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{{short description|1999 American biographical television film}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox television
| image              = Movieposterposv.jpg
| image_alt          =
| caption            = Promotional poster
| genre              = {{Plainlist|
* [[Drama (film and television)|Drama]]
* [[Biographical film|Biography]]
}}
| based_on           = {{Based on|''Fire in the Valley: The Making of The Personal Computer''|Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine}}<ref name=pf>{{cite web|url=http://www.paulfreiberger.com/about-paul/|title=Meet Paul Freiberger|access-date=2015-12-12|last=Freiberger|first=Paul|website=paulfreiberger.com|archive-date=August 6, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130806071713/http://www.paulfreiberger.com/about-paul/|url-status=live}}</ref>
| screenplay         = [[Martyn Burke]]
| director           = Martyn Burke
| starring           = {{Plainlist|<!-- Per DVD back cover -->
* [[Noah Wyle]]
* [[Anthony Michael Hall]]
* [[Joey Slotnick]]
* [[John DiMaggio]]
* [[Josh Hopkins]]
}}
| composer           = [[Frank Fitzpatrick]]
| country            = United States
| language           = English
| executive_producer = {{Plainlist|
* [[Steven Haft]]
* Nick Lombardo
}}
| producer           = Leanne Moore
| editor             = [[Richard Halsey]]
| cinematography     = Ousama Rawi
| runtime            = 95 minutes
| company            = {{Plainlist|
* Haft Entertainment
* St. Nick Productions
}}
| budget             = 
| network            = [[TNT (American TV network)|TNT]]
| released           = {{Start date|1999|06|20}} 
}}
'''''Pirates of Silicon Valley''''' is a 1999 American [[Biographical film|biographical]] [[Drama (film and television)|drama]] [[television film]] directed by [[Martyn Burke]] and starring [[Noah Wyle]] as [[Steve Jobs]] and [[Anthony Michael Hall]] as [[Bill Gates]]. Spanning the years 1971–1997 and based on Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine's 1984 book ''Fire in the Valley: The Making of the Personal Computer'', it explores the impact that the rivalry between Jobs ([[Apple Inc.|Apple Computer]]) and Gates ([[Microsoft]]) had on the development of the [[personal computer]]. The film premiered on [[TNT (American TV network)|TNT]] on June 20, 1999.<ref name=Variety>{{cite magazine|url=https://variety.com/1999/tv/reviews/pirates-of-silicon-valley-1200458078/|title=Review: 'Pirates of Silicon Valley'|access-date=2015-12-12|last=Richmond|first=Ray|date=1999-06-16|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|archive-date=December 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171212062136/http://variety.com/1999/tv/reviews/pirates-of-silicon-valley-1200458078/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Plot==
[[Steve Jobs]] is speaking with director [[Ridley Scott]] about the creation of the [[1984 (advertisement)|1984 advertisement]] for [[Apple Inc.|Apple Computer]], which introduced the [[Macintosh 128K|first Macintosh]]. Jobs is trying to convey his idea that "We're creating a completely new consciousness." Scott is more concerned with the technical aspects of the advertisement.

Next in 1997 with Jobs, [[History of Apple#Return of Steve Jobs|returning to Apple]], and announcing [[History of Apple#Microsoft deal|a new deal with Microsoft]] at the [[Macworld Expo#1997|1997 Macworld Expo]]. His partner, [[Steve Wozniak|Steve "Woz" Wozniak]], is introduced as one of the two central narrators of the story. Wozniak notes to the audience the resemblance between [[Big Brother (Nineteen Eighty-Four)|Big Brother]] and the image of [[Bill Gates]] on the screen behind Jobs during this announcement. Asking how they "got from there to here", the film turns to flashbacks of his youth with Jobs, prior to the forming of Apple.

The earliest flashback is in 1971 and takes place on the [[University of California, Berkeley|U.C. Berkeley]] campus during the period of the [[Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War|student anti-war movements]]. Teenagers Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak are shown caught on the campus during a riot between students and police. They flee and after finding safety, Jobs states to Wozniak, "Those guys think they're revolutionaries. They're not revolutionaries, we are." Wozniak then comments that "Steve was never like you or me. He always saw [[Think different|things differently]]. Even when I was in Berkeley, I would see something and just see [[kilobytes]] or [[printed circuit board|circuit boards]] while he'd see [[karma]] or the [[Meaning of life|meaning of the universe]]."

