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Ask HN: Movies every aspiring entrepreneur should watch?

8 points| citizenkeys | 15 years ago | reply

What movies should every aspiring entrepreneur watch? List your picks and reasons why. Here's mine:

* The Player ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105151/ ) - Silicon Valley these days isn't much different than Hollywood. In Hollywood, writers pitch potential hit movies to producers. In Silicon Valley, entrepreneurs pitch potential hit websites and apps to VC's. When Paul Graham talks about "x meets y" ( http://www.paulgraham.com/investors.html ), this is the movie he's probably thinking about.

* Ed Wood ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109707/ ) - Ed Wood made bad movies. But God love him. He had a passion for making bad movies, had fun making them, and somehow managed to talk people into investing in those movies.

* The Hustler ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054997/ ) - "Fast Eddie" doesn't lose because of his lack of talent but rather his lack of character.

* Almost Famous ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181875/ ) - People that get ahead don't usually get there by clawing their way to the top. They get ahead by the assistance of people that helped them pretty much just because they felt like it.

14 comments

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[+] JoeCortopassi|15 years ago|reply
Wow, this went from inspiration for entrepenuers, to 'my favorite movies' list real fast...
[+] michaeldhopkins|15 years ago|reply
Citizen Kane

City of God

Jerry Maguire

The Godfather

Jurassic Park

Requiem for a Dream

Giant

Midnight Cowboy

It's a Wonderful Life

et cetera

[+] abbasmehdi|15 years ago|reply
There is a song "Shut up and drive". Thats all we have to do, just shut up and do it! :-)
[+] pclark|15 years ago|reply
* Boiler Room

* Layer Cake (for the speech at the end amongst other things)

* Wall Street

* Glengarry Glen Ross

[+] triviatise|15 years ago|reply
startup.com The Triumph of the Nerds: The Rise of Accidental Empires Nerds 2.0.1: A Brief History of the Internet
[+] roberte3|15 years ago|reply
Tucker the man and his dream.
[+] dstein|15 years ago|reply
Brewster's Millions
[+] Mz|15 years ago|reply
"Cool Runnings". Not about business, but based on a true story about the first Jamaican bobsled team. About pursuing your dreams against all odds, about "showing up" ("80% of success is showing up" -- Woody Allen), and about keeping your priorities straight. One of my favorite movies, for a great many reasons.
[+] schraeds|15 years ago|reply
The Social Network, Pirates of Silicon Valley, Sneakers.