the BlackBerry 957 in
Mike's hands and the one on the desk beneath them where we
see a Beta version of BlackBerry Messenger with a spinning
icon. It's thinking...
Message sending..
This new engineering department is WAY cleaner and WAY bigger
than RIM 1. The same posters from their first office are now
in glass frames and dozens more have been added. Gone are the
makeshift plywood desks, replaced with sleek, modern office
furniture. But the vibe remains the same.
It seems to be taking forever, but there's still hope and
then --
-- a BBM PING -- Doug looks to Mike...
The room erupts. Engineers are jumping on desks and hugging
and crying with the mania of a successful all-nighter.
DOUG
Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God.
Mike. Oh my God. Boys! Oh my god.
Done. Done. Yes! Come on.
Doug hugs Mike.
Mike is ecstatic. True joy. He can't contain it. Everyone in
the room starts jumping together -- until they notice someone
in the doorway...
...and self-consciously stop celebrating in the face of Jim.
MIKE
Hey Jim, we uh... we built a
messenger.
Jim walks over to Mike's outstretched hand holding his
BlackBerry -- sees what the fuss is about...
MIKE (CONT'D)
Fully encrypted two-way messaging
that is absolutely inaccessible by
anyone including us. It is
Untrackable. Untraceable.
Unhackable.
55.
JIM
(dismissive)
It's texting.
DOUG
No. Do you know how much it costs
to send a text message?
JIM
Yeah. Ten cents and the network
gets every penny. We're never going
to see that money.
MIKE
Right, but these texts are sent via
data. So, behind the network's
back. Which means...
JIM
Unlimited free texting.. Only on
BlackBerry.
Jim looks around the room.
JIM (CONT'D)
Fuck yes!
Jim starts high-fiving the room. They love it.
DOUG
Hey! Hey hey hey!
JIM
Fuck yes!
MUSIC CUE: Return of the Mack by Mark Morrison blares off of
Doug's Winamp. It's a fucking party.
MIKE
I sent the message that Alexander
Bell sent to his assistant, Watson
come here that's what --
Jim can't nerd out with Mike and tries to settle him.
JIM
Let's just.. let's just--
Jim dances awkwardly, trying to celebrate with these guys.
Doug notices. They nod to one another in a moment of "you're
okay".
56.
We focus on CARL YANKOWSKI (60, nice suit) standing in the
doorway of the Engineering Department. Shelley, flustered,
stands behind him.
YANKOWSKI
What the hell are you guys doing?
Everyone turns to Yankowski. Doug turns off the music.
JIM
Sorry - who are you?
YANKOWSKI
You said if I wanted to talk I had
to come to Waterloo. So, here I am.
The engineers look confused.
JIM
Gentlemen. Meet Carl Yankowski of
Palm Pilot.
MIKE
Oh. Really?
DOUG
Booooooo!
JIM
Doug.
DOUG
How ya doing?
INT. MIDWAY DINER, WATERLOO - DAY
Mike and Jim sit across from Yankowski.
YANKOWSKI
...so I just said three words.
"Two. Litre. Bottle." You know what
they said? They said "Carl, NOBODY
drinks two litres of Mountain Dew."
I mean, they didn't see what I saw:
Large pizza, BIG soda, complete
dinner. We sold a billion litres in
a month.
Yankowski notices Mike, looking down, both hands under the
table, where he texts with Doug.
Mike (BBM) to Doug: This guy is insane.
57.
YANKOWSKI (CONT'D)
You playing with yourself under
there, Mikey?
Mike looks up, confused.
YANKOWSKI (CONT'D)
Alright. Let's clear the air here.
I had nothing to do with U.S.
Robotics trying to bankrupt you
back in `96 - defective modems,
working modems... Were they
defective? It was a hundred years
ago. Who's to say?
MIKE
Me.
Yankowski points to Mike in agreement.
YANKOWSKI
Exactly. Here's what we do. Combine
BlackBerry and Palm Pilot. One
product. It's the two-litre-bottle
of smartphones.
MIKE
Would I still have complete control
over every aspect of engineering
and design?
YANKOWSKI
No.
MIKE
Okay well, it's going to be uh - we
won't be able to move ahead with
this. I'm, I'm... sorry. Sorry.
Yankowski takes out his PALM PILOT 7 -- extends the built-in
antenna -- starts TAPPING on the screen with a stylus...
YANKOWSKI
You guys love saying "sorry", don't
you? Okay. Let's see what you
closed at? Four-dollars-and-fifty
cents. Oh god is that Canadian?
Mike sees "Made in China" on the back of the PalmPilot.
YANKOWSKI (CONT'D)
U.S. Robotics? Eighty-three
dollars. Now, that gives us a
market cap of about...
(MORE)
58.
YANKOWSKI (CONT'D)
forty-five billion. So what would
happen if I just... I don't know,
bought up all your shares? Oh,
what's the word for that again,
sport? Hostile Takeover.
Jim doesn't flinch. Mike starts to panic.
MIKE
(to Jim)
Hostile takeover? What the fuck?
What is happening? We would just
say - We could just say no. We, we
own the company --
CRINKLE CRINKLE CRINKLE. Mike stops mid sentence, distracted
by a sound -- he looks down at Jim balling up the PAPER MENU.
JIM
You know, Carl. You got a deal.
Mike bites his tongue.
CARL YANKOWSKI
Yeah?
JIM
Yeah. Give us a couple months to
get our people taken care of and
then we'll uh, agree to a private
sale.
MIKE
Wait, just uh --
Mike raises a finger to interject. Jim puts his hand up
beside him.
JIM
Mike. It's okay. It's okay. It's
better to get rich now than fight
this guy in court for the next five
years.
YANKOWSKI
That's right. You know, I like you.
Mike can't speak. It's his nightmare.
Jim gestures to the TV.
JIM
You like hockey?
59.
YANKOWSKI
God no. It's moronic. You?
JIM
Hate it.
INT. ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, RIM 2, WATERLOO - DAY
Doug sits with the engineers. They're watching John
Carpenter's They Live. The "Movie Night" banner hangs over
the projector screen. They eat pizza from Supreme 2 for 1
Pizza and Wings. Allan sleeps on a desk.
Using a slice of pizza, Doug points at the screen.
RODDY PIPER (ON TV)
I have come here to chew bubblegum
and kick ass.. and I'm all out of
bubblegum.
DOUG
They based Duke Nukem on this guy.
Like, that is Duke Nukem for real.
The LIGHTS COME ON -- Jim and Mike walk through the door.
JIM
Okay. Party's over.
DOUG
What?
JIM
Listen up. Turn that thing off
please.
Ethan and Allan attempt to shut the projector off.
JIM (CONT'D)
Turn it off. You guys having fun?
Because we are about to lose our
fucking company.
DOUG
What the hell happened at this
lunch?
The light from the projector shines in Jim's eyes.
JIM
Turn that fucking thing off!
60.
INT. ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, RIM 2, WATERLOO - LATER
Jim stands in front of the engineers, clearly having just
delivered big news. Mike stands beside him, crestfallen.
JIM
Okay?
You could hear a pin drop. Doug raises his hand.
JIM (CONT'D)
Yeah. Doug.
DOUG
So. My question's actually for
Mike. How are we supposed to sell
another five hundred thousand
phones when we're already maxed on
every network we're on?
Mike doesn't look up -- he just shakes his miserable head.
JIM
You guys will figure it out.
Doug raises his hand again.
DOUG
How - how? If we put more phones on
these networks they are going to
crash. Period. We are not allowed
to sell more phones. Mike?
JIM
No. You don't worry about what's
allowed. I say what's allowed.
DOUG
I don't even understand what the
problem is here. Who cares if this
guy wants to buy our company, isn't
that good?
JIM
I fucking care. That's who cares. I
care. I'm trying to keep this
company together, you fuck.
DOUG
I'm sorry. Do you even know what a
network limit load is?
Mike motions Doug to stop.
61.
MIKE
Doug.
JIM
(to Mike)
Talk to me outside for a second?
Jim leads the way to the door. Mike gives Doug one more look
of "please shut up".
DOUG
What?!
Mike follows Jim to the hallway --
INT. HALLWAY, ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, RIM 2 - CONTINUOUS
JIM
What's a Network Limit Load?
MIKE
This is impossible.
JIM
Well what are we supposed to
fucking do Mike? Either we jack our
stock to the moon or Yankowski
fucks us.
MIKE
Doug is right. Unless the carriers
rebuild their entire networks
there's nothing we can do. The
phones use too much data.
JIM
Well then fucking shrink it?
MIKE
Yeah. Okay. We, we looked into
that...
JIM
...Uh huh?
MIKE
(whispering)
These guys can't do it.
Mike looks past Jim to the room of engineers. They've formed
a little circle around a game of Magic: The Gathering.
62.
JIM
What do you mean, they can't do it?
You said they were the best
engineers in the world.
MIKE
I said they were the best engineers
in Canada.
Beat.
JIM
Okay. Alright. Who could do it.
MIKE
Maybe top guys from Motorola or
Microsoft or Google...
Jim pulls out his BlackBerry and opens the notes app --
starts typing.
JIM
Okay.
MIKE
What, what, what are you doing?
JIM
Who else? Where else?
DOUG (O.S)
(muffled through glass)
John Carmack!
