Startup.com (2001)

Directors:

Chris Hegedus
Jehane Noujaim

Release Date:

25 May 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

The rise and fall of the American dream.

Plot:

Traces the birth and failure of new media company govWorks.com.

Plot Keywords:

Business Deal | Business Failure | Business Manager | Businessmen | Business

Awards:

9 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Kaleil Isaza Tuzman	...	Himself
Tom Herman	...	Himself
Kenneth Austin	...	Himself
Tricia Burke	...	Herself
Roy Burston	...	Himself
David Camp	...	Himself
José Feliciano	...	Himself
Dora Glottman	...	Herself
Julian Herbstein	...	Himself
Christina Ortez	...	Herself
Jonathan Angus	...	Himself
Chieh Cheung	...	Himself
Sean Coar	...	Himself
Ambika Conroy	...	Herself
Patrick Cromer	...	Himself

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

107 min | Argentina:105 min (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Germany:o.Al. | UK:15 | USA:R | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Highland Capital Partners - Two International Place, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Noujaim Films

Trivia:

Jehane Noujaim, the videographer and producer, began the project when she was the roommate of the documentary's principal character, Kaleil Tuzman. She was previously a producer at MTV.

Soundtrack:

Remember

Great movie, but you either love it or are confused by it

I myself worked in one of the ubiquitous .com's in the late 90's and this movie is frightening realistic, from the long hours and technical glitches right down to the embarrassingly lame cheers.

I read on the web the filmmakers set out to document their friends impending wealth and business fortune with this documentary, but what they got was the complete opposite. I think that speaks volumes for expectations during this era.

I feel like some of the other IMDb reviews are off the mark. Yes, the movie is sometimes hard to follow. But it was shot in the Cinéma-vérité genre and that is to be expected. It is an uncompromising real life look, and it is up to the viewer to decipher; sometimes this works sometimes not. Some previous reviews wondered how the company folded. Honestly its a movie about an internet company, why do you think it failed? Having said this, I think more could have been shown of why Tom got the axe and the love relationships of Kaliel could have been better developed.

According to the DVD the producers cut some realistic (and boringly technical) scenes to focus more on the relationship between Tom and Kaleil. This is where they succeeded. They are trying to tell the story of the company downfall through the interplay of these two characters. It is fascinating because it is real. The most compelling part is the coorelation between their relationship eroding as does the company. Viewed from that point of view this movie is really not a documentary. Nevertheless it is entertaining and gripping. What amazed me was the unfettered greed and their enormous hubris which prevented them from acknowledge their role in this sinking ship.