Antitrust (film)
Encyclopedia
Antitrust is a 2001 thriller film written by Howard Franklin
and directed by Peter Howitt
.
Antitrust portrays young idealistic programmer
s and a large corporation (NURV) that offers significant money, a low-keyed working environment, and creative opportunities for those talented programmers willing to work for them. The charismatic CEO
of NURV (Robbins) seems to be good natured, but recent employee and protagonist
Milo Hoffman (Phillippe) begins to unravel the terrible hidden truth of NURV's operation.
The films stars Ryan Phillippe
, Tim Robbins
, Rachael Leigh Cook
, and Claire Forlani
. Antitrust opened in the United States
on January 12, 2001, to a poor reception; it was generally panned by critics.
Skullbocks, Stanford
graduate Milo Hoffman (Phillippe) is contacted by CEO
Gary Winston (Robbins) of NURV (Never Underestimate Radical Vision) for a very attractive programming position: a fat paycheck, an almost-unrestrained working environment, and extensive creative control over his work. Accepting Winston's offer, Hoffman and his girlfriend, Alice Poulson (Forlani), move to NURV headquarters in Portland, Oregon
.
Despite development of the flagship product (Synapse, a worldwide media distribution network) being well on schedule, Hoffman soon becomes suspicious of the excellent source code
Winston personally provides to him, seemingly when needed most, while refusing to divulge the code's origin.
After his best friend, Teddy Chin (Yee Jee Tso
), is murdered, Hoffman discovers that NURV is stealing the code they need from programmers around the world — including Chin — and then killing them to cover their tracks. Hoffman learns that not only does NURV employ an extensive surveillance
system to observe and steal code, the company has infiltrated the Justice Department
and most of the mainstream media. Even his girlfriend is a plant, an ex-con hired by the company to manipulate him.
While searching through a secret NURV database containing surveillance dossiers on employees, he finds that the company has information of a very personal nature about a friend and co-worker, Lisa Calighan (Cook). When he reveals to her that the company has this information, she agrees to help him expose NURV's crimes to the world. Coordinating with one of Hoffman's friends (Dushku) from his old startup, they plan to use a local public-access television
station to hijack Synapse and broadcast their charges against NURV to the world. However, Calighan turns out to be a double agent
, foils Hoffman's plan, and turns him over to Winston.
Hoffman had already confronted Poulson and convinced her to side with him against Winston and NURV. When it became clear that Hoffman had not succeeded, a backup plan is put into motion by Poulson, the fourth member of Skullbocks (Tygh Runyan
), and the incorruptible internal security firm hired by NURV. As Winston prepares to kill Hoffman, the second team successfully usurps one of NURV's own work centers — "Building 21" — and transmits the incriminating evidence as well as the Synapse code. Winston and his entourage are publicly arrested for their crimes. After parting ways with the redeemed Poulson, Hoffman rejoins Skullbocks.
found Gary Winston to be a thinly disguised pastiche of Bill Gates
; so much so that he was "surprised [the writers] didn't protect against libel by having the villain wear a name tag saying, 'Hi! I'm not Bill!'" Similarly, Ebert felt NURV "seems a whole lot like Microsoft
." Ebert wasn't alone making these observations; parallels between the fictional and real-world software giants were also drawn by Lisa Bowman of ZDNet
UK, James Berardinelli
of ReelViews, and Rita Kempley of the The Washington Post
. Microsoft spokesman Jim Cullinan said, "From the trailers, we couldn't tell if the movie was about or Oracle
."
, British Columbia
, and California
.
Stanley Park
in Vancouver served as the grounds for Gary Winston's house, although the gate house at its entrance was faux. The exterior of Winston's house itself was wholly computer-generated
; only the paved walkway and body of water in the background are physically present in the park. For later shots of Winston and Hoffman walking along a beach near the house, the CG house was placed in the background of Bowen Island
, the shooting location. Catherine Hardwicke
designed the interior sets for Winston's house, which featured several different units, or "pods", e.g., personal, work, and recreation units. No scenes take place in any of the personal areas, however; only public areas made it to the screen. While the digital paintings in Winston's home were created with green screen technology
, the concept was based on technology that was already available in the real world. The characters even refer to Bill Gates' house
which, in real life, had such art. The paintings which appeared for Hoffman were of a cartoon character, "Alien Kitty", developed by Floyd Hughes
specifically for the film.