Jim and Mike turn to Doug, who's standing on the other side
of the glass door, trying to listen in.
DOUG (CONT'D)
(muffled)
Get John Carmack! From I.D. Can you
guys hear me? The guy who made
Doom?
Jim looks at Mike.
JIM
What's Doom?
MIKE
Have you played Wolfenstein?
Jim is not impressed.
63.
MIKE (CONT'D)
Just please don't sell anymore
phones.
Jim walks away.
DOUG
Can you hear me?
MIKE
Yes! YES!
DOUG
Oh. Shit.
INT. SALES ROOM, RIM 2, WATERLOO - DAY
A room of ten young salesmen with the exact opposite vibe of
the engineers. If those were budding Mikes, these are wannabe
Jims. Muscular, sharply dressed, and with great hair cuts.
They're relaxing as though they're in a locker room. Stereo
blasting. One bounces a ball against a wall; another lifts
weights with a spotter. A whiteboard on the wall has
everyone's names with their sales numbers listed.
MARK GUIBERT (O.S.)
What the fuck!
JUSTIN FABIAN
Look at this. I'm on fire.
MARK GUIBERT
Lefty. Lefty. Lefty.
Suddenly Jim marches in. Instant quiet. Presence of the
Master. Mark stands up and turns off the stereo.
JIM
Alright! Listen up, you dead-eyed
dumb fucks.
Jim tosses a box at DON MCMURTRY throwing him off balance on
his chair. The room sits up -- shares looks with one another.
JIM (CONT'D)
Sorry to cut your little vacation
short here, but we got some product
to move.
Murmurs.
64.
DON MCMURTRY (O.S.)
What product can we move?
JIM
I'm sorry. What's that?
DON MCMURTRY
Well.. I thought the engineers
said.. We maxxed out uh, our
networks?
JIM
Yeah. They did, yeah and that's
their fucking problem, okay? Your
problem is you need to sell a
million BlackBerries before Q3.
Bombshell news. Jim gestures to the wall of boxes. The
salesman laugh until they realize Jim's not joking.
JUSTIN FABIAN
Uhhh..
JIM
(Mocking Justin)
Uhh. Uhh. Uh.
Beat.
JIM (CONT'D)
I'm not fucking joking.
Jim silences them with a look.
JIM (CONT'D)
I want `em gone.
Jim leaves the room. The guys scramble to get their suits and
get out the door.
EXT. RUNWAY, PEARSON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, TORONTO - DAY
Jim runs up the steps of RIM's (rented) Westwind Jet.
INT. WESTWIND JET, TORONTO - DAY
Jim waits for take off. Email Ping!
Email from Yankowski: How about the name PalmBerry?
65.
EXT. GOOGLE HQ, CA - DAY
Jim walks through the Google Campus with his head held high.
INT. PAUL STANNOS' OFFICE, GOOGLE HQ, MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA - DAY
Jim sits across the desk from PAUL STANNOS (46, BIG glasses),
the name plate on his desk reads "Head of Physical
Engineering".
Paul holds a brand new BlackBerry -- still in the box --
PAUL
Actually, we're talking about
banning these.
JIM
Banning?
PAUL
Nobody pays attention to meetings
anymore. They're crouched over..
JIM
Tell them to stop.
PAUL
Okay. We call them CrackBerries.
JIM
Come work for me.
PAUL
I can't.
JIM
Why?
PAUL
Because I am under contract here.
JIM
How much to break it?
PAUL
Excuse me?
JIM
How much money do you want to break
your contract with Google?
Paul gets up nervously -- walks to the door -- closes it.
66.
JIM (CONT'D)
I'll give you a million dollars if
you sign right now.
Paul rushes over to his computer -- unplugs it.
PAUL
(whispering)
I am not moving to Canada. We are
not having this conversation.
Jim is surprised his number didn't move the dial.
JIM
Two million.
PAUL
Stop.
JIM
Three million.
PAUL
I need you to leave.
Jim isn't going to lose -- goes for it...
JIM
Ten million.
Beat.
PAUL
Well, you don't have ten million
dollars.
Jim takes a contract out of his suitcase -- starts amending
it by hand...
JIM
This... is a million dollar option
deal. I will backdate that to when
RIM was trading at a dollar.
Merrill just gave us a target of
13.
Jim hands it over. Paul looks down at the contract.
PAUL
Is this legal?
SELLING/RECRUITING MONTAGE BEGINS
67.
INT/EXT. AIRPORT HANGER - DAY
Jim marches towards his private plane through an operating
machine shop, looking like he owns the place. It's loud. His
BB rings -- looks at it -- picks up...
JIM
Carl!
CARL YANKOWSKI (O.S.)
PalmBerry!
JIM
Eh, listen, I can barely hear you
buddy!
CARL YANKOWSKI (O.S.)
I said PalmBerry. Isn't that great?
JIM
Listen uh, I'm getting some static
on the line. Can I call you back?
CARL YANKOWSKI (O.S.)
Jim, I can barely hear you. Jim.
Jim holds the phone up towards the loud engine --
CARL YANKOWSKI (O.S.) JIM
(CONT'D) What? Carl? Okay, I'll call
Jim, speak up. you later.
He cuts himself off by hanging up -- puts his phone away and
waltzes up the steps of his plane...
INT. RIM'S RENTED WESTWIND JET, 35,000 FEET - DAY
Jim reads an email from Accounting: Just confirming Jim...
10m in stock to Paul Stannos?
Jim replies: Do it.
INT. NOC (NETWORK OPERATIONS CENTRE), RIM 2 - DAY
Close on a computer screen showing the BlackBerry network
usage tick upwards...
INT. ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, RIM 2, WATERLOO - DAY
Mike and Doug deep in conversation in the engineering
department.
68.
PAUL
Mike Lazaridis?
Paul Stannos stands at the door to engineering with a box of
personal belongings.
MIKE
If Jim fired you, I can't undo it!
I'm sorry. I've tried.
PAUL
No, No. I, just got hired. It's
Paul.
DOUG
How ya doing? Welcome! Where are ya
coming from?
PAUL
Uh, Google.
DOUG
Nice! What'd, what'd you do?
PAUL
I was the uh, Head of Physical
Engineering.
The guys look around impressed.
EXT. AIRPORT HANGER - DAY
Jim struts into the airport hanger.
JIM (O.S.)
You are not salesman anymore.
You're male models.
INT. RACQUET CLUB - DAY
Fabian plays tennis.
JIM (O.S.)
I want you at every Country Club,
Yacht Club, Tennis Club. Wherever
the elite go, you go.
Fabian checks his BlackBerry.
JIM (O.S.) (CONT'D)
I want them to see you using it. Be
big--
69.
INT. COUNTRY CLUB - DAY
Mark smokes a cigar while checking his Blackberry.
JIM (O.S.)
Be LOUD. Have them thinking, who is
this annoying prick? And how can I
be more like him?
INT. TAILORS - DAY
McMurtry gets his suit fitted. He types on his BlackBerry.
TAILOR
What is that?
JIM (O.S.)
And when they ask you--
JIM (O.S.) (CONT'D)
Don't say it's a phone that does
email... It's not a cell phone...
It's a status symbol.
EXT. TARMAC, WASHINGTON AIRPORT DAY
Jim hustles down the steps of his plane.
EXT. MICROSOFT, WASHINGTON - DAY
Jim arrives at Microsoft. Makes a deal.
INT. OFFICE BUILDING - DAY
Jim making deals and shaking hands.
INT. COUNTRY CLUB - NIGHT
Mark being showered with business cards.
MARK GUIBERT
Anybody else? Anybody else?
Alright.
INT. SALES ROOM, RIM 2, WATERLOO - DAY
Mark hands Austin more business cards.
70.
AUSTIN
Hi. I'm calling on behalf of
BlackBerry. I heard that you're
interested in buying some of the
quarks for your corporation.
INT. NOC (NETWORK OPERATIONS CENTRE), RIM 2 - CONTINUOUS
Network ticking up yellow.
INT. RACQUET CLUB - DAY
Fabian schmoozes with the other players.
INT. SALES ROOM, RIM 2, WATERLOO - DAY
Fabian shows off his collection of business cards and gives
them to Austin.
INT. NOC (NETWORK OPERATIONS CENTRE), RIM 2 - DAY
Allan monitors the network ticking up yellow.
INT. TAILORS - DAY
The BlackBerry on the tailor's desk catches a customer's eye.
INT. SALES ROOM, RIM 2, WATERLOO - DAY
Business cards pile up on Austin's desk.
INT. NOC (NETWORK OPERATIONS CENTRE), RIM 2 - DAY
The network monitor has ticked up into the RED ZONE.
MONTAGE ENDS
FOX 5 NEWS FOOTAGE:
FOX REPORTER
It's 7:55. We are back with Fox 5
Consumer news. A global BlackBerry
crisis this morning. The company
says it's experiencing massive
service interruptions.
(MORE)
71.
FOX REPORTER (CONT'D)
The company's help line says, users
can expect delays in sending and
receiving messages.
ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, RIM 2, WATERLOO - DAY
Everyone is going crazy trying to figure out what happened to
their traffic. Doug handles the phones.
DOUG
(on the phone)
Yes. Yes. We are aware of the
problem and uh, we are.. We are
sorting it out right now. I'll call
you back.
