Steve Wozniak Says Jobs Movie Got Lots of Things Wrong

News
By Marcus Yam
published

Woz says the Jobs movie isn't all true.

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has seen the Jobs movie, based off of the life of Steve Jobs, and doesn't have a positive opinion of the film.

The movie Jobs was released last week and has thus far amassed a 26 percent positive review rating from critics, which is considered rotten according to Rotten Tomatoes.

When asked what the most misleading thing from the movie, Woz responded, "I think it was that Ashton had too much of this fan thing, like a cult leader," and added that the movie didn't capture Jobs' flaws.

Woz also pointed out other factual mistakes, such as Woz already having been part of the homebrew computing club before Jobs, while the movie portrays it as Jobs bringing Woz into the club.

The interviewer asked Woz to comment on Oracle CEO Larry Ellison's comments on another TV program about his belief that Apple is doomed without Steve Jobs. Woz expressed more patience in the company and said that it's too soon to tell.

Watch the 15-minute interview video at Bloomberg.

Woz also commented on Gizmodo's review of Jobs, writing, "I thought the acting throughout was good. I was attentive and entertained but not greatly enough to recommend the movie. One friend who is in the movie said he didn't want to watch fiction so he wasn't interested in seeing it. I suspect a lot of what was wrong with the film came from Ashton's own image of Jobs."

Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
25 Comments Comment from the forums
  • house70
    Too soon. Of course the movie would not portray SJ's numerous flaws.
    OTOH, any time would be too soon for a SJ movie. He was excellent at marketing and that's about it (not mentioning his limelight stealing antics). BTW, the limelight was not the only thing he liked to steal...

    "Steve Wozniak has seen the Jobs movie, based off of the life of Steve Jobs, and doesn't have a positive opinion of the film....added that the movie didn't capture Jobs' flaws."

    Can't have it both ways, i.e. if the movie portrayed the real SJ then it would be a big blow to the cultists that would want to watch the movie, thus risk alienate the majority of paying viewers.
    Reply
  • Marcus52
    I'd be more interested in a Wozniak movie than a Jobs movie. :)
    Reply
  • darkbooton
    I give no credence to what Woz is crying about. He knew the movie was being made, he should have made himself available to guide the script. There is a rumor that he was asked but wanted to much money........cannot bielieve Woz is hurting for money.
    Reply
  • Marcus52
    I have to say, I find my feelings about Apple to be a lot more positive these days. Part of that is because I disliked Jobs. And, I think they have done good in creating their own SoC for the iPhone, and of course they continue to push display quality in portable computing solutions.

    I'm not likely to plop down any actual cash on an Apple product - certainly not an iPhone - being a PC kind of guy and gaming oriented, but I do think the company is headed in a good direction, without Jobs.
    Reply
  • John Bauer
    Jobs really turned out the way I expected it to. They made Steve Jobs look like the men who "invented" fire and the wheel rolled into one, and the movie really decided for the viewer who he was, not allowing for any external opinions.

    TL;DR This is basically how Steve himself probably would've made the movie anyway.
    Reply
  • dalethepcman
    11390386 said:
    I give no credence to what Woz is crying about. He knew the movie was being made, he should have made himself available to guide the script. There is a rumor that he was asked but wanted to much money........cannot bielieve Woz is hurting for money.

    I'm not sure where you get your fact's, but Wozniak's net worth is around $100M. While this is nothing like Bill Gates worth, its far from poor. Your assumptions about him having been asked to give input to the Jobs script and turning it down over money are also completely incorrect.

    He read the Jobs script, thought it was too fake and didn't want anything to do with it. Sony is creating a true to life biopic of Steve Jobs and Wozniak much preferred their closer to reality script and singed on to do an exclusive deal with them.

    http://www.cultofmac.com/212686/steve-wozniak-refused-to-work-on-kutchers-jobs-movie-after-reading-early-crap-script/

    http://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-businessmen/steve-wozniak-net-worth/
    Reply
  • Soda-88
    Historically inaccurate movie made in Hollywood? Would've never guessed...
    Reply
  • g-unit1111
    11390816 said:
    Historically inaccurate movie made in Hollywood? Would've never guessed...

    Yup they're pretty much a dime a dozen! :lol:
    Reply
  • bigoldbrute
    I love how Wozy blames Ashton on lots of issues, while its well known he was just an actor, executing orders from director.
    Reply
  • milktea
    I understand in movies, it needs a bit of drama and twists to make it interesting. But when the movie is about real life individual(s), it should not twist facts. This is very disrespectful to people.
    So they should have just named the film "Fictional Jobs".
    Reply