Jobs (2013)

The story of Steve Jobs' ascension from college dropout into one of the most revered creative entrepreneurs of the 20th century.

Director:

Joshua Michael Stern

Writer:

Matt Whiteley

Stars:

Ashton Kutcher, Dermot Mulroney, Josh Gad

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ashton Kutcher	...	Steve Jobs
Dermot Mulroney	...	Mike Markkula
Josh Gad	...	Steve Wozniak
Lukas Haas	...	Daniel Kottke
Matthew Modine	...	John Sculley
J.K. Simmons	...	Arthur Rock
Lesley Ann Warren	...	Clara Jobs
Ron Eldard	...	Rod Holt
Ahna O'Reilly	...	Chris-Ann Brennan
Victor Rasuk	...	Bill Fernandez
John Getz	...	Paul Jobs
Kevin Dunn	...	Gil Amelio
James Woods	...	Jack Dudman
Nelson Franklin	...	Bill Atkinson
Eddie Hassell	...	Chris Espinosa

Storyline

The film opens in 2001 with a middle-aged Steve Jobs (Ashton Kutcher) introducing the iPod at an Apple Town Hall meeting.[6] It then flashes back to Reed College in 1974. Jobs had already dropped out due to the high expense of tuition, but was still attending classes with the approval of Dean Jack Dudman (James Woods) who took him under his wing. Jobs is particularly interested in a course on calligraphy. He meets up with his friend Daniel Kottke (Lukas Haas) who is excited to see that Jobs is holding a copy of Be Here Now by Baba Ram Dass. Influenced by this book and his experiences with LSD, Jobs and Kottke spend time in India. Two years later, Jobs is back in Los Altos, California living at home with his adoptive parents Paul (John Getz) and Clara (Lesley Ann Warren). He is working for Atari and develops a partnership with his friend Steve Wozniak (Josh Gad) after he sees that Wozniak has built a personal computer (the Apple I). They name their new company Apple Computer, though ...

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Plot Keywords:

feet on table | reference to steve jobs | believe in yourself | character name as title | based on real person | 

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Taglines:

Some see what's possible, others change what's possible.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some drug content and brief strong language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ashton Kutcher and Samm Levine both appeared together previously on That 70's Show. Kutcher played Kelso and Levin guest starred in episode 5.21.

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Goofs

Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak meet in the conference room the night before the IPO. When Wozniak gets up to leave the room, the notepad is on the table to Wozniak's right, with another piece of paper next to it. In the next shot, only the notepad is there.

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Quotes

Paul Terrell: All right, Steve. I'll try to sell. But if I don't, I'm not making another order.
Steve Jobs: Okay, that's fine... But I think you might be really interested in our second model.
Paul Terrell: What's the second model?
Steve Wozniak: What are you talking about?
Steve Jobs: [in an undertone] All-in-one.

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Crazy Credits

The television advertisement in the film is named: "Iron Eyes Cody: People Start Pollution, People Can Stop It". It's credited as: "Iron Eyes Cody: People Start Pollution, People Can't Stop It".

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Connections

Featured in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #21.191 (2013)

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Soundtracks

Sacrifice
Performed by The Brymers
Written by Kenny Sinner
Courtesy of HD Music Now

User Reviews

"Jobs" is a biopic with a very narrow focus, and without any sense of risk or adventure.

Joshua Michael Stern's "Jobs" is like an assembly line for the best moments in the career of Steve Jobs, but seriously lacking in depth, and without much significance. It is a truly unremarkable biopic of the "master of innovation" as you could possibly imagine. "Jobs" follows an overly safe, unimaginative course that clocks in at a tiresome 122 minutes. The storytelling is painfully straightforward, covering only the principal events of his professional trials and tribulations, and providing little else beyond what is already public knowledge.

Developing his imagination for computer programming at Atari, Steve Jobs (Ashton Kutcher) brings in his friend Steve Wozniak (Josh Gad) to help with the hardware aspect, forming a partnership that would soon lead to the founding and development of Apple Computers, a force within the industry throughout the 1980s. Steve is not prepared for the financial demands and the ruthless business mentality, and is eventually forced out of the company he began, only to return in the 1990s with a fresh game plan on how to bring Apple back into the public consciousness, and to dominate the industry once again.

"Jobs" is a biopic with a very narrow focus, and without any sense of risk or adventure. It is so intent on covering Jobs' entire corporate career, that it simply reduces his personal life to a footnote. Stern completely glosses over Jobs' personal life, which is essential to any self-respecting biopic. The entire production feels rushed and slapped together simply to benefit from being the first one out of the gate.

To his credit, Kutcher puts forth a good effort, and he undeniably looks the part of Steve Jobs. Unfortunately, Ashton always looks like he is trying too hard to play the part, and never fully becomes the character he's portraying. His limitations on the big screen prove to be a major liability. He has developed a screen persona as likable character, which has served him well with numerous TV sitcoms. Not so much with movies.

What emerges is a movie that has "a made for TV" feel, which depicts a self-absorbed creep who stabs everyone in the back to simply to get his way that goes on for two plus hours. A thoroughly unsatisfying tribute, and we are still left none the wiser as to what made "The Father of the Digital Revolution" beyond what we already know.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA Switzerland

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 August 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jobs: Get Inspired

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,713,900, 18 August 2013

Gross USA:

$16,131,410

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$42,128,352

Company Credits

Production Co:

Open Road Films (II), Five Star Institute, IF Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1