14 DAY TRIAL // The Internship, or "the Google movie," isn't a movie about Google per se, certainly not in the vein of The Social Network, but much of the plot revolves around the company and Google actually contributed a lot to the movie.
The basic plot is that two "analog" guys, played by Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, find themselves out of job, since their jobs have actually become obsolete, and try to start over at Google, where everyone is half their age.
Hollywood and Google aren't exactly on friendly terms and the movie industry hasn't exactly been known for its faithful depiction of technology, let alone Silicon Valley.
But that's not the case this time around, it seems. While Google didn't actually pay anything for the movie, or the other way around, the company was on hand to help with any questions the movie makers may have had.
All Things D has an interview with Director Shawn Levy talking about Google's involvement with the movie.
All of the software, all of the computer screens, all of the whiteboards, they're all either straight from Google or something Google would use. Any of the technical aspects were reviewed by someone at Google.
It also helped that, while the moviemakers didn't want to make a commercial for Google, they didn't want to take the typical cynical or clueless approach to making movies about tech companies.
Apparently, it shows, as the movie comes across as genuine, at least in several aspects. Whether it's actually any good or funny is another matter. Google seems to like it as well, again, as far as the movie's depiction of the company is concerned.
The movie comes out in a couple of weeks, on June 7. Also breaking with tradition, it will have the premiere at the Googleplex, with Googlers and Silicon Valley people attending.