Simon Fraser University
's Burnaby campus stood in for external shots of NURV headquarters.
The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts
at the University of British Columbia
(UBC) was used for several internal locations. The centre's foyer area became the NURV canteen
; the set decoration for which was inspired by Apple's canteen, which the producers saw during a visit to their corporate headquarters
. The inside of the Chan—used for concerts—served as the shape for "The Egg", or "The NURV Center", where Hoffman's cubicle
is located. Described as "a big surfboard freak" by Director Peter Howitt, Production Designer Catherine Hardwicke surrounded "The Egg" set with surfboards mounted to the walls; "The idea was to make NURV a very cool looking place." Both sets for NURV's Building 21 were also on UBC's campus. The internal set was an art gallery on campus, while the exterior was built for the film on the university's grounds. According to Howitt, UBC students kept attempting to steal the Building 21 set pieces.
Hoffman and Poulson's new home — a real house in Vancouver — was a "very tight" shooting location and a very rigorous first week for shooting because, as opposed to a set
, the crew could not move the walls. The painting in the living room is the product of a young Vancouver artist, and was purchased by Howitt as his first piece of art.
The new Skullbocks office was a real loft
, also in Vancouver, on Beatty Street.
story excited industry leaders and professionals with the prospects of expanding the public's awareness and knowledge level of the availability of open-source software. The film heavily features Linux
and its community, using screenshot
s of the Gnome desktop
, consulting Linux professionals, as well as cameos by Miguel de Icaza
and Scott McNealy
(the latter appearing in the film's trailers). Jon Hall, executive director
of Linux International
and consultant on the film said "[Antitrust] is a way of bringing the concept of open source and the fact that there is an alternative to the general public, who often don't even know that there is one."
Despite the film's message about open source computing, MGM
didn't follow-through with their marketing: the official website for Antitrust featured some videotaped interviews which were only available in Apple's proprietary
QuickTime
format.
and Metacritic
reported generally poor reception: based on 102 reviews, only 25% of critics gave the film positive write-ups, with a calculated metascore of 31 (out of 100). Professional critic Roger Ebert
only gave the film two stars (out of four). Linux.com
appreciated the film's open-source message but felt the film overall was lackluster, saying AntiTrust is probably worth a $7.50 ticket on a night when you've got nothing else planned."
James Keith La Croix of Detroit's Metro Times
gave the film four stars, impressed that "Antitrust is a thriller that actually thrills."
on May 15, 2001 and on VHS
on December 26, 2001. The DVD features audio commentary
by the director and editor, an exclusive documentary, deleted scene
s and alternative opening and closing sequences with director's commentary, the music video for "When It All Goes Wrong Again
" by Everclear
, and the original theatrical trailer. The DVD was re-released August 1, 2006.
Howard Franklin
Howard Franklin is an American screenwriter and film director, most well-known for the 1990 film Quick Change, his collaboration with Bill Murray...
and directed by Peter Howitt
Peter Howitt
Peter Howitt is an English actor and film director. He grew up in Eltham, London and Bromley, Kent, Peter used to be a part of the Priory Players in the Priory behind Christ Church, Eltham. He studied at the Drama Studio London. He has two children, Luke and Amy...
.
Antitrust portrays young idealistic programmer
Programmer
A programmer, computer programmer or coder is someone who writes computer software. The term computer programmer can refer to a specialist in one area of computer programming or to a generalist who writes code for many kinds of software. One who practices or professes a formal approach to...
s and a large corporation (NURV) that offers significant money, a low-keyed working environment, and creative opportunities for those talented programmers willing to work for them. The charismatic CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of NURV (Robbins) seems to be good natured, but recent employee and protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
Milo Hoffman (Phillippe) begins to unravel the terrible hidden truth of NURV's operation.
The films stars Ryan Phillippe
Ryan Phillippe
Matthew Ryan Phillippe , better known as Ryan Phillippe, is an American actor. After appearing on the soap opera One Life to Live, he came to fame in the late 1990s starring in a string of films, including I Know What You Did Last Summer, Cruel Intentions, and 54...