Using a similar structure, the film next turns to a young Bill Gates at [[Harvard University]], in the early 1970s, with classmate [[Steve Ballmer]], and Gates's high school friend [[Paul Allen]]. As with Wozniak in the earlier segment, Ballmer narrates Gates's story, particularly the moment when Gates discovers the existence of [[Ed Roberts (computer engineer)|Ed Roberts]]'s [[Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems|MITS]] [[Altair 8800|Altair]] causing him to drop out of Harvard. Gates's and Allen's early work with MITS is juxtaposed against the involvement of Jobs and Wozniak with the "Homebrew Computer Club". Jobs and Woz develop [[Apple Inc.|Apple Computer]] in the garage of Jobs's family home, with the help of [[Daniel Kottke|Daniel]] and Elizabeth. Eventually, [[Mike Markkula]] invests in the company which allows it to expand and move forward. In 1977, Jobs, Woz, and Markkula demo the [[Apple II]] at the [[West Coast Computer Faire]]. This event is followed by the development of the [[IBM PC]] with the help of Gates and [[Microsoft]] in 1981.

The film follows Jobs's relationship with his high school girlfriend and early Apple employee, Arlene (a pseudonym for [[Chrisann Brennan]]), and the difficulties he had with acknowledging his parental legitimacy of their daughter, [[Lisa Brennan-Jobs|Lisa]]. Around the time she was born, Jobs unveiled his next computer, which he named [[Apple Lisa|Lisa]]. The Lisa was followed in 1984 by the Macintosh, both having been inspired by the [[Xerox Alto]].

During the October 1983 Apple keynote address, Jobs shows a preview of the ''1984'' Macintosh commercial.  During which he also finds out that Microsoft secured a licensing deal in Japan to deploy PCs with Microsoft apps, including the upcoming [[Windows 1.0]]. Jobs and Gates then have a bitter falling out.  Jobs claimed that Gates completely ripped off of Apple's design and went behind their backs to secure a deal against their partnership.  Gates responds by saying that they were within their contractual rights to do so, that Apple had done the same thing to Xerox, and rather that it was analogous to both of them stealing from a rich neighbor who left their door unlocked.  The main body of the film finally concludes with a 30th birthday toast in 1985 to Steve Jobs shortly before [[History of Apple Inc.#Jobs and Wozniak leave Apple|he was forced out]] of Apple by CEO [[John Sculley]].

The film ends in 1997, with the return of 42-year-old Jobs to Apple (after its acquisition of [[NeXT Computer]]) and with his announcement at the [[Macworld Conference & Expo|MacWorld Expo]] of an alliance between Apple and Microsoft. It also indicates that Jobs is now married, has children, and has reconciled with Lisa.

==Cast==
* [[Noah Wyle]] as [[Steve Jobs]]
* [[Anthony Michael Hall]] as [[Bill Gates]]
* [[Joey Slotnick]] as [[Steve Wozniak]]
* [[John DiMaggio]] as [[Steve Ballmer]]
* [[Josh Hopkins]] as [[Paul Allen]]
* [[Gailard Sartain]] as [[Ed Roberts (computer engineer)|Ed Roberts]]
* [[Jeffrey Nordling]] as [[Mike Markkula]]
* [[Allan Royal]] as [[John Sculley]]
* [[J. G. Hertzler]] as [[Ridley Scott]]
* [[Gema Zamprogna]] as "Arlene" (a [[pseudonym]] for [[Chrisann Brennan]])
* Brooke Radding as [[Lisa Brennan-Jobs]]
* [[Wayne Pere]] as [[John Draper|Captain Crunch]]
* Brian Lester as [[Charles Simonyi]]
* [[Gerald McCullouch]] as [[Rod Brock]]
* [[Marcus Giamatti]] as [[Daniel Kottke]]
* [[Melissa McBride]] as Elizabeth Holmes

==Production==
===Development===
Burke notes that when he was shown the first draft of the screenplay, which is based upon Freiberger and Swaine's ''Fire in the Valley,'' "It was all about how the '286 computer' became the '386' and so on ... I was bored by it."<ref name=com>{{cite web
|url=http://www.cultofmac.com/301225/90s-tv-movie-became-steve-jobs-film-beat/
|title=How a '90s TV movie became the Steve Jobs film to beat
|access-date=2015-12-12
|first=Luke
|last=Dormhel
|date=2014-10-29
|publisher=cultofmac.com
|archive-date=December 22, 2015
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222144017/http://www.cultofmac.com/301225/90s-tv-movie-became-steve-jobs-film-beat/
|url-status=live
}}</ref> After the studio asked him for suggestions Burke states that "I'm a great believer in Shakespeare, and what we had was a modern equivalent of ''[[Hamlet]]'', featuring two young princes, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs ... the more I read about Steve in particular, the more I saw him in those Shakespearean terms. He was brilliant, volcanic, obsessive, suspicious, even vicious in a business sense. He was about conquest, always conquest. I said, 'That's the sort of movie I want to make.'"<ref name=com/> Burke was thus hired as director of the project and rewrote the screenplay.<ref name=com/> In developing the characters themselves, Burke also stated that he chose not to speak with any of the central figures portrayed in the film:

