Roger Fingas
CNN has launched a microsite advertising its upcoming broadcast of "Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine," the controversial Alex Gibney documentary about Apple's iconic co-founder.
The documentary will be airing this Sunday, Jan. 3, at 9 p.m. Eastern time. The microsite includes a custom-made trailer, a short clip from the film, and links to two articles. One of these is a quick Jobs biography recapping some major and minor points from his life, such as his interest in Buddhism.
CNN's airing will be the first major TV broadcast of the documentary. The film's initial public screening was at last March's SXSW festival in Austin, Tex.
Some people within Apple were immediately critical, to the point that workers were seen leaving a screening early. The company's senior VP of Internet Software and Services, Eddy Cue, went on Twitter to call the movie an "inaccurate and mean-spirited" view of a friend.
As a rule, however, Apple's leadership has been unhappy with the accuracy of most depictions of Jobs, including Danny Boyle's Golden Globe-nominated biopic Steve Jobs. Cue has so far only praised the Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli book Becoming Steve Jobs.
Gibney is a typically well-respected filmmaker however, known for other documentaries like the Scientology expose Going Clear, and Taxi to the Dark Side, which won a Best Documentary Oscar in 2008.
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14 Comments
CNN's viewership numbers only look "okay" because MSNBS is so bad. I doubt this will help them come out of the gutter though.
What is this obsession of making all of these documentaries about him? They keep rehashing everything we already know.
@bdkennedy Jobs was an iconic figure because he not only started the most influential user facing computer company ever, but also because he saved that very same company that was 90 days away from failing upon his return. He also founded Pixar that changed the perception of animated movies and was also very successful. He was smart enough to inspire smarter people to make something great. His passion for excellence was unrelenting, and he paid a price for it. Most people will never have that drive nor that level of success. That is why there is a fascination with him—just as there’s fascination with prior inventors and people who went against the tide. So, in the wake of his death everyone that can make a buck from it, will—No matter how accurate or inaccurate those depictions might be. If people who personally knew and worked with Jobs panned this CNN documentary, then I might pass on it. But I will have to see it, because people have said his temperament changed over the years, maybe Cue only got the tail end of the more mellow Jobs or Cue himself is similar in drive. Each person has their own lens with which they perceive. So, I’m skeptical of any second hand tales. Gather enough tales & you will see the many sides of the same person and—if you are lucky—be able to see their shadow somewhat clearly.