, Tim Robbins
Tim Robbins
Timothy Francis "Tim" Robbins is an American actor, screenwriter, director, producer, activist and musician. He is the former longtime partner of actress Susan Sarandon...
, Rachael Leigh Cook
Rachael Leigh Cook
Rachael Leigh Cook is an American actress, known for her role in the romantic comedy She's All That and her This is Your Brain on Drugs public service announcement.-Early life:...
, and Claire Forlani
Claire Forlani
Claire Antonia Forlani is an English actress.-Early life:Claire Forlani was born in Twickenham, London, the daughter of Barbara , who was English, and Pierluigi Forlani, a music manager from Ferrara, Italy. At the age of 11, Forlani entered the Arts Educational School in London, where she began to...
. Antitrust opened in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on January 12, 2001, to a poor reception; it was generally panned by critics.
Plot
Working with his three friends at their new software development companyStartup company
A startup company or startup is a company with a limited operating history. These companies, generally newly created, are in a phase of development and research for markets...
Skullbocks, Stanford
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
graduate Milo Hoffman (Phillippe) is contacted by CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
Gary Winston (Robbins) of NURV (Never Underestimate Radical Vision) for a very attractive programming position: a fat paycheck, an almost-unrestrained working environment, and extensive creative control over his work. Accepting Winston's offer, Hoffman and his girlfriend, Alice Poulson (Forlani), move to NURV headquarters in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
.
Despite development of the flagship product (Synapse, a worldwide media distribution network) being well on schedule, Hoffman soon becomes suspicious of the excellent source code
Source code
In computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...
Winston personally provides to him, seemingly when needed most, while refusing to divulge the code's origin.
After his best friend, Teddy Chin (Yee Jee Tso
Yee Jee Tso
Yee Jee Tso is a Canadian actor.His television roles include Sliders , and the 1996 Doctor Who telemovie, in which he played the character Chang Lee...
), is murdered, Hoffman discovers that NURV is stealing the code they need from programmers around the world — including Chin — and then killing them to cover their tracks. Hoffman learns that not only does NURV employ an extensive surveillance
Surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
system to observe and steal code, the company has infiltrated the Justice Department
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
and most of the mainstream media. Even his girlfriend is a plant, an ex-con hired by the company to manipulate him.
While searching through a secret NURV database containing surveillance dossiers on employees, he finds that the company has information of a very personal nature about a friend and co-worker, Lisa Calighan (Cook). When he reveals to her that the company has this information, she agrees to help him expose NURV's crimes to the world. Coordinating with one of Hoffman's friends (Dushku) from his old startup, they plan to use a local public-access television
Public-access television
Public-access television is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content television programming which is cablecast through cable TV specialty channels...
station to hijack Synapse and broadcast their charges against NURV to the world. However, Calighan turns out to be a double agent
Double agent
A double agent, commonly abbreviated referral of double secret agent, is a counterintelligence term used to designate an employee of a secret service or organization, whose primary aim is to spy on the target organization, but who in fact is a member of that same target organization oneself. They...
, foils Hoffman's plan, and turns him over to Winston.
Hoffman had already confronted Poulson and convinced her to side with him against Winston and NURV. When it became clear that Hoffman had not succeeded, a backup plan is put into motion by Poulson, the fourth member of Skullbocks (Tygh Runyan
Tygh Runyan
-Life and career:Runyan was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. His father is an environmental science professor at the University of British Columbia, and his mother is a poet...
), and the incorruptible internal security firm hired by NURV. As Winston prepares to kill Hoffman, the second team successfully usurps one of NURV's own work centers — "Building 21" — and transmits the incriminating evidence as well as the Synapse code. Winston and his entourage are publicly arrested for their crimes. After parting ways with the redeemed Poulson, Hoffman rejoins Skullbocks.
Allusions
Roger EbertRoger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
found Gary Winston to be a thinly disguised pastiche of Bill Gates
Bill Gates
William Henry "Bill" Gates III is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. Gates is the former CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen...
; so much so that he was "surprised [the writers] didn't protect against libel by having the villain wear a name tag saying, 'Hi! I'm not Bill!'" Similarly, Ebert felt NURV "seems a whole lot like Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
." Ebert wasn't alone making these observations; parallels between the fictional and real-world software giants were also drawn by Lisa Bowman of ZDNet
ZDNet
ZDNet is a business technology news website published by CBS Interactive, along with TechRepublic and SmartPlanet. The brand was founded on April 1, 1991 as a general interest technology portal from Ziff Davis and evolved into an enterprise IT-focused online publication owned by CNET...
