Suicides aren't heroic in my opinion. And I don't think anybody ever really knows why somebody commits suicide.
Alex GibneyJobs' incredible skill was as a storyteller, a salesman. He could captivate our imaginations and reel us in. He was more P.T. Barnum than Thomas Edison.
Alex GibneyLong ago I had a professor who told me, 'Embrace the contradictions.' I think that is what is most interesting about people like Jobs.
Alex GibneyIf people are portrayed as monsters, we become disconnected from them, and to me that is not remotely interesting.
Alex GibneyI don't think Steve [Jobs] started Apple as a scam. But he understood early on the power of marketing. The idea of the computer as a bicycle for the human mind - I think that was something he believed.
Alex GibneyMany people, including myself, thought of Jobs as an inventor, an Edison-like figure, but he wasn't. I did a documentary on James Brown recently; and, oddly, I found a lot in common between Jobs and Brown. Jobs was also a fantastic performer, put on an extraordinary live show at his product launches, but he could also be ruthless, cruel and totally self-aggrandizing. And just as Brown surrounded himself with the very best musicians, Jobs understood the importance of hiring the absolutely most talented people and knew how crucial they were to the success of what he was trying to do.
Alex Gibney