4بخش

Were you being nice?

Oh, yeah.

Andy’s next.

Hertzfeld or Cunningham?

Hertzfeld.

He’s playing with Avie Tevanian on the computer backstage.

Ladies and gentlemen, the house is now open.

.playing in front of thousands of people.

Steve!

Can he do it later, Joel? We go in eight minutes.

Can I just get a quick reaction to the press this morning?

What about it? The size of it, the volume.

I’ll tell you on background.

I was hoping for a quote from Steve.

I’ll tell you on background

that I’ve never seen anything like it in the tech industry.

I called The Wall Street Journal to take out a full-page ad for today, and do you know what their sales guy said?

“Why bother? It’d be like notifying Macy’s that tomorrow is Christmas.”

You saw the Stewart Alsop newsletter?

I did.

I’m sorry, Joanna, I need to get Steve on the record.

The headline was, “Dear NeXT, when can I get my machine?”

When can he?

We’ll announce the ship date in the next eight to 10 weeks.

Alsop’s not talking about the ship date.

He wants to know when he can get one to play with.

We have a lot of respect for Stewart Alsop, and we want to get a machine into his hands so he can tell his subscribers about it.

• When will that be? - Very soon.

A couple of days? A week? Off the record.

• Off the record? - Completely.

We think.

He’ll get it when it’s finished.

It’s not finished?

It’s almost finished.

I’ve been watching you rehearse the demo for three weeks.

Yeah.

• What’s left? - A little thing.

• What? - I think that’s.

We’re off the record, and Joel’s always been good at understanding nuance.

What’s left to finish?

I guess, in layman’s terms, you’d have to say we don’t have an OS.

• An operating system? - Yeah.

What do you mean?

Well, the OS is what runs the computer.

In fact, it sort of is the computer.

How has it been running? How’s it gonna run this morning?

What do you mean, you don’t have an OS?

It’s like this.

Avie Tevanian is our Chief Software Designer, and he wrote a demo program.

It’s like we built a great car, but we haven’t built the engine.

So we put a golf-cart battery in there to make it go for a little bit.

All this computer knows how to do right now is demonstrate itself.

You’re telling me the only thing you’ve built is a black cube?

Yes. Yeah.

But isn’t it the coolest black cube you’ve ever seen?

• Is this. - We’re off the record.

Is this a strategy or a problem, because if it’s a problem.

Do not share proprietary knowledge with that man.

It’s not a problem.

I wouldn’t understand it anyway.

I don’t understand it either, and my name’s on the patents.

It’s got email.

Well, email’s not just for tech specialists anymore.

Well, it is, but it won’t be.

And I assume an email sent on a NeXT computer can only be received by a NeXT computer?

Closed, end-to-end.

The new trash can is wrong.

I wanna tell you I appreciate all the hours you put into it,

but I can’t because of how terrible it is.

Go back to the other one.

And why are we still giving three options on the clock?

How many options do you wanna give?

Two. “Buy it” or “Don’t.”

Can I talk to you for a second? Abso-fruitly.

Uh, look, man,

Avie’s been recompiling, but he says there may be some glitches this morning.

If all there are, are some glitches, it’ll be a triumph of miraculous magnitude.

Why are you translating for Avie?

I didn’t want him to find out the hard way your position on glitches in a demo, but it sounds like you’ve mellowed.

I’ve been growing, Andy. I’ve been learning to love myself.

Mmm, I wouldn’t have ever dreamed that was a problem.

Fantastic burn. You need to go to your seat.

How about Lisa, getting into a school for gifted kids?

Yeah, she was tested, and it turns out she can fly.

But, seriously, it’s a big deal.

I know it’s a big deal. That’s why I built the school a building.

Well, I’m sure that’s not why she got in.

Really?

Can I show you something funny from Macworld?

I can’t think of anything I have to do right now.

It’ll make you feel good.

Joanna! Look at this!

Oh, Andy, he’s only got a couple of minutes.

It’s Guy Kawasaki writing in Macworld. You’re gonna like this.

Well, can we all enjoy it later?

He wrote a parody press release about Apple buying NeXT for your OS.

He imagines a near future, where Apple needs your OS and has to buy NeXT, and you come back as CEO.

He has Gates saying, There would now be more innovations from Jobs that Microsoft could copy.”

You can read it later.

Thanks.

She would’ve gotten in without you donating a building.

Still, it’s something to talk about in the interview.

All right. Good luck.

Thanks.

Give that to me I’ll throw it out for you.

I’m gonna hang on to it.

What?

What?

You ready for Sculley?

Excuse me! Lisa!

You can’t shout!

Lisa?

You have to go.

It’s dangerous up here. That’s why I make other people do it.

Who are you hiding from, me or your mom?

I’m not hiding.

Let’s go.

What were you listening to?

I’m listening to two versions of the same song.

And then, when I get to the end, I rewind to listen to them again.

It’s the same song, but the versions are different.

• What’s the song? - Okay.

So, it’s a really old song, and it’s called Both Sides, Now.

“Both Sides, Now”?

Yeah.

What’s it about?