{{blockquote|I did not want to do an "authorized biography" on either Microsoft or Apple, so we made the decision going in that we would not talk or meet with them. With a team of Harvard researchers, I embarked on a seven-month research project that encompassed virtually everything we could find on the history of both companies, including old technical magazines from the '70s. I intended every scene to be based on actual events, including such seemingly fantastic moments as Bill Gates's bulldozer races in the middle of the night and Steve Jobs's bare feet going up on the board room table during an applicant's job interview. I have two or more sources that verify each scene.<ref name=interview1 />}}

===Casting===
[[File:Joey Slotnick & Steve Wozniak.jpg|thumb|left|[[Joey Slotnick]] (left) played [[Steve Wozniak]] (right) in the film.]]
Burke sought [[Noah Wyle]] for the part of Jobs. Wyle originally turned down the role, but changed his mind after Burke had him watch the 1996 documentary, ''[[Triumph of the Nerds]]''.<ref name=bi2015/> Wyle states that he watched the documentary "for ten seconds and knew I'd kick myself for the rest of my life if I didn't play this part."<ref name=wyleofficial>{{cite web|url=http://alt.tnt.tv/movies/tntoriginals/pirates/html/steve.html |title=Noah Wyle as Steve Jobs |access-date=2015-12-13 |date=1999 |publisher=Official website |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011214000510/http://alt.tnt.tv/movies/tntoriginals/pirates/html/steve.html |archive-date=December 14, 2001 }}</ref> He also noted that ''Triumph of the Nerds'' led him to be "taken by [Jobs's] presence, his confidence, smugness, smartness, ego, and his story's trajectory. He seemed to be the most Shakespearean figure in American culture in the last 50 years I could think of – the rise of, the fall of, and the return of. The truest definition of a tragic hero—but you get the 'bonus round' that [[F. Scott Fitzgerald]] said didn't exist. Jobs has had one hell of a second act."<ref name=bi2015/> Burke later credited Wyle for the success of the film stating that, "whatever was in the air, [Wyle] just absorbed it ... he became Jobs. It was a remarkable transformation. We had a photo of Steve Jobs at about 28 years old, from the cover of Fortune magazine. We did a mockup with Noah and it was almost impossible to tell them apart."<ref name=com/> Burke also credits Joey Slotnick's interpretation of Steve Wozniak with Wozniak's enthusiasm for the film; Wozniak was so impressed that he flew to Los Angeles to have lunch with Slotnick. Burke notes that, "Steve Wozniak made several speeches in which he said that the film accurately portrays how things actually happened ... To me that was better than any awards or nominations the film could get."<ref name=com/>

[[Anthony Michael Hall]], who was cast as [[Bill Gates]], commented on his interest in the role, stating that he, "really fought for this part because I knew it would be the role of a lifetime ... it was a thrill and a daunting challenge to play someone of his stature and brilliance."<ref name=amh>{{cite web|url=http://alt.tnt.tv/movies/tntoriginals/pirates/html/bill.html |title=Anthony Michael Hall as Bill Gates |access-date=2015-12-13 |date=1999 |publisher=Official website |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011117170345/http://alt.tnt.tv/movies/tntoriginals/pirates/html/bill.html |archive-date=November 17, 2001 }}</ref>

===Filming===
''Pirates of Silicon Valley'' was originally scheduled to be shot in Toronto, with more than $1 million in sets. However, when Wyle was unable to receive a long enough release from ''[[ER (TV series)|ER]]'' to shoot in Canada, the film temporarily shut down. Filming began again later in Los Angeles.<ref name=com/> During the filming, the cast broke down into PC and Mac factions, arguing over the merits of each platform. Burke states that he began the film as a PC user and ended a Mac user.<ref name=com/>

==Themes==
Young [[Steve Jobs]] participated in aspects of the [[Counterculture of the 1960s|1960s counterculture]]. Actor [[Noah Wyle]], who portrays Jobs, stated in an interview with [[CNN]], "These kids grew up 30 miles south of the [University of California] Berkeley campus, which was ripe with revolution ... and they couldn't have cared less about the politics going on. They were in the garage tinkering with their electronics and starting a revolution that was a thousand times greater than anything that was going on the college campuses, politically."<ref name=CNN>{{cite web
|url=http://edition.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/TV/9906/18/pirates.silicon/
|title=TV 'Pirates of Silicon Valley': Browsing the recent past
|access-date=2008-05-08
|first=Michael
|last=Dennis
|date=1999-06-18
|publisher=[[CNN]]
|archive-date=September 25, 2009
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090925204951/http://edition.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/TV/9906/18/pirates.silicon/
|url-status=dead
}}</ref> Director [[Martyn Burke]] also noted in an interview that, "Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are the true revolutionaries of our time. Not the students who occupied the dean's office in the late '60s. Not the anti-war marchers who were determined to overthrow the establishment. Jobs and Gates are the ones who changed the way the world thinks, acts and communicates."<ref name=interview1>{{cite web|url=http://alt.tnt.tv/movies/tntoriginals/pirates/html/martyn.html |title=Official website: Q&a With Martyn Burke |access-date=2015-12-13 |date=1999 |publisher=Official Website |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020206092321/http://alt.tnt.tv/movies/tntoriginals/pirates/html/martyn.html |archive-date=February 6, 2002 }}</ref>

