AppleInsider Staff
A fresh cinematic look at the life of late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, directed by Oscar-winning documentarian Alex Gibney, has been met with scorn from Apple employees following its debut at the annual South by Southwest film festival.
"Very disappointed in SJ:Man in the Machine," Apple software and services chief Eddy Cue wrote on Twitter. "An inaccurate and mean-spirited view of my friend. It's not a reflection of the Steve I knew."
Other Apple employees who saw the film during its screening in Texas reportedly walked out early, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
According to its playbill, the documentary is a "provocative and sometimes startling re-evaluation of the legacy of an icon." Some who have seen the film have said that Jobs is portrayed in an extremely unflattering light, with several well-worn tales used to highlight his temper and sometimes socially uncouth manners.
Gibney is a well-regarded documentarian, having collected numerous accolades for his work. His Taxi to the Dark Side, an examination of U.S. government policy toward torture, won the 2007 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, while he garnered an additional Oscar nomination for Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room and took home three Emmy Awards and a Peabody for Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God.
Gibney is only the latest to draw contempt in the process of profiling Jobs. The tome generated by Jobs's hand-picked biographer, Walter Isaacson, is similarly reviled, with Apple design czar Jony Ive saying recently that his "regard [for Isaacson's book] couldn't be any lower."
That streak looks set to end with the release of a new Jobs biography, penned by Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli. That book — Â Becoming Steve Jobs: The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart into a Visionary Leader — Â has been widely praised, with Cue calling it "well done and first to get it right."
Schlender and Tetzeli's take is available for pre-order now, with its release set for March 24.
Wesley Hilliard
Malcolm Owen
Christine McKee
Andrew Orr
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43 Comments
I love this recent desire to "tear down Steve Jobs" and "show the world his true face".
The director of this farce claims that Jobs shouldn't be held in any regard.
Well, most of the people seeking to do this would hate it if their dirty laundry was aired, or they're just miserable, jealous people. Absolutely shameful.
I also love when people claim they won't buy Apple products "because Jobs was evil".
Because, you know, Gates, Schmidt, Ellison, these are all just saints.
Can people understand that while Steve did some cool/good/great/interesting things - he also wasn't a saint? He was an ass at times. Anyone who has known anyone who worked with him has heard stories. He seems to have changed later in his life, but most people wouldn't have wanted to work with him BUT that he also had another side to him. People are complicated. Just look into Mother Theresa and you can learn that. And she IS a saint. Officially now. Official Saint. You get a discount everywhere you shop.
Irony is.. this response is what the director is after. He's known for skewing things to get any response.. His own admitted view is to create 'provocative' films.. He's not after truth, not even a little.
To him; even a bad response is good for publicity. /shrug
Was Jobs an ass at times.. Yes.. but I can guarantee this director will take it far past that just to get people in the seats. He doesn't care as long as it makes him $$$.. This is probably a large reason why studio's kept dropping it.. Who's the latest one's to pick it up again?
Apparently he never flushed the toilet. Ugh. (It's in Issacson's book)
A proud graduate of the Mike Daisey School of Filmmaking.
'Nuff said.