Sony wants 'Social Network' scribe to pen Steve Jobs movie

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Aaron Sorkin, the screenwriter who won an Academy Award for his work on the film The Social Network, is reportedly being pursued to script a movie on the life of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.



Citing an anonymous person who was briefed on the film in the works at Sony, the Los Angeles Times said that Sorkin is the top choice for the studio. Sorkin is said to be "considering the prospect," but has not committed to the picture, while a representative declined to comment.



Sorkin already tackled Silicon Valley in The Social Network, which was an adapted screenplay based on the story of Mark Zuckerberg and his founding of Facebook. For his work on Network, Sorkin won the Academy Award for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay).



Other films by Sorkin include Charlie Wilson's War, The American President, and the recently released Moneyball starring Brad Pitt, while his work in TV includes The West Wing and Sports Night.



The report noted that Sorkin knew Jobs personally, as Jobs unsuccessfully attempted to convince him to write a Pixar film. But the fact that Jobs only passed earlier this month was said to potentially "create a challenge for any writer."







Only a few days after Jobs had passed, news broke that Sony Pictures was working to acquire the rights to Walter Isaacson's new authorized biography of Jobs, released on Monday. Entitled "Steve Jobs," the book offers a detailed look at the man who helped create the Mac, iPod, iPhone and iPad.



Isaacson's book is already a hit, as online retailer Amazon said Monday that the title is on pace to become its best selling book of 2011, even after just one day of availability. The book is available in hardcover, as well as digitally on Apple's iBooks for iOS devices, and Amazon Kindle.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 83
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Aaron Sorkin, the screenwriter who won an Academy Award for his work on the film The Social Network, is reportedly being pursued to script a movie on the life of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. ....



    This is way too fast. The only way this movie is going to be any good at all is if they wait ten years before they make it.



    Anything else will be a TV movie of the week kind of thing with about as much depth as the story of Octomom, or a "making of" movie of a Britney Spears concert. In all fairness, "the Social Network" was exactly this kind of movie itself.



    Prepare to be disappointed.
  • Reply 2 of 83
    successsuccess Posts: 1,040member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Prof. Peabody View Post


    This is way too fast.



    That's what my girlfriend said. I convinced her otherwise
  • Reply 3 of 83
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    I'm not sure how much simultaneously walking and talking Steve did at Apple.
  • Reply 4 of 83
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by success View Post


    That's what my girlfriend said. I convinced her otherwise



    She just said that so you'd be done quicker and she could get back to her girlfriend.
  • Reply 5 of 83
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jungmark View Post


    I'm not sure how much simultaneously walking and talking Steve did at Apple.



    Are you kidding? Fast paced walking and 'talking' would seem perfect for Steve. Anyway, truth in that kind of sense is irrelevant.



    I can't see a film about Steve Jobs documenting his life, nor the rise of Apple. Those are documentaries. I can see the story being the Apple as a start up and ending either at his firing from Apple, or at his return to Apple. Ending on his return keynote would make sense. Everything after that is dramatically boring, or else the drama is ongoing. e.g. Apple v Google
  • Reply 6 of 83
    I'm torn about the idea of Aaron Sorkin writing a Steve Jobs bio screenplay. I liked The Social Network. And I like Sorkin's dialog. Like Tarantino, Sorkin could write a scene where people sit around and talk for 10 minutes genuinely absorbing and interesting. And granted, a movie about Steve Jobs is going to be mostly people standing around and talking for 2 hours. But thats the problem: in order to make it good art (movie), it has to take certain artistic license with the source material. The result could be highly distorted fiction, as it was with The Social Network. Mark Z is around to stand up for his own legacy, but Steve cannot. I certainly want it to be a good movie (as does Sony), but still, how faithful can a screenplay be and still be interesting?
  • Reply 7 of 83
    I have read multiple accounts in his passing thats Jobs favorite thing was to take long walks and walking and talking and looking at the trees was his preferred way of discussing big ideas one on one. Even when he was on vacation in Hawaii, thats how he worked. With that in mind, think of his plans for the new Apple HQ and all the trees he wanted.
  • Reply 8 of 83
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dmarcoot View Post


    I have read multiple accounts in his passing thats Jobs favorite thing was to take long walks and walking and talking and looking at the trees was his preferred way of discussing big ideas one on one. Even when he was on vacation in Hawaii, thats how he worked. With that in mind, think of his plans for the new Apple HQ and all the trees he wanted.