Doug hangs up. Engineers are scrambling. It's pure chaos.
DOUG (CONT'D)
What's happening man?
SCOTT
It's all down there!
PRANAY
Are we totally fucked?
Mike leans out from the NOC door --
MIKE
HEY. QUIET!
They shut up. Mike slams the NOC door shut.
DOUG
Let, let, let, let's just keep it
down out here guys... for a second.
INT. NOC (NETWORK OPERATIONS CENTRE), RIM 2 - CONTINUOUS
Mike closes the door and joins Network Engineer Allan Lewis --
he's sitting in front of A SINGLE LAPTOP in the middle of the
room.
MIKE
How many are down?
ALLAN
Maybe... ten thousand?
MIKE
Jesus. Okay. Okay. Okay.
72.
RIINNG!
Mike picks up his BlackBerry.
MIKE (CONT'D)
Yeah, hello?
AUTOMATED OPERATOR (O.S.)
You have a collect call from...
JIM (O.S.)
WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING?
AUTOMATED OPERATOR (O.S.)
Will you accept the charges?
Mike is paralyzed with fear...
AUTOMATED OPERATOR (O.S.) (CONT'D)
Are you still there?
MIKE
Yes, I accept.
AUTOMATED OPERATOR (O.S.)
Thank you.
Beat.
JIM (O.S.)
Mike.
MIKE
...Hi...
EXT. PAYPHONE BOOTH, CALIFORNIA - CONTINUOUS
Jim is in the (Verizon) phone booth.
JIM
There are three reasons why people
buy our phones. Do you know what
they are?
INT. NOC (NETWORK OPERATIONS CENTRE), RIM 2 - CONTINUOUS
MIKE
Umm... Email?
73.
EXT. PAYPHONE BOOTH, CALIFORNIA - CONTINUOUS
JIM
They! Fucking! Work!
INT. NOC (NETWORK OPERATIONS CENTRE), RIM 2 - CONTINUOUS
MIKE (O.S.)
Yeah. Okay. It's not us, Jim. It's
the carrier. Verizon is doing
something weird.
EXT. PAYPHONE BOOTH, CALIFORNIA - CONTINUOUS
JIM
Well, I'm about to do "something
weird" if you don't fix this. NOW.
INT. NOC (NETWORK OPERATIONS CENTRE), RIM 2 - CONTINUOUS
JIM (O.S.)
The deal was, I get the engineers..
You shrink the data!
Mike suddenly makes the connection --
MIKE
Are, are you, are you selling more
phones?
EXT. PAYPHONE BOOTH, CALIFORNIA - CONTINUOUS
JIM
What the hell do you think I've
been doing over here, Mike!? We're
in the middle of a hostile fucking
takeover!
INT. NOC (NETWORK OPERATIONS CENTRE), RIM 2 - CONTINUOUS
JIM (OS
Do I need to have someone babysit
you dorks?
MIKE
Okay...okay... so THAT'S.. okay.
Yeah, the entire system is
crashing..
(MORE)
74.
MIKE (CONT'D)
(to Allan)
He's selling more phones..
Allan looks over at Mike with concern.
EXT. PAYPHONE BOOTH, CALIFORNIA - CONTINUOUS
JIM
HEY. GOD DAMN IT.
INT. NOC (NETWORK OPERATIONS CENTRE), RIM 2 - CONTINUOUS
MIKE
Yeah. Yeah. So.. Okay uh. I didn't
realize.. uh, hold off selling more
until we --
EXT. PAYPHONE BOOTH, CALIFORNIA - CONTINUOUS
JIM
I'M NOT FUCK --
Jim bashes the receiver against the phone, leaving nothing
but bits behind as he storms off.
INT. OFFICE, MOTOROLA, CHICAGO - DAY
Jim sits opposite RITCHIE CHO (Head of Devices). Ritchie
reads over a contract. Looks up at Jim.
RITCHIE
Okay, sorry, is this technically
legal?
CHARLES PURDY (O.S.)
Ritchie!
Jim spins around to see CHARLES PURDY (70, heavyset, scary)
standing in Ritchie's doorway...
RITCHIE
I'm actually in a personal meeting,
Charles.
CHARLES PURDY
And I personally don't give a
flying fuck! Engineering can't do a
god damn thing until you send that
fax! Now take a "meeting" when the
union isn't ripping my guts out.
(MORE)
75.
CHARLES PURDY (CONT'D)
Do you hear me? Get it done.
(under his breath)
Son of a bitch.
Charles SLAMS the door shut -- Ritchie turns to Jim.
RITCHIE
You said you were located in
Waterloo?
Jim is still looking at the door where Charles stood.
JIM
What is that guy's name?
INT. ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, RIM 2, WATERLOO - DAY
It's madness. All the new superstar recruits have arrived on
the same day. Doug stands on his chair with his arms in the
air, holding court. Mike watches from the corner of the room.
DOUG
Okay. Okay. Hey everybody. Welcome
to Research in Motion! I know this
is a bit disorganized. I promise we
will get everybody settled. So um,
in the meantime, we are having a
bit of a network issue. So, put up
you hand if you understand Mobitex
architecture?
Ritchie Cho and Paul Stannos raise their hands.
DOUG (CONT'D)
Two people. Okay. Uh, that's fine.
You two, you're with Mike. The rest
of you, I don't know what you do
but follow me. We are taking a
tour! Let's go.
Doug starts a tour --
DOUG (CONT'D)
It's going to be a little bit like
Sam Rockwell in Teenage Ninja
Turtles in the foot clan. Hands up,
who's seen it?
Paul and Ritchie walk over to Mike --
RITCHIE
Can I talk to you for a second?
What is Charles Purdy doing here?
76.
MIKE
What, what are you talking about?
RITCHIE
The man standing in the hallway
directly over my left shoulder.
Mike turns around to see Charles Purdy (from Motorola)
standing outside the glass, looking in on the room -- he
turns back --
MIKE
Oh, Jesus.
RITCHIE
Listen to me. That guy will fuck
you up. Do not let that man
anywhere near your engineering
department. Trust me.
MIKE
Yeah. Okay. Alright.
RITCHIE
(to Paul)
I'm serious. He will fuck your shit
up.
INT. HALLWAY, ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, RIM 2 - MOMENTS LATER
Mike opens the door to the hall, hiding his body inside the
room.
MIKE
Can I help you?
CHARLES PURDY
You're Mike? Aren't you?
MIKE
Yes. I'm Mike. What are you doing
here?
CHARLES PURDY
Charles Purdy. I'm your new COO.
MIKE
Oh. Jim hired you to be the Chief --
CHARLES PURDY
I'm here to get this ship under
control.
77.
MIKE
We are under control.
CHARLES PURDY
Oh, really? Whose?
Charles gestures through the glass. It's a party. Doug piggy-
backs Scott around the office.
CHARLES PURDY (CONT'D)
Hmmm?
Mike walks away.
INT. MIDWAY DINER, WATERLOO - DAY
Coffee being poured... Notes being scribbled... Food sits
untouched...
Mike works with Paul and Ritchie on pages and pages of math.
PAUL
Okay. So, then let's trying
something different. Instead of
shrinking the data.. Maybe, we
spread it out?
The waitress tops up their coffee.
PAUL (CONT'D)
Thank you.
RITCHIE
Well, why not take multiple towers
in the same zone and split the
packet between them? We can put it
back together at the server here.
Mike speaks without looking up from his calculations.
MIKE
We tried that. Here's the problem,
the towers don't recognize one
another. Each of them has no idea
which piece of the signal they're
receiving and the whole process
just keeps--
PAUL
Maybe we reprogram the towers?
78.
MIKE
They're not our towers. We don't
control them.
RITCHIE
That's okay. At Naughty Dog we had
to hack the Playstation to get
Crash Bandicoot running.
Mike lights up, realizing these guys are fucking SMART.
MIKE
Okay. So, if each exchange is
triangulated, we could divide the
signal three ways?
Mike takes the salt, pepper, and ketchup -- makes a triangle.
PAUL
No. No. We actually could do way,
WAY more. Every BlackBerry is a
server?
RITCHIE
We could divide the signal between
every user in the same grid?.
PAUL
Divide by Thousands. So, it will be
like Napster. Distributed network
of your own users.
RITCHIE (O.S.)
That's gotta be in the terms of
service.. Hackers would be on it so
fast.
PAUL (O.S.)
They encrypt everything server
side, right? Mike? Mike? I mean,
everything, everything is already
encrypted. So.
Mike is writing this idea down as fast as he can.
RITCHIE (O.S.)
...Mike?
PAUL
Mike?
Mike grabs his papers...
79.
MIKE
Excuse me.
Mike rushes for the door.
MIKE (CONT'D)
You can have my bacon.
Paul and Ritchie watch him leave.
PAUL
What are they paying you?
RITCHIE
I shouldn't say.
PAUL
They're paying me ten million
dollars.
RITCHIE
Yeah. Me too.
INT. MIKE'S BMW, PARKING LOT, RIM 2, WATERLOO - DAY
Mike screeches into his "LAZARIDIS" parking space. No Jim. No
Doug.
INT. HALLWAY, ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, RIM 2 - DAY
Mike races down the hallway, clutching his stack of equations
as if someone might steal them.
