If you’ve been following the rumors and reports surrounding the upcoming biopic of Steve Jobs, based on Walter Isaacson’s bestselling biography, you probably have a headache.
The last report had Danny Boyle signed on to direct, with Leonardo DiCaprio pegged for the title role. Apparently, Boyle wanted DiCaprio. We all want DiCaprio, right?
Well, it’s not going to happen. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Leo has exited the film. He has to go shoot Alejandro González Iñárritu’s next film, The Revenant. Apparently, DiCaprio considered doing the Steve Jobs biopic after shooting The Revenant, but that’s fallen through as well.
Boyle/DiCaprio was the latest power duo rumored for the film – but they weren’t the first. Earlier this year it was David Fincher that was set to take the reins – and the rumor was that he gave the studio an ultimatum. Fincher wanted Christian Bale for the Steve Jobs role. It was Bale or nothing.
That combo fell through as well, reportedly due to Fincher’s “aggressive demands for compensation and control.”
A brief history of the film – About the time that we learned that Ashton Kutcher would be playing Jobs in an indie biopic, we heard that another Jobs biopic was coming to the big screen–one based on the best-selling biography by Walter Isaacson. Rumor had it that The Social Network screenwriter Aaron Sorkin would write the script. This was all in 2011, and Sony Pictures didn’t confirm Aaron Sorkin as the screenwriter until a year later. About two years later, in January of 2014, Sorkin turned in his script for the movie. And there it has floated in limbo ever since.
So, who’s up now? THR says Sony is eyeing Christian Bale, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Bradley Cooper.
Whoever they land, they should land them quickly. It’s been years since Steve Jobs passed away after a long battle with cancer. It may sound crass, but the longer the film sits in limbo, the less likely people are to give a damn about it – especially if one is following the news surrounding it. Call it Jobs fatigue.
