# Pirates Of Silicon Valley *Why was Steve Jobs fired*



## mkurtes (Aug 27, 2003)

I just watched Pirates Of Silicon Valley and was confused at the end. Why was Steve Jobs fired from Apple in the 80's? Wasn't he the owner? I'm a little lost here. Can anyone explain this to me.


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## Klaatu (Jun 3, 2003)

Here's a link that helps explain and the applicable paragraph.

Basically this version makes sense (Jobs quitting) given what we know of his personality but, despite the fact Jobs helped build the company, it was now a publically-traded company. The Board of Directors of any company is not interested in loyalty and such -- only on the bottom line. Sculley was a veteran CEO of Pepsico -- Jobs was a young, ambitious, unpredicatable ball of voltage. Boards tend to prefer safe and conservative.

*Steve Wozniak returned to college and Steve Jobs was fired, his difficulties with John Sculley coming to a head. Jobs had decided, to regain control of the company away from Sculley, he scheduled a business meeting in China for Sculley and planned for a corporate take-over, when Sculley would be absent. Information about Jobs' true motives, reached Sculley before the China trip, he confronted Jobs and asked Apple's Board of Directors to vote on the issue. Everyone voted for Sculley and Jobs quit, in lieu of being fired. Jobs later rejoined Apple in 1996 and has happily worked there ever since. Sculley was eventually replaced as CEO of Apple.*


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## RC51Pilot (Mar 26, 2004)

I watched that movie the other night, and personally, I think it sucked. However, if the movie was only 5% accurate, Steve Jobs is an absolute idiot, both from the business side and from his personality side. If he really did abandon his daughter like that, I've no respect for him whatsoever.


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## RicktheChemist (Jul 18, 2001)

.


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## Klaatu (Jun 3, 2003)

I saw the movie a few months ago and was immensely entertained. 

Years ago I gave up fretting about accuracy in movies. Think about it. It's just not possible. Even if you had fought on the beaches of Normandy, watching Saving Private Ryan you know Tom Hanks wasn't there, or Industrial Light and Sound for f/x, and Hollywood cameramen, and an editor who summed up a morning-long campaign in 15 minutes. What's realistic about that? As Sam Fuller once said, the only way to make a realistic war movie is to have someone shoot at people in a theatre. But I digress...

Essentially these historical DRAMAs are meant to intrigue the viewer and hopefully provoke them to learn more about the actual history. I remember when Titanic was the big movie of the year and people were assaulting it for its liberties with historical facts, I heard from someone who ran a Titanic museum out east who was swamped by requests from people all over the world wanting to add a visit to the museum in their vacation plans. It was the best year the museum ever had... sorry, I'm digressing again.

Anyway, back to Apple and the appalling behaviour of Steve Jobs. It disgusts me too. More so because I once had friends who did the very same thing. They're not friends of mine anymore. But they all had something else in common. They were all in their 20s. I still remember that age and the thought of parenthood scared the pants back on me. But it doesn't scare me anymore and, as the movie made clear, Steve Jobs did finally embrace his daughter back into his life. 

It was this maturing process that probably was a factor (obviously not just that) of his being brought back to Apple. He wasn't a young, arrogant, egotisical volcano anymore -- he was older, still arrogant and egotistical, but a little more mellow with age.

I doubt I'd ever want him babysitting my kids, but I'm grateful for his making my computing experience a pleasure -- and for millions of others


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## Heart (Jan 16, 2001)

I have had the urge to see this movie again, but have had a hard time finding it.

Only on VHS, I believe. Did they ever put it on DVD?
I don't want to buy, just rent.


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## sniper (Mar 9, 2002)

nope, not on dvd


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## mkurtes (Aug 27, 2003)

The movie is hard to find because it was made for TV. I managed to find it at Videoflicks which is on Avenue Road, just before Lawrence Ave. Don't bother going there until Tuesday if your interested....I rented it for 7 days because I don't live near there. Price is right, less than 5 bucks for 7 days.


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## Script Kiddie (Jan 30, 2003)

RC51: Its been about 4 years since I saw the movie, but I don't think we can honestly judge Steve for leaving his daughter. We don't know how dysfunctional the situation was then, where he was at vs. where he is at now in terms of family priority etc... So innocent until proven guilty.


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## Macaholic (Jan 7, 2003)

You can special order "Pirates" at HMV Sams and Sam's downtown Toronto. I ended up ordering at "Stardust Memories" at Sherway Mall.


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