UK, James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli is an American online film critic.-Personal life:Berardinelli was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey and spent his early childhood in Morristown, New Jersey. At the age of nine years, he relocated to the township of Cherry Hill, New Jersey...
of ReelViews, and Rita Kempley of the The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
. Microsoft spokesman Jim Cullinan said, "From the trailers, we couldn't tell if the movie was about or Oracle
Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...
."
Cast
- Ryan PhillippeRyan PhillippeMatthew Ryan Phillippe , better known as Ryan Phillippe, is an American actor. After appearing on the soap opera One Life to Live, he came to fame in the late 1990s starring in a string of films, including I Know What You Did Last Summer, Cruel Intentions, and 54...
as Milo Hoffman - Rachael Leigh CookRachael Leigh CookRachael Leigh Cook is an American actress, known for her role in the romantic comedy She's All That and her This is Your Brain on Drugs public service announcement.-Early life:...
as Lisa Calighan - Claire ForlaniClaire ForlaniClaire Antonia Forlani is an English actress.-Early life:Claire Forlani was born in Twickenham, London, the daughter of Barbara , who was English, and Pierluigi Forlani, a music manager from Ferrara, Italy. At the age of 11, Forlani entered the Arts Educational School in London, where she began to...
as Alice Poulson - Tim RobbinsTim RobbinsTimothy Francis "Tim" Robbins is an American actor, screenwriter, director, producer, activist and musician. He is the former longtime partner of actress Susan Sarandon...
as Gary Winston - Douglas McFerran as Bob Shrot
- Richard RoundtreeRichard RoundtreeRichard Roundtree is an American actor and former fashion model. He is best known for his portrayal of private detective John Shaft in the 1971 film Shaft and in its two sequels, Shaft's Big Score and Shaft in Africa .-Personal life:Born in New Rochelle, New York, Richard Roundtree graduated from...
as Lyle Barton - Tygh RunyanTygh Runyan-Life and career:Runyan was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. His father is an environmental science professor at the University of British Columbia, and his mother is a poet...
as Larry Banks - Yee Jee TsoYee Jee TsoYee Jee Tso is a Canadian actor.His television roles include Sliders , and the 1996 Doctor Who telemovie, in which he played the character Chang Lee...
as Teddy Chin - Nate DushkuNate DushkuNathaniel Mark "Nate" Dushku is an American actor. He is the elder brother of actress Eliza Dushku.-Early life:Nate was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the third son of Philip R. Dushku, an administrator and teacher in the Boston Public Schools, and Judith "Judy" , a political science professor at...
as Brian Bissel - Ned BellamyNed BellamyNed Bellamy is an American actor.Bellamy was born in Dayton, Ohio. After graduating UCLA, he founded the Los Angeles based theater company The Actors' Gang with fellow actor Tim Robbins....
as Phil Grimes - Tyler LabineTyler LabineTyler Sean Labine is a Canadian actor. His brothers Kyle Labine and Cameron Labine also work in the entertainment industry.-Life and career:Labine was born in Brampton, Ontario...
as Redmond Schmeichel - Scott BellisScott BellisScott Bellis is a Vancouver actor, director and theatre instructor. He is a founding member and Artistic Associate at Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival, where he has played many major roles in over two dozen productions....
as Randy Sheringham - David LovgrenDavid LovgrenDavid Lovgren, is a Canadian actor.He has appeared in the film Cool Runnings one episode of the X-Files , and Rollercoaster among other films and TV shows.-External links:...
as Danny Solskjær - Zahf Paroo as Desi
- Jonathon Young as Stinky
- Peter HowittPeter HowittPeter Howitt is an English actor and film director. He grew up in Eltham, London and Bromley, Kent, Peter used to be a part of the Priory Players in the Priory behind Christ Church, Eltham. He studied at the Drama Studio London. He has two children, Luke and Amy...
