John August, on being approached to write a screenplay about Google:
The producer wanted to focus on the early days, which is
understandable: it’s an underdog story, with scrappy geniuses
inventing the future. He was particularly keen on Google’s
“Don’t Be Evil” philosophy.I jumped in: “And then, of course, the second act is about how
they become evil despite themselves. It’s like Animal Farm. The
pigs make all these noble rules, and then systematically subvert
them.”Crickets. I won’t be writing the Google movie.
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