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

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.”

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.

Top Rated Comments

JCrz Avatar
132 months ago
I think after 500 of the same articles, we can conclude that movies aren't always 100% accurate.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AngerDanger Avatar
132 months ago
I've been disappointed with the lack of part leaks leading up to the premiere of the film. Not a single Steve Jobs arm or Wozniak jaw chassis. :(
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ee4life Avatar
132 months ago
BREAKING NEWS! PEOPLE MORE COMPLEX THAN PORTRAYED IN MOVIES!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
doelcm82 Avatar
132 months ago
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.
Jobs only quit after they moved his office to the basement and took away his stapler.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mr-Stabby Avatar
132 months ago
Does anyone here actually think that John Sculley made the wrong decision at the time getting rid of Jobs? Given what has happened since, i think it was probably the best thing that ever happened to Jobs.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kara_K_818 Avatar
132 months ago
Sculley predicts this movie will be as big as The Social Network - let's see how good his intuition and judgement is.
Let's hope Sculley's intuition and judgment are better they were in 1985 ;)
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

streaming black friday 2025

Black Friday Streaming Deals Include Big Savings on Disney+, Hulu, Apple TV, and More

Monday November 24, 2025 8:03 am PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Adds These New Features to Your iPhone

Thursday November 20, 2025 10:50 am PST by
iOS 26.2 is currently in beta testing. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics for Apple Music, and more. In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date. Keep reading...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

iOS 27 Will Reportedly Have Two Key Upgrades

Sunday November 23, 2025 8:48 am PST by
iOS 27 will reportedly have two major elements: quality improvements and new AI features. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that iOS 27 will be similar to Mac OS X Snow Leopard, in the sense that Apple is focused on improving "quality and underlying performance" over adding new features. Gurman said there is one exception to this rule, though, as he expects...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: iPhone 18 Pro Looks Like a Huge Upgrade

Friday November 21, 2025 9:10 am PST by
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through all of the new features and improvements expected to come to next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Apple's next-generation iPhones are less than ten months away and we already have a good idea about what to expect based on corroborated leaks, rumors,...
General Black Friday Deals 25 Red

Apple Black Friday Deals Available Now on AirPods, iPads, Accessories, and More

Friday November 21, 2025 8:48 am PST by
We're only a few days away from Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When...
Apple Shopping Event 2025

Apple Announces 2025 Black Friday Event, Here's What You Can Get

Thursday November 20, 2025 6:28 am PST by
Apple's annual four-day Black Friday through Cyber Monday shopping event is returning on Friday, November 28 through Monday, December 1 in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Thailand, and others. During the shopping event, customers can get an Apple gift card with...
hikawa phone grip stand apple%402x

Apple Launches Second Limited-Edition iPhone Accessory in a Month

Friday November 21, 2025 3:53 am PST by
Apple has begun selling the Hikawa Phone Grip and Stand, a new limited-edition iPhone accessory designed with accessibility in mind. Designed by LA-based Bailey Hikawa to celebrate the 40th anniversary of accessibility at Apple, the grip uses magnets to securely snap onto any iPhone with MagSafe. Apple says it can be removed with ease, and doubles as a stand with two different viewing...
apple news banner

Apple News Loses CNN

Monday November 24, 2025 7:56 am PST by
American multinational news company CNN has abruptly pulled its content from Apple News, Semafor reports. CNN quietly removed its stories from Apple News over the weekend and there is no longer a feed from the network to subscribe to in the app. This effectively ends its distribution agreement with Apple while the two sides negotiate new terms. Discussions are apparently ongoing and CNN's...