The independent biopic jOBS, which premiered Friday at the Sundance Film Festival, was not produced with the help of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak due to a highly inaccurate script which Mr. Wozniak described to The Verge as “crap.” Mr. Wozniak previously told Gizmodo that an interaction between Steve Jobs and Mr. Wozniak depicted in the film’s first pre-release promotional scene was “totally wrong.”
jOBS stars Ashton Kutcher and Josh Gad as Mr. Jobs and Mr. Wozniak, respectively, and opened to mixed reviews over the weekend. While most reviewers found the story entertaining overall, historical inaccuracies and a “shallow” approach left many disappointed with the first film about Apple and Steve Jobs since his death in 2011.
That disappointment was shared by Mr. Wozniak, who was approached by the film’s producers early in the development of the movie. Finding the film’s script to be “crap,” however, Mr. Wozniak turned down the producers’ offer and instead became involved in the Sony-backed and Aaron Sorkin-directed film about Steve Jobs that is still in production.
I was approached early on [for JOBS]. I read a script as far as I could stomach it and felt it was crap. The Sony people got in contact with me too and in the end I went with them. You can't do both [films] and be paid.
Although not involved in the film’s production and not happy with some of the liberties taken in the script, Mr. Wozniak still wished the film well. “I still told everyone that I thought the Jobs movie would be a big hit and I looked forward to it. I felt they did a very good job of casting, looking for good actors who could play the roles,” he told The Verge.
For those not able to attend the Sundance Film Festival, the producers of jOBS announced early this month that the film will have a broader release in theaters this April.
The Sony-backed film about the Apple co-founder does not yet have a release date but will take a very different approach to portraying Steve Jobs's life and career. Mr. Sorkin revealed in November that the film will feature three key scenes – the launch of the original Macintosh, the debut of NeXT, and the introduction of the first iPod – as described by Walter Isaacson’s biography of Mr. Jobs.