== Music ==
The soundtrack consists of [[classic rock]], [[disco]], and [[new wave music|new wave]] from the 1960s, 1970s, and early-mid 1980s.<ref name=ost>{{cite web
|url=https://open.spotify.com/playlist/78WhJLxgMW0pwWPFEbGNRf
|title=Pirates Of Silicon Valley: Soundtrack
|access-date=2015-12-12
|publisher=Spotify
|archive-date=October 25, 2021
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211025222747/https://open.spotify.com/playlist/78WhJLxgMW0pwWPFEbGNRf
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

In the DVD edition, the piano song that is playing in the scene when Steve Jobs accuses Bill Gates of stealing Apple's ideas is not on the soundtrack. That omission sparked a search that lasted a few years{{cn|date=April 2024}} until it was eventually found to be "Soliloquy"<ref>{{cite web| url=https://open.spotify.com/track/1tj1D3p58OPSAZ7QwGWfmQ?si=3a0b32ad61fb41b2|website=Spotify|title=Soliloquy}}</ref> by English composer [[Tony Hymas]]. The song was originally published in the 1980 collection "The Piano Album",<ref>{{cite web| url= https://www.discogs.com/Tony-Hymas-John-Arkell-The-Piano-Album/release/1505945|website=Discogs |title=Piano Album |date=1980 }}</ref> correctly fitting the movie events timeline. The original TV aired and VHS had music that differed from the DVD.

{{Track listing
| extra_column    = Artist
| title1          = [[Question (The Moody Blues song)|Question]] (1970)
| extra1          = [[Moody Blues]]
| length1         = 4:54 
| title2          = [[Isn't Life Strange]] (1972)
| extra2          = Moody Blues
| length2         = 6:10
| title3          = [[I Put a Spell on You]] (1968)
| extra3          = [[Creedence Clearwater Revival]] 
| length3         = 2:25
| title4          = [[No Time (The Guess Who song)|No Time]] (1970)
| extra4          = [[The Guess Who]]
| length4         = 3:29
| title5          = [[In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida]] (1968)
| extra5          = [[Iron Butterfly]] 
| length5         = 2:52 
| title6          = [[Get Down Tonight]] (1975)
| extra6          = [[KC and the Sunshine Band]] 
| length6         = 3:12
| title7          = [[Synchronicity (The Police album)#Songs|Synchronicity I]] (1983)
| extra7          = [[The Police]] 
| length7         = 3:23
| title8          = Collage (1969)
| extra8          = [[The James Gang]] 
| length8         = 3:32
| title9          = [[Gemini Dream]] (1981)
| extra9          = Moody Blues
| length9         = 3:47
| title10         = [[Burning Down the House]] (1983)
| extra10         = [[Talking Heads]] 
| length10        = 4:00
| title11         = [[Everybody Wants to Rule the World]] (1985)
| extra11         = [[Tears for Fears]] 
| length11        = 4:13 
}}

== Reception ==

===Critical response===
{{quote box|width=30%|align=right|quote=The personalities were very accurately portrayed ... Incidents [in the film] are accurate in the sense that they all occurred but they are often with the wrong parties ([[Bill Fernandez]], Apple employee #4, was with me and the computer that burned up in 1970) and at the wrong dates (when [[John Sculley]] joined, he had to redirect attention from the [[Apple III]], not the [[Mac (computer)|Mac]], to the [[Apple II]]) and places ([[Homebrew Computer Club]] was at [[Stanford Linear Accelerator Center]]) ... The personal drives portrayed in the movie were amazingly accurate. So were the key personalities, but not some others ... Mike was portrayed in the movie in a very inaccurate and unfair way, making it look like he was financially shrewd. Actually, he was intellectually open and contributing and, more than anyone else, he ran and structured the company in the early days, while Steve floated around getting his feet wet at running a company and learning to be a top executive.|source=—[[Steve Wozniak]]<ref name=wozorglet1>{{cite web
|url=http://www.woz.org/letters/youve-remained-person/
|title=You've remained the same person that you were…
|access-date=March 3, 2020
|last=Wozniak
|first=Steve
|author-link=Steve Wozniak
|date=January 3, 2018
|publisher=woz.org (Steve Wozniak's Official Website)
|archive-date=March 3, 2020
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200303094956/http://www.woz.org/letters/youve-remained-person/
|url-status=live
}}</ref>}}

