Former Apple exec Scott Forstall talks Broadway in rare interview

Posted:
in General Discussion edited May 2015
After years out of the public eye, former iPhone software chief Scott Forstall is back in the spotlight with a new interview that touches on life after Apple, as a Broadway producer.




Forstall was brought on as a co-producer of "Fun Home" --?which he announced on Twitter last month --?after meeting Broadway producer Carole Shorenstein Hays at a birthday party for Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, according to the Wall Street Journal. After Hays passed him the script for Fun Home, Forstall said he identified with the story and cut a check.

"It's about a real family with real love and real tragedy," he told the paper. "The family is so different than mine, but it still resonated."

In addition to providing financial support, Forstall has been heavily involved in the play's marketing. He worked on search engine optimization campaigns with ad agency SpotCo, and used his connections to involve several Silicon Valley firms, including Snapchat, Yelp, Uber, and Spotify.

The interview did diverge momentarily to ask Forstall about his departure from Apple following the Apple Maps debut fiasco, a subject on which he was politely respectful.

Forstall said he is "so proud of the thousands of people I worked with [at Apple] and with whom I remain friends. I am delighted that they continue to turn out great and beloved products."

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 18
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    He's almost certainly restricted by NDA from saying anything directly related to his departure from Apple.
  • Reply 2 of 18
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    Good I'm glad he is happy and doing something he enjoys. I still think Scott being 'fired' was more to do with Tim Cook wanting a really collaborative and integrated executive team than anything else. Scott was the odd man out personality wise and the current executive team members get along with each other and work well together.
  • Reply 3 of 18
    yuck9yuck9 Posts: 112member
    NDA, maybe. Unless they are paying him then anywhere from 90 days to 1 yr is the norm. With everything changing so fast, he prolly has no more info on projects then the avg guy.

    Apple can't expect him to quit working in tech for the rest of his life. At some point in time the NDA will expire. Being he has been gone for a few years now, I'm sure he is free from any NDA from Apple.
  • Reply 4 of 18
    rosujinrosujin Posts: 42member
    I'm sure that the majority of his personal wealth is tied directly to AAPL stock value. Whether he works for Apple or not, he certainly wants the company to remain successful and doesn't want to say anything negative.
  • Reply 5 of 18
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    yuck9 wrote: »
    NDA, maybe. Unless they are paying him then anywhere from 90 days to 1 yr is the norm. With everything changing so fast, he prolly has no more info on projects then the avg guy.

    Apple can't expect him to quit working in tech for the rest of his life. At some point in time the NDA will expire. Being he has been gone for a few years now, I'm sure he is free from any NDA from Apple.

    I'd agree and add I suspect he doesn't feel like bad mouthing Apple anyway. He is probably heavily invested and loves Apple products.
  • Reply 6 of 18
    bloggerblogbloggerblog Posts: 2,462member
    "so proud of the thousands of people I worked with [at Apple] and with whom I remain friends."

    LOL, I thought everyone hated him and were glad he left.
  • Reply 7 of 18
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    "so proud of the thousands of people I worked with [at Apple] and with whom I remain friends."

    LOL, I thought everyone hated him and were glad he left.

    I doubt he was universally hated by everyone at Apple. I'm sure he still has friends who work there. But mostly I think it was a diplomatic statement as anything else would overshadow what he wants to talk about, his Broadway show.
  • Reply 8 of 18
    He certainly has a good attitude about it. NDA or not, good responses. He probably has plenty going on in his life right now and has moved on to other good things.
  • Reply 9 of 18
    quadra 610quadra 610 Posts: 6,757member
    Scott would do better being the boss than working for one. That's (likely) part of what his problem was at Apple.
  • Reply 10 of 18
    matrix07matrix07 Posts: 1,993member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Quadra 610 View Post



    Scott would do better being the boss than working for one. That's (likely) part of what his problem was at Apple.



    The perfect place for him now is Tesla. Too bad it use some kind of Android software?

  • Reply 11 of 18
    jd_in_sbjd_in_sb Posts: 1,600member
    What!s next - a job at Victoria's Secret? His career is on an unpredictable course.
  • Reply 12 of 18
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jd_in_sb View Post



    What!s next - a job at Victoria's Secret? His career is on an unpredictable course.



    I'd argue that he can do whatever it is he wants to after the years at Apple. It's not like he's hurting for money

  • Reply 13 of 18
    desuserigndesuserign Posts: 1,316member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post

    In addition to providing financial support, Forstall has been heavily involved in the play's marketing. He worked on search engine optimization campaigns with ad agency SpotCo, and used his connections to involve several Silicon Valley firms, including Snapchat, Yelp, Uber, and Spotify.

     

    Where's Dr. Millmoss?

    He should be here to post about how wrong Scott is about what co-producing entails and that all he should be doing as co-producer is writing checks and keeping his mouth shut.   ;-)

  • Reply 14 of 18
    mubailimubaili Posts: 453member
    He certainly has a good attitude about it. NDA or not, good responses. He probably has plenty going on in his life right now and has moved on to other good things.
    I respect his loyalty to SJ and Apple. Whatever sin he committed while he was at Apple shall be cast away forever and beyond.
  • Reply 15 of 18
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    yuck9 wrote: »
    NDA, maybe. Unless they are paying him then anywhere from 90 days to 1 yr is the norm. With everything changing so fast, he prolly has no more info on projects then the avg guy.

    Apple can't expect him to quit working in tech for the rest of his life. At some point in time the NDA will expire. Being he has been gone for a few years now, I'm sure he is free from any NDA from Apple.

    An NDA could potentially last a lifetime. On the other hand, there is no way to enforce a 'non-compete' in California.
  • Reply 16 of 18
    singularitysingularity Posts: 1,328member
    I do
    An NDA could potentially last a lifetime. On the other hand, there is no way to enforce a 'non-compete' in California.
    I don't know about the USA but there is no way anyone in my company would go near a NDA unless it had an expiry date and our legal/commercial guys would have a fit if someone suggested it.
  • Reply 17 of 18
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    I do
    I don't know about the USA but there is no way anyone in my company would go near a NDA unless it had an expiry date and our legal/commercial guys would have a fit if someone suggested it.

    Would you sign a lifetime NDA for $60 million? $30 million? $5 million? I think most people would be eager to sign such an agreement.
  • Reply 18 of 18
    singularitysingularity Posts: 1,328member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post





    Would you sign a lifetime NDA for $60 million? $30 million? $5 million? I think most people would be eager to sign such an agreement.

    I would in a shot but I'm not in the position where money isnt a problem. I think Scot is showing a bit of class, his leaving Apple may have been a bit acrimonious but he's not badmouthing them when he can and I'm sure he knows if there are any skeletons in the closet.

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