JOBS producer Mark Hulme insisted that the film's early scenes be shot in the actual location in which they occurred—the garage of Jobs' adoptive parents.
Much of JOBS was shot in the San Fernando Valley on the north side of the Hollywood hills—a suburban area that closely resembles the Silicon Valley city of Cupertino that is Apple's home base.
But JOBS producer Mark Hulme insisted that the film's early scenes be shot in the actual location in which they occurred—the garage of Jobs' adoptive parents.
Screenwriter Matt Whiteley agreed. “Historical accuracy was such an important part of telling this story for us, but to be granted this incredible opportunity to film on location where Steve and Woz soldered boards and made cold calls?
"That's a once-in-a-lifetime experience not just for us, but for audiences watching this story unfold.
Director Joshua Michael Stern says any initial skepticism for the idea quickly dissolved when he first set foot in the garage on a scouting visit.
“It was haunting being there, mostly because it's like going to any great person's house,” the director recalls, citing as an example Monticello—the primary plantation of Thomas Jefferson.
“I think it was a great way to start this film. I also think it brought everyone very close together, and I think it was inspired to have us go there.
Daniel Haas, who plays Daniel Kottke in the movie, agrees. “It was amazing to be in the actual garage where they created the whole thing,” he says.
“I've never done that before—filmed in the actual place where something momentous happened. It was pretty cool, but it was also odd.
"It was hard to make the connection in your head that that was where it happened, because it just looked like any garage in a suburb in the middle of nowhere. It was just a little garage. There's nothing special about it, but something really special happened there.
Special indeed. Whiteley notes that Apple is widely considered the greatest company on the planet—more valuable even than the likes of Exxon Mobil, Wal-Mart and Microsoft.
“We traditionally think of these companies as the largest in the world in terms of market value, but Apple's actually larger and yet is so much more than that,” he says.
“It's a company that has inspired people with products we use every day, and we rarely think of the extent that it has molded and shaped our daily lives, created new industries and jobs all over the globe.
"And don't be mistaken; it all originated from the mind of one man, and grew out from there.
It has been said that to be great is to be misunderstood. Jobs was both, and had the rare distinction of being recognized for his vision during his lifetime.
“Everything that Steve Jobs ever did, he had a reason for,” Ashton Kutcher, the lead in the movie, says.
“Some people didn't agree with his reasons, but I think that people are going to celebrate him for a very, very, very long time.