Briefly: Aaron Sorkin reportedly finishes script for Steve Jobs biopic

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Academy Award-winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin has turned in a script for a full-length feature film adaptation of Walter Isaacson's biography of Apple cofounder Steve Jobs.

Steve Jobs


Tacked on to a report discussing the renewal and final season of Sorkin's HBO drama series "The Newsroom," Variety confirmed that the "Social Network" scribe has handed in a script for the as-yet-untitled Jobs project.

Details regarding the script are scant, though Sorkin has stated in the past that his Jobs biopic would be more akin to a painting than a photograph. In a 2012 interview at AllThingsD's D10 conference, Sorkin likened the challenge to writing a screenplay about the Beatles.

"I'm probably going to instead identify the point of friction that appeals to me and write about that," Sorkin said, adding that Jobs was "an extremely complicated guy, that I know for sure."

Word that Sony was looking to make the film first came in October 2011, just weeks after Jobs lost his fight with pancreatic cancer. In 2012, Sorkin officially signed on to pen the script, which will be an adaptation of Walter Isaacson's "Steve Jobs" biography. Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak is also attached to the film as a "tutor" to cast and crew.

In subsequent interviews, Sorkin revealed the movie will consist of scenes that take place before the unveilings of three key products: the original Mac, NeXT and the iPod. Jobs was well known for his public speaking prowess, especially during keynotes and product introductions.

The upcoming movie will be the second attempt at a Steve Jobs feature after indie film "Jobs," the ill-received Ashton Kutcher vehicle released in 2013.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 21
    Would love to see a film that covers Apple's initial decision to create the iPhone through Steve Jobs final days.
  • Reply 2 of 21
    Hopefully he does a better job than Isaacson did.
  • Reply 3 of 21

    I really hope they hire a great director to helm this. The Social Network was very watchable since it had David Fincher directing Alan's script.

    Fincher's visual style is top-notch, as is his directing style.

     

    The Steve Jobs movie will live or die based on the director they select.

  • Reply 4 of 21
    kpluckkpluck Posts: 500member
    If anyone is really interested in Steve Jobs I am pretty sure you won't be interested in the movie made from Sorkin's script. He isn't concerned about getting facts correct, he will just be concerned about making a movie that sells tickets and gets awards.

    I know that sounds like I am bashing him but you shouldn't take it that way. That really isn't my point. He just wants to make entertaining movies and that is his focus. He has said as much in various interviews.

    Sorkin is a talented guy but he isn't the one you want writing a movie about Steve Jobs if you want a factual history lesson.

    -kpluck
  • Reply 5 of 21
    arlorarlor Posts: 532member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by kpluck View Post



    If anyone is really interested in Steve Jobs I am pretty sure you won't be interested in the movie made from Sorkin's script. He isn't concerned about getting facts correct, he will just be concerned about making a movie that sells tickets and gets awards.



    I know that sounds like I am bashing him but you shouldn't take it that way. That really isn't my point. He just wants to make entertaining movies and that is his focus. He has said as much in various interviews.



    Sorkin is a talented guy but he isn't the one you want writing a movie about Steve Jobs if you want a factual history lesson.



    -kpluck

     

    True, but a factual history lesson is something we'll watch on PBS, not in theaters. I don't expect them to be the same. The Social Network isn't the true story of Facebook, but it's a good movie. I'm not convinced that Jobs's story is as compelling (in terms of character dynamics, etc.), but Sorkin can write. At any rate, it can't be worse than the Kutcher movie.

  • Reply 6 of 21
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    kpluck wrote: »
    If anyone is really interested in Steve Jobs I am pretty sure you won't be interested in the movie made from Sorkin's script. He isn't concerned about getting facts correct, he will just be concerned about making a movie that sells tickets and gets awards.

    What a perfect segue for me to paraphrase Sorkin's A Few Good Men. ;)

    Sorkin: You can't handle the truth! Son, we live in a world that has movies, and those movies are supported by men with screenplays. Who's gonna do it? You? You, kpluck? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for documentary-style filming and you curse Hollywood. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know, that a condensed biopic, while tragic, probably entertains more people than a documentary. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, entertains these people! You don't want the truth, because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me entertaining the masses. You need me writing screenplays. We use words like "drama", "performance", "production". We use these words as the backbone of a life spent creating something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very media that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it! I would rather you just said "thank you", and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up Final Draft, and start to write. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to!
  • Reply 7 of 21
    creatility wrote: »
    Would love to see a film that covers Apple's initial decision to create the iPhone through Steve Jobs final days.

