Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

John Sculley Talks Steve Jobs Movie, Impressed With Jeff Daniels' Portrayal of Him

MacRumors

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
68,254
39,053



Just days before Steve Jobs opens in New York and Los Angeles on October 9, former Apple CEO John Sculley, who is portrayed in the movie by Jeff Daniels, spoke to The Wall Street Journal about his thoughts on the movie. Sculley liked the movie, calling it "extraordinary entertainment" and predicting it'll be as successful as The Social Network.

jeffdanielsstevejobs.png
Jeff Daniels as John Sculley in Steve Jobs​

Sculley points out that he was "taken" by Daniels performance of him, saying that Daniels "accurately summarized a lot of the the things I felt then, and now." Sculley participated in the development of the film, speaking with screenwriter Aaron Sorkin and Daniels. He was impressed by Daniels' efforts to understand him.

However, Sculley says that the film takes creative licenses with what actually happened. He notes that the film adds an extra encounter between him and Jobs after Jobs left Apple, that the words they exchanged during those encounters aren't accurate and that he and the board still believed in the Mac after Jobs left. Sculley also echoes the thoughts of Jobs' widow Laurene Powell Jobs and director Danny Boyle, who say the film doesn't fully capture Jobs' personality.
"Part of his personality was he was a passionate perfectionist, but there were so many other parts of Steve's personality that I knew because Steve and I were not only business partners, but we were incredibly close friends for several years," Sculley says. "I could tell you that the young Steve Jobs that I knew had a great sense of humor. He was on many occasions, when we were together, very warm. He cared a lot about the people he worked with and he was a good person. So, I think those aren't the aspects that are focused on in this movie."
Click to expand...
Steve Jobs opens in New York and Los Angeles on October 9. The film will expand to more theaters on October 16 and open nationwide on October 23.

Article Link: John Sculley Talks Steve Jobs Movie, Impressed With Jeff Daniels' Portrayal of Him
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2015/10/06/john-sculley-on-steve-jobs-movie/
I imagine pushing the narrative of Steve as a dick, was chosen because Steve as nice guy is not what would sell tickets.

Btw, shouldn't "him and the board" be "he and the board"?
 
  • Like
Reactions: orbital~debris
Good to hear those differing views from Sculley, who after all might have had enough reason to add to the negative aspects reportedly touched on by the film. These comments coming from him are more indications, if any were even needed, that the movie has perhaps too much emphasis on the negative things in Steve's life for ratings purposes, at the expense of 'balance'.

Even though the above will be in the back of my mind, I'll do my best to have an open mind when seeing Steve Jobs.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: linuslh1996 and Sandstorm
This isn't a character study. It's a movie about a father and daughter and his maturation from a reckless and irresponsible young man into something more of a viable human being. It's along the lines of Tender Mercies. It's embarrassing when friends of Jobs disparage a movie they haven't seen or ever plan on seeing or wholly misinterpret the kind of story Sorkin wanted to tell.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sandstorm
[QUOTE="...Btw, shouldn't "him and the board" be "he and the board"?[/QUOTE]

Yes
 
macs4nw said:
Well, he did that, but it's good to hear him speak well now about his former co-executive.
Click to expand...

Well, Jobs quit, he wasnt push out. Scully have been saying for years now that he thinks that board made mistake and should sided with Steve.
 
Sculley predicts this movie will be as big as The Social Network - let's see how good his intuition and judgement is.

Sculley I assume was paid as a consultant.

Sculley I assume is paid for interviews.

"Sculley " is an anagram for "sly clue". Just saying.
 
I'll only go see the movie if it depicts Steve killing my beloved Newton, in what felt like priority number 1 upon his return to the fold.
 
jasonklee said:
This isn't a character study. It's a movie about a father and daughter and his maturation from a reckless and irresponsible young man into something more of a viable human being. It's along the lines of Tender Mercies. It's embarrassing when friends of Jobs disparage a movie they haven't seen or ever plan on seeing or wholly misinterpret the kind of story Sorkin wanted to tell.
Click to expand...
It's clear that these are people who do not like the book the movie is based on. This is just one step further removed from the truth. That shouldn't be embarrassing...in fact, your use of the word is inappropriate since you know even less of the people involved.
 
Robert.Walter said:
I imagine pushing the narrative of Steve as a dick, was chosen because Steve as nice guy is not what would sell tickets.

Btw, shouldn't "him and the board" be "he and the board"?
Click to expand...
Shouldn't you have omitted that comma? Shouldn't you have said "Steve as a nice guy"? I mean if we're going to point out people's mistakes here, then you need to share the spotlight, my friend. :rolleyes:
 
  • Like
Reactions: Benjamin Frost
Iconoclysm said:
It's clear that these are people who do not like the book the movie is based on. This is just one step further removed from the truth. That shouldn't be embarrassing...in fact, your use of the word is inappropriate since you know even less of the people involved.
Click to expand...

Then those people should limit their criticisms to Isaacson's book. The movie is mainly charged by the conflict between Jobs and his daughter Lisa. Conflicts involving Apple are in the background. Jobs was irrefutably derelict in his responsibility as a father to his first born. That selfishness and immaturity permeated in a lot of his other actions until his slow transformation into a man who, while not entirely able to shed himself of some of his more impulsive characteristics, was indeed wiser and more humane, including towards his own daughter. The movie begins and climaxes on that dynamic.

Dialogue is made up, scenes are fabricated or stretched. Yes. It's a work of fiction extrapolated from a work of nonfiction. But as the Greek dramatists told us: What happens is fact, not truth. The truth is what we think about what happens. This is the basis of art.

While the movie is based on the official biography of Jobs, in spirit, the movie has much more in relation with the more insightful book Becoming Steve Jobs.
 
doelcm82 said:
Jobs only quit after they moved his office to the basement and took away his stapler.
Click to expand...

I thought he was fired because he was a party pooper — no one liked his negative criticism — as he duly noted many times during staff meetings: "The ratio of people to cake is too big."
 
  • Like
Reactions: doelcm82
jasonklee said:
Then those people should limit their criticisms to Isaacson's book. The movie is mainly charged by the conflict between Jobs and his daughter Lisa. Conflicts involving Apple are in the background. Jobs was irrefutably derelict in his responsibility as a father to his first born. That selfishness and immaturity permeated in a lot of his other actions until his slow transformation into a man who, while not entirely able to shed himself of some of his more impulsive characteristics, was indeed wiser and more humane, including towards his own daughter. The movie begins and climaxes on that dynamic.

Dialogue is made up, scenes are fabricated or stretched. Yes. It's a work of fiction extrapolated from a work of nonfiction. But as the Greek dramatists told us: What happens is fact, not truth. The truth is what we think about what happens. This is the basis of art.

While the movie is based on the official biography of Jobs, in spirit, the movie has much more in relation with the more insightful book Becoming Steve Jobs.
Click to expand...

You speak as if you have the authority of having screened the movie already. Have you?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back