Without a distributor and under the direction of Joshua Michael Stern (Swing Vote), the Steve Jobs biopic known as Jobs with Ashton Kutcher in the title role is just getting underway as TMZ posted the photo of Kutcher on set compared to the real deal that you see to the right. Shortly after the pics surfaced a press release hit the wire announcing Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network) was writing a screenplay for Columbia Pictures based on the best-selling biography of the legendary Apple co-founder by award-winning journalist Walter Isaacson. Shot fired?
Why would Sony hire Sorkin to write a screenplay if they didn’t have the utmost confidence the Kutcher-led biopic wasn’t worth considering as competition?
Sony Pictures co-chairman Amy Pascal was quoted in the release saying, “Steve Jobs’ story is unique: he was one of the most revolutionary and influential men not just of our time but of all time. There is no writer working in Hollywood today who is more capable of capturing such an extraordinary life for the screen than Aaron Sorkin; in his hands, we’re confident that the film will be everything that Jobs himself was: captivating, entertaining, and polarizing.”
To read that quote there is a blatant disregard for Matt Whiteley‘s Jobs screenplay and not an ounce of concern Jobs poses any kind of credible competition. Hard to argue considering Sorkin’s track record and being a fan of his work in the first place.
There is no word on when Jobs will be released or when Sony will take Sorkin’s script out to directors and begin casting, but by the end of the year I suspect the future of both films will be close to decided.
