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Laurene Powell Jobs 'repeatedly' tried to halt Universal's Steve Jobs film, report says

Laurene Powell Jobs — the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs — reportedly tried several times to halt the development of the Universal biopic about her former husband.

In her efforts, Powell Jobs lobbied both Universal and the film's original studio, Sony Pictures Entertainment, according to The Wall Street Journal. She is even said to have refused involvement in the movie's development, for instance opting not to go over anything in Aaron Sorkin's script with producer Scott Rudin.

Powell Jobs would only say that she disliked the Walter Isaacson biography the movie is based on, and that any film based on that book couldn't be accurate, Rudin explained to the Journal. Isaacson grounded his writing in numerous interviews, including many with Steve Jobs himself.

Steve Jobs will publicly premiere this Friday, and notably veers away from Isaacson's work and historical accuracy. Fellow Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, however, commented to the Journal that the movie "did a great job" in its main goal, which was conveying Steve Jobs' personality.

A spokesman for Powell Jobs said that Universal offered her a sneak preview of the film as long as she didn't discuss it prior to its debut, but the screening was declined.

She and her allies have claimed that Steve Jobs and other recent depictions, like the Alex Gibney documentary Steve Jobs: Man in the Machine, downplay his achievements while highlighting his dark side, suggesting that he was cruel and inhumane. One centerpiece of both films for example is his first child, Lisa Brennan-Jobs, who he initially disowned and refused to support until his paternity was confirmed with DNA testing. The two eventually reconciled and became close.