Jobs (film)

Jobs (film)
Company type	Film
Industry	Film industry
Founded	2013
Founder	Joshua Michael Stern (director), Matt Whiteley (screenwriter), Mark Hulme (producer)
Headquarters	Los Angeles, United States
Products	Biographical drama film

Jobs is a 2013 American biographical drama that chronicles the life of Steve Jobs from his time as a student at Reed College in 1974 up to the unveiling of the iPod in 2001. Directed by Joshua Michael Stern, scripted by Matt Whiteley, and produced by Stern alongside Mark Hulme, the film features Ashton Kutcher portraying Jobs and Josh Gad as Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. Jobs was chosen to be the closing film at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.

Plot

In 1974 at Reed College, high tuition costs compel Steve Jobs to drop out, although Dean Jack Dudman permits him to continue attending classes. Jobs becomes fascinated with a calligraphy course. Inspired by Baba Ram Dass’s book Be Here Now and his experiences with LSD, Jobs, along with his friend Daniel Kottke, embarks on a journey to India, which influences his worldview, including his decision to walk barefoot.

Returning two years later to Los Altos, California, Jobs lives with his adoptive parents Paul and Clara. While employed at Atari, Inc. as a video game developer, he teams up with Steve "Woz" Wozniak. Their boss, Al Alcorn, assigns Jobs to redesign the arcade game Breakout, which Wozniak builds. The project’s success leads Alcorn to present it to President Nolan Bushnell, but Jobs unjustly divides the payment between himself and Wozniak.

Jobs soon discovers that Wozniak has created a prototype personal computer, the Apple I, which they plan to market through their newly formed company, Apple Computer. After an unsuccessful pitch at HP, Wozniak showcases the Apple I at the Homebrew Computer Club. Store owner Paul Terrell expresses interest, motivating Jobs to persuade his father to allow them to use the family garage as Apple’s first workspace. Jobs enlists Kottke, engineer Bill Fernandez, and neighbor Chris Espinosa.

Terrell’s dissatisfaction with the Apple I—seeing it only as a motherboard rather than a complete computer—pushes Jobs to develop the enhanced Apple II. He brings in Rod Holt to redesign its power supply. Venture capitalist Mike Markkula joins Apple after recognizing their potential. The Apple II launches successfully at the 1977 West Coast Computer Faire.

As Apple expands, tensions rise in Jobs’ personal life; upon learning that his high-school girlfriend Chrisann Brennan is pregnant, he ends their relationship and initially denies paternity of their daughter, Lisa. Feeling undervalued for his stock options, Kottke departs from Apple. The company hires John Sculley as CEO. Due to erratic behavior, Jobs is removed from the Apple Lisa project and reassigned to lead the Macintosh Group, where he collaborates with Bill Atkinson, Burrell Smith, Chris Espinosa, and Andy Hertzfeld. He pushes out original Macintosh leader Jef Raskin and assumes control. Later, he confronts Microsoft founder Bill Gates over alleged copying of Apple’s word processing software. Feeling estranged, Wozniak withdraws from Apple IIe development.

The 1984 debut of the Macintosh 128K includes a prominent commercial but disappoints commercially because of its steep price compared to IBM PC compatibles. Jobs blames limited memory and introduces the improved 512K model, but in 1985 Sculley forces him out of the company.

By 1996, married to Laurene Powell and having accepted Lisa as his daughter (who lives with them along with son Reed), Jobs leads NeXT. When Apple acquires NeXT, then-CEO Gil Amelio invites Jobs back as a consultant. Soon after, Jobs becomes CEO, removes Amelio, and restructures the Board of Directors. He works closely with designer Jony Ive, particularly on the innovative design of the iMac. In 1997, he records narration for Apple's Think Different advertising campaign. In 2001, Jobs unveils the revolutionary iPod during an Apple Town Hall presentation.

Development

Matt Whiteley began drafting the screenplay during the period when Steve Jobs was on medical leave due to pancreatic cancer. Director Joshua Michael Stern emphasized that the script was crafted through thorough research and interviews with former Apple staff to deliver an authentic representation while working within cinematic limitations.

Filming

Filming commenced in June 2012 at Jobs' childhood residence located in Los Altos, California, with involvement from his stepmother Marilyn Jobs and oversight by his sister Patricia. The majority of scenes were shot in the Los Angeles vicinity. Cinematography was headed by Russell Carpenter.

