'Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine' Film Debuts at SXSW, Eddy Cue Calls It 'Inaccurate' and 'Mean-Spirited'

Following the premiere of Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine this weekend at SXSW in Austin, Texas, reviews of the film have begun circulating in the media. The Guardian notes that the documentary portrays Jobs as "a man with dazzling talent and monomaniacal focus, but utterly lacking in empathy," with director Alex Gibney showing several examples of the late Apple co-founder's less-desirable behaviour that are typically overshadowed by his successes.

Steve Jobs Movie

"Yet this man, whose belief in his own righteousness was unshakeable, also terminated Apple’s philanthropic programmes, presided over huge corporate tax evasion, paid Chinese workers making iPhones a pittance, and only stumped up maintenance for his first daughter after dragging his ex-girlfriend through the courts, claiming that she was promiscuous and he was infertile, until a DNA test proved otherwise. Finally, he agreed to pay $500 a month – he was worth $200m at the time."

Apple senior executive Eddy Cue was quick to express his disappointment in the documentary, describing the film on Twitter as "an inaccurate and mean-spirited view of my friend" and "not a reflection of the Steve I knew." Cue added that the best portrayal of Jobs is in the upcoming book "Becoming Steve Jobs," which he describes as "well done and first to get it right."

The Hollywood Reporter has a nearly equal assessment of The Man in the Machine, describing the film as a "two hour-plus corrective to uncritical idolatry of [Jobs], a film that roots around in his misdeeds and mean traits, not in search of a complete portrait, but in the spirit of a Judgment Day prosecutor who knows damn well the defendant was not a holy man."

Other publications that reviewed the documentary include Variety, TechnologyTell and Indiewire. The film is expected to debut in theaters later this year.

Popular Stories

ios 26 1 slide to stop

iOS 26.1 Brings Back 2007 Feature in New Way

Friday October 31, 2025 1:40 pm PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a small but helpful change for iPhones, and it could prevent you from running late to something important. Specifically, when an alarm goes off in the Clock app, there is a new "slide to stop" control on the screen for turning off the alarm. On previous iOS 26 versions, there is simply a large "stop" button, which could be accidentally tapped. The new ...
M5 MacBook Pro

Waiting for New Macs? Apple Just Shared Bad News

Friday October 31, 2025 7:32 am PDT by
Apple has just given a strong indication that it will not be releasing any additional new Macs for the remainder of the year. Apple's CFO Kevan Parekh dropped the hint during the company's earnings call on Thursday:On Mac, keep in mind, we expect to face a very difficult compare against the M4 MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac launches in the year-ago quarter.Parekh essentially gave a heads up ...
Apple Foldable Thumb

iPhone Fold: Launch, Pricing, and What to Expect From Apple's Foldable

Friday October 31, 2025 8:52 am PDT by
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device. Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that have been leaked about Apple's foldable iPhone so far. Ove...
Coffee Burgundy and Purple iPhone 18 Pro Mock 1

Leaker Outlines Potential New Colors for iPhone 18 Pro

Friday October 31, 2025 8:28 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone 18 Pro models could be available in new rich and warm color option, according to a known leaker. The Weibo user known as "Instant Digital" today suggested that next-year's iPhone 18 Pro models will be available in at least one of the following color options: Coffee, purple, and burgundy. The iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone 14, and iPhone 14 Pro were all available in ...
Apple Logo Spotlight

Report: Apple to Launch These New Products in 2026

Sunday November 2, 2025 5:34 am PST by
Apple is planning to launch at least 15 new products in 2026, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman outlined what to expect from Apple in 2026 in the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter. He said the company is heading "into one of its most pivotal years in recent memory," with the rollout of major new Apple Intelligence features, intense regulatory pressure on the App Store,...
Apple Intelligence General Feature 2

New Version of Siri to 'Lean' on Google Gemini

Sunday November 2, 2025 6:06 am PST by
In his "Power On" newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today provided an update on the status of Apple Intelligence and the plans for it in 2026. Apple is still planning to roll out its revamped version of Siri around March of next year. The release should be accompanied by the release of a new smart home display product with speaker-base and wall-mount options. A new Apple TV and HomePod...
HomePod mini and Apple TV

New Apple TV and HomePod Mini Likely Launching Soon

Sunday November 2, 2025 5:49 am PST by
A new Apple TV and HomePod mini could launch as soon as this month, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today suggested. In today's "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple retail stores are planning an overnight refresh on the evening of November 11, where changes will be made after closing, such as refreshing displays and placing new products for the following day. The timing of the overnight...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

8 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...

Top Rated Comments

dstankus Avatar
139 months ago
Sure Eddy; if SJ had made me a multi-zillionaire I'd probably feel that way too...

My own recollection from reading various stories over the years is that he was indeed a brilliant executive but a not very nice human being.

Since I like my iPhone very much and have never met him in person, this is OK with me.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
IbisDoc Avatar
139 months ago
Finally, an accurate portrayal of the guy.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JoEw Avatar
139 months ago
You're watching it wrong.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
markcres Avatar
139 months ago
Best quote of the day. Everyone knows that Steve was no saint. At the same time he did remarkably wonderful things. Seems the haters are gonna hate.

"no saint"?
You mean he was a complete *******. The way he treated his own child!
Apple are unhappy because a film is depicting their glorified computer salesman as a flawed human rather than as a God-like figure. Corporate fascists want to re-write history according to their own false twisted ideal.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Edd.Dantes Avatar
139 months ago
Best quote of the day. Everyone knows that Steve was no saint. At the same time he did remarkably wonderful things. Seems the haters are gonna hate.

True but there is nothing wrong in showing the other side of the coin. History shouldn't paint him as a benevolent deity. He was a dirtbag for most his adult life but so am I and many others. I wouldn't want people to make me out to be something amazing, just because I created some amazing things.... Or oversaw their creation.

Too many people in this world think he was the Ghandi of electronics and that's just not true. Not even close.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mr. Gates Avatar
139 months ago
If I was Eddie I would say the same thing.
Even though the Documentary is 100% accurate.
If you compare another CEO (Name I will not mention ;) ) in regards to to philanthropic work, Jobs was a heartless, self serving,opportunist/capitalist who rode off the technological advancements of others while stealing, giving little to no credit where credit was due and suing others.
He had petty feuds with companies like Adobe after public acceptance swayed toward Flash instead of Quicktime and tried to patent simple existing standards like opening a blue URL link with a browser by touching it.

Steve Jobs really is not someone to revere. His ethics were deeply troubling and none of you should want your children to grow up as narcissistic and evil as he was.

I don't believe in God but I do believe in karma.

-Gates Out-
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)