On the review aggregator [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds an approval rating of 89% based on nine reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10.<ref name="rtpirates">{{cite web
|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pirates_of_silicon_valley/
|title=Pirates of Silicon Valley
|access-date=2017-08-09
|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]
|archive-date=April 23, 2008
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080423050114/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pirates_of_silicon_valley/
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
Ray Richmond of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' states that it is "a brilliant piece of filmmaking" and "a wildly entertaining geek tragedy with the stylistic feel of true art."<ref name="Variety" />
[[John Leonard (critic)|John Leonard]] of ''[[New York (magazine)|New York Magazine]]'', refers to it as "a hoot".<ref name="mymrev">{{cite magazine
|url=http://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/tv/reviews/231/
|title=Pirates of Silicon Valley
|access-date=2015-12-12
|last=Leonard
|first=John
|date=1999
|magazine=[[New York (magazine)|New York Magazine]]
|archive-date=April 15, 2009
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415165739/http://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/tv/reviews/231/
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
Rob Owen of the ''[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]'' argues that the film is "a fascinating drama filled with Shakespearean twists and betrayals as viewers come to know the geniuses who transformed not only the way we communicate, but the way we live."<ref name=postrev>{{cite news
|url=http://old.post-gazette.com/tv/19990620owen5.asp
|title=The clash of two titans profiled in 'Silicon Valley'
|access-date=2015-12-12
|last=Owen
|first=Rob
|date=1999-06-20
|newspaper=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]
|archive-date=March 4, 2016
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304111635/http://old.post-gazette.com/tv/19990620owen5.asp
|url-status=live
}}</ref> 
Brian J. Dillard of ''AllMovie'' argues that "thanks to inspired casting and strong writing, this well-oiled TV biopic managed to transform the unglamorous genesis of the personal-computer industry into solid entertainment precisely at the moment when dot-com mania was sweeping the nation."<ref name=am>{{cite web
|url=http://www.allmovie.com/movie/pirates-of-silicon-valley-v180308/review
|title=AllMovie Review
|access-date=2015-12-12
|last=Dillard
|first=Brian J.
|publisher=AllMovie
|archive-date=May 17, 2013
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517051058/http://www.allmovie.com/movie/pirates-of-silicon-valley-v180308/review
|url-status=live
}}</ref> 
Mike Lipton of ''[[People (magazine)|People]]'', found the film to be "engagingly irreverent" and "a real-life ''[[Revenge of the Nerds]]'' [that] stands cheekily on its own."<ref name="peorev">{{cite magazine
|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20128499,00.html
|title=Picks and Pans Review: Pirates of Silicon Valley
|access-date=2015-12-12
|last=Lipton
|first=Mike
|date=1999-06-21
|magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]]
|archive-date=October 22, 2013
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022125652/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20128499,00.html
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

===Historical accuracy===
{{quote box|width=30%|align=right|quote=[The day before the 1999 [[Macworld Expo#1999|Macworld]], [[Steve Jobs]] went shopping and] bought me a matching pair of blue jeans and a black turtleneck sweater and matching round eyeglasses. He'd written a sketch for us to perform the next day at Macworld. I'd put my hands together in a kind of Jobs-like silent-prayer pose and then launch into his keynote. And then a few minutes into the address he'd come storming onto the stage and say, 'Wyle, you don't have me at all! What the hell are you doing? First I pick up my slide-clicker and then I put my hands together.' He'd say, 'Ladies and gentlemen, Noah Wyle!; And then he'd kick me off the stage and take over, introducing the latest piece of Apple technology. And that's exactly how we did it. The first few rows, I think, could obviously tell it wasn't him, but most others didn't know at all. And there was this growing ripple of laughter throughout the auditorium when people got what was happening. I honestly had had no idea what to expect: I thought the whole thing might be an ambush—that he'd get me to his event and that what he said we were going to do in fact wasn't what we were going to do, and I would somehow be humiliated. But he stayed on script and was very kind to me.|source=—[[Noah Wyle]]<ref name=bi2015>{{cite magazine
|url=http://fortune.com/2011/10/07/noah-wyle-on-playing-steve-jobs/
|title=Noah Wyle on playing Steve Jobs
|access-date=2015-12-12
|date=2011-10-07
|magazine=[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]]
|archive-date=July 14, 2014
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714173226/http://fortune.com/2011/10/07/noah-wyle-on-playing-steve-jobs/
|url-status=live
}}</ref>}}

