Top ten stops on August's memory lane

Opening tonight at the Village East in Manhattan is August, the Indiewood tale starring Josh Hartnett of an Internet startup's collapse on the eve of September 11th. The film is an homage to an era of excess gone sour, and we figured we'd sum up the references for those of you who were there to reminisce and for those of you who weren't to get an idea of what you missed. In this clip early in the film former John Hancock Tech Fund manager Marc Klee plays himself as an analyst discussing the fictional company in the film, LandShark, shortly after a gangbuster IPO. More »

In "August," the tech guy's a jerk, too

If you go to see August, the Josh Hartnett vehicle/dot-bomb nostalgia trip, tomorrow night, watch the costar carefully. Adam Scott plays Joshua, a mild-mannered techie who cofounds Landshark with his blustering brother as CEO. "Joshua's not clean, either," Scott told me at last night's preview. Watch closely and here's what you'll spot: More »

"August" lets you relive kooshes, quintuple-shot lattes and IPOs

"That was probably the most accurate part, seeing Fucked Company at your company while you still worked there," Friendster founder Jonathan Abrams joked at a panel after a screening of the film August. Director Austin Chick assured "that was in the script from the beginning." "It's kinda like Fucked Company," Fucked Company creator (and AdBrite founder) Phillip "Pud" Kaplan shouted from the audience moments later. The latest Josh Hartnett vehicle, produced in part by Josh Hartnett, August attempts to portray tragedy while simultaneously reifying the "Internet rockstar" archetype. But it's dated from the start by Aronofsky-esque visuals and a Fischerspooner soundtrack as Hartnett's character Tom, CEO of Landshark, hears in passing of Internet-video startup Pseudo.com laying off dozens as his own public company is exploding around him. More »

Josh Hartnett stars as dot-com entrepreneur in "August"

Hollywood's taking a stab at bringing sexy back to the world of the Valley in August, which posits Tom Sterling (Josh Hartnett) and brother Joshua (Adam Scott) as founders trying to keep their fictional Silicon Alley startup Razorfish Landshark afloat amidst 2001's dot-bomb. Androgynous rock legend David Bowie even has a cameo as an investor trying to wrest control of the company from the founders. Never have term sheets and board meetings been so exciting! More surprising? Andre Royo, best known for his gritty portrayal of the junkie with a heart of gold Bubbles on HBO's The Wire has a supporting role. And that, more than than the action-packed, fast-paced trailer, actually makes me want to see it.