Unique:CAA has signed collaborators Matt Johnson and Matthew Miller, the filmmakers behind the acclaimed dramedy Blackberrywhich made its home premiere at SXSW following its world premiere in competition at this year’s Berlin Film Festival.
Co-written by Johnson and Miller, Blackberry The history of the rise and fall of the world’s first smartphone. Johnson stars alongside Glenn Horton and Jay Baruchel in the film, based on the book by Jackie McNish and Sean Silkoff. Losing the Signal: The Untold Story Behind Blackberry’s Extraordinary Rise and Glorious FallWhich was produced by Miller.
In a Deadline review of the film, released in the US by IFC Films on May 12, Pete Hammond wrote, “Who knew a Canadian biopic of a disgraced smartphone would be so entertaining, even poignant and heartwarming I’m here to tell you today’s world premiere Berlin Film Festival competition entry Blackberry He is everything else.
“In the hands of co-writer (with Matthew Miller), director and co-star Matt Johnson (The Dirties), this long and winding tale of the rise and fall of the BlackBerry, the revolutionary device that first turned a computer into a phone all-in-one , is wonderfully funny, suspenseful and ultimately sad all at once,” Hammond added. “Here is a business story that has it all, and has a lot in common with other films that focus on iconic stories of new age businesses like Social Networks, moneyball And the big short,
Johnson and Miller launched their own production company, Zapruder Films, after the success of their first feature film. the dirtyesA found-footage thriller that won the Grand Jury Prize at Slamdance 2013. The duo’s follow-up film was the conspiracy thriller operation avalanchewhich debuted at Sundance in 2016.
In 2017, Johnson and Miller partnered with Spike Jonze On nirvana the band the show, a mockumentary series that ran for two seasons on Viceland. The duo is being managed by 3 Arts Entertainment.