[[Steve Jobs]], [[Bill Gates]], and [[Steve Wozniak]] all responded to the film. Jobs told a journalist that the television movie was "brutal" and "mean-spirited": "But as an actor, [[Noah Wyle]] definitely had done his homework on me in terms of my mannerisms and my quirks. So I called him the next day, just to tell him I thought he did a nice job."<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Levy |first1=Steven |title=» The Revolution According to Steve Jobs |url=http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/11/ff_stevejobs/all/1 |access-date=4 June 2025 |magazine=WIRED |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20120107103800/http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/11/ff_stevejobs/all/1 |archive-date=January 7, 2012 }}</ref> After ''Pirates of Silicon Valley'' had aired, he phoned Wyle and told him that while he "hated" both the film and the screenplay, he liked Wyle's performance, noting "you do look like me."<ref name="bi2015" /> Jobs then invited Wyle to the 1999 [[Macworld Expo|Macworld convention]] to play a prank on the audience. Wyle agreed and initially appeared as Jobs, until Jobs walked onto the stage and let the audience in on the joke.<ref name="bi2015" /> [[Ken Segall]] recalled Jobs being "thrilled" when Wyle was first cast and he later wrote the on-stage dialogue for Wyle and Jobs. He recounted that Jobs denied ever asking a prospective employee about their virginity, as depicted in the film.<ref>{{cite news |title=Noah Wyle and Steve Jobs' moment of truth « Observatory |url=https://kensegall.com/blog/2012/04/noah-wyle-and-steve-jobs-moment-of-truth/ |access-date=4 June 2025 |work=kensegall.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120420071253/https://kensegall.com/blog/2012/04/noah-wyle-and-steve-jobs-moment-of-truth/ |archive-date=April 20, 2012 }}</ref> In contrast, Jobs avoided meeting the director Martyn Burke, who later said that "Steve wanted nothing to do with me."<ref name="com" /> In a 2013 ''Ask Me Anything'' session with [[Reddit]], Gates responded to a question about his portrayal in the film by stating that it was "reasonably accurate".<ref name=Reddit>{{cite web
|url=https://www.theverge.com/2013/2/11/3977432/bill-gates-reddit-ama-80-inch-windows-8-tablet
|title=Bill Gates hits Reddit for an AMA, replies using 80-inch Windows 8 display
|access-date=2015-12-12
|last=Warren
|first=Tom
|date=2013-02-11
|website=[[The Verge]]
|archive-date=March 12, 2017
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312131241/http://www.theverge.com/2013/2/11/3977432/bill-gates-reddit-ama-80-inch-windows-8-tablet
|url-status=live
}}</ref> 

Wozniak had a positive response to the film and discussed it in detail with fans on his official website.<ref name=wozorglet2>{{cite web
|url=http://www.woz.org/taxonomy/term/2 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417020209/http://www.woz.org/taxonomy/term/2 | archive-date=April 17, 2012 |title= Pirates of Silicon Valley
|access-date=March 3, 2020
|last=Wozniak
|first=Steve
|author1-link=Steve Wozniak
|publisher=woz.org (Steve Wozniak's Official Website)}}</ref> Wozniak said that many aspects of the film were accurate, stating that "when the movie opened with [a scene of] tear gas and riots ... I thought, 'My God! That's just how it was.'"<ref name=nydailynews>{{cite news
|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/nydn-features/titans-computing-article-1.824882
|title=TITANS OF COMPUTING
|access-date=2015-12-12
|last=Huff
|first=Richard
|date=1999-06-20
|newspaper=[[Daily News (New York)|NY Daily News]]
|archive-date=June 19, 2013
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130619192132/http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/nydn-features/titans-computing-article-1.824882
|url-status=live
}}</ref> He also responded to a fan email, that some of his portrayal was inaccurate: "I never quit Apple. That suggestion was based on an incorrect ''Wall Street Journal'' [article] that said I was leaving Apple because I didn't like things there. Actually, I had told the ''Wall Street Journal'' writer that I wasn't leaving Apple because of things that I didn't like and that I wasn't even leaving, keeping my small salary forever as a loyal employee. I just wanted a small startup experience and a chance to design a smaller product again, a universal remote control."<ref name="wozorglet1" /> In May 2015, Wozniak once again commented on the film, stating that  ''Pirates of Silicon Valley'' is an example of a good Hollywood dramatization of himself, Steve Jobs, and the story of [[Apple Inc]]. He described ''Pirates of Silicon Valley'' as "intriguing, interesting. I loved watching it ... every one of those incidences occurred and it occurred with the meaning that was shown" in the film.<ref name="best">{{cite web
|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-steve-wozniak-ashton-kutcher-jobs-tnt-pirates-of-silicon-valley-2015-5
|title=Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak says the best Steve Jobs film is this 1999 made-for-TV movie
|access-date=2015-05-28
|last=Nededog
|first=Jethro
|date=2015-05-28
|website=Business Insider
|archive-date=May 29, 2015
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529073231/http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-steve-wozniak-ashton-kutcher-jobs-tnt-pirates-of-silicon-valley-2015-5
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