INT. ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, RIM 2, WATERLOO - CONTINUOUS
Mike stops at the doorway to engineering --
We see what Mike is looking at -- his entire staff, old and
new, are setting up for "Movie Night" -- chairs are arranged -
- popcorn is handed out in coffee-filter "bowls" -- a giant
projector screen is pulled down. Scott and a new recruit
balance on swivel chairs to hang the "Movie Night" banner.
SCOTT
Higher on that side. Let's get a
chair over there.
ALLAN
Oh, yeah. Here you go buddy.
80.
Mike looks down at the "work" in his hands -- then back at
Movie Night...
INT. CHARLES PURDY'S OFFICE, RIM 2, WATERLOO - DAY
Mike knocks timidly...
CHARLES PURDY
Yes. Come in.
Mike opens the door -- takes one step in -- Charles is
wearing glasses at his desk, reading over a delivery
schedule.
MIKE
Mr. Purdy?
Mike holds up his papers sheepishly.
MIKE (CONT'D)
Yeah. Uh so, first of all, sorry
about before.
INT. ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, RIM 2, WATERLOO - MOMENTS LATER
Staff sit theatre style in anticipation. Smiles. Laughs. The
Disciples of Doug.
CHARLES PURDY (O.S.)
Allan Lewis?!
The room turns around at Charles' booming voice.
CHARLES PURDY (CONT'D)
Which one of you is Allan Lewis?!
Everyone looks at Allan, sitting with his popcorn.
ALLAN
Hello.
CHARLES PURDY
Ah. Michael's had a breakthrough.
Now, I want these tested. I want
the report on my desk, Friday.
Charles hands him the papers -- Allan looks at them...
Allan looks up sharply.
ALLAN
When? Sorry?
81.
CHARLES PURDY
Friday.
The room chuckles in a "this must be a joke" kind of way --
Allan breathes a sigh of relief, thinking Charles was
serious.
ALLAN
This looks like a whole new relay
system--
CHARLES PURDY
Uh huh.
Allan sobers up.
ALLAN
Testing this will probably take me
a month.
CHARLES PURDY
Well, then you best get started,
hadn't you?
ALLAN
...It's bad luck to work on Movie
Night.
ETHAN
Can't work on movie night.
The crowd goes quiet.
CHARLES PURDY
You're all children. Is that it?
SCOTT
(laughing)
Sorry, who are you?
CHARLES PURDY
You think this is funny, is it?
SCOTT
Just wondering who -- who are you?
CHARLES PURDY
I'm Charles Purdy. From this moment
on you will all work for me. And if
that work is not done at a pace
that I expect, you'll be fired.
(MORE)
82.
CHARLES PURDY (CONT'D)
And I'll keep firing until this
room is full of men and not little
boys playing with their little
penises. Now, are there any
questions?
ETHAN
Um. Where's Doug?
INT. DOUG'S CAR, PARKING LOT, RIM 2, WATERLOO - DAY
MUSIC CUE: This is What We Do by MC Hammer blares on the car
stereo.
His `84 Honda Civic (still runs!) pulls into the RIM parking
lot. He wears his orange bandana and sings along...
DOUG
(singing)
...My body, It's my body, Take it
where I want to, Pump it up
party... My Time is my Time. I make
my own decisions. Do what I want to
do.
PARKING ATTENDANT 2
Doug! Let's go bro.
DOUG
Movie night tonight. Movie night.
Doug pulls into his "DOUG" spot next to "LAZARIDIS" and
"BALSILLIE". He takes the cassette out of the tape deck and
transfers it to his yellow Sony walkman. Presses play and
continues to bop to it.
INT. HALLWAY, ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, RIM 2 - MOMENTS LATER
Doug walks down empty, quiet halls, music still blasting,
oblivious...
... Doug takes off his headphones.
END MUSIC CUE
INT. ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, RIM 2, WATERLOO - CONTINUOUS
The "Movie Night" banner is gone. The projector is gone. The
chairs are back at their desks. Everyone is working. Six guys
sit behind Allan's computer, helping with Mike's new code.
83.
Doug looks at his desk -- the toilet plunger sits in the
garbage can...
INT. MIKE'S OFFICE, RIM 2, WATERLOO - DAY
Mike reads Fundamentals of Microwave Transmission Lines.
Doug storms in --
DOUG
Have you seen this?
MIKE
No.
DOUG
Have you been out there?
MIKE
No.
Mike doesn't look up from his research.
DOUG
Dude. Jim killed Movie Night.
Actually, what am I saying, he
didn't have the guts to do it
himself. Apparently, he got this
three hundred pound dude to go in
there and start screaming at
everybody! Said he was going to
fire Allan?
No response from Mike.
DOUG (CONT'D)
...Mike?
MIKE
We do need... We do need to get
back to work.
Doug gets it -- thinks about leaving...
DOUG
Yeah... Do you not ever wonder why
these guys are wiling to work
eighty hours a week? Never see
their families? Never get any
credit?
84.
MIKE
Yeah. It's because they get to work
on the best phone in the world,
Doug.
DOUG
Yeah... That must be it.
Doug walks out.
INT. BOARDROOM, VERIZON HQ, NEW YORK - DAY
Jim walks toward the Verizon boardroom.
RING!
JIM
Hello?
YANKOWSKI (O.S.)
You're making a big mistake, sport.
JIM CARL YANKOWSKI (O.S.)
Yeah, sorry, Carl. I am going Don't you dare fucking hang
to have to call you back. I up on me. Don't hang--
am stepping into a meeting.
Clicks. Hangs up.
Jim stands in front of the Verizon board, his hands on John's
shoulder. John brushes him off. A dozen board members (some
of who we recognize from Bell Atlantic) sit around the
boardroom table.
JIM
How's everybody doing?
JOHN WOODMAN
Jim, I know this isn't exactly what
you want to hear, but this board
feels that in order to avoid
further disruptions, it's best we
end our relationship with
BlackBerry.
JIM
John, we're just getting started.
JOHN WOODMAN
Jim, I'm serious. We're wiling to
take the hit on users and let them
go crash somebody else's fucking
network. It's over.
85.
JIM
No. What's "over" is your bullshit
limit of 500,000 users. We
quadrupled it.
JOHN WOODMAN
Okay, Jim...
JIM
Our engineers reprogrammed your
towers. As of right now, Verizon is
capable of carrying 2 million
BlackBerrys at the same time. And
we've already sold half of those.
JOHN WOODMAN
Bullshit.
Jim holds the look. John realizes this is not a joke.
JIM
Try me.
The board share looks with John, is he serious?
HOW'D YA DO IT? MONTAGE BEGINS
INT. MIDWAY DINER, WATERLOO - DAY
Jim reads the headline "RIM STOCK ROCKETS 400%" in the Globe
and Mail. Looks up to see Carl Yankowski walk in, looking
uneasy. Jim waves him over to take a seat.
INT. ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, RIM 2, WATERLOO - DAY
Charles Purdy rules the roost as the staff all busy
themselves silently with the work of the day.
Everyone wears name tags.
Including Doug, who sits at his desk silently typing code.
INT. BOARDROOM, VERIZON HQ, NEW YORK - DAY
JOHN WOODMAN
How'd you do it, Mike?
Mike sits at the boardroom table. He just stares dead ahead,
lost in the question.
86.
TITLE CARD: 2007
INT. EXECUTIVE BOARDROOM, RIM 2, WATERLOO - DAY
Mike (hair slicked back, an air of confidence, power-suit)
sits at the head of a large table in the centre of an elegant
boardroom. Around him are the SENIOR BOARD OF DIRECTORS of
RIM. The only other person we recognize is Charles Purdy.
JACK MANISHEN (41, Head of Marketing) presents next quarter's
sales projections on a PowerPoint slide.
JACK MANISHEN
We're number one in handset sales,
subscriptions, customer retention,
attracting new smartphone users,
and brand recognition. We control
30% of the North American market
and with the upcoming release of
the BlackBerry Bold we're on track
to control 50% of the global
market...
Mike gets a BBM:
Doug: you gotta get down here!
Ignores it --
JACK MANISHEN (CONT'D)
Now our numbers are a bit below
estimates right now, but we're
expecting a nice bump when the 8310
comes out in March.
CHARLES PURDY
Now's probably a good time to talk
about moving some of the assembly
and construction to China.
MIKE
No. No. Take people off of Onyx. If
you need more bodies, hire more
people. We're not moving to fucking
China...
CHARLES PURDY
Alright.
MIKE
Alright.
87.
Something catches Mike's eye -- Doug, points to his phone at
him from behind the window to the boardroom.
MIKE (CONT'D)
Oh my god.
(To Doug)
What!
Mike turns back to the boardroom.
MIKE (CONT'D)
Ah, that's a good spot to leave it
for today guys. Thank you.
Mike stands up -- the room follows. Mike makes his way to the
door -- Jack Manishen cuts him off...
JACK MANISHEN
(privately)
Hey. Where's Jim?
MIKE
Why?
JACK MANISHEN
He's not answering my e-mails.
MIKE
We're pitching the trackpad to
Verizon on Friday. He's probably
working on that.
Mike exits.
MIKE (O.S.) (CONT'D)
(to Doug)
I am in a meeting!
