Blackberry will tell the story of Waterloo, Ont.-based Research in Motion (RIM), creators of the namesake device, which for a time was the world’s most popular smartphone. The film stars Canadian actor Jay Baruchel as company co-founder Mike Lazaridis and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Glenn Howerton as co-CEO Jim Balsilie. The film was adapted from the 2015 book Losing the Signal: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of BlackBerry by Sean Silcoff and Jacquie McNish. Research in Motion, which changed its name to Blackberry in 2013, was responsible for the Blackberry, which was once the world’s most popular smartphone. (David Donnelly/CBC) Toronto’s Matt Johnson directs and also appears in the film as RIM’s other co-founder, Doug Fregin. The cast also includes Cary Elwes, Saul Rubinek and Michael Ironside. On Tuesday, producers added that Blackberry had finished production. It was shot in and around Hamilton, Ont., with some scenes in nearby Waterloo and London. XYZ Films, which co-financed the film, will present the project to buyers at TIFF, while Elevation Pictures will distribute in Canada. RIM was founded in 1984 by business partners Lazaridis and Fregin, who had previously worked together in a failed LED signage business. After a decade of working on various other technology projects, they turned their attention to the two-way communication systems that would form the foundation for the BlackBerry device.
