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Steve Wozniak says 'there were a lot of things wrong' with 'Jobs' movie

Steve Wozniak says 'there were a lot of things wrong' with 'Jobs' movie

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Apple co-founder sounds off about Ashton Kutcher and the future of Cupertino

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Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak sat down with Bloomberg this week to discuss his thoughts on innovation, Larry Ellison, and, most extensively, Jobs — the recently released biopic about Steve Jobs, starring Ashton Kutcher. Wozniak attended a midnight premiere of the film, and apparently didn't leave with a very good impression.

"There were a lot of things wrong," he said in a televised interview Friday. According to Wozniak, the movie inaccurately glorified Jobs without acknowledging his flaws as a young entrepreneur, and without giving due credit to other people involved in the company's early days. "I didn't like seeing a lot of people I know not get the respect they deserve," he added.

Wozniak, who levied similar criticism against the film in commenting on a Gizmodo article Thursday, said that although he generally "liked" Kutcher's acting, he thought the actor portrayed Jobs in a one-sidedly glowing light. "Ashton has too much of this 'fan' thing like a cult leader," Wozniak said. "He could not see that [Jobs] had a lot of flaws in knowing how to run things and execute and make products that were worthwhile at his time there."

"I'm really easy to get a hold of, he could have called me."

When asked if he had a message for Kutcher, Wozniak replied, "You know what, I'm really easy to get a hold of, he could have called me and consulted over the phone any time." Wozniak was in fact invited to consult on the film, but declined after reading the script, saying he and his wife were "abhorred" by it. (He is consulting on Aaron Sorkin's forthcoming Steve Jobs film.) When asked why he didn't at least correct the inaccuracies he saw, Wozniak said, "I have a very busy life, and it came at a very busy time in my life."

Wozniak also addressed recent comments from Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, who earlier this week predicted that Apple will decline without Jobs at the helm. The company's stock has gone up and down in recent years, and many have expressed doubts about its ability to come out with the same innovative products that it created during the Jobs era. According to Wozniak, though, predictions of Apple's demise are still premature.

"There's time to tell," he said. "I wouldn't judge Apple as being out of the innovation sphere yet... Sometimes Apple has the bigger surprise than anyone."