INT. RIM PRIVATE JET, 35,000 FEET - DAY
On a portable DVD player, Jim watches DON CHERRY and RON
MACLEAN of COACH'S CORNER on the plane.
DON CHERRY (ON TV)
And I really believe that uh,
Balsillie, is that how you say it?
Something like that. You know, he
was in there and says "I've heard
guys screw up my name but worse
than you". Anyhow, he's a patriot.
(MORE)
88.
DON CHERRY (ON TV) (CONT'D)
He really does-- He's a hockey guy
that really wants-- there's no
making money that doesn't -- He's a
hockey guy. Plays hockey, the whole
deal. He really wants hockey here.
The plane phone RINGS. Austin picks it up before Jim can stop
him.
JIM
No. Don't --
AUSTIN
Hello..
JACK MANISHEN (O.S.)
Hand the phone to Jim.
AUSTIN
Uh. Who's this?
JACK MANISHEN (O.S.)
It's Jack Manishen from Marketing.
It's important.
Austin turns to Jim. Jim's eyes glued to the screen.
AUSTIN
Jack. Manishen. Marketing?
JIM
Mike can handle it.
Austin returns to the phone.
AUSTIN
Maybe, you can speak to Mr.
Lazaridis.
JACK MANISHEN
He does not want me going to Mike
with this... at least tell me where
you're going.
Beat. Austin looks to Jim.
AUSTIN
He wants to know where we are
going..
JIM
Hang up.
Austin hangs up the phone.
89.
INT. ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, RIM 2, WATERLOO - DAY
It's dark. The lights are off and the projector screen is
down, like movie night. But we're not watching a movie.
Instead, the entire engineering department watches STEVE JOBS
on stage at MacWorld 2007.
We notice the engineering department has gone through another
makeover. All of the movie posters and comic books and
science fiction novels have been replaced with BlackBerry
advertisements.
Doug leads Mike into the room from the doorway -- they join
the crowd of engineers, all staring in wide eyed
wonder/terror.
JOBS (ON SCREEN)
So. Three things. A widescreen iPod
with touch controls. A
revolutionary mobile phone and a
breakthrough internet
communications device.
Mike steals a look at Doug watching Jobs.
JOBS (ON SCREEN) (CONT'D)
An iPod... a phone... and an
internet communicator. An iPod. A
phone. Are you getting it?! These
are not three separate devices.
This is one device. And we are
calling it: iPhone.
Murmurs from the crowd.
JOBS (ON SCREEN) (CONT'D)
Here's four smartphones, right?
Motorola Q, BlackBerry, Palm Treo,
Nokia E62... Usual suspects. They
all have these keyboards that are
there whether you need them or not
to be there.
Mike looks at the same phone in his own hands.
JOBS (ON SCREEN) (CONT'D)
And they all have these control
buttons that are fixed in plastic.
Mike looks at the same phone in his own hands.
MIKE
Why would anybody want a phone
without a keyboard?
90.
JOBS (ON SCREEN)
What we're going to do is get rid
of all these buttons and just make
a giant screen. A giant screen.
Awe from the crowd on screen and in the RIM office.
JOBS (CONT'D)
When we start shipping in June and
we'll be selling iPhones through
our own stores and through Cingular
stores. And it's my pleasure to
introduce the CEO of Singular...
Stan Sigman.
On screen Stan Sigman (55, CEO of AT&T) joins Steve Jobs on
stage, they shake hands.
MIKE
Are you fucking kidding me?
DOUG
What?
MIKE
That's Stan Sigman. That's the CEO
of AT&T.
STAN SIGMAN (ON SCREEN)
You know, Steve and I first met
about two years ago in New York
City when he shared with me this
vision that he had for this
product.
MIKE
This fucking guy.
(to the room)
Alright everybody. That's it. Fun
times over. Back to work. I need a
prototype of the Bold in my hand by
Friday with a working trackpad.
Thank you.
The lights come on. TV off. Everyone gets back to work.
DOUG
(Pointing at the screen)
That's crazy.
Doug's BlackBerry RINGS. Unknown Caller.
DOUG (O.S.) (CONT'D)
Okay guys, let's get back to work.
91.
Doug picks up his BlackBerry.
DOUG (CONT'D)
Yello!
DARA FRANKEL (O.S.)
Hi, is this Douglas?
DOUG
Ah, yeah.
DARA FRANKEL (O.S.)
I'm from the Securities and
Exchange Commission and I was
wondering if you could answer some
questions for me?
DOUG
(on the phone)
Sure. Okay.
SCOTT (O.S.)
Has anyone seen Allan?
DOUG
(to the room)
Check the NOC!
DARA FRANKEL
Were you involved in the hiring of
a Mr. Paul Stannos?
DOUG
Sorry - from where?
DARA FRANKEL
I'm from the SEC.
DOUG
Is this a serious call?
DARA FRANKEL
Yes.
DOUG
Yeah. You called the wrong person.
I can't help you with anything like
that.
DARA FRANKEL
Is this Douglas Fregin?
DOUG
Yes ma'am.
92.
DARA FRANKEL
Sorry. I have you listed here as
one of the founders of the company.
Doug chuckles.
DOUG
Yeah. I guess I am.
ENGINEER (O.S.)
Doug.
DOUG
I gotta go.
Doug hangs up and gets back to work.
INT. RECEPTION, NHL HQ, NEW YORK - DAY
Jim paces in the reception area, nervous. Austin sits -- his
phone RINGS, he reaches for it --
AUSTIN
Sorry.
(checks the phone)
Unknown number.
JIM
No.
Austin puts it away.
DAWN (30s, power-suit.) Walks down the hall towards them.
DAWN
Mr. Balsillie?
JIM
Yes?
DAWN
Welcome to the NHL.
Jim lights up. Extends a hand.
JIM
Thanks for having me.
DAWN
Nice to meet you, just this way.
JIM
Okay, great.
93.
DAWN
Right in here...
INT. BOARDROOM, NHL HQ, NEW YORK - DAY
Dawn leads Jim into the boardroom. Gary Bettman (55) greets
him with a handshake.
GARY
Jim.
JIM
Gary.
GARY
Good to see you, thanks for taking
the time.
JIM
I've always got time for you, Gary.
INT. LIMOUSINE, NYC - DAY
Jim slams the door -- turns to Austin --
JIM
Get me on the phone with Copps
Coliseum.
AUSTIN
Is that the Arena in Hamilton?
Jim's phone vibrates:
JIM
Yeah. Tell them I want to buy it.
Mike (BBM): Just getting Bold prototype. Meet me out front.
Jim puts his phone away.
AUSTIN
Okay. Um.
(beat)
I thought you were buying the
Pittsburgh Penguins.
JIM
Yes, I am.
(to the driver)
Let's go.
94.
INT. ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, RIM 2, WATERLOO - DAY
Mike shouts into the engineering room.
MIKE
Okay. We gotta go!
DOUG
One sec.
Doug and the guys huddle around his desk with a PROTOTYPE
BLACKBERRY BOLD plugged into his computer and a TERMINAL open
on the screen.
Scott is at the keyboard typing code as fast as he can.
DOUG (CONT'D)
One sec!
(to Scott)
This good enough. Good enough.
SCOTT
This is good enough?
Allans joins the guys with news.
ALLAN
Apple is launching a marketplace
for applications. It's going to be
third party developers. Anyone.
anyone --
DOUG
Bad time. Bad time.
ALLAN
(whispers to Pranay)
Third party developers.
Scott passes the BOLD to doug who tests the trackpad. The
latency is brutal but it works.
SCOTT
Here man. It's laggy as hell.
DOUG
Good enough. Good enough. Good
enough.
MIKE (O.S.)
Now!
DOUG
Yeah. We got it.
95.
Doug runs up to him, prototype in hand.
MIKE
Doug. Come on.
ALLAN
(to Pranay)
They are launching an application
market place.
DOUG
So, the touchpad is working, I
don't know if I would say that it's
WORKING working.
Doug looks to Mike who is displeased.
BBM from Jim: Can't make it, go without me, you'll be fine
alone.
Mike looks around in distress.
DOUG (CONT'D)
What?
MIKE
Do you have a suit?
INT. LOBBY, VERIZON HQ, NEW YORK - DAY
Mike and Doug enter through revolving doors. Mike takes the
lead.
INT. BOARDROOM, VERIZON HQ, NEW YORK - DAY
Mike stands in front of ten VERIZON Executives. Doug sits
beside by the window, looking out at the skyline.
The room is silent as a prototype BlackBerry BOLD is passed
from one person to the next. No one seems that interested.
Behind Mike is a Powerpoint presentation on a large screen
that goes over the main features of the new BOLD...
MIKE
... 2.4 inches, 480 by 360 HVGA
screen and to top it all off, the
world's first trackpad which we
believe will be the dominant
navigational device for all mobile
devices within the next two years.
96.
Beat.
MIKE (CONT'D)
The BlackBerry Bold.
John Woodman (now in his 60s) breaks the silence.
JOHN WOODMAN
That's it?
MIKE
Uh huh.
JOHN WOODMAN
That's what you've got for us? A
trackpad?
Mike looks to Doug.
JOHN WOODMAN (CONT'D)
You guys see Apple's thing?
The mere mention of Apple brings energy to the room.
Doug looks to Mike.
JOHN WOODMAN (CONT'D)
Any reaction to that?
