The Founder
The Founder is a 2016 American biographical drama film directed by John Lee Hancock and written by Robert Siegel. 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. Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch co-star as McDonald's founders Richard and Maurice McDonald, alongside Linda Cardellini as Ray Kroc's third wife Joan Smith, and B. J. Novak as McDonald's president and chief executive Harry J. Sonneborn. The film premiered at Arclight Hollywood on December 7, 2016, and was released theatrically in the United States on January 20, 2017, by the Weinstein Company. It grossed $24 million worldwide and received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Keaton's performance.
- That's outrageous! That's borderline extortion! That's a bunch of bullshit! Bullshit! - I know it seems like a lot now... - Yeah, that seems like a lot of money anytime. - And they want one other thing. - What? - San Bernardino. - Uh-uh. No way. - To give to their longtime employees as a gift. - I need the profits from San Bernardino in order to pay off the purchase loan. - I've spoken at length about it with their lawyers. It's unfortunately, non-negotiable. Our client agrees fully with your conditions of sale, with one exception. Your one percent cut of future corporate earnings will have to be carried out on a handshake basis.
The Founder
All right. - All right, gentlemen, if you would turn to page four of your contract. That's the first set of signatures to go over. - I just have to ask you one thing. Something I've never understood. - All right. - That day we met, we gave you the tour. - Uh-huh. What about it? - We showed you everything. The whole system, all our secrets. We were an open book. So why didn't you just... - Steal it? Just grab your ideas, run off, start my own business using all those ideas of yours. Would have failed. - How do you know? - Am I the only one who got the kitchen tour? You must've invited lots of people back there. - And? - How many of them succeed? - Lots of people started restaurants. - As big as McDonald's? Of course not. No one ever has and no one ever will. Because they all lack that one thing that makes McDonald's special. - Which is...?
The Founder