A college friend of Jobs and early Apple employee [[Daniel Kottke]] also liked the film. He noted in an interview that it was "a great movie. Noah Wyle was just uncannily close to Jobs. Just unbelievable. I found myself thinking it was actually Steve on the screen." He also states that in the film there were "all these scenes of the garage where it's like half a dozen people working, busily carrying things back and forth, and oscilloscopes" when he [Kottke] "was really the only person who worked in the garage. Woz would show up once a week with his latest to test it out, and Steve Jobs was on the phone a lot in the kitchen."<ref name="slashdot">{{cite news
|url=http://insights.dice.com/2013/08/16/early-apple-employees-talk-memories-of-steve-jobs-new-movie-2/
|title=Early Apple Employees Talk Memories of Steve Jobs, New Movie
|access-date=2015-12-12
|last=Assar
|first=Vijith
|date=2013-08-16
|publisher=[[Slashdot]]
|archive-date=December 22, 2015
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222025821/http://insights.dice.com/2013/08/16/early-apple-employees-talk-memories-of-steve-jobs-new-movie-2/
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

Two individuals have responded to the film's interpretation of the 1979 visit of Jobs and his team to the [[PARC (company)|Xerox PARC]] research center, which influenced the development of both the [[Apple Lisa|Lisa]] and [[Macintosh 128k|Macintosh]] computers. PARC's director, [[John Seely Brown]] stated in a 2006 interview that the scene in which Gates and Jobs argue about the role of Xerox is not entirely accurate. He said that Jobs was invited by PARC to view their technology in exchange for the ability to buy pre-IPO Apple stock.<ref name=jsb>{{cite web
|url=http://www.studio360.org/story/106728-john-seely-brown/
|title=JOHN SEELY BROWN
|access-date=2015-12-12
|date=2006-08-04
|publisher=[[Studio 360|Studio360]]
|archive-date=December 22, 2015
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222093812/http://www.studio360.org/story/106728-john-seely-brown/
|url-status=live
}}</ref> Wozniak said, "Apple worked with Xerox openly to bring their developments to a mass audience. That's what Steve portrayed Apple as being good at. Xerox got a lot of Apple stock for it too, it was an agreement. Microsoft just took it from Xerox or Apple or whomever. It took them a long time to get it halfway right."<ref name=wozorglet2/>

=== Accolades ===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|- style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"
! Award
! Date of ceremony
! Category
! Recipient(s)
! Result
|-
! scope=row| [[American Cinema Editors#Eddie Awards|American Cinema Editors Eddie Awards]]
| 2000
| Best Two-Hour Motion Picture for Commercial TV
| Richard Halsey
|  {{won}}<ref name=ed>{{cite magazine
|url=https://variety.com/2000/film/news/matrix-malkovich-hold-biggest-of-aces-1117778762/
|title='Matrix,' 'Malkovich' hold biggest of ACEs
|access-date=2015-12-12
|last=Feiwell
|first=Jill
|date=2000-02-27
|magazine=Variety
|archive-date=June 4, 2016
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604091118/http://variety.com/2000/film/news/matrix-malkovich-hold-biggest-of-aces-1117778762/
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
|-
!! scope=row rowspan="2" |Online Film & Television Association
| rowspan="2" |1998-1999
| Best Motion Picture Made for Television
| ''Pirates of Silicon Valley''
| {{won}}<ref name=ofta>{{cite web
|url=http://ofta.cinemasight.com/Awards/Television/9899.html
|title=Pirates Of Silicon Valley: OFTA
|access-date=2015-12-12
|publisher=Online Film&Television Association
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304194944/http://ofta.cinemasight.com/Awards/Television/9899.html
|archive-date=2016-03-04
|url-status=dead
}}</ref>
|-
| Best Actor in a Motion Picture or Miniseries
| [[Noah Wyle]]
|{{nom}}<ref name=ofta/>
|-
! scope=row rowspan="5" |[[51st Primetime Emmy Awards]]
| rowspan="5" |September 12, 1999
|  [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special|Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries or a Movie]]
|  [[Martyn Burke]]
| {{nom}}<ref name=emmynom/>
|-
| [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie|Outstanding Made for Television Movie]]
| Nick Lombardo<br>[[Steven Haft]]<br>Leanne Moore
| {{nom}}<ref name=emmynom>{{cite web
|url=http://www.emmys.com/shows/pirates-silicon-valley
|title=Pirates Of Silicon Valley: Emmy Nominations
|access-date=2015-12-12
|date=1999
|publisher=[[Emmy Award]]s
|archive-date=December 22, 2015
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222140304/http://www.emmys.com/shows/pirates-silicon-valley
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
|-
| [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Casting for a Limited Series, Movie, or Special|Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries or a Made for Television Movie]]
| Lisa Freiberger
| {{nom}}<ref name=emmynom/>
|-
| [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Limited Series or Movie|Outstanding Single Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or a Movie]]
| [[Richard Halsey]]
| {{nom}}<ref name=emmynom/>
|-
| [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Limited Series or Movie|Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Movie]]
| Stephen Halbert<br>Phillip Seretti
| {{nom}}<ref name=emmynom/>
|-
! scope=row| [[52nd Directors Guild of America Awards]]
| March 11, 2000
| Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television
|  [[Martyn Burke]]
| {{nom}}<ref name=dga>{{cite web
|url=http://www.dga.org/Awards/Explore.aspx
|title=DGA: Winner and Nominee Search
|access-date=2015-12-13
|publisher=[[Directors Guild of America]]
|archive-date=February 21, 2012
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120221054101/http://www.dga.org/Awards/Explore.aspx
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
|-
! scope=row| [[Producers Guild of America Awards 1999]]
| March 2, 2000
| Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television
|[[Steven Haft]] <br>Nick Lombardo
| {{nom}}<ref name=pga>{{cite web|url=http://producersguild.org/awards/ |title=PRODUCERS GUILD OF AMERICA ANNOUNCES NOMINATIONS FOR GOLDEN LAUREL AWARDS |access-date=2015-12-13 |date=2000-01-19 |publisher=[[Producers Guild of America]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010815080146/http://producersguild.org/awards/ |archive-date=August 15, 2001 }}</ref>
|-
! scope=row| [[Casting Society of America]]
| 1999
| Artios Awards: Movie of the Week Casting
|  Lisa Freiberger
| {{nom}}<ref name=artios>{{cite web
|url=http://www.castingsociety.com/awards/artios/1999
|title=CSA: 1999 Artios Awards
|access-date=2015-12-13
|publisher=[[Casting Society of America]]
|archive-date=December 14, 2017
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171214072906/http://www.castingsociety.com/awards/artios/1999
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
|-
|}