MIKE
Plenty. Yeah. It's an over-
designed, trying-to-do-too-much toy
that will crash any network
gullible enough to take it on. It
is by every metric the exact
opposite of everything we do at
Research in Motion. Less data, no
frills, reliable network. That's
BlackBerry.
JOHN WOODMAN
Sexy slogan, Mike.
The room chuckles --
MIKE
So. I guess, you want to kill your
whole network cause that's what it
will do.
JOHN WOODMAN
Yeah. The iPhone... they put a
keyboard right on the screen?
97.
MIKE
And it's the stupidest thing I've
seen in my entire life. Ask anyone
what they love most about their
BlackBerry, and you will get the
same answer every single time. The
keyboard, the click. Okay?
DOUG
...Well...? Yeah. Yeah.
MIKE
-- This entire market was born of
our innovation and our idea to put
"a keyboard on a phone", and we did
that, we build that from a pile of
garbage in 1996.
JOHN WOODMAN
Yeah. There's another slogan.
More chuckles. Mike's not happy.
JOHN WOODMAN (CONT'D)
I dunno Mike. AT&T's got Apple. We
were kind of hoping you'd come in
here with an iPhone killer.
MIKE
I don't need to kill it because
it's going to commit suicide and
it's gonna take down the whole
fucking Cingular network with it.
I'm giving you gold and I think you
are all misunderstanding it.
(beat)
I created this entire product
class. I created this entire
fucking market. I created this
entire product class. So listen to
me. The trackpad is a mousepad on --
built into the phone.
Doug waits for the sentence to finish, then looks at the
ground when he realizes Mike is out of gas.
JOHN WOODMAN
Yeah.. and.. right. Okay. Yeah.
Okay. Good enough. Uh thanks guys
for coming down. Tell you what, let
us - we'll talk about this
internally and get back to you,
okay? Tell Jim we missed him.
98.
Close on Mike. He's panicking.
DOUG
(whispering to Mike)
Let's go.
MIKE
He's back, back in Waterloo working
because. So, he promised me not to
mention -- the other thing. We're
not quite there yet but we're
working on something pretty top
secret.
Doug looks at Mike like "what the fuck are you doing?"
MIKE (CONT'D)
Uh, he made me promise not to
mention it. Prototype we're still a
few weeks out. Uh, you know, I can
demo it with our Bold prototype.
The Executives slowly perk back up -- Mike walks over to
Woodman -- picks up the prototype Bold -- holds it over his
head --
MIKE (CONT'D)
So. It's still a BlackBerry. Our
BlackBerry. Except for where we
have keys here... screen. The whole
thing's a screen.
Doug's eyes are screaming.
MIKE (CONT'D)
... Uhh except.. Ours when you
press it will get that...
(Mike clicks the keys)
That satisfying click.
Mike doubles down, just like he saw Steve Jobs do...
MIKE (CONT'D)
That BlackBerry click. Our
trademark. Click. So. Screen.
Keyboard. Phone. Screen. Keyboard.
Phone. Screen. Keyboard. Phone.
(to John)
Are you getting it?
INT. LOBBY, VERIZON HQ, NEW YORK - DAY
Mike and Doug exit through revolving doors.
99.
DOUG
(whispers)
What was that?
MIKE
(whispers)
Stop.
DOUG
(whispers)
What was that?
MIKE
(whispers)
Shut up.
Mike and Doug exit the building.
DOUG
Mike. Mike. What the fuck was that
dude?
MIKE
Where is this fucking limo?
INT. COPPS COLOSSEUM, HAMILTON - DAY
Jim comes out of the tunnel and is at one end of a
professional arena, currently set up to host a basketball
game. The BUILDING MANAGER guide Jim on a tour.
BUILDING MANAGER
...capacity maxes at seventeen
thousand, but we could enhance it
to nineteen without too much
trouble.
JIM
Alright. I want all this basketball
shit gone. From now on, this place
is a permanent rink.
BUILDING MANAGER
We can't do that.
JIM
Why?
BUILDING MANAGER
We have active contracts with a
dozen clients --
100.
JIM
Cancel them.
BUILDING MANAGER
Yeah but, there's going to be
fines.
JIM
I'll pay the fines.
Jim points to a booth in the arena.
JIM (CONT'D)
And I want that to be my personal
box.
BUILDING MANAGER
(chuckles)
That's not a box.
BBM from Mike: Sold Verizon 1 Million Units
BUILDING MANAGER (CONT'D)
That's not a box.
INT. ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, RIM 2, WATERLOO - DAY
Mike is at a whiteboard drawing a schematic of his newly
invented BLACKBERRY STORM for a group of 40 engineers.
Everyone looks confused, Doug and Charles Purdy included.
MIKE
No, no. Okay. So, it's a screen,
but it needs a raised hinge or
actuator as I wrote, between it and
the body so the entire device
clicks when you press on it.
A random STUDENT ENGINEER whispers something up.
MIKE (CONT'D)
Wait, what?
STUDENT ENGINEER
I'm just wondering why we want to
do that?
MIKE
That. That. That is not the
question you ask me here. WHY does
not matter to you. Okay?
(MORE)
101.
MIKE (CONT'D)
Because I said so. Because that's
what I sold, okay?
Beat.
MIKE (CONT'D)
Who. Who are you? By the way?
DOUG
Easy Mike.
A BLACKBERRY RINGS in the crowd.
MIKE
Oh come on guys. Please. Silent
mode! When we're at the office --
Mike motions to Purdy.
MIKE (CONT'D)
(whispering)
Charles?!
CHARLES PURDY
Phones off!
The phone keeps ringing -- the crowd pinpoints the noise --
it's coming from Scott.
SCOTT
Sorry. Sorry Mike. Sorry buddy.
Scott reaches into his pocket and silences his phone...
Mike stares at Scott, about to ream him out...
DOUG
Okay. So, you know what? I think,
all this is, is we are trying to do
the old BlackBerry click while
embracing the new iPhone screen.
That's all --
MIKE
(interrupts)
No! No! No. We're not "embracing"
anything to do with Apple. Guys.
It's really not hard. Okay? We pay
you a lot of money. This is really
not hard. It's a keyboard, on a
screen, on a keyboard. And I don't
care what you think of it.
Charles Purdy silently ushers Mike out of the room.
102.
CHARLES PURDY
Mike..
The crowd is silent. Doug looks down, biting his tongue.
INT. HALLWAY, ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, RIM 2, WATERLOO - DAY
The team is off to work. Charles has finally got Mike to
himself in the doorway.
MIKE
What the fuck is Doug talking
about, embracing what Apple is
doing? I don't understand.
CHARLES PURDY
You come back from New York talking
about a brand new phone. Prototype
in a week? What are we doing here?
Doug appears at the door.
DOUG
Can I talk to you?
MIKE
It's a prototype Charles! I could
build the fucking thing myself in
one night if I had to.
CHARLES PURDY
But we still gotta ship the god
damn thing.
MIKE
I said use the Onyx team.
CHARLES PURDY
I did! On Curve.
Beat.
CHARLES PURDY (CONT'D)
Alright, China. It's the only way
this gets done. I'm sorry, China.
MIKE
Yeah. Fuck it. Do it. China. China.
Let's do it.
Doug pipes in.
103.
DOUG
Wait. Wait. No. He doesn't mean
that.
MIKE
Hey. Hey. Don't speak for me.
DOUG
Mike, what are you doing?
MIKE
What am I doing? I'm trying to keep
our biggest fucking customer. What
the fuck are you doing?
DOUG
Mike, I'm trying to help you.
MIKE
You're not though. You're not.
You're not helping me. This doesn't
help me. If you could help me, we
wouldn't be here. I don't need your
fucking help anymore. Okay? You're
fucking useless.
Doug's face falls.
DOUG
Okay.
Doug turns and walks away from the guys.
Mike turns to Purdy --
MIKE
Figure out China.
Mike and Charles watch as Doug leaves.
MIKE (CONT'D)
Figure out China. And I'll build
the fucking thing myself.
Mike leaves. We hold on Charles as he watches him go,
wondering where the hell this monster came from...
INT. MIKE'S OFFICE, RIM 2, WATERLOO - DAY
Mike pulls out a bunch of old BlackBerries from his desk
drawers. Dozens of them. He starts taking them apart, working
solo on the prototype for BlackBerry Storm...
104.
RING.
Mike picks up his office line.
MIKE
What?
DARA FRANKEL (O.S.)
Is this Mike Lazaridis?
MIKE
Who is this?
DARA FRANKEL (O.S.)
My name is Dara Frankel, I'm from
the SEC. Do you have a second?
MIKE
Not really. Not right now. What is
this about?
DARA FRANKEL (O.S.)
I'm trying to track down some
information on some stock options
your company issued.
MIKE
Well, that's not -- I wouldn't know
anything about that. I think you
want to talk to Jim.
DARA FRANKEL (O.S.)
Okay. Would there be a good time to
come in and talk about this?
MIKE
No. I don't. No.
Mike hangs up.
INT. ATRIUM, RIM 2, WATERLOO - DAY
Jim waltzes into the building with a "what's next?" attitude.
Shelley stands up and gets his attention from behind the
reception desk.
JIM
Okay! I'm here. I'm here. I'm here.
I'm here.
