“General Magic” in Theaters May 10th
The Two Gay Geeks received this press release from David Magdael & Associates awhile back but, I chose not to run it until now since I knew we would be using it at the Phoenix Film Festival.
We loved it and our reactions are at the bottom below all of the press information. If you have a chance to see this, please do.
Let us know what you think of this film in the comments section below. We always welcome feedback on our content.
GENERAL MAGIC
Directed by Matthew Maude and Sarah Kerruish
OPENING IN THEATERS MAY 10 FROM GRAVITAS VENTURES
LOS ANGELES, CHICAGO, HOUSTON, ORLANDO AND
THEN WIDER THROUGH JUNE
If you are using an IPHONE/ANDROID, IPAD, IPOD, the INTERNET, LINKED-IN and even EBAY – this is the untold story of the people who had the vision and creative talent to develop and create these gadgets and the technology that we use every day. This award winning film is the amazing and inspiring story behind the “magicians” who felt they failed in the early 1990s and now are basically our tech heroes. Do not miss GENERAL MAGIC and the story behind these incredible creators and visionaries.
About GENERAL MAGIC
This is the story of one of history’s most talented technology teams. From the first smartphones to touchscreens, e-commerce, eBay to emoticons, the ideas that now dominate the tech industry and our day-to-day lives were born at General Magic, a 1989 Silicon Valley startup that you’ve never heard of. The award-winning documentary is a tale of how a great vision, grave betrayal and an epic failure changed the world. Find out how the first smartphone wasn’t Apple’s… Featuring members of the original 1984 Macintosh team alongside the creators of the iPhone, Android and eBay, these designers, engineers and entrepreneurs saw the future decades before it happened. The film captures the spirit of those of us who dare to dream big and the life-changing consequences when we fail, fail again, fail better, and ultimately succeed.
Matthew Maude and Sarah Kerruish
Featuring
Marc Porat (The founder of General Magic)
Tony Fadell (co-inventor of iPod / iPhone, founder of Nest Labs)
Andy Hertzfeld (co-inventor of the Macintosh Computer, co-inventor of Google Circles)
Joanna Hoffman (core Macintosh group member, played by Kate Winslet in Danny Boyle’s ‘Jobs’)
Megan Smith (VP at Google.org, Chief Technology Officer USA, President Obama’s Administration)
John Sculley (Former President of Pepsi and CEO of Apple Inc.)
Kevin Lynch (former CTO of Adobe Inc, Vice President of Technology at Apple Inc.)
From the Distributor
We are thrilled to announce the theatrical release of the award winning documentary film – GENERAL MAGIC beginning May 10 from Gravitas Ventures! It will open in limited engagements in LA, CHICAGO, HOUSTON, ORLANDO, DETROIT, PORTLAND, COLUMBUS, LITTLE ROCK and more theaters – with a greater roll out running through June!
This incredibly insightful and entertaining film looks at the rise and fall of the most influential Silicon Valley company you have never heard of called General Magic.
The film premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival and has gone on to play numerous fests across the globe. And now, Gravitas Ventures is bringing the film to theaters in the US!
In the early 1990’s, a team of former Apple employees formed their own company and took Silicon Valley by storm with their new project – the first handheld, wireless personal computer – the first smartphone. The company and the product were so ahead of their time, that it ultimately failed, and the company closed down. However, General Magic’s former employees have since gone on to found eBay, Linkedin, and Android, to developing the technology that has lead to the iPhone, iPad, iPod and everything that we all use today in our daily lives. These “magicians” have become the tech innovators that now lead companies like Samsung, Apple and Facebook. GENERAL MAGIC, the film tells the story of how great vision, grave betrayal and an epic failure changed the world forever. What was once thought of as an embarrassment is now embraced as amazing.
From directors Matthew Maude and Sarah Kerruish, GENERAL MAGIC shows how this team created a lasting impact on the world around us.
Website: www.generalmagicthemovie.com
TG Geeks Reaction
General Magic is a documentary that looks back at a time when the whole of Silicon Valley industry began to experience a revolution in home technology with the film starting shortly after the introduction of the first Macintosh desktop computer. This film then starts to introduce some key players that were involved in basically designing what was to become the first smartphone, only to find their attempts thwarted by a combination of bad decisions and leapfrogging technology.
For people our age (late 50’s) we can easily remember what it was like to be around when this technological revolution was beginning to take off, and we can remember the electronic devices that were made available to us at that time. This is one big reason as to why this documentary is such a joy to watch because it allows our generation to take a long dip in IT nostalgia, or at the very least, laugh at some of the devices and how they operated at that time as compared to what we take for granted today.
If you are a tech-head, then General Magic is most definitely a film you will want to watch. Also, if you are a parent with young children enjoying their Android Phones or iPads, then this is also a movie that can serve as a piece of historical education, especially when they hear you say, “You don’t know how tough it was for us because the best we had was a 9800 baud modem!”
Documentaries can tend to be rather dry, but not General Magic. It is a fantastic look at a time long gone.