==See also==
{{portal|Film}}
* [[List of depictions of Steve Jobs]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Lohr, Steve. "[https://www.nytimes.com/1999/06/20/tv/cover-story-when-cyberspace-was-a-state-of-mind.html When Cyberspace Was a State of Mind]". ''[[The New York Times]]'', June 20, 1999.
* Mellor, Louisa. "[http://www.denofgeek.com/tv/noah-wyle/37565/noah-wyle-interview-the-librarians-er-playing-steve-jobs Noah Wyle interview: The Librarians, ER, playing Steve Jobs]". ''[[Den of Geek]]'', Nov. 2, 2015.
* Rozsa, Matthew. "[http://www.salon.com/2015/10/26/before_steve_jobs_there_was_pirates_of_silicon_valley_what_a_made_for_tv_movie_got_right_that_aaron_sorkin_didnt/ Before 'Steve Jobs,' there was 'Pirates of Silicon Valley': What a made-for-tv movie got right that Aaron Sorkin didn't]". ''[[Salon (website)|Salon]]'', October 26, 2015.
* Trenholm, Richard. "[http://www.cnet.com/news/revisiting-pirates-of-silicon-valley-the-original-steve-jobs-movie/ Revisiting 'Pirates of Silicon Valley', the original Steve Jobs movie]", [[CNET]], October 17, 2015.

==External links==
* {{Official website|https://web.archive.org/web/20031204025730/http://alt.tnt.tv/movies/tntoriginals/pirates/}} (archived)
* {{IMDb title|0168122|Pirates of Silicon Valley}}

{{Bill Gates}}
{{Steve Jobs}}
{{Woz}}
{{Martyn Burke}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pirates Of Silicon Valley}}
[[Category:1999 drama films]]
[[Category:1999 television films]]
[[Category:1999 films]]
[[Category:1990s biographical drama films]]
[[Category:1990s business films]]
[[Category:American biographical drama films]]
[[Category:American business films]]
[[Category:American biographical television films]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Bill Gates]]
[[Category:American drama television films]]
[[Category:Films about computer security]]
[[Category:Films about Steve Jobs]]
[[Category:Films based on non-fiction books]]
[[Category:Films directed by Martyn Burke]]
[[Category:Films set in the 1970s]]
[[Category:Films set in the 1980s]]
[[Category:Films set in the 1990s]]
[[Category:Films set in the San Francisco Bay Area]]
[[Category:Films shot in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Martyn Burke]]
[[Category:Nerd culture]]
[[Category:Culture of Silicon Valley]]
[[Category:Television films based on books]]
[[Category:TNT (American TV network) original films]]
[[Category:Works about Apple Inc.]]
[[Category:Works about Microsoft]]
[[Category:1990s American films]]
[[Category:Films about startups]]