    True, but Sorkin's specialty is people walking and talking *quickly*. I would imagine that Jobs tended to take slow, leisurely strolls while talking in big, sweeping metaphysical arcs. Not exactly the same as Leo McGarry and Josh Lyman run-walking down a corridor while frantically chattering
  • Reply 9 of 83
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Prof. Peabody View Post


    This is way too fast. The only way this movie is going to be any good at all is if they wait ten years before they make it.



    Anything else will be a TV movie of the week kind of thing with about as much depth as the story of Octomom, or a "making of" movie of a Britney Spears concert. In all fairness, "the Social Network" was exactly this kind of movie itself.



    Prepare to be disappointed.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post


    I'm torn about the idea of Aaron Sorkin writing a Steve Jobs bio screenplay. I liked The Social Network. And I like Sorkin's dialog. Like Tarantino, Sorkin could write a scene where people sit around and talk for 10 minutes genuinely absorbing and interesting. And granted, a movie about Steve Jobs is going to be mostly people standing around and talking for 2 hours. But thats the problem: in order to make it good art (movie), it has to take certain artistic license with the source material. The result could be highly distorted fiction, as it was with The Social Network. Mark Z is around to stand up for his own legacy, but Steve cannot. I certainly want it to be a good movie (as does Sony), but still, how faithful can a screenplay be and still be interesting?



    Agreed on above counts. Sony simply wants to capitalize on the Apple/Jobs phenomenon, and in doing so will crank out another glib, fast talking variation of docu-drama.



    I'd much prefer a Ken Burns documentary of Apple, Jobs, and Silicon Valley to a flashy pseudo bio pic meant to fill Sony's coffers.
  • Reply 10 of 83
    malaxmalax Posts: 1,598member
    What has Sorkin does that hasn't been great?



    The "problems" with the Jobs story (from a story perspective) is that it's an epic that finishes up with 10 years of nearly uninterrupted success. If you don't pick the right time frame, it ends up being like a sports movie where the protagonists win 5 championships in a row (yawn). I expect that, instead, they'd want to end the narrative right after the iPod was announced. Then some text to remind the braindead that from that point until Steve's death Apple grew to become arguably the most succesful corporation in the world. The interesting stuff is the arc from getting booted from Apple until then.



    But what do I know. Sorkin turned the concept of "let's use math to change baseball" into an excellent movie (based on an excellent book), so presumably he could do the same for this (reportedly) good/excellent biography of an incredible individual. I don't think he'll be asking me for my suggestions :-)
  • Reply 11 of 83
    Agree on the speed issue. And the expectations game would be hard. Social network was good, don't get me wrong, but my expectations about the movie were low when I entered the theatre. With Apple, my expectations will match Apple products, the move will have to hit it out of the park to be any good.
  • Reply 12 of 83
    When will we see this on broadway
  • Reply 13 of 83
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post


    I'm torn about the idea of Aaron Sorkin writing a Steve Jobs bio screenplay. I liked The Social Network. And I like Sorkin's dialog. Like Tarantino, Sorkin could write a scene where people sit around and talk for 10 minutes genuinely absorbing and interesting. And granted, a movie about Steve Jobs is going to be mostly people standing around and talking for 2 hours. But thats the problem: in order to make it good art (movie), it has to take certain artistic license with the source material. The result could be highly distorted fiction, as it was with The Social Network. Mark Z is around to stand up for his own legacy, but Steve cannot. I certainly want it to be a good movie (as does Sony), but still, how faithful can a screenplay be and still be interesting?



    Faithful is a relative term. Being factual about Steve Jobs' life would not necessarily be truthful in the larger picture. Being faithful in factual chronological way would probably be the most boring movie ever made. You have to look at the man's life and his achievements and be able to condense it into a two hour story that a) describes the man and what he was about, b) tells a riveting story and c) contextualizes a and b into a greater statement about the essence of the man. The textbook example would be Citizen Kane. The problem is that it is hard to have a perspective on Steve Jobs at this point. That is why I think to focus on the early Apple makes more sense.

    But if Sorkin is writing the story I am sure he will figure it out for himself . He is one of the best as is evident by the fact that SJ tried to get him to write a Pixar movie. Hmmm.... maybe the Story of Steve should be a Pixar production? Now there's a thought.
  • Reply 14 of 83
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by malax View Post


    What has Sorkin does that hasn't been great?



    The "problems" with the Jobs story (from a story perspective) is that it's an epic that finishes up with 10 years of nearly uninterrupted success. If you don't pick the right time frame, it ends up being like a sports movie where the protagonists win 5 championships in a row (yawn). I expect that, instead, they'd want to end the narrative right after the iPod was announced. Then some text to remind the braindead that from that point until Steve's death Apple grew to become arguably the most succesful corporation in the world. The interesting stuff is the arc from getting booted from Apple until then.



    But what do I know. Sorkin turned the concept of "let's use math to change baseball" into an excellent movie (based on an excellent book), so presumably he could do the same for this (reportedly) good/excellent biography of an incredible individual. I don't think he'll be asking me for my suggestions :-)



    I agree about Sorkin. I could see the movie focussing on one product only, such as the Bondi iMac, or as you suggest, the iPod.
  • Reply 15 of 83
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Prof. Peabody View Post


    This is way too fast. The only way this movie is going to be any good at all is if they wait ten years before they make it.



    Anything else will be a TV movie of the week kind of thing with about as much depth as the story of Octomom, or a "making of" movie of a Britney Spears concert. In all fairness, "the Social Network" was exactly this kind of movie itself.



    Prepare to be disappointed.



    Why would waiting 10 years make it a better movie? It's not as if they would work on a script for 10 years.



    What you say is true in cases where the subject retires from a position, because the story may be incomplete.



    In this instance, the only thing that might change by waiting is that how Apple might turn out without Jobs. But that would change the story into more about Apple. Everything needed to make a story about Jobs the man is available now. Waiting 1, 2 or 10 years would not change the quality of a movie. It would only change the optics of those watching it.



    The Social Network, IMO, was not as great as some made it out to be. But it was no TV movie of the week.
  • Reply 16 of 83
    I approve of Aaron Sorkin's scripting Steve's life, 100%.



    But I agree with others, that it's a bit soon. Needs at least 3-4 years to go by first.
  • Reply 17 of 83
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by vetinari View Post


    When will we see this on broadway



    If you can think of it, Disney's planning it.
  • Reply 18 of 83
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by HCrefugee View Post




    I'd much prefer a Ken Burns documentary of Apple, Jobs, and Silicon Valley to a flashy pseudo bio pic meant to fill Sony's coffers.



    I think Errol Morris (Fog of War, The Thin Blue Line) would be much more captivating.
  • Reply 19 of 83
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by malax View Post


    What has Sorkin does that hasn't been great?



    How about Studio 7 on the Sunset Strip, Charlie Wilson's War ...?



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by malax View Post


    But what do I know. Sorkin turned the concept of "let's use math to change baseball" into an excellent movie (based on an excellent book), so presumably he could do the same for this (reportedly) good/excellent biography of an incredible individual. I don't think he'll be asking me for my suggestions :-)



    The script for Moneyball is itself a subject worthy of a movie. It was originally written by Steve Zaillian (a brilliant script writer in his own right). Depending on which account you read, the final version was still very much his work with minor modifications by Sorkin. Regardless, I would not be so sure as to add Moneyball to the list of Sorkin creations.
  • Reply 20 of 83
    conradjoeconradjoe Posts: 1,887member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Prof. Peabody View Post


    In all fairness, "the Social Network" was exactly this kind of movie itself.



    Prepare to be disappointed.



    If it is as good as The Social Network, few will be disappointed.



    Just saying.
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