"Lost" Steve Jobs Interview To Appear in Selected US Movie Theatres

Steve Jobs, circa 1997

Yesterday's LA Times reported that an allegedly "lost" video interview with the late Steve Jobs will be shown in nineteen movie theaters across the United States. The footage, shot during Jobs' curious interregnum between his Apple management tours, came from the 1996 miniseries Triumph of the Nerds: The Rise of Accidental Empires.  The Times story and a related siliconvalley.com article provide details; each piece is worth reading for their unique spins on the film's release.

The stories share a common element -- Mark Cuban and the Landmark Theatres chain which he owns. Cuban has skin in the tech game, the media game, and the entertainment game (via the NBA Dallas Mavericks and his interest in acquiring a major league baseball franchise).

Cuban's ownership stake, if any, in the movie, was not noted in either media story.

If you want to believe the cover story related to siliconvalley.com about the "lost" film, be my guest. The article states that a VHS copy of the filmed material, left in a garage for over a decade, was the basis for the soon-to-be-released film. I'm not buying it. VHS tapes stored in uncontrolled environments for prolonged periods of time tend to deteriorate. Garages, even in Silicon Valley, have temperature control issues. The Times' version cites a different origin of the material.

What's most interesting, of course, is that Jobs is not around to threaten or initiate litigation to stop the viewing. It's safe to say that Jobs' "passion" for control -- and his fangs -- would have quickly emerged.