The Movies of Business … from Nike’s Air to Google’s Billion Dollar Code, The Social Network and Super Pumped, Elizabeth Holmes to Steve Jobs, and how WeWork became WeCrashed
March 28, 2024
The high octane world of corporate boardrooms making billion-dollar decisions, and entrepreneurial start-ups obsessed with getting there, is rife for movie-making. And indeed some of the most thrilling movies of recent years are also stories of business, how they soared and sometimes fell, and the personalities behind them.
Here’s my pick of the best business movies, each worthy of an MBA class:
Air … the story of Nike’s Air Jordan
Exploring the partnership between a then rookie Michael Jordan and Nike’s fledgling basketball division which revolutionised the world of sports and contemporary culture with the Air Jordan brand. This moving story follows the career-defining gamble of an unconventional team with everything on the line, the uncompromising vision of a mother who knows the worth of her son’s immense talent, and the basketball phenom who would become the greatest of all time (Warner Bros, 2023).
The Aviator … the story of TWA
The Aviator tells the story of Howard Hughes, a wily industrialist, glamorous movie producer and unstoppable American innovator – but thought of himself first and foremost as an aviator. In this spectacular epic, director Martin Scorsese focuses on the most prolific period in the life of Hughes: the mid-1920s through the 1940s. It was a time of brilliant aeronautical invention, turbulent love affairs and savage corporate battles. (2004)
The Billion Dollar Code … the story of Google Earth
Two German computer pioneers who go to court in the fight against an apparently invincible opponent in order to be recognized as the inventor of the Google Earth algorithm. The series illuminates both the hacker scene in post-reunification Berlin in the 90s, as well as the idealistic world of early Silicon Valley and the harsh reality of a multi-million dollar process. (2021).
The Big Short … the story of investment banking
“You smell that? What is that?… “Your cologne? … No … Opportunity … No. Money” … When four outsiders saw what the big banks, media and government refused to, the global collapse of the economy, they had an idea: The Big Short. Their bold investment leads them into the dark underbelly of modern banking where they must question everyone and everything. Based on the true story and best-selling book by Michael Lewis. (Paramount, 2016)
The Founder … the story of McDonald’s
Starring Michael Keaton as businessman Ray Kroc, the film depicts the story of his creation of the McDonald’s fast-food restaurant chain, which eventually involved forcing out the company’s original founders to take control with conniving ruthlessness (2016).
An Inconvenient Sequel … the story of climate change
A decade after An Inconvenient Truth brought climate change into the heart of popular culture, comes the follow-up that shows just how close we are to a real energy revolution. Al Gore continues his tireless fight traveling around the world training an army of climate champions and influencing international climate policy. Cameras follow him behind the scenes, in moments both private and public, funny and poignant, as he pursues the inspirational idea that while the stakes have never been higher, the perils of climate change can be overcome with human ingenuity and passion. (Paramount, 2017)
The Inventor … the story of Theranos
The Inventor chronicles the rise and fall of Theranos, interspersed with footage of Holmes and her COO Sunny Balwani making grandiose proclamations about Theranos and the value it was providing. It also includes visual flashbacks to the era of Thomas Edison, the titular Inventor who famously failed repeatedly before finally succeeding; Theranos’s miniature blood testing labs were called “Edisons”. In 2022 Holmes was convicted of defrauding investors, and sentenced to serve 11 years in prison. (HBO, 2019).
Moneyball … the story of Oakland Athletic
The story of Oakland Athletic, based on book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis. It is the baseball team’s 2002 season and their general manager Billy Beane’s attempts to assemble a competitive team. In the film, Beane, played by Brand Pitt, is faced with the franchise’s limited budget for players, build a team of undervalued talent by taking a sophisticated analytical approach to scouting for the best talent.
