Everything the Steve Jobs movie gets wrong (and right)

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  • Steve Jobs movie: Not so accurate

    Steve Jobs movie: Not so accurate

    He was a genius. A pioneer. And now, the subject of a movie that's been nominated for two Oscars, for actors Michael Fassbender and Kate Winslet. But what does the Steve Jobs movie get right, and what does it get wrong?

    Photo by: Kim Kulish/Corbis

    Caption by: Lisa Bernier

  • Wrong: The "Hello" 1984 computer glitch pre-presentation

    Wrong: The "Hello" 1984 computer glitch pre-presentation

    At the start of the movie, Jobs yells at programmer Andy Hertzfeld about the computer not saying "hello," and then gives him 40 minutes to fix it. However, this incident never happened.

    Photo by: Universal Pictures

    Caption by: Lisa Bernier

  • Right: Hertzfeld using a prototype 512k model during the demo

    Right: Hertzfeld using a prototype 512k model during the demo

    That's because, among other things, the 128k model couldn't say (you guessed it) "Hello."

    Photo by: Universal Pictures

    Caption by: Lisa Bernier

  • Wrong: Joanna Hoffman not knowing the Mac was a closed system until launch

    Wrong: Joanna Hoffman not knowing the Mac was a closed system until launch

    Joanna Hoffman and the rest of the Mac marketing team did know that Mac was a closed system ... far in advance of the announcement.

    Photo by: Universal Pictures

    Caption by: Lisa Bernier

  • Right: Joanna Hoffman winning an "award" for standing up to Jobs

    Right: Joanna Hoffman winning an "award" for standing up to Jobs

    In fact, she won it twice.

    Photo by: Universal Pictures

    Caption by: Lisa Bernier

  • Wrong: Lisa Brennan winning over Jobs with MacPaint

    Wrong: Lisa Brennan winning over Jobs with MacPaint

    In the film, Lisa Brennan-Jobs (the daughter Jobs refused to recognize for years) is brought by her mother to the launch of Mac. The girl then charms her father by using MacPaint (and getting paternity payments for her mother in the bargain). A lovely anecdote, but nonetheless, untrue.

    Photo by: Universal Pictures

    Caption by: Lisa Bernier

  • Right: The real Lisa Brennan-Jobs working with Sorkin

    Right: The real Lisa Brennan-Jobs working with Sorkin

    Although she never spoke to Walter Isaacson (who wrote the biography the movie is based on) she did talk with Sorkin while he wrote the screenplay and gave Sorkin insight into her father's mind and personality.

    Photo by: Universal Pictures

    Caption by: Lisa Bernier

  • Wrong: Singleton Steve imagining a reunion

    Wrong: Singleton Steve imagining a reunion

    When Jobs imagines working things out with adult Lisa in the film, it portrays him as single and without a family of his own. Motivation to want to connect with your only daughter, right? But in real life, by that time, Jobs was a family man with a wife and three other children.

    Photo by: Universal Pictures

    Caption by: Lisa Bernier

  • Wrong: Jobs telling Hoffman before the launch of NeXT's computer that Apple is suing him

    Wrong: Jobs telling Hoffman before the launch of NeXT's computer that Apple is suing him

    While Apple did sue him, it happened in 1985, which was three years before the launch of the "black box" NeXT computer. Apple in fact withdrew the suit in 1986, two years before the 1988 launch.

    Photo by: Ed Kashi/VII/Corbis

    Caption by: Lisa Bernier

  • Also wrong: Jobs planning to use NeXT as revenge

    Also wrong: Jobs planning to use NeXT as revenge

    The fictional Jobs also tells Hoffman that he plans to use NeXT to get back at Apple by making it so great, they'll buy it for a cool half million. In reality, Jobs had no idea NeXT would be the reason he would eventually come back to the Apple fold.

    Photo by: Universal Pictures

    Caption by: Lisa Bernier

  • Wrong: The iMac proving Apple's success

    Wrong: The iMac proving Apple's success

    Simply put: The iMac was not the crowning glory of Apple's financial success.

    Photo by: Universal Pictures

    Caption by: Lisa Bernier

  • The real proof: the iPod

    The real proof: the iPod

    Instead, what made Apple a proven comeback kid was the 2000 runaway breakout success of the iPod.

    Photo by: Kim Kulish/Corbis

    Caption by: Lisa Bernier

  • Wrong: Wozniak's portrayal as a whining dude who just wants credit

    Wrong: Wozniak's portrayal as a whining dude who just wants credit

    Wozniak did tell Bloomberg that most of the things he says and does in the movie didn't happen, including the scene where he and Jobs have a huge fight before the iMac launch.

    Photo by: Universal Pictures

    Caption by: Lisa Bernier

  • Right: Wozniak's mental state

    Right: Wozniak's mental state

    He also told Bloomberg that, although he didn't exactly say the things his movie version does, the character does express "things [he] could never say" but wanted to.

    Photo by: Universal Pictures

    Caption by: Lisa Bernier

  • Wrong: The black turtleneck Jobs wears in the movie's third launch

    Wrong: The black turtleneck Jobs wears in the movie's third launch

    At that launch, Jobs wore a jacket and a white shirt. He hadn't yet solidified his famous turtleneck fashion signature.

    Photo by: Universal Pictures

    Caption by: Lisa Bernier

  • Wrong: The confrontations before each launch

    Wrong: The confrontations before each launch

    With each launch, the movie has Jobs meeting the same people: Chrisann Brennan, Lisa Brennan-Jobs, Andy Hertzfeld, Apple CEO John Sculley, and Steve Wozniak. In reality, many of these people weren't even around Jobs during the time period of these launches, and none of them necessarily confronted them like they do in the film.

    Photo by: Universal Pictures

    Caption by: Lisa Bernier

  • Wrong: Jobs' appearance

    Wrong: Jobs' appearance

    Let's face it: Star Michael Fassbender looks nothing like Steve Jobs whatsoever.

    Photo by: Roger Ressmeyer/Corbis and Universal Pictures (photo illustration by Lisa Bernier)

    Caption by: Lisa Bernier

  • Right: Fassbender's channeling of Jobs

    Right: Fassbender's channeling of Jobs

    Wozniak said after seeing a rough cut of the movie that Fassbender's acting made him feel as if he was "actually watching Steve Jobs."

    Photo by: Universal Pictures

    Caption by: Lisa Bernier

  • Right: Jobs' minimalistic living

    Right: Jobs' minimalistic living

    The movie does get Jobs' minimalistic tendencies right, to the point he often didn't have a lot of furniture. In fact, his real-life widow Laurene once said she and her husband would spend "... a lot of time asking ourselves, 'What is the purpose of a sofa?'"

    Photo by: Universal Pictures

    Caption by: Lisa Bernier

  • Right and wrong: The movie's depiction of Jobs overall

    Right and wrong: The movie's depiction of Jobs overall

    Some, such as Wozniak, say the movie gets Jobs and his spirit completely right. Others who also knew him, like current Apple CEO Tim Cook and journalist Walt Mossberg, vehemently oppose this portrayal.

    Photo by: Universal Pictures

    Caption by: Lisa Bernier

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Steve Jobs movie: Not so accurate

He was a genius. A pioneer. And now, the subject of a movie that's been nominated for two Oscars, for actors Michael Fassbender and Kate Winslet. But what does the Steve Jobs movie get right, and what does it get wrong?

Caption by: Lisa Bernier

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