as Homeless Man
Locations
Principal photography for Antitrust took place in VancouverVancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, and California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Stanley Park
Stanley Park
Stanley Park is a 404.9 hectare urban park bordering downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was opened in 1888 by David Oppenheimer in the name of Lord Stanley of Preston, the Governor-General of Canada....
in Vancouver served as the grounds for Gary Winston's house, although the gate house at its entrance was faux. The exterior of Winston's house itself was wholly computer-generated
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
; only the paved walkway and body of water in the background are physically present in the park. For later shots of Winston and Hoffman walking along a beach near the house, the CG house was placed in the background of Bowen Island
Bowen Island
Bowen Island, British Columbia, is an island municipality in Howe Sound, is part of the Greater Vancouver Regional District, and is an island included within the jurisdiction of the Islands Trust . Approximately 6 km wide by 12 km long, the island at its closest point is about 2 km...
, the shooting location. Catherine Hardwicke
Catherine Hardwicke
Catherine Hardwicke is an American production designer, film writer and film director. Her works include the independent film Thirteen, which she co-wrote with Nikki Reed, the film's co-star, the Biblically-themed The Nativity Story, the vampire film Twilight, and the werewolf film Red Riding Hood...
designed the interior sets for Winston's house, which featured several different units, or "pods", e.g., personal, work, and recreation units. No scenes take place in any of the personal areas, however; only public areas made it to the screen. While the digital paintings in Winston's home were created with green screen technology
Chroma key
Chroma key compositing is a technique for compositing two images together. A color range in the top layer is made transparent, revealing another image behind. The chroma keying technique is commonly used in video production and post-production...
, the concept was based on technology that was already available in the real world. The characters even refer to Bill Gates' house
Bill Gates' house
Bill Gates' house is a large mansion in the side of a hill overlooking Lake Washington in Medina, Washington. The house is noted for its design and the technology it incorporates...
which, in real life, had such art. The paintings which appeared for Hoffman were of a cartoon character, "Alien Kitty", developed by Floyd Hughes
Floyd Hughes
Floyd Hughes is a Brooklyn based production designer, storyboard artist and comic book illustrator. He is also an art professor at the Pratt Institute.-Early life:Floyd Hughes was born in the East End of London to Guyanese parents...
specifically for the film.
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. The main campus in Burnaby, located from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 34,000...
's Burnaby campus stood in for external shots of NURV headquarters.
The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts
Chan Centre for the Performing Arts
The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts is located on the campus of the University of British Columbia near Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is situated within the natural landscape of the campus and is surrounded by evergreens and rhododendrons...
at the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
(UBC) was used for several internal locations. The centre's foyer area became the NURV canteen
Cafeteria
A cafeteria is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a school dining location is also referred to as a dining hall or canteen...
; the set decoration for which was inspired by Apple's canteen, which the producers saw during a visit to their corporate headquarters
Infinite Loop (street)
Infinite Loop is a street encircling the six main buildings of Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California. Each building has a number which corresponds to its single-digit address on the Loop, and so Apple's official mailing address is "1 Infinite Loop". The numbers increment in the clockwise...
. The inside of the Chan—used for concerts—served as the shape for "The Egg", or "The NURV Center", where Hoffman's cubicle
Cubicle
Тhe cubicle, cubicle desk, office cubicle or cubicle workstation is a partially enclosed workspace, separated from neighboring workspaces by partitions that are usually tall...
is located. Described as "a big surfboard freak" by Director Peter Howitt, Production Designer Catherine Hardwicke surrounded "The Egg" set with surfboards mounted to the walls; "The idea was to make NURV a very cool looking place." Both sets for NURV's Building 21 were also on UBC's campus. The internal set was an art gallery on campus, while the exterior was built for the film on the university's grounds. According to Howitt, UBC students kept attempting to steal the Building 21 set pieces.
Hoffman and Poulson's new home — a real house in Vancouver — was a "very tight" shooting location and a very rigorous first week for shooting because, as opposed to a set
Set construction
Set construction is the process by which a set designer works in collaboration with the director of a production to create the set for a theatrical, film or television production...
, the crew could not move the walls. The painting in the living room is the product of a young Vancouver artist, and was purchased by Howitt as his first piece of art.
The new Skullbocks office was a real loft
Loft
A loft can be an upper story or attic in a building, directly under the roof. Alternatively, a loft apartment refers to large adaptable open space, often converted for residential use from some other use, often light industrial...
