The Documentary “General Magic” Shows the Human Side of Technology
Last year at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival audiences had the opportunity to see a groundbreaking and informative documentary called “General Magic.” The film shares the the story behind these incredible creators and visionaries who created products that are now changing the world.
The film is directed by Sarah Kerruish and Matt Maude Theatrical Run Begins May 10 from Gravitas Ventures and is released in selected Theaters May 10, 2019.
After have the pleasure of speaking with “General Magic” Founder, Mark Porat and film director, Matt Maude, they each stated that they wanted to show the human side of technology and that the film is a mainly story about people with big ideas and making dreams come true.
In fact, if you are using an IPHONE/ANDROID, IPAD, IPOD, the INTERNET, LINKEDIN, GOOGLE CIRCLES and even EBAY, this is the untold story of the people who had the vision and creative talent to develop and create our current digital devices 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.
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 story begins in the early 1990’s, when 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. 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.
The team at “General Magic” was indeed innovative and creative. Within the film the following individuals are featured:
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.)
CHECK OUT THE FILM TRAILER: https://www.generalmagicthemovie.com. If you are from Generation X group, the film will remind you of being young when Internet began and if you are a Millennial or General Z, you will learn so much about early technology companies. Either way, the film will take you on an enjoyable ride and remind us all why we can appreciate technological advances.
