Documentary critical of Steve Jobs picked up by CNN, Magnolia Pictures

steve jobs

A documentary often critical of late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs has been acquired by Magnolia Pictures and CNN Films, after premiering at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin this week.

“Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine”, directed by Oscar winner Alex Gibney, aims to give viewers a “greater understanding of the celebrated tech icon.”

Magnolia Pictures acquired theatrical, VOD and home entertainment rights, and CNN Films has the television broadcast distribution rights, reports Deadline.

There’s no word on when “Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine” will get a general release to the public, however many got an early viewing during the SXSW festival.

“It’s an unflinching look at the emotional shrapnel people took when they were part of Jobs’ life, and how some of them — paradoxically — still feel tremendous love and gratitude towards him,” The Verge writes.

In a portion of the film aired online, we see early Macintosh director of engineering Bob Belleville sobbing as he reads his eulogy for Steve Jobs. The Verge says this is after describing how Apple destroyed his marriage and pushed him away from his children.

Apple senior executive Eddy Cue tweeted on Monday that the film was: “An inaccurate and mean-spirited view of my friend. It’s not a reflection of the Steve I knew.”

The Hollywood Reporter has a similar view as Cue, calling it 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.”

Source: Deadline