Mark Wahlberg’s Unrealistic Ideas Pairs With Viral Nation and Filmmaker Eddie Schmidt for Doc on the Real BlackBerry Story
14 Agosto 2024 - 2:46PM
Business Wire
Mark Wahlberg’s Unrealistic Ideas, the company behind HBO’s
McMillions, has joined forces with Viral Nation and filmmaker Eddie
Schmidt to tell the true inside story of the smartphone pioneers at
BlackBerry.
The project, which is already in production, will be a deep dive
into how a transformative technology giant emerged out of a small
Canadian town and outpaced international corporate behemoths in the
race to bring smartphones to the world.
Fueled by exclusive access to the Research In Motion
(BlackBerry) Alumni Association, which includes dozens of key
executives from the earliest stages of the company, the film is the
definitive look at the meteoric ascent and subsequent decline of
the company told through interviews with the people who lived it
and a wealth of never-before-seen behind the scenes archive.
Canadian-based Viral Nation brought in Unrealistic Ideas, the
non-scripted production company launched by Wahlberg, Archie Gips
and Stephen Levinson, to oversee the project and they quickly added
Academy Award- and Emmy-nominated Schmidt, a Sundance Film Festival
veteran known for This Film Is Not Yet Rated and Twist of Faith, as
well as series like Ugly Delicious, to direct.
“Unrealistic Ideas is well-known for its unparalleled expertise
in documentary storytelling. Our shared passion for exploring
BlackBerry’s profound impact on communication and global
connectivity made them the obvious choice for this project,” said
Joe Gagliese, CEO and co-founder of Viral Nation.
“Eddie brings an incredible eye for pathos and character-driven
storytelling to the project, and we couldn’t be more excited to
partner with the fantastic team at Viral Nation,” adds Unrealistic
Ideas President/Partner Archie Gips.
”I’m always interested in the story behind the story - the one
you think you know, only you don't,” remarks director Eddie
Schmidt. “Unrealistic Ideas and Viral Nation are the perfect pair
with which to explore this unpredictable real-life saga at the
intersection of technology and popular culture.”
Wahlberg, Levinson, Gips and David Wendell will produce from
Unrealistic Ideas alongside Colin McRae and Neil Desai from Viral
Nation. WME represents Unrealistic Ideas. CAA represents
Schmidt.
About Viral Nation
Viral Nation unlocks the full power of Social-First marketing to
scale brands into the future. Since 2014, Viral Nation has been
connecting the dots between Culture, Influence and Technology to
drive meaningful results for clients ranging from the world’s
biggest brands to the individual influencer. Today, as the leader
in social-first transformation, we unite the social ecosystem
through our full-service creative agency, a 360° digital talent
representation agency and social-first suite of technology
solutions. Named as one of the fastest-growing technology companies
in North America for 2023 by Deloitte, Viral Nation is a global
company and home to the largest influencer roster. Our
multidisciplinary teams are as diverse as our portfolio, proud to
fuel growth for global brands including Audible, Campbell’s, Chegg,
The Coca-Cola Company, A24, Microsoft, Meta, Vivid Seats, Tencent,
TJX, and Walmart. For more information, please visit
www.viralnation.com and follow us on LinkedIn, X, Instagram and
TikTok.
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Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis PR for Viral Nation
viralnationpr@viralnation.com