More casting news regarding the Aaron Sorkin-penned Steve Jobs biopic now being produced by Universal Pictures has come to light in yet another set of leaked Sony emails. According to Deadline, Boardwalk Empire actor Michael Stuhlbarg has been selected to play Andy Hertzfeld, a member of the original Macintosh team.
Of course, the film has changed lead actors, directors, and even studios so many times that at this point that it may be best to take any casting news with a grain of salt.
Michael Fassbender will reportedly play Steve Jobs in the upcoming biopic
While we’ve already learned some interesting details about the upcoming Steve Jobs biopic from the recently leaked Sony Pictures files, it seems there’s still more to be gleaned from the company’s documents. As the Verge notes today, new emails have revealed the possible settings for the film, which include “two auditoriums, a restaurant, and a garage.”
In an interview with Bloomberg confirming that Oscar-winning actor Christian Bale will play Steve Jobs in the forthcoming biopic, screenwriter Aaron Sorkin said that there wasn’t even a need for an audition … Expand Expanding Close
DiCaprio and Boyle on the set of the 2000 film “The Beach”
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio has decided not to play Steve Jobs in the upcoming Danny Boyle-directed biopic after all, according to the Hollywood Reporter. DiCaprio was first reported as being considered for the role back in April, with Slumdog Millionaire‘s Danny Boyle set to direct.
DiCaprio and Boyle on the set of the 2000 film “The Beach”
With David Fincher recently rejected to direct the upcoming Steve Jobs biopic written by Aaron Sorkin, Sony may have found its replacement in Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle, according to The Hollywood Reporter. And with the lead role still not cast, Sony is reportedly considering tapping Leonardo DiCaprio to play Steve Jobs.
The film was first announced by Sony in mid-2012. Screenwriter Sorkin later revealed that the movie would focus on Jobs’ preparations in the thirty minutes leading up to three key Apple keynotes—a much different approach last year’s Jobs, which starred Ashton Kutcher. There have not been many updates on the project’s progress until recently, with the announcement that Fincher (and his choice for lead actor, Christian Bale) would not be part of the production going forward.
Ashton Kutcher called the starring role scary and seemed to have an appropriate amount of reverence for the subject matter. However, reviewers seemed to have mixed feelings at best about the movie.
But, overall, jOBS works. The lead actors are likable and appear to have put serious effort into getting the spirit of the characters right. The film looks (mostly) good aside from some of what could likely be ascribed to budgetary constraints. And though the director is a tad indulgent here and there, it doesn’t take away from the overall feeling of ‘decent’ that I came away with.
This isn’t going to be the canonical Steve Jobs biography movie. Honestly, Jobs was such a complex individual that I can’t see one ever being made. But, as an impressionist portrait of a specific period in his life, it’s successful. Don’t go into it looking for complete verisimilitude or whip-crack dialog and you should like it just fine.
My primary disappointment was in how shallow the film felt, given the extensive historical record. In the early days Jobs’ co-workers had to wrestle with a man who smelled bad, who cried often, who yelled constantly, who missed deadlines, who overspent his budget by millions. He did it in service of products we love and use daily, and yet his obsessions took a toll on those around him. It also inspired others to do the best work of their lives, pushing themselves further than they ever imagined they can go. There is great drama to be found in all that, but it is not to be found in the saccharine “jOBS.”
Kutcher says that he started a fruit-only diet to prepare to play the Apple co-founder for the biopic Jobs, which premiered Friday night at the Sundance Film Festival.
The diet, which the film claims Jobs adhered to, ended up sending Kutcher to the hospital with pancreas problems.
“First of all, the fruitarian diet can lead to like severe issues,” Kutcher said after the film’s screening. “I went to the hospital like two days before we started shooting the movie. I was like doubled over in pain.
“My pancreas levels were completely out of whack,” Kutcher added. “It was really terrifying … considering everything.[Jobs died as the result of Pancreatic Cancer]”