It’s about. There are three verses Clouds, love, and life.

And the person singing is singing that they used to think of That they used to think about Clouds, love, and life?

Right. One way, yeah, but now they look at them another way, and they.

They’ve come to the conclusion that they really don’t know clouds, love, or life at all.

Those are the exact words.

Yeah, Joni Mitchell,

‘cause it’s not a really old song, unless I’m a really old guy.

You have to go to school now.

Do you want me to tell you the differences between the two versions?

Right now.

The first version is the kind of thing that you would call girlish.

I didn’t mean I want to know the difference right now.

I meant you have to go to school right now.

I can stay and watch.

You are truant. You’re committing a crime.

I’m not gonna miss anything important.

How do you know?

I read ahead.

The Pilgrims make it to the New World.

Then, the Declaration of Independence.

Yeah, you skipped a couple of centuries.

Steve?

Chrisann’s out there.

Let’s go!

Can I make my case for staying?

Nope.

She was with me.

Come on. Your dad doesn’t want us to stay.

That’s not true. That’s not.

You have to be in school, is all.

I’m committing a crime right now, and I don’t wanna get in trouble.

You’re not in trouble. I was kidding.

Okay.

Hey. What was the second version?

You said the first version was girlish, what was the second version?

I can’t really think of the word.

Okay. Well, have a good day at school.

“Regretful.”

What?

Like, wishing you could go back and do things different.

You’re too young to be regretful.

Not me.

The person singing the song.

Got it. “Regretful.” That makes sense because.

I wanna live with you.

Six minutes.

• You want to see Sculley? - No.

You know all those times I told you, you needed security?

Here’s why.

I don’t know how it is I’ve gotten older and you haven’t.

Some deal with the devil I was never offered.

So, you know what I’ve been thinking for the last four years?

As it turns out, John, I’ve never known what you were thinking.

No newborn baby has control.

Do you know what I’m talking about?

In ‘84, before the Mac launch. You said.

Yeah.

You said that being adopted meant you didn’t have control.

We’re starting in a minute, so.

Why do people think I fired you?

It’s fine, John It’s all behind us.

Is it?

Hmm?

Don’t play stupid. You can’t pull it off.

You came here to ask me why people think you fired me?

Why do people think I fired you?

Just confirm something for me, okay?

You liked the ad.

Right? The commercial, 1984. You liked it.

When are you gonna get furniture?

It’s not an easy process.

It is. You buy a couch, take it from there.

I’d be really surprised if you came here to talk about interior decorating.

I liked the ad very much.

• You did? - You know I did.

You’re a lying son of a bitch who tried to kill it.

It’s time to take a hard look at the Mac.

It’s past time.

It’s overpriced.

We need to drop it to $1,995. We need to double the marketing budget, put more bodies on an internal hard drive and invest in FileServer.

Where the hell did you get the idea that I tried to kill.

• Lee Clow. - Lee’s wrong.

• He’s lying? - He’s mistaken.

Where would the money come from?

It would come from finally getting rid of the Apple II.

The Apple II is the only thing making money.

You agreed with the board.

I understood the board’s concerns, but I.

The board’s concerns that we didn’t show the product?

Among other things, but my question was.

What other things? Honestly, I’m just asking ‘cause I’m curious.

You said “among other things.”

Among other things It was set in a dystopian galaxy.

It took place on a planet where we don’t live.

It was dark, and the opposite of our brand.

And we didn’t show the product.

People talked about the ad, but most of them didn’t know what we were selling.

The Mac needs to sell for $1,995.

There is no market research telling us that the Mac is failing because it’s overpriced.

It’s telling us that people don’t like it

because they think it doesn’t do anything.

It’s closed, end-to-end.

We didn’t know it wasn’t what people wanted, but it isn’t.

They want slots, they want choices, they want options.

The way we buy stereos, mix and match components.

John, listen to me.

Whoever said the customer is always right was, I promise you, a customer.

It had skinheads in it.

She was liberating them. Liberating the skinheads.

The ad didn’t have anything to do with fucking skinheads!

We used them as fucking extras.

Nobody even knows they were skinheads!

I’m just saying, the board had concerns.

You invented lifestyle advertising.

And “our brand” was my brand.

My job is to make a recommendation to the board.

We showed a lot of happy people drinking Pepsi.

We didn’t say the world was going to end if you bought a Dr. Pepper! Recommend that we drop the price and double the marketing budget.

I can’t.

And we showed the product!

We showed it being opened, we showed it being poured, being consumed!

What are you gonna do? Recommend that we kill the Mac?

I already have, Steve.

What?

When?

You think the secret to your success was not assuming people knew what to do with a can of soda?

I didn’t kill the ad, Steve!

I’m the only reason it made it on the air!

Just now.

An hour ago, I’m coming from Markkula’s house.

What did he say?

What did he say? Invent something new.

I’ll give you a team, you can sit in Maui.

The resorts come with couches.

Wait a minute. Are you saying you recommended terminating the Mac?

Or you recommended taking me off the Mac team?

We bought three spots in the Super Bowl.

Two 30s and a 60.

