Thank you @waltmossberg for caring about the difference between fact and fiction.
— Laurene Powell, the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, on Wednesday tweeted her appreciation for a review of the Steve Jobs movie by noted tech journalist Walt Mossberg. Mossberg wrote for the Verge that the Steve Jobs portrayed in [Aaron] Sorkin s film isn t the man I knew.
The movie — which paints a negative view of Jobs but which screenwriter Sorkin has acknowledged isn t completely factual — has been slammed by supporters of the late tech icon, some of whom say they haven t seen it: People are trying to be opportunistic, said Tim Cook, Apple CEO, in an interview with TV talk show host Stephen Colbert recently. It s heartbreaking, Jony Ive, Apple design chief, said earlier this month at Vanity Fair s New Establishment summit. Powell actively lobbied against the making of the movie, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
But others who knew Jobs weren t as critical. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak told the Wall Street Journal that the film is about Jobs and his personality. I feel that it did a great job. (The WSJ notes that Wozniak was a paid consultant for the film.) Former Apple CEO John Sculley, who had a complicated relationship with Jobs, reportedly said: While [the dialogue] may not have been the exact words that were spoken, it represented the kind of dialogue that said yes, that s that person .
Still, Mossberg notes in his review:
Nobody basing their knowledge of Steve Jobs on this film would know that he had a happy marriage, that he loved his children, and that he led the creation of the iPhone. They wouldn t have seen the passion of his actual product introductions, because the conceit of the film is that it takes place backstage just before three of them, and never shows the actual events.
The film, which is based on Walter Isaacson s biography of Jobs, opened at select movie theaters Oct. 9 and will be released nationwide tomorrow.
Photo: Laurene Powell in 2013. (Josie Lepe/Bay Area News Group)
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