| Trackdown | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Joe Chappelle |
| Written by | Tsutomu Shimomura (book) John Markoff (book) David Newman Leslie Newman John Danza Howard A. Rodman |
| Starring | Skeet Ulrich Russell Wong Angela Featherstone Donal Logue Christopher McDonald Master P Amanda Peet with Jeremy Sisto Tom Berenger Patrick Holland James Pocock |
| Music by | Chris Holmes James Kole |
| Cinematography | Dermott Downs |
| Editing by | Joe Rabig |
| Distributed by | Dimension Films |
| Release date(s) | March 15, 2000 |
| Running time | 92 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Track Down, also known as Takedown outside the USA, is a 2000 film about computer hacker Kevin Mitnick, based on the book Takedown by John Markoff and Tsutomu Shimomura. The film was directed by Joe Chappelle and stars Skeet Ulrich and Russell Wong.[1][2][3]
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For years Kevin Mitnick -– the most notorious computer hacker in the nation -- had eluded Federal agents while using the latest electronic gadgetry to break into countless computers and gain access to sensitive and valuable information. But when he breaches the system of leading computer crimes expert Tsutomu Shimomura, it sets off an epic chase through cyberspace between a pair of hard-driven geniuses operating on different sides of the law. [2]
In Kevin Mitnick's The Art of deception, Mitnick states that both book and movie are "extremely inaccurate" and based on media hype.
Mitnick and Shimomura meet twice in the movie, one of which prompts Kevin to flee to Seattle. This meeting did not actually take place.
In the movie, Mitnick hacks into Shimomura's computers and steals/deletes his files and software. Mitnick admits hacking Shimomura's computers using IP spoofing[4] but claims he never caused any damage to anyone by deleting files or data, merely copying source code of some software, out of curiosity.
California author Jonathan Littman wrote a 1997 book about the case called The Fugitive Game: Online with Kevin Mitnick, in which he presented Mitnick's side of the story.[5] Littman alleged that portions of the film were taken from his book without permission.[6]
In the "CMAD - Computer Misuse & Anomaly Detection Conference" scene of the movie the real Tsutomu Shimomura appears in the audience next to a heckler.
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