Documentary maker to tell ‘real’ story of BlackBerry

Mark Wahlberg’s documentary production house is ringing up “the real BlackBerry story.” Wahlberg’s Unrealistic Ideas says it is moving ahead with a feature-length documentary centred around the history of the Waterloo, Ont.-based smartphone maker.

The company says the still-untitled BlackBerry doc will tap into interviews with former executives and staff at the company once known as Research In Motion to recount the hand-held device’s rise and subsequent fall in the mobile phone wars.

Old Blackberrys are pictured in North Vancouver, B.C. Thursday, Nov. 15, 2018. Mark Wahlberg’s documentary production house Unrealistic Ideas says it’s producing a feature-length documentary centred around the origins of the Waterloo, Ont.-based company that created the BlackBerry smartphone. THE CANADIAN PRESS /Jonathan Hayward

Last year, BlackBerry was the focus of a satirical comedy from Canadian director Matt Johnson that earned awards and critical praise, but scorn from some in the local tech community who complained it played too loosely with the facts.

Producers of the untitled documentary say their project will be the “definitive look” at BlackBerry, led by filmmaker Eddie Schmidt, a director on the Chelsea Handler series “Chelsea Does” and producer of feature docs “This Film is Not Yet Rated” and “Twist of Faith.”

Wahlberg’s company is behind several notable HBO projects, including the docuseries “McMillions,” about con artists who scammed the McDonald’s Monopoly game, and “Movie Pass, Movie Crash,” which recalled the origins of the popular cinema membership.

The BlackBerry documentary, which does not have a release date, will be made in co-operation with Canadian technology firm Viral Nation.

The Mississauga, Ont.-based company partnered with the RIM alumni association to develop a historical online archive of BlackBerry’s history and originally shopped around the idea with various documentary makers.