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Antitrust (film)

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Antitrust
film poster
Directed byPeter Howitt
Written byHoward Franklin
Produced byDavid Hoberman
Ashok Amritraj
C.O. Erickson
Julia Chasman[1]
StarringRyan Phillippe
Tim Robbins
Rachael Leigh Cook
Claire Forlani
Edited byZach Staenberg[1]
Music byDon Davis[1]
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer[1]
Release date
January 12, 2001 (2001-01-12)
Running time
75 minutes[2]
Country United States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$18,195,610[3]

Antitrust (also titled Conspiracy.com[4] and Startup[5]) is a 2001 drama/thriller sci-fi film written by Howard Franklin and directed by Peter Howitt.[2][1]

Antitrust portrays young idealistic programmers and a large corporation (NURV) that offers significant money, a low-keyed working environment, and creative opportunities for those talented programmers willing to work for them. The charismatic CEO of NURV (Robbins) seems to be good natured, but recent employee and protagonist Milo Hoffman (Phillippe) begins to unravel the terrible hidden truth of NURV's operation.[6]

Starring Ryan Phillippe, Tim Robbins, Rachael Leigh Cook, and Claire Forlani,[7] Antitrust opened in the United States on January 12, 2001,[2]

Plot

Working with friends at their new software development company dedicated to preserving creative integrity and information exchange, Milo Hoffman (Phillippe) is approached by CEO Gary Winston (Robbins) of NURV (Never Underestimate Radical Vision) for a programming position few would refuse—a fat paycheck, an almost-unrestrained working environment, and extensive creative control over his work.

The environment of NURV seems as advertised: a family-oriented, friendly company that places great value on individual creativity. NERF footballs fly around the office, the atmosphere is relaxed, and the CEO personally shows Milo to his workstation and introduces him to his co-workers.

Despite the flagship product ("Synapse", a worldwide media distribution network) being well on schedule, Hoffman begins to develop suspicions about the motives and methods of NURV. He eventually discovers the extensive monitoring of their employees and that much of their source code is stolen from programmers (to include Hoffman's former startup associates) who have been contractually killed by the company. Hoffman begins a one-man investigation into NURV's secrets, and eventually enlists the aid of fellow NURV employee Lisa Calighan (Cook).

Hoffman, gathering his computer hobbyist friends and an FBI mole inside NURV, manages to disrupt the upload of the Synapse source code, replacing it with a video of his own making—one that reveals the identity of the murdered programmers and the force behind their death.

Allusions

Roger Ebert found Gary Winston to be a thinly disguised pastiche of Bill Gates; so much that he was "surprised [the writers] didn't protect against libel by having the villain wear a name tag saying, 'Hi! I'm not Bill!'" Similarly, Ebert felt NURV "seems a whole lot like Microsoft."[8] Ebert was in good company with his observations, parallels between the fictional and real-world software giants were also drawn by Lisa Bowman of ZDNet UK,[9] James Berardinelli of ReelViews,[10] Rita Kempley of the The Washington Post,[11] and many others.

On the subject of Microsoft and Bill Gates' allusive portrayals, Microsoft spokesman Jim Cullinan said "From the trailers, we couldn't tell if the movie was about [America Online] or Oracle."[9]

Cast

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Production

Simon Fraser University served as an outdoor shooting location for NURV headquarters.

Antitrust was shot in California as well as Vancouver, British Columbia, with Simon Fraser University's Burnaby, B.C. campus standing in for NURV headquarters.[2][13]

Open source

Antitrust's pro-open source story excited industry leaders and professionals with the prospects of expanding the public's awareness and knowledge level of the availability of open-source software. The film heavily features Linux and its community, using screenshots of the Gnome desktop, consulting Linux professionals, as well as cameos by Miguel de Icaza and Scott McNealy (the latter being cut from the film, appearing only in the trailer). Jon Hall, executive director of Linux International and consultant on the film said "[Antitrust] is a way of bringing the concept of open source and the fact that there is an alternative to the general public, who often don't even know that there is one."[9]

Despite the film's message about open source computing, MGM didn't follow-through with their marketing: the official website for Antitrust featured videotaped interviews which were only available in Apple's proprietary QuickTime formatting.[9]

Reception

James Keith La Croix of Detroit's Metro Times gave the film four stars, impressed that "Antitrust is a thriller that actually thrills."[14]

Video releases

Antitrust was released as a "Special Edition" DVD on May 15, 2001.[15] and on VHS on December 26, 2001.[16] The DVD features audio commentary by the director and editor, an exclusive documentary, deleted scenes and alternative opening and closing sequences with director's commentary, the music video for "When It All Goes Wrong Again" by Everclear, and the original theatrical trailer; the DVD was re-released August 1, 2006.[17]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Antitrust (2001) - Cast and Credits". Yahoo! Movies. Yahoo Inc. Retrieved 2008-02-26.
  2. ^ a b c d "Antitrust (2001) - Movie Details". Yahoo! Movies. Yahoo Inc. Retrieved 2008-02-26.
  3. ^ "Antitrust (2001)". Box Office Mojo. Box Office Mojo LLC. Retrieved 2008-02-26.
  4. ^ "conspiracy.com" (in German). OutNow.CH. 2001-02-06. Retrieved 2008-02-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  5. ^ "Filmlexikon FILME von A-Z - startup" (in German). Retrieved 2008-02-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  6. ^ Antitrust (motion picture). Los Angeles, California, United States: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. {{cite AV media}}: Unknown parameter |date2= ignored (help)
  7. ^ "Antitrust (2001) - Movie Info". Yahoo! Movies. Yahoo Inc. Retrieved 2008-02-26.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference ebert was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ a b c d Bowman, Lisa (2001-01-08). "Linux to star on silver screen". ZDNet UK. CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved 2008-02-26.
  10. ^ Berardinelli, James (2001). "Review: Antitrust". ReelViews. Retrieved 2008-02-26.
  11. ^ Kempley, Rita (2001-01-12). "'Antitrust': Battling the Evil Geek". The Washington Post. Boisfeuillet Jones, Jr. Retrieved 2008-02-26.
  12. ^ "Antitrust (2001)". IMDb. Retrieved 2008-02-26.
  13. ^ "SFU in films and television". SFU.ca. Simon Fraser University. Retrieved 2008-02-26.
  14. ^ La Croix, James (2001-01-17). "Antitrust". Metro Times. Lisa Rudy. Retrieved 2008-02-26.
  15. ^ "Antitrust (2001)". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
  16. ^ "Antitrust (2000)". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
  17. ^ "Antitrust - Special Edition (DVD)". CinemaClock Canada Inc. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
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