In August 2012, the production shifted to New Delhi and Vrindavan to recreate Jobs' 1974 journey to India. Notable shooting sites included Jama Masjid, Hauz Khas Complex, Safdarjung Tomb, and Humayun's Tomb in Delhi. Indian cinematographer Aseem Bajaj captured these sequences using a guerrilla filming approach amid the vibrant streets of Old Delhi such as Chandni Chowk and near the Red Fort, effectively conveying the hectic environment that paralleled Jobs' experience during his trip. Russell Carpenter also contributed to the India segment.

Release

The film’s debut was described by Business Insider as a box-office disappointment, earning $6.7 million during its opening weekend and securing seventh place overall. Ultimately, it amassed $42.1 million globally against a $12 million production budget, rendering it a modest financial success.

Reception

Audience feedback collected by CinemaScore assigned the film a "B–" rating.

E! Online reported that critics felt the film’s aspirations fell short, labeling it a shallow and unsatisfactory portrayal of Jobs. Forbes summarized reviews as mixed, praising Kutcher’s portrayal while criticizing director Joshua Michael Stern’s execution.

Technology analyst Robert X. Cringely commended the cinematography and Kutcher’s physical likeness to Jobs but pointed out inaccuracies in the historical narrative and an insufficient focus on Jobs’ evolution during the NeXT period. In the San Francisco Chronicle, Mick LaSalle described the movie as "at its best, a good picture, and at its worst, almost good." Rolling Stone critic Peter Travers highlighted Kutcher’s "quietly dazzling performance" but characterized the film overall as a limited one-man show.

Susan Wloszczyna of rogerebert.com gave it two stars out of four, criticizing its reliance on a conventional rise-fall-rise storyline instead of delving into deeper aspects of Jobs’ business philosophy and cultural influence. She observed that the film did not succeed in elevating Jobs to the iconic stature expected after his passing. Manohla Dargis from The New York Times described the film as "inevitably unsatisfying," attributing this outcome more to directorial shortcomings than to the performances by the cast.

Historical accuracy

In a January 2013 interview with The Verge, Steve Wozniak disclosed that he was invited to act as a consultant for the film Jobs but declined after reviewing the initial script, which he described as "crap." Instead, he opted to collaborate on the Sony-backed production, explaining, "You can't do both [films] and be paid." Wozniak also expressed dissatisfaction with the film’s representation of various individuals, including both himself and Steve Jobs, deeming these portrayals inaccurate.

Ahead of the film’s August 2013 release, Ashton Kutcher addressed Wozniak’s criticisms by suggesting that Wozniak’s perspective was influenced by his involvement with a rival Steve Jobs project. Kutcher pointed out that Wozniak was unavailable during filming and defended their movie as the best possible version given their limited access. Later, Wozniak clarified that he declined to consult on Jobs because the script was already finalized and he did not wish to interfere with its creative direction, though he still held hope for a quality film. He reaffirmed that several character depictions were unfair or incorrect.

In various interviews, Wozniak mentioned that he was approachable for consultation but was never contacted. The Verge confirmed that Wozniak refused participation after finding the script objectionable. He eventually acted as a consultant on Aaron Sorkin’s 2015 Steve Jobs film but cited scheduling constraints as reasons for not addressing inaccuracies in the earlier production.

Daniel Kottke, an early Apple team member who contributed to initial screenplay drafts, commended Kutcher’s performance but criticized the portrayal of Wozniak as lacking Jobs’ visionary qualities. Kottke described early drafts as "painful," noting one was rejected by Mike Markkula. By the fourth draft, however, the screenplay had improved considerably. Kottke believed the filmmakers earnestly sought historical accuracy, although others such as Bill Fernandez dismissed the film as largely fictionalized.

Concerning character depictions, both Kottke and Fernandez took issue with the portrayal of Rod Holt as a leather-wearing motorcyclist—an exaggerated characterization based on Holt’s interest in dirt biking. Holt himself found this depiction amusing. Fernandez labeled the film "the biggest, flashiest piece of fan fiction" about Apple and Steve Jobs produced to date.

Chris Espinosa noted on Twitter that while he could not provide an official opinion due to his role at Apple, he enjoyed viewing the movie.

The television program John Wants Answers featured a detailed scene-by-scene review of the film with Wozniak, Kottke, and Andy Hertzfeld, focusing on its historical fidelity.

Original soundtrack

The movie's soundtrack combines selections from classic rock, classical music, and modern compositions alongside an original score composed by John Debney. It is important to note that not all classical or classic rock tracks heard in the film are included on the commercially released soundtrack album.

External links

Jobs (film)

Plot

Apple

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