The Playlist … the story of Spotify
At the height of piracy, established heavy-hitters were fighting against where the turbulent music industry was heading. The series centers around young Swedish tech entrepreneur, Daniel Ek, and his partners, who revolutionized a whole industry by offering free and legal streamed music around the world. (Netflix 2022)
Seaspiracy … the story of unsustainable fishing
11,000 to 30,000 sharks are killed by humans every hour of every day, totally around 4.5 million a year. Almost half are killed as bycatch and discarded back into the ocean. Seaspiracy examines the global fishing industry, challenging notions of sustainable fishing and showing how human actions cause widespread environmental destruction. (Netflix, 2021)
The film examines the 2001 collapse of the Enron Corporation, which resulted in criminal trials for several of the company’s top executives; it also shows the involvement of the Enron traders in the California electricity crisis. The film features interviews with McLean and Elkind, as well as former Enron executives and employees, stock analysts, reporters and the former Governor of California Gray Davis. (2005)
The Social Network … the story of Facebook
The tale of a new breed of cultural insurgent: a punk genius who sparked a revolution and changed the face of human interaction for a generation, and perhaps forever. Shot through with emotional brutality and unexpected humour, this superbly crafted film chronicles the formation of Facebook and the battles over ownership that followed upon the website’s unfathomable success. (Sony, 2010)
Steve Jobs … the story of Apple
Set backstage at three iconic product launches and ending in 1998 with the unveiling of the iMac, Steve Jobs takes us behind the scenes of the digital revolution to paint an intimate portrait of the brilliant man at its epicenter. Michael Fassbender plays Steve Jobs, the pioneering founder of Apple, with Kate Winslet starring as Joanna Hoffman, former marketing chief of Macintosh.
Super Pumped … the story of Uber
The ambitious CEO Travis Kalanick of ride-hailing app Uber tries to turn a struggling startup into a tech titan amid massive scandals, and is ultimately ousted in a boardroom coup. The series embodies the highs and lows of a Silicon Valley start-up. (2022).
WeCrashed ... the story of WeWork
Inspired by actual events, and the love story at the centre of it all. WeWork grew from a single co-working space into a global brand worth $47 billion in under a decade. Then, in less than a year, its valuation dropped $40 billion. What happened? Starring Jared Leto as Adam Neumann, Anne Hathaway as Rebekah Neumann and Kyle Marvin as Miguel McKelvey.
And a few great videos …
The Joy of Stats … by Hans Rosling
The late Hans Rosling’s famous lectures combined enormous quantities of public data with a sport’s commentator’s style to reveal the story of the world’s past, present and future development. He explored stats in a way he has never done before – using augmented reality animation. In this spectacular section of ‘The Joy of Stats’ he tells the story of the world in 200 countries over 200 years using 120,000 numbers – in just four minutes. Plotting life expectancy against income for every country since 1810, he shows how the world we live in is radically different from the world most of us imagine. (BBC, 2011)
Brené Brown studies human connection, our ability to empathise, belong, love. She is an American professor, social worker, author, and podcast host, known for her work on shame, vulnerability, and leadership, In a poignant, funny talk at TEDxHouston, she shares a deep insight from her research, one that sent her on a personal quest to know herself as well as to understand humanity. (TED, 2011)
Is this how our story is due to end?” … by Sir David Attenborough
In an electrifying speech delivered at the opening of the World Leaders Summit on Climate Change (COP26) in Glasgow, Attenborough gave a message of hope on behalf of the world that through action, we will witness the recovery of the natural world. But his warning of what will follow should we fail to act was also clear and stark. His speech was illustrated with stunning, cinematic pictures shown on giant screens behind him, produced by Silverback Films.
Looks Aren’t Everything … by Cameron Russell
The supermodel admits she won “a genetic lottery”: she’s tall, pretty and an underwear model. A Victoria’s Secret favorite, she has appeared in multiple international editions of Vogue as well as in ads for brands like Ralph Lauren and Benetton. But she feels at her core that image isn’t everything. But don’t judge her by her looks. In this fearless talk, she takes a wry look at the industry that had her looking highly seductive at barely 16-years-old.
Grit: The power of passion and perseverance … by Angela Duckworth
Leaving a high-flying job in consulting, Angela Duckworth took a job teaching math to seventh graders in a New York public school. She quickly realized that IQ wasn’t the only thing separating the successful students from those who struggled. Here, she explains her theory of “grit” as a predictor of success.
The Puzzle of Motivation … by Dan Pink
Dan Pink examines the puzzle of motivation, starting with a fact that social scientists know but most managers don’t: Traditional rewards aren’t always as effective as we think. Listen for illuminating stories, and maybe, a way forward. Dan Pink is the former speechwriter to Al Gore. His books include A Whole New Mind on why right-brainers will rule the future, and Drive exploring the surprising truth about what motivates us.
Dare to Disagree … by Margaret Heffernan
Most people instinctively avoid conflict, but as Margaret Heffernan shows us, good disagreement is central to progress. She illustrates (sometimes counterintuitively) how the best partners aren’t echo chambers — and how great research teams, relationships and businesses allow people to deeply disagree. (TED, 2012)
As the human population continues to grow, so does our impact on the environment. In fact, recent research has shown that three-quarters of Earth’s land surface is under pressure from human activity. In this short film, spoken word artist Prince Ea makes a powerful case for protecting the planet and challenges the human race to create a sustainable future. (National Geographical, 2017).
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