Matt Maude

I’m not a technologist and I’m not particularly interested in technology. Before working on General
Magic I could only name three people who worked in Silicon Valley – Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Mark
Zuckerberg. I’m fascinated how companies, particularly Silicon Valley ones, have a tendency to
personify themselves, cultivating an almost superhero myth around one individual. It’s a
carefully-controlled marketing strategy that creates the impression that the entire success of the
company is due to just one person.

Rather than inspiring people to pursue great ambitions, it’s my belief that it creates the opposite
reaction. How can we follow the footsteps of our heroes when their achievements feel almost
impossible to fathom? By making General Magic, I wanted to show the backstories, the earnest
interaction and relatability of the people who have made the incredible technology we use today. It is
when ordinary people do something extra that they create something extraordinary.
When I began working on film there was this amazing moment reviewing the archival material, seeing
all these twenty somethings sitting on the floor of this pokey little ordinary office. Looking from face
to face it was incredible to see the founders of eBay, Linkedin, Android and Nest sitting there.
Engineers and designers that now lead Samsung, Apple, Facebook, Google. Imagine one class at a
high school and every single student going onto to change the lives of billions. It makes you think,
what was in the special ingredients in this place that led to the technology we use today? The
answer; friendship. General Magic is the story of achieving the impossible surrounded and supported
by your friends.