    Wanted to thumbs up you, but 'I'm over my limit for rating content. Please try again later.'
  • Reply 8 of 21
    Stop with the movies. We need a mini-series. There was too much in this man's life to be covered in a couple hours.
  • Reply 9 of 21
    guytoronto wrote: »
    Stop with the movies. We need a mini-series. There was too much in this man's life to be covered in a couple hours.

    It would take a mini-series a month long to fairly cover the life and impact of Steve Jobs.
  • Reply 10 of 21
    smaffeismaffei Posts: 237member
    guytoronto is right of course. But, mini-series aren't usually well received in this short attention span, reality TV driven world we have today. Maybe if this was still the 80s%u2026
  • Reply 11 of 21
    thrangthrang Posts: 1,007member
    Actor?

    How about Christian Bale? He had a slightly early Steve Jobs-ish look in American Hustle, and can certainly deliver the anger part real well...I think he is/was into Zen as well...
  • Reply 12 of 21
    Steve Wozniak as a tutor for the movie? Somebody warn these guys! Wozniak will definitely help everyone see how dependent Steve was on his prowess, we can at least know that for sure. Throng (above) mentioned using Christian bale, that sounds cool......
  • Reply 13 of 21
    Netflix could easily do a miniseries that people could binge watch.
  • Reply 14 of 21
    Hopefully he does a better job than Isaacson did.

    I thought Isaacson did well, but to each his own I suppose.
  • Reply 15 of 21
    arlorarlor Posts: 532member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post





    It would take a mini-series a month long to fairly cover the life and impact of Steve Jobs.

     

    Look, I love Jobs and Apple, but I would never watch a...what?...20 episode miniseries, 2 hours a night, about him. That's crazy. Gandhi...Lawrence of Arabia...these are movies that got things wrong but hit essential truths...and did it in 3-4 hours. I don't think Jobs needs more than that. (That said, I also don't think that any movie about Jobs is going to hit those heights.)

  • Reply 16 of 21
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Lord Amhran View Post



    Hopefully he does a better job than Isaacson did.

     

    What’s that supposed to mean? Isaacson’s biography of Jobs is a scholarly work, well written, referenced to the hilt. I’ve actually read it. Have you? He also wrote an amazing biography of Albert Einstein which I have also read. It’s superior to several other biographies written about the great scientist, and I’ve read those too.

  • Reply 17 of 21
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member

    That's good news, I guess, because the movie Jobs was one of the worst pictures I have ever seen. And I'm somewhat of a movie buff.

  • Reply 18 of 21
    lkrupp wrote: »
    What’s that supposed to mean? Isaacson’s biography of Jobs is a scholarly work, well written, referenced to the hilt. I’ve actually read it. Have you? He also wrote an amazing biography of Albert Einstein which I have also read. It’s superior to several other biographies written about the great scientist, and I’ve read those too.
    It means exactly what it says. I hope Sorkin does better with the source material than Isaacson did.

    Isaacson had a golden, once-in-a-lifetime oppourtunity and he blew it. Big time.

    http://daringfireball.net/2012/02/walter_isaacson_steve_jobs

    http://daringfireball.net/linked/2011/11/15/siracusa-jobs-bio
  • Reply 19 of 21
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Lord Amhran View Post





    It means exactly what it says. I hope Sorkin does better with the source material than Isaacson did.



    Isaacson had a golden, once-in-a-lifetime oppourtunity and he blew it. Big time.



    http://daringfireball.net/2012/02/walter_isaacson_steve_jobs



    http://daringfireball.net/linked/2011/11/15/siracusa-jobs-bio

     

    Like I’m going to take Gruber seriously.

  • Reply 20 of 21
    arlorarlor Posts: 532member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Lord Amhran View Post





    It means exactly what it says. I hope Sorkin does better with the source material than Isaacson did.



    Isaacson had a golden, once-in-a-lifetime oppourtunity and he blew it. Big time.



    http://daringfireball.net/2012/02/walter_isaacson_steve_jobs



    http://daringfireball.net/linked/2011/11/15/siracusa-jobs-bio

     

    Isaacson was rushed to publish, too, though. He said at the q&a for a talk I attended (about Kissinger, not Jobs) that he intended to work on the book for at least another year before publication. The book certainly doesn't have the polish of his Kissinger and Franklin biographies. 

     

    That said, he may or may not have noticed the errors in judgment cited in your articles if he'd had more time to interview more people (including more time with Jobs). 

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