It wasn't an insanely tough task for Ashton Kutcher to physically resemble a young Steve Jobs in the biopic 'Jobs' (Aug. 16). Getting inside the Apple Computer co-founder's head was something else. Screenwriter Matt Whitley's script renders a Steve Jobs who is petulant, inconsiderate and manipulative but somehow beloved, a countercultural troublemaker who found a way to appeal to mainstream tastes in one market after another. Mr. Kutcher brought some insight to the role. He is a well-known promoter of modern technology (he famously beat CNN to become the first entity with a million Twitter followers). As a partner in a venture fund that invests in early-stage consumer-technology companies, he knows the mind-set of entrepreneurs. Still, he says, 'understanding Steve Jobs was almost like trying to understand a different species.' Edited from an interview:
阿什顿·库彻(Ashton Kutcher)来说，在传纪电影《乔布斯》(Jobs)（8月16日）中塑造年轻时期的史蒂文·乔布斯(Steve Jobs)，本身已是一份艰难的任务。而想要深入了解苹果电脑(Apple Computer)创办人的思想又是另一码事。编剧马特·惠特利(Matt Whitley)为我们呈现的史蒂夫·乔布斯暴躁、轻率并且控制欲极强；但不知为何，这个在传统主流社会中常常被认为是个麻烦制造者的史蒂夫，却在一个又一个领域中不断找到了迎合主流品味的方法，从而受到人们的追捧。库彻为这个角色带来了新的诠释。他本身就是一位著名的科技达人（他曾先于CNN成为第一个拥有百万推特(Twitter)粉丝的人）。而作为一个专门投资处于创业阶段的客户导向型科技公司的风投基金合伙人，他完全具备企业家的思维模式。尽管如此，他还是在采访中说道，“了解史蒂夫·乔布斯简直就像了解一个不同的物种。”
This your first time playing a real person, right?
这是你第一次扮演一个现实当中存在的人，对么？
It's funny─you always play a real person. Most of the time people don't know who you're playing. It gives you liberty to screw up. People are probably going to watch and in some ways feel there are things I didn't nail. There's a lot of different perspectives on the guy. I looked at the Steve Jobs I felt like the most people knew, which is the guy in the black turtleneck, and New Balance shoes, and round glasses and shaved head, presenting a product.
这么说很有趣──演员其实总是在扮演真实存在的人。只是大部分时候，人们并不知道演员扮演的是谁，所以还可能有机会演砸。有的人在看了这部电影之后，会觉得我在有些方面的表演还不够到位。这个角色身上有很多不同侧面。曾经我眼中的史蒂文·乔布斯和大部分人眼中的形象一样，就是那个穿着黑色圆领T恤，新百伦球鞋(New Balance)，带着圆框眼镜，在台上展示产品的光头。
You do a unique accent in the movie.
你在电影当中使用了一种独特的口音。
His [adoptive] parents, one was from Wisconsin, one was from Northern California, so it's kind of a mix. Then I looked at behaviors he repeated, whether it was gestures, the way he walked, the way he counted on his fingers starting with his pinkie. I read books that he read: 'The Autobiography of a Yogi, ' 'The Mucus-Free Diet Healing System.' I researched the entrepreneurs he looked up to, whether it was Hewlett-Packard, Edwin Land, Thomas Edison. The artists he liked─Bauhaus, Folon, Ansel Adams. Listened to the music that he listened to [Bob Dylan]. With the assumption that if I consumed what he consumed, maybe I would be able to see the world a little bit closer to the way he saw it.
史蒂夫的（养）父母，一位来自威斯康辛州，一位来自北加利福尼亚州，所以他的口音有点混合。我还注意模仿他重复性的动作，比如某些手势，走路的方式，还有总是从小拇指开始数数等等。我还看了他曾经看过的书：《一位瑜伽修士的自传》(The Autobiography of a Yogi)，《非粘液饮食疗法》(The Mucus-Free Diet Healing System)。我也去了解了他仰慕的那些企业家，包括休利特·帕卡德(Hewlett-Packard)，埃德温·兰德(Edwin Land)，托马斯·爱迪生(Thomas Edison)；他欣赏的艺术家鲍豪斯(Bauhaus)，福伦(Folon)，安塞尔·亚当斯(Ansel Adams)。我还听他喜欢的鲍勃·迪伦(Bob Dylan)的音乐。我这样做是基于一个假设：如果我像他一样生活，那么我就能更贴近他眼中的那个世界。
Did you get advice from people who knew him?
你从认识他的人当中得到了什么建议？
I spent time with Avie Tevanian, who Steve worked with at NeXT, who ultimately became one of the head software engineers at Apple. I spent time with Alan Kay, who invented the GUI [graphical user interface] and object-oriented programming, who he had respect and admiration for. Another guy named Mike Hawley who lived with him for a little while, to try to understand what he was like at home. They gave me really good insights. How did he react in this or that situation? Why did he cry? When he cried what did it sound like? What made him happy, what made him sad?
