Aaron Sorkin will be writing a screenplay for a Sony Picture’s biopic about Steve Jobs based on Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs. The studio made the announcement Tuesday.
This is not the indie film we have been talking about on webpronews, featuring Ashton Kutcher in the lead role, and Josh Gad as Steve Wozniak. (Both are impressive dopplegangers of their Apple counterparts.)
Unlike its indie counterpart, this version has major studio funding ( in Sony Pictures) and Author backing. This is one of those rare instances where we are going to see direct competition in studio and indie film productions. It will be interesting to see how these two approaches tackle the subject. At first glance you might assume that the indie film will be more emotionally charged, with the Sony Pictures version concentrating on the business life of Jobs. But Sorkin is known for driving story through emotionally charged dialog, so this one is up in the air.
My guