Sony Pictures acquiring movie rights for new Steve Jobs biography

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Sony Pictures is reportedly inking a $1 to 3 million deal with Steve Jobs biographer Walter Isaacson to produce a new film profiling the Apple co-founders' life.



According to a report by Deadline, the project aims to produce a film via MG360, a production partnership between producer Mark Gordon and Management 360.



Just days ago, the same blog noted that "the hottest biopic in Hollywood right now has to be based on former Time magazine top editor Walter Isaacson?s authorized biography of Steve Jobs being published by Simon & Schuster on November 21st."



Sony's Columbia Pictures has recently produced The Social Network, profiling Mark Zuckerberg's creation of Facebook, and Moneyball, a business-oriented story of the Oakland A's baseball team.



Jobs' new Isaacson biography was originally planned for release next year, but was rescheduled to appear at an earlier date twice, the second time following the announcement that Jobs had succumbed to his health problems.







Jobs was previously profiled in the 1999 made for TV movie, "The Pirates Of Silicon Valley," where he was played by actor Noah Wyle. That summer, Jobs invited Wyle to briefly portray him on stage in a spoof appearance at the beginning of his scheduled keynote at Macworld Expo, before joining the actor on stage to the applause of the audience.



Jobs was also portrayed in the 1996 PBS documentary "Triumph of the Nerds," and its 1998 sequel "Nerds 2.0.1," documenting the development of the Internet. Jobs was also featured in the third episode of the 1992 BBC TV series "The Machine that Changed the World."
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 55
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    No. Period.



    The only other movie I EVER want to see that features Steve Jobs is Pirates Of Silicon Valley 2, involving the scandal between Steve Jobs and Eric Schmidt as Google steals Android in the days before and year following the release of the first iPhone.



    Basically, it's exactly the same as the first movie but with different actors (save for Steve; still Noah Wyle) and different locations.



    Schmidt's at Burning Man, gets a call from Steve: YOU'RE STEALING FROM US?!



    Classic.
  • Reply 2 of 55
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    I would have thought Jobs would have already sold the rights to a Disney owned studio but maybe that's naive thinking on my part.
  • Reply 3 of 55
    duoduo Posts: 26member
    Don't really know how I feel about this, but at the same time I'm surprised this hasn't gone to a Disney studio as pointed out above.
  • Reply 4 of 55
    Too soon, but then again, this is Hollywood.
  • Reply 5 of 55
    esummersesummers Posts: 953member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    I would have thought Jobs would have already sold the rights to a Disney owned studio but maybe that's naive thinking on my part.



    I don't think the biography is owned by Jobs (or his estate). I was wondering how long it would be until this happened. Pretty quick. I'm sure it will do very well.



    Disney doesn't do biographies and ABC Studios just does TV stuff, so I don't think it makes sense for them to sign up for the rights. I'm sure this will have a budget similar to the Facebook movie. I wouldn't be surprised to see some sort of tribute in a future Pixar film, but they don't do biographies either.
  • Reply 6 of 55
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post


    Too soon, but then again, this is Hollywood.



    Yes, so the movie should arrive in 2-5 years. Will that be too soon?
  • Reply 7 of 55
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    I'm open to the movie. It all depends on who's going to be doing it and if it'll be done right.



    I would like to see 100% accuracy and not made up scenarios. And since they're basing it on the official biography and not on making shit up like other movies, then hopefully it has a chance at becoming a pretty good movie.



    The geek in me would like to see some accurate behind the scenes portrayals of what went on at Apple, like when they were first designing the iPhone or iPad before they got released. I want the whole damn story from beginning to end, told accurately! Make the movie 2.5 hours, I don't mind.



    This is not like making a movie about Benjamin Franklin, where everybody died hundreds of years ago. I need 100% accuracy. If Steve Jobs in the movie is sitting at his desk at Apple, then that desk, the room, every last detail must be 100% authentic and exactly the way it was in real life. Zero liberties should be taken with the movie.



    And Hollywood, don't make this into a 'social network' type of movie, because I though that was pretty much garbage, boring and unrealistic and Steve Jobs deserves way better than that.
  • Reply 8 of 55
    This is a great opportunity for Apple, Disney, and Pixar to step in and say to Sony "You know, that's an excellent idea. But since we actually knew the man, we're going to do it."



    The thought of Pixar's next film telling the life of Steve Jobs is already making my eyes well.
  • Reply 9 of 55
    ochymingochyming Posts: 474member
    :Those Unholy@wood MF*** are thirsty for easy money already?

    :Shameful!
  • Reply 10 of 55
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    They should just wrap the Steve Jobs story and Ender's Game into the same film.
  • Reply 11 of 55
    ochymingochyming Posts: 474member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mbarriault View Post


    This is a great opportunity for Apple, Disney, and Pixar to step in and say to Sony "You know, that's an excellent idea. But since we actually knew the man, we're going to do it."



    The thought of Pixar's next film telling the life of Steve Jobs is already making my eyes well.







    Make it 10 or more years from today.

    His family begged for some privacy. And jobs deserves some respect.

  • Reply 12 of 55
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ochyming View Post


    Make it 10 or more years from today.

    His family begged for some privacy. And jobs deserves some respect.





    Oh, don't give me wrong I by no means mean soon. I just can't see anyone but Pixar telling his story.
  • Reply 13 of 55
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ochyming View Post


    His family begged for some privacy. And jobs deserves some respect.





    Welcome to show business.
  • Reply 14 of 55
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ochyming View Post


    Make it 10 or more years from today.

    His family begged for some privacy. And jobs deserves some respect.





    I disagree. Begin work on it now, starting today!



    Steve Jobs knew that this was going to happen. He was behind the book afterall.
  • Reply 15 of 55
    monstrositymonstrosity Posts: 2,234member
    I have mixed feelings about this. But anything has got to be better than 'Pirates of Silicon Valley' which was a terrible and factually innacurate pile of shite.

    I'm hoping this film rectifies the previous nonsense.
  • Reply 16 of 55
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by monstrosity View Post


    I have mixed feelings about this. But anything has got to be better than 'Pirates of Silicon Valley' which was a terrible and factually innacurate pile of shite.

    I'm hoping this film the previous nonsense.rectifies



    I found POSV entertaining, I've seen it a few times, but you're right, it was probably not very accurate and not very realistic.



    Even Steve Jobs must have found POSV funny because Steve Jobs opened a Macworld keynote with the main character from the movie once.
  • Reply 17 of 55
    markbyrnmarkbyrn Posts: 661member
    No doubt that the life of Steve Jobs warrants a movie, esp. a serious documentary or two. As for a Hollywood biopic, I would guess the qualitative results would be somewhere between god awful and mediocre.
  • Reply 18 of 55
    Pixar needs to do something, no question.



    And they need to do it, not as titled Steve Jobs tribute or biography, but as something different. Where you walk out of the theater & the real story hits you.
  • Reply 19 of 55
    I think the movies: Ray, Walk the Line, The Social Network

    are good examples of what the Steve Jobs movie should be like



    The social network was good because aaron sorkin wrote it, not because sony made it. Maybe Sorkin can do Steve's movie.



    I dont know who owns the right to Steve's bio, but since it's authorized i hope Steve's estate has influence on the movie rights. I really hope that the movie includes all the scenes from Pirates of Silcon Valley. I REALLY REALLY HOPE THE MOVIE IS MORE THAN 3HRS SO THAT THE STORY IS TOLD WELL, again sorkin would work really well, since he has also proven his abilities with the batman series.
  • Reply 20 of 55
    With regard to the BBC series mentioned in the AI article, it was called "The Dream Machine" (also the title of the book acompanying the series, "The Machine that Changed the World" was the US release title for the series only, different to the rest of the world), this series was a (VERY) good factual documentary programme about the evolution of the computer. It wasn't even a dramatisation, but a factual documentary, so I really can see no reason for listing or mentioning it in the same breath.

    [While 'The Dream Machine' itself is highly worthy of note (it's rare, but try to watch it if you have not seen it), mentioning it is not really relevant to Jobs himself.]
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