And after we screened it, the board wanted that money back, and they asked me to sell off the spots.

Chiat/Day sold off the two 30s, but not the 60, and I let it be known to Lee Clow that if he didn’t try very hard to sell the last spot, I wouldn’t be unhappy.

If we drop the price and double the budget.

You can’t drop the price or double the budget!

I mean, the only way to do that is to take money out of the Apple II.

The Apple II should embarrass you. It embarrasses me.

It doesn’t embarrass the shareholders.

I don’t give a shit about the shareholders!

That’s why I hired you, so I don’t ever have to hear about shareholders!

The shareholders are my problem, and the board represents the shareholders!

That’s how it works!

You sure it wasn’t Lee Clow who dragged his feet selling the 60?

At my direction, Steve.

You think he would have done that on his own, taken it on himself?

Yeah. I think he would’ve done what it took to save it from you.

I was the only thing protecting it!

You didn’t want the ad because you were trying to kill the Mac two months before it launched!

You are fucking delusional!

• Can I mention something to you? - Sure.

I have no earthly idea why you’re here.

The story of why and how you left Apple, which is quickly becoming mythologized, isn’t true.

I’m gonna take this to the board myself.

• Don’t do that. - I am doing that.

You can’t.

Why?

They believe you’re no longer necessary to this company.

I get hate mail.

Death threats.

I get death threats!

My kids are getting taunted.

Why do people think I fired you?

Joanna’s gonna call my name in a second.

• Steve? - That was unrehearsed.

Yeah, I’ll be there in just a second!

I gave you your day in court.

You “gave” me? I gave the board a clear choice.

I said, “Do you want to invest in the Apple II or the Mac?”

And they chose the Apple II.

The same people who wanted to dump the Super Bowl spot.

And then I got on a plane to China.

Mr. Sculley, there’s a call for you on Line 1.

Or I almost got on a plane, because I got a call in the lounge.

Who made that call? Doesn’t matter.

It matters to me. Who made the call?

John Sculley.

John, if you get on that plane, you’ll have lost your job by the time it lands.

Steve’s been calling the board. He wants you out.

I left my bags on the plane.

My shit’s still somewhere in Beijing.

I took a car back to Cupertino in the middle of the fucking night.

I know what time it is.

I need a quorum here in one hour, and I want Steve here, too.

You took me off the Mac, and it was bad business.

The quorum call was a homicide.

Right there! That’s the part that’s bullshit, my friend.

It was a suicide, because you knew your cards, and I showed you mine.

I showed you mine, and you did it anyway.

What did you think I was going to do?

I’m okay losing, but I’m not gonna forfeit.

I’m not okay losing.

We’re losing market share, and the Mac is losing money.

Our only hope is the Apple II, which is stagnating because of its soon-to-be obsolete DOS.

Users are already rigging their machines to run with a CP/M operating system that’s been built to run on Intel.

I can’t put it more simply than this.

We need to put our resources into updating the Apple II.

By taking resources from the Mac.

• It’s failing That’s a fact.

It’s overpriced. There’s no evidence that it’s.

I’m the evidence!

I’m the world’s leading expert on the Mac, John.

What’s your resume?

You’re issuing contradictory instructions, you’re insubordinate, you make people miserable, our top engineers are fleeing to Sun, Dell, HP.

Wall Street doesn’t know who’s driving the bus.

We’ve lost hundreds of millions in value, and I’m the CEO of Apple, Steve.

That’s my resume.

But before that, you sold carbonated sugar water, right?

I sat in a fucking garage with Wozniak and invented the future.

Because artists lead and hacks ask for a show of hands!

All right. Well, this guy’s out of control.

I’m perfectly willing to hand in my resignation tonight, but if you want me to stay, you can’t have Steve.

Settle him out.

He can keep a share of stock, so he gets our newsletter.

He’ll have to sever his connection to Apple.

I’m dead serious. I want the secretary to call for a vote.

I fucking dare you.

You have done an outstanding job over the years of cultivating the press, and by that I mean manipulating them

because none of them, none of their editors, none of their editors’ publishers, to this day, know that you forced it.

That you forced the board.

Even after I told you exactly what they’d do,

which is exactly what they did.

Unanimously.

I don’t have any trouble remembering that, John,

because of it being the worst night of my life.

And I forced the vote because I believed I was right.

I still believe I’m right. And I’m right.

Now, I bled that night.

And I don’t bleed.

But time’s done its thing.

And I really haven’t thought about it in a while.

I absolutely understand why you’re upset.

And I want people to know the truth, too.

It’s time.

Got it.

You’re gonna end me, aren’t you?

You’re being ridiculous.

I’m gonna sit center court and watch you do it yourself.

Then I’m gonna order a nice meal with a ‘55 Margaux, and sign some autographs. Jesus Christ.

You want some advice, Pepsi Generation?

Don’t send Woz out to slap me around in the press.

Anybody else.You, Markkula, Arthur Rock.

Anyone but Rain Man.

Don’t manipulate him like that.

Whatever you may think, I’m always gonna protect him.

Come on, Steve.

That’s what men do.

We can’t start late.