The Steve Jobs biopic starring Ashton Kutcher is finally hitting the big screen this Friday, with a new trailer available (see below) and reviews starting to appear. Titled Jobs, the movie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival early this year. Directed by Joshua Michael Stern and written by Matthew Whitely, it also features Josh Gad (Steve Wozniak), Dermot Mulroney, Lukas Haas, J.K. Simmons, and Matthew Modine. According to the synopsis, "jOBS plunges into the depths of his character, creating an intense dialogue-driven story that is as much a sweeping epic as it is an immensely personal portrait of Steve Jobs' life." It covers Jobs's life from 1971 to 2000.
So far the reviews appear to be mixed, with the Associated Press giving it two and a half stars out of four and saying that it focuses more on the company than on Jobs himself. The San Jose Mercury News says that it fails to give insight into what really made Jobs tick and how someone so flawed was able to inspire people the way he did.
The movie begins with Jobs's brief stint at Reed College and covers the founding of Apple computer, Jobs's eventual ouster by the Apple board, and his triumphant return. It tracks his success up until the introduction of the first iPod.
A new version of the trailer was released this week. It makes me eager to see the movie.
I never tire of the story of vision, his obsession for detail, and his demand for perfection. But I certainly wouldn't have wanted to work for him. I heard very third-hand some stories of a former employee. This person said one time a new employee approached Jobs at Apple when he was walking along the sidewalk and said, "Hi. I'm a new employee, and I just wanted to introduce myself and say hello." Jobs responded, "You're fired."