Woz says they got it wrong.
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak reportedly described a new clip of "jOBS," one of two upcoming films about Steve Jobs, as "totally wrong." Here's the clip, which was released Thursday.
Gizmodo.com reported that Wozniak sent them an email about the clip that read in part:
Totally wrong. Personalities and where the ideas of computers affecting society did not come from Jobs. They inspired me and were widely spoken at the Homebrew Computer Club. Steve came back from Oregon and came to a club meeting and didn't start talking about this great social impact. His idea was to make a $20 PC board and sell it for $40 to help people at the club build the computer I'd given away. Steve came from selling surplus parts at HalTed he always saw a way to make a quick buck off my designs (this was the 5th time).
The lofty talk came much further down the line.
I never looked like a professional. We were both kids. Our relationship was so different than what was portrayed.
So someone who became a personality in the Bay Area expresses concern about a movie in which he is portrayed. Sound familiar? You may recall that former Oakland A's Manager Art Howe had some tough words for the filmmakers behind "Moneyball" in 2011:
"It's disappointing. I spent my whole career trying to build a good reputation and I think I did that but this movie certainly doesn't help it."
Will Woz be similarly angered by "jOBS," which stars Ashton Kutcher in the title role? We'll have to wait and see; the film made its debut at Sundance today and is set to open in the U.S. on April 19. But for now, Wozniak seems to be keeping an open mind when it comes to the film:
The fact that it didn't happen is unimportant. The important thing is whether the meaning portrayed is correct.
It's ok to make up a dramatic scene but is much better if it sort of happened and had the meaning portrayed. But this is only one short clip of the movie. The entire movie may be very good. But the initial exposure to the social meaning of a technology revolution went in a very different direction in those early times.