Early this month Tim Cook sat down with Stephen Colbert for an interview and called movies made about Steve Jobs "opportunistic." Yesterday, during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, screenwriter Aaron Sorkin issued a scathing response to Cook, saying "if you've got a factory full of children in China assembling phones for 17 cents an hour you've got a lot of nerve calling someone else opportunistic."


Today, during an interview with E! News, Sorkin walked back his comments, saying that both he and Cook went a little too far.

"You know what, I think that Tim Cook and I probably both went a little too far. And I apologize to Tim Cook. I hope when he sees the movie, he enjoys it as much as I enjoy his products."

Sorkin's Steve Jobs film, which stars Michael Fassbender as Jobs and Seth Rogen as Steve Wozniak will be released in New York and Los Angeles on October 9. The film will expand to more theaters on October 16 and open nationwide on October 23. Early reviews of Steve Jobs have called it "thrilling", with Oscar buzz surrounding the film.

The film is based on Walter Isaacson's best-selling biography, which Cook has said does a "tremendous disservice" to the Steve Jobs that he knew. The movie follows Jobs during three product launches, providing a behind-the-scenes look at how Jobs interacted with friends, colleagues and family.

Top Rated Comments

farewelwilliams Avatar
124 months ago
Tim Cook probably delayed his 6S order.
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chirpie Avatar
124 months ago
Maybe I'm too optimistic, but I always take a moment to tell anyone thank you when they walk back themselves in an argument or disagreement. I wish I saw it happen more often rather than watch people get entrenched once they've voiced an initial opinion.
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nagromme Avatar
124 months ago
Maybe I'm too optimistic, but I always take a moment to tell anyone thank you when they walk back themselves in an argument or disagreement. I wish I saw it happen more often rather than watch people get entrenched once they've voiced an initial opinion.
Very true. Although what he did was walk back Tim's comment as well as his own, as if they were equivalent. But one comment was a very casual (and reasonable) opinion, about multiple for-profit movies, from someone whose friend died a couple years ago. The other was a quite blatant lie about a matter of factual record, and a very direct and UNreasonable attack against a man (and company) who has in fact done far more than the competition to keep children out of the workforce and get China to treat workers more fairly--while openly and publicly documenting the problems and the progress. And the apology failed to correct that lie, further cementing the damage when many believe it.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jdillings Avatar
124 months ago
Damn, he walked that back quick. I guess he was afraid the Apple faithful wouldn't turn out for the movie as a result of what he said.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
keysofanxiety Avatar
124 months ago
Just waiting for Taylor Swift to chime in on this.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KALLT Avatar
124 months ago
That’s not an apology, that’s an attempt at damage control and a spin to make him look better. He’s still saying that “both went a little too far”, i.e. downplaying the fault in his actions while still discrediting Cook. It makes the apology worthless, but he will be remembered as the one who openly apologised.

Cook was entitled to his opinion and I wholeheartedly agree with him. It would piss me off as well.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Render Front Page Tech

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. iPhone 17 Pro's alleged design via Front Page Tech Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone...
iCloud General Feature Redux

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Receive a New Perk

Thursday March 20, 2025 12:01 am PDT by
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, Apple has a new perk for you, at no additional cost. The new perk is the ability to create invitations in the Apple Invites app for the iPhone, which launched in the App Store last month. In the Apple Invites app, iCloud+ subscribers can create invitations for any occasion, such as birthday parties, graduations, baby showers, and more. Anyone ...
iOS 18

Top 5 New Features Coming in iOS 18.4

Friday March 21, 2025 3:26 pm PDT by
We're not getting new Siri Apple Intelligence features in iOS 18.4 as expected, but the upcoming update does have quite a few new additions that will be worth upgrading for. We've rounded up the five best features to look forward to, and if you're not running the beta, you can expect to get access to these in early April. Priority Notifications If you have an iPhone or iPad that supports...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock

iOS 19 Coming in June With These New Features

Thursday March 20, 2025 2:04 pm PDT by
While the first iOS 19 beta is still more than two months away, there are already plenty of rumors about the upcoming software update. Below, we recap the key iOS 19 rumors so far. visionOS-Like Design In January, the YouTube channel Front Page Tech revealed a redesigned Camera app that is allegedly planned for iOS 19. According to Front Page Tech host Jon Prosser, the Camera app...
Generic iOS 18

Apple Seeds iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 Release Candidate With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music and More

Monday March 24, 2025 10:07 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after Apple released the fourth betas. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software Update. With iOS 18.4, Apple is adding the Priority Notifications...
airpods max 2024 colors

Don't Buy Into Apple's Hype About AirPods Max Gaining Lossless Audio

Monday March 24, 2025 4:24 pm PDT by
Apple today announced that AirPods Max with a USB-C port will be gaining support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio with a firmware update next month, alongside the release of iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS 15.4. For context, audio files are typically compressed to keep file sizes smaller. There are lossy compression standards like MP3, and Apple's own Advanced Audio Codec...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Iridescent Search

Foldable iPhone Expected to Launch Next Year, Costing Around $2,000

Monday March 24, 2025 3:43 am PDT by
Apple will launch its long-rumored foldable iPhone next year with a ~$2,000 premium price tag attached, expects well-connected Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman. Gurman's comments on Apple's launch plans for its first foldable device appeared in the Q&A section of his latest Power On newsletter. Earlier this month, the reporter said Apple's foldable iPhone could be arriving "as early as 2026,"...
iOS 19 Rounded UI Elements Light

iOS 19: What to Expect From Apple's Dramatic Design Overhaul?

Monday March 24, 2025 9:47 am PDT by
Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that Apple is planning "one of the most dramatic software overhauls in the company's history" – an update that aims to bring iOS, iPadOS, and macOS into closer visual alignment. The redesign is said to be "loosely based" on visionOS, the software behind Apple's Vision Pro headset, and will reportedly update the look of icons, menus, apps, windows, and...