She hands him a copy of FORBES with his photo on the cover.
105.
SHELLEY
Jack Manishen says he needs to see
you.
Jim thumbs through -- best day of his life.
JIM
Okay. Yeah. Where is he?
SHELLEY
Camped outside your office.
JIM
Great.
Jim gets to his article -- sees that Carl Yankowski is
featured in a photo on the opposite page...
JIM (CONT'D)
Shel, do me a favor: reach out to
Carl Yankowski's office and let him
know Jim Balsillie's got opening
night tickets to the Hamilton
Penguins for him. I know how much
he loves hockey.
INT. HALLWAY, RIM 2, WATERLOO - DAY
Jim walks up to his office. Sure enough, Jack Manishen is
waiting outside, nervous. He stands immediately upon seeing
Jim.
JIM
Alright. Alright. Relax. You got
me.
AUSTIN
That same woman from the SEC keeps
calling. Can I give you her number?
JIM
No.
INT. JIM'S OFFICE, RIM 2, WATERLOO -- DAY
Jim looks down at IPHONE SALES PROJECTIONS in his hands while
Jack presents slides. There's an image of an iPhone next to
BlackBerry and the rest of the competition...
JACK MANISHEN
Okay.. So... first Quarter...
106.
Changes the slide. iPhone grows.
JACK MANISHEN (CONT'D)
...second quarter...
Changes the slide. iPhone grows.
JACK MANISHEN (CONT'D)
...third quarter...fourth quarter.
Changes slide.
JACK MANISHEN (CONT'D)
And this is us.
JIM
Whose numbers are these?
JACK MANISHEN
Apple's internal projections. They
released the numbers on Friday.
JIM
Five hundred dollars? Fully
subsidized? This is the most
expensive phone in the world.
JACK MANISHEN
It has the highest consumer
interest of any product in history.
We are going to go from "number one
phone in the world" to "that phone
that people had before they bought
an iPhone".
Beat. Jim looks at the slide -- shakes his head --
JIM
It's gonna be fine. Mike will
figure it out.
BANG BANG BANG -- Someone at the door.
JIM (CONT'D)
What?
Jim gets up -- opens the door.
MIKE
Um. Why. Why is the SEC looking at
us?
Jim closes the door to only a crack.
107.
JIM
They called you?
MIKE
Yes. Something about stock options.
JIM
I'm sure it's nothing.
MIKE
It's nothing?
JIM
Yeah. What's with this Apple thing?
MIKE
What. What about it?
JIM
Are we worried?
MIKE
No.
JIM
Okay, why?
MIKE
Because, one of them uses as much
data as five thousand BlackBerries.
Because it has no keyboard. Because
the thing is a joke.
JIM
So why are people telling me that
they're about to kill us?
MIKE
`Cause they're idiots.
Mike leaves...
...Jim watches him go for a beat -- shuts the door...
...returns to his desk -- sees the FORBES spread open. Under
Yankowski's picture he sees the familiar face of Steve Jobs'
pal, STAN SIGMAN.
Jim hits his intercom button --
JIM
Get me a meeting with Stan Sigman
at AT&T.
108.
Beat.
JACK MANISHEN
What are you doing?
Jim's mind is racing. He's forming a plan.
AUSTIN (O.S.)
So the soonest I can get is next
month, his office says he's leaving
for vacation today.
Jim hits the button.
JIM
Tell them I'm coming to Atlanta.
Right now.
Jim gets up and starts running.
EXT. RIM PRIVATE JET, WATERLOO AIRPORT - DAY
Jim runs up the stairs into the jet -- yells to the cockpit.
JIM
Let's go! Let's go!
Jim turns behind him to Austin, who is taking up the rear.
JIM (CONT'D)
Tell them we'll be there in an
hour.
Austin hands the BlackBerry to Jim.
AUSTIN
It's the NHL.
Jim puts on his smiling face.
JIM
(on phone)
Gary! How are ya?
GARY BETTMAN (O.S.)
Good. We're ready to go over here.
How soon can you get to New York?
JIM
Great! Anytime tomorrow.
GARY BETTMAN (O.S.)
How about today?
109.
JIM
Um. That might be a little tight
for me.
GARY BETTMAN (O.S.)
I've got the board here now and I
don't know when they're all going
to be together again. If you want
to wait, up to you. It's your deal.
JIM
Yeah. No. That works Gary. Yep.
I'll be there.
GARY BETTMAN (O.S.)
Looking forward to it.
JIM
Okay. Alright. Bye.
Hangs up -- takes a breath --
JIM (CONT'D)
(yelling behind him)
Change of plans. We're going to
JFK.
PILOT
We are dialed in --
Jim runs back to the cockpit --
JIM
Listen to me you mouthy fuck, if I
say we are going to JFK, we are
going to JFK. You understand?
AUSTIN
So we're, we're not meeting with
Sigman then?
JIM
...I'm doing it all.
Jim stays standing with one arm on the wall for balance as
the plane taxis down the runway, fire in his eyes.
EXT. PARKING LOT, RIM 2, WATERLOO - DAY
A maintenance worker takes down Doug's parking sign.
Just then multiple black SUVs pull up to RIM.
110.
DARA FRANKEL (40s, air of power) and her team of SEC AGENTS
enter the building.
INT. MIKE'S OFFICE, RIM 2, WATERLOO - DAY
Sparks fly.
Mike is hunched over his desk with a soldering iron, molding
parts of old BlackBerries together.
MIKE
Fuck!
He singes his finger.
CHARLES PURDY
Where's Jim?
Mike looks up to see Charles standing over his desk.
MIKE
I have no idea.
CHARLES PURDY
C'mon, we gotta get you outta here.
MIKE
Why?
CHARLES PURDY
SEC is raiding us.
Mike stands up.
MIKE
Wait, what?
CHARLES PURDY
Gimme your phone.
Mike looks down at his desk -- he has eight BlackBerrys.
CHARLES PURDY (CONT'D)
Where's you god damn phone?
KNOCK
DARA FRANKEL (O.S.)
Michael Lazaridis?
Mike looks to Purdy
111.
MIKE
Can you handle this?
Purdy shakes his head.
The door opens -- Dara walks in with a BIG SEC INVESTIGATOR --
MIKE (CONT'D)
Who are you?
DARA FRANKEL
We spoke on the phone. Wanna come
and answer some questions?
MIKE
Sure. Sure.
Mike tries to follow Dara out, but she insists on following
him out.
MIKE (CONT'D)
After me is it? Okay.
INT. HALLWAY, ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, RIM 2 - CONTINUOUS
Dara leads Mike outside to see half a dozen SEC OFFICERS
waiting in the hallway.
DARA FRANKEL
Okay.
On Dara's command, they all pile into his office.
MIKE
Okay what? What are they doing?
They can't touch any of that stuff?
Mike looks across the hall to the Engineering Department --
his team stares at him through the glass, pain and pity in
their eyes, like seeing Dad get arrested.
Dara opens the door to a tiny office across the hall...
INT. TINY OFFICE, RIM 2, WATERLOO - CONTINUOUS
Mike sits at one end of a small table. Dara closes the door.
A moment later the door opens -- an SEC INVESTIGATOR walks in
holding one of Mike's BlackBerrys.
SEC INVESTIGATOR
Passwords on everything.
112.
DARA FRANKEL
What's the password Mike?
MIKE
Am I required to give that to you?
DARA FRANKEL
No. Are you hiding something?
Beat.
MIKE
Should I not have a lawyer or
something with me for this?
DARA FRANKEL
Do you think you need a lawyer?
Mike swallows.
INT. RECEPTION, NHL HQ, NEW YORK - DAY
Jim paces nervously in the empty reception area. Something is
off.
Dawn emerges and calls on him.
DAWN
Jim.
Finally.
Jim follows Dawn into the boardroom.
INT. BOARDROOM, NHL HQ, NEW YORK - CONTINUOUS
It's packed. Gary Bettman, Dawn, and the entire NHL front
office fill seats around the boardroom table. They turn as he
walks in.
JIM
Gary. What's going on? You got me.
You got me waiting out here.
Awkward silence.
DAWN
Jim, look, we're not going to waste
your time, okay? It's not going to
happen with you and the Penguins.
113.
JIM
What?
DAWN
We held a vote with the other
owners and unfortunately it went
against you 26-0.
JIM
Hold on a sec. Hold on. Hold on. I
thought we had a deal. When did the
other owners even -- I'm sorry,
what changed here, man?
DAWN
The owners did not find you to be
of "good character and integrity".
JIM
I don't know what the hell that
means. Gary, what the fuck is this?
GARY BETTMAN
You know, it's funny. It's one
thing to have a secret plan to fuck
over the NHL and move a team to
Canada. It's another thing to brag
to your rich friends before you
actually do it.
It takes a moment, but Jim understands what is happening.
JIM
... You guys are so fucking stupid.
You know what? Maybe I'll buy this
whole fucking league, huh? How
about that?
GARY BETTMAN
Dawn. Can we see that Mr. Bald-
Silly gets safely back to Canada?
JIM
Oh, fuck all you people! Fuck you!
Get ready for a hostile takeover of
this entire fucking league, okay?
YOU FUCK. You think I won't fucking
do it? I'm from Waterloo, where the
vampires hang out!!!
Jim walks out and SLAMS the door.