, also in Vancouver, on Beatty Street.
Open source
Antitrusts pro-open sourceOpen source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
story excited industry leaders and professionals with the prospects of expanding the public's awareness and knowledge level of the availability of open-source software. The film heavily features Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
and its community, using screenshot
Screenshot
A screenshot , screen capture , screen dump, screengrab , or print screen is an image taken by a computer to record the visible items displayed on the monitor, television, or another visual output device...
s of the Gnome desktop
GNOME
GNOME is a desktop environment and graphical user interface that runs on top of a computer operating system. It is composed entirely of free and open source software...
, consulting Linux professionals, as well as cameos by Miguel de Icaza
Miguel de Icaza
Miguel de Icaza is a Mexican free software programmer, best known for starting the GNOME and Mono projects.-Early years:Miguel de Icaza was born in Mexico City and studied at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México but never received a degree. He came from a family of scientists in which his...
and Scott McNealy
Scott McNealy
Scott McNealy is an American business executive. He co-founded computer technology company Sun Microsystems in 1982 along with Vinod Khosla, Bill Joy, and Andy Bechtolsheim.-Biography:...
(the latter appearing in the film's trailers). Jon Hall, executive director
Executive director
Executive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...
of Linux International
Linux International
Linux International, also known simply as LI, is a worldwide, non-profit association of groups, corporations and others that work towards the promotion of growth of Linux and FOSS. It is headed by Jon "maddog" Hall....
and consultant on the film said "[Antitrust] is a way of bringing the concept of open source and the fact that there is an alternative to the general public, who often don't even know that there is one."
Despite the film's message about open source computing, MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
didn't follow-through with their marketing: the official website for Antitrust featured some videotaped interviews which were only available in Apple's proprietary
Proprietary software
Proprietary software is computer software licensed under exclusive legal right of the copyright holder. The licensee is given the right to use the software under certain conditions, while restricted from other uses, such as modification, further distribution, or reverse engineering.Complementary...
QuickTime
QuickTime
QuickTime is an extensible proprietary multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity. The classic version of QuickTime is available for Windows XP and later, as well as Mac OS X Leopard and...
format.
Reception
Review aggregate websites Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
and Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
reported generally poor reception: based on 102 reviews, only 25% of critics gave the film positive write-ups, with a calculated metascore of 31 (out of 100). Professional critic Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
only gave the film two stars (out of four). Linux.com
Linux.com
Linux.com is the name of a website owned by the Linux Foundation. The site is currently a central source for Linux information, software, documentation and answers across the server, desktop/netbook, mobile, and embedded areas. Linux.com offers free Linux tutorials, news and blogs, discussion...
appreciated the film's open-source message but felt the film overall was lackluster, saying AntiTrust is probably worth a $7.50 ticket on a night when you've got nothing else planned."
James Keith La Croix of Detroit's Metro Times
Metro Times
The Metro Times is the largest circulating weekly newspaper in the metro Detroit area. Supported entirely by advertising, it is distributed free of charge every Wednesday in newsstands in businesses and libraries around the city and suburbs...
gave the film four stars, impressed that "Antitrust is a thriller that actually thrills."
Video releases
Antitrust was released as a "Special Edition" DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on May 15, 2001 and on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
on December 26, 2001. The DVD features audio commentary
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
by the director and editor, an exclusive documentary, deleted scene
Deleted scene
In Entertainment, especially the film and television industry, Deleted scenes are parts of a film removed or censored from or replaced by another scene in the final "cut", or version, of a film...
s and alternative opening and closing sequences with director's commentary, the music video for "When It All Goes Wrong Again
Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 2: Good Time for a Bad Attitude
Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 2: Good Time for a Bad Attitude is an album by Everclear, released on November 21, 2000. They recorded Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 in the same year and released them only a few months apart. Both albums are loose concept albums based around Art Alexakis' second divorce...
" by Everclear
Everclear (band)
Everclear is a rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1992 best known for their radio hits spanning more than a decade. For most of its existence, Everclear has consisted of Art Alexakis , Craig Montoya , and Greg Eklund . Eklund replaced original drummer Scott Cuthbert in 1994...
, and the original theatrical trailer. The DVD was re-released August 1, 2006.