我和艾维·特凡尼安(Avie Tevanian)呆了一段时间，他曾经在史蒂夫创办的NeXT公司工作过，之后，他成为了苹果公司的首席软件工程师。我还和艾伦·凯(Alan Kay)交谈过，他发明了图形用户界面(GUI)并设计了目标导向型的程序，他也是史蒂夫尊敬并仰慕的人。另外一个叫麦克·霍利(Mike Hawley)的人和史蒂夫一起住过一段时间，我通过和他交流了解了史蒂夫在家是个什么样的人。他们都给了我非常好的灵感。在不同的情况下，他会作何反应？为什么会哭？他哭泣的声音是什么样的？什么让他开心，什么又会让他难过？
It seems like in the movie he's mostly a jerk. He screws over his friends who helped start Apple.
看上去这部电影里史蒂夫就是个混蛋，他基本上把所有当初和他一起创办苹果公司的人都毁了。
I think there's a lot that's not understood about that. The guy who's making the most noise about not receiving Apple stock left when there were very few employees and only came back after the company was already turning toward success. I don't know what Steve was thinking, but when you're running a company, and your responsibility is to the company, you have to make choices.
我觉得这当中有很多误解。其中那个吵得最凶要拿苹果股份的人，在公司最艰难、员工所剩无几的时候走掉了；当公司业绩好转的时候他才回来。我不知道史蒂夫是怎么想的，但是如果是你去经营一家公司，你必须对公司负责，必须要做适当的抉择。
Beyond this movie, you're a serious tech guy. You have your own venture fund?
电影之外，你也是一个十足的科技达人。你拥有自己的风投基金？
I have a private-equity fund. We invest in early stage companies, mostly technology, mostly consumer-focused.
我有一个私募基金。我们专门投资创业阶段的公司，大部分都是科技公司，大部分都是针对客户服务的。
What do you think of Google Glass?
你觉得谷歌眼镜(Google Glass)怎么样？
I think these wearable technologies are really interesting. It might be a couple years out to be really efficient. They struggle with battery fatigue. I also think the developer community has to catch up with the technology. It's a lot like the Macintosh when it got launched. People thought it was cool, but it took years for developers to come in with software that made it really useful.
我认为这种可佩戴式的科技产品十分有趣。但在其真正变得高效之前还需要几年时间。他们还在为电池损耗伤脑筋呢。我认为开发者团队也要能赶上硬件的步伐。就像苹果电脑刚刚发布的时候，人们都觉得它很酷，但是开发者们仍然花了几年的时间才研究出让它变得真正有用的软件。
What else are you jazzed about?
你还对什么感兴趣？
How much time do you have? There's a lot happening with social networks that are highly curated. With Facebook, we've built these social networks that include everybody you know. A company called Path has a social network for slightly more intimate relationships, just your friends and family. There's a company called Nextdoor that does a similar thing with your neighbors, which is not as intimate but serves a purpose in security and local commerce. There's another platform called Couple, which is for extremely intimate relationships.
你有多少时间听我讲？社交网络上发生的太多事情都值得一提。通过Facebook，我们建立了一个囊括所有认识的人的网络。一家叫做“路线(Path)”的公司所提供的圈子更亲密，仅包含你的朋友和家人。而“邻里(Nextdoor)”公司则应用到了类似你和邻居的社会关系，不那么亲密，却是为了社区安全以及当地小生意而设立的。另外还有一个叫做“伴侣(Couple)”的平台，则是为了建立最亲密的关系。
I think the intelligent optics space is really exciting. There's a company called SmartThings that's building a ton of sensors that you can put around your home and automate your home. Nest does something similar to that as well. There are 'one-button' service companies that are gaining in value. There's a company called StyleSeat where you can book a hair salon or stylist on demand. There's Uber where you can book a car on demand. There's Houzz, where you can look at the history of contractors and architects for a house and book an interior designer. Then there are these two-sided marketplace companies like Airbnb and Getaround that provide a community market for supply and demand in different industry services.
我认为智能光学空间也令人兴奋。一家叫做“智能家居(SmartThings)”的公司将大量感应器放置在你家中，便可以使你的家变得更加自动化。“鸟巢(Nest)”公司也在做类似的事情。还有一些公司通过“一站式服务”来提升价值。你可以在一家叫做“造型空间(StyleSeat)”的公司里预定理发师和造型师。你可以通过“尤伯(Uber)”公司来租车。在“房资(Houzz)”上你可以浏览房屋的承建商以及建筑师的资料，你还能预定室内装修师。还有一些公司同时服务双边客户，比如Airbnb和Getaround就为不同领域的供求双方提供了一个社区市场。
There's some interesting things being done in the financial space. Dwolla lubricates financial transactions by eliminating the ACH [automated clearing house]. There's Square, that does a similar thing with credit card transactions. There's innovation across the board. [Mr. Kutcher has a stake in all the startup companies mentioned above.]
金融领域也有很多有趣的事情正在进行。Dwolla通过减除自动清算所(ACH)的步骤让交易变得更顺畅。“平方(Square)”公司则让信用卡交易变得更简单。所有领域都在发生很多的革新。（库彻在刚才提及的创业公司中都有入股）
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