114.
INT. RIM PRIVATE JET, JFK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, NY - DAY
Jim rushes on...
JIM
Go! Go! Go! Go!
PILOT
We'll never make it.
JIM
I said LET's GO.
(to Austin)
Delay Sigman.
AUSTIN
I called. They said he's already
left for vacation.
JIM
Where?
AUSTIN
They just said he's going to the
airport.
The plane starts to move.
JIM
Great. So are we.
INT. TINY OFFICE, RIM 2, WATERLOO - EVENING
Mike is starting to get nervous as contract after contract is
put in front of him...
DARA FRANKEL
And is this your signature?
Mike eyes it.
MIKE
Yeah.
DARA FRANKEL
And this?
MIKE
I don't know what you're looking
for. These are standard employment
contracts.
115.
DARA FRANKEL
I'm just wondering how you
convinced all these engineers from
around the world to come all the
way to Canada. Doesn't make sense.
MIKE
It's because they get to work on
the best phone in the world.
DARA FRANKEL
Mike, each of these contracts
offers back-dated stock options.
You were illegally pricing your own
shares so you could hire engineers
with money you didn't have.
Mike looks at the contract in his hand --
DARA FRANKEL (CONT'D)
Do you know what the sentence is
for multi-million dollar stock
fraud?
MIKE
Okay. I swear I had no idea about
any of what you just said.
DARA FRANKEL
Do you expect me to believe that?
You're CEO.
Beat. Mike looks down at one of the employment contracts.
Sees Jim's name.
MIKE
Co-CEO.
EXT. RUNWAY, HARTSFIELD-JACKSON INTERNATIONAL, ATLANTA - DAY
Jim runs down the stairs of his just-landed plane, holding
his BlackBerry to his ear as he runs towards the terminal...
STAN SIGMAN (O.S.)
Tell me why this can't wait another
few weeks?
JIM
I'm telling you Stan. I'm headed
for the terminal right now.
STAN SIGMAN (O.S.)
What?
116.
JIM
I'm at Gate 7. Uh, where are ya?
STAN SIGMAN (O.S.)
Are you runnin'?
JIM
No. Stan. No. I'm good. I'm telling
ya. Just give me the gate.
STAN SIGMAN (O.S.)
I'm getting on a plane here, Jim.
INT. TERMINAL, HARTSFIELD-JACKSON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT,
ATLANTA - CONTINUOUS
Hundreds of people surround him. It's loud and hectic. Jim
searches the terminal for Stan Sigman.
JIM
No. Okay. Listen. Stan. Alright.
Here's the headline: half a million
BlackBerries for AT&T, for zero
dollars.
STAN SIGMAN (O.S.)
What's the catch?
Jim tears past people. Some are distracted by their phones
and collide with him.
JIM
No! No catch. They're yours. IF
you're willing to release them at a
discount one month before the
iPhone.
Stan groans.
Jim stops running -- pleads his case --
JIM (CONT'D)
Stan, come on, you owe me. You've
sold a lot of minutes because of
us.
STAN SIGMAN (O.S.)
Yeah. But you know what the problem
with selling minutes is?
JIM
...What?
117.
STAN SIGMAN (O.S.)
There's only one minute in a
minute.
Stan hangs up.
Jim lowers the phone like "what the fuck does that mean?"
Jim takes a beat, trying to decode that sentence. He's
surrounded by travelers rushing back and forth. He's the only
one standing still.
He looks back down at his phone -- finds MIKE in his quick-
dial -- calls...
MIKE (O.S.)
Hey.
JIM
Okay. Mike. Listen to me, I think
we got a big problem here. I know
what Apple's doing.
MIKE (O.S.)
(whispering)
Yeah. We shouldn't talk on the
phone.
JIM
Why?
INT. RIM 2, STORAGE CLOSET - WATERLOO - CONTINUOUS
MIKE
(whispering)
Um.
JIM (O.S.)
WHY?
MIKE
We're in trouble with the SEC but,
get back as soon as you can.
INT. TERMINAL, HARTSFIELD-JACKSON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT,
ATLANTA - CONTINUOUS
MIKE (O.S.)
I have a way to get us out of this.
118.
EXT. RUNWAY, HARTSFIELD-JACKSON INTERNATIONAL, ATLANTA - DAY
Jim runs up the stairs of the plane.
EXT. PARKING LOT, RIM 2, WATERLOO - NIGHT
Jim FOBS himself into RIM.
INT. ATRIUM, RIM 2, WA TERLOO - CONTINUOUS
Jim opens the front door -- the place is empty, quiet and
eerie.
Jim crosses the atrium and heads to the stairs.
INT. JIM'S OFFICE, RIM 2 - CONTINUOUS
Mike sits at Jim's desk, looking over Jack Manishen's iPhone
projections -- the wall of masks behind him.
Jim storms in.
JIM
Okay, so listen. AT&T knows exactly
what they're doing. They WANTED
Apple to build a data-guzzling
monster because that's where
they're going to move the market.
They're not selling minutes
anymore, Mike. They're selling
DATA.
Mike picks up his BlackBerry -- dials...
MIKE
(on the phone)
He's here.
Jim feels a chill. Mike hangs up.
JIM
Who's that?
MIKE
They're waiting for you next door.
Beat.
JIM
Who? What did you do?
119.
MIKE
I made a deal. The SEC gets you,
your board seat, and our full
cooperation in the criminal
investigation, and for that they'll
leave us alone.
Beat.
MIKE (CONT'D)
And they want 83 million dollars.
Jim feels the walls close in, just like when Woodman told him
"some nerds took you for a ride" back in 1996. His back is
against the wall. It's done. It's over. No more rope.
And then he can't help but smile to himself, as if someone
just whispered a great secret in his ear.
He looks at Mike.
JIM
You said next door?
Jim turns -- walks out of his office -- opens the door in the
hallway -- steps inside.
Mike watches him leave...
...then goes back to work on his prototype.
TITLE CARD: 2008
INT. MIKE'S BMW, PARKING LOT, RIM 2, WATERLOO - DAY
Mike pulls into his "LAZARIDIS" parking space. Jim's spot:
Gone. Doug's spot: Gone.
INT. ENGINEERING OFFICE, RIM 2, WATERLOO - DAY
New engineers populate the place. Gone are the familiar faces
of Doug, Pranay, Scott, Ethan and Allan.
INT. LOADING DOCK, RIM 2, WATERLOO - CONTINUOUS
Mike walks along the pathway of the loading dock.
Workers unload crate after crate from trucks into the loading
bay. Wooden boxes with Chinese shipping labels.
120.
Mike lands in the middle of the room, filled with BLACKBERRY
STORMS WRAPPED IN THEIR COMMERCIAL PACKAGING... He rips open
the plastic wrap.
...Mike picks one up...
...unwraps the box...
...pulls out the BlackBerry Storm...
...turns it on...
...the screen glitches for a moment, then reveals the
BlackBerry home-screen, a cramped stack of icons against a
"Verizon V" background...
...Mike opens the text app and we see the keyboard on the
screen on a keyboard. He touches the screen -- scrolls -- the
delay between touch and action is about 1/2 a second --
Suddenly we hear something...
...A quiet hissing...
...static...
...Mike recognizes the sound...
...looks around the room, searching for the source...
...looks back at the BlackBerry in his hand...
...that's it -- his phone is making the hiss.
Mike stares at it...
...puts it down on the crate in front of him...
...Reaches into the breast pocket of his jacket...
...Takes out his precision screwdriver set...
...Opens the BlackBerry...
The circuit board is a mess. Mike pokes around with his
screwdriver until he finds what he's looking for: A single
prong of metal rubbing against the speaker wire.
Mike lifts the wire off the prong. The static instantly
stops. He tucks the wire against the body of the phone --
closes the case, and screws it back together.
Mike puts the phone back into it's box -- closes it -- puts
it back into the crate...
121.
Beat.
Mike reaches for the next box -- opens it -- takes out the
phone -- unscrews the body -- fixes the speaker wire --
closes it -- puts it back in the box --
Mike reaches for another box -- opens it...
The camera tracks out to reveal the crates and crates of
unopened BlackBerry Storms being unloaded all around him as
he calmly tries to fix them one by one.
Text appears on screen:
Nearly every BlackBerry Storm was returned or replaced due to
manufacturing errors.
Verizon sued RIM for $500M to cover their losses.
Mike Lazaridis resigned from RIM on January 22, 2012.
EXT. LAKE - DAY
Rick Brock and Jim fish together.
Text appears on screen:
Jim Balsillie avoided any jail time for his role in the stock
manipulation.
His texts and e-mails remain encrypted on the BlackBerry
servers in Waterloo.
EXT. BACKYARD, DOUG'S HOUSE, WATERLOO - SUNSET
A backyard Movie Night. A projector shines on an outdoor
screen.
Doug, Allan, Scott, Pranay, Ethan, Steve and a few other
former RIM Engineers are gathered, the movie is starting.
Text appears on screen:
Doug sold his stock at the 2007 high. He is secretly one of
the richest men in the world.
INT. RIM 2, WATERLOO - DAY
An old photo of the original RIM group hangs on Doug's desk.
Text appears on screen:
122.
At its height, BlackBerry controlled 45% of the cellphone
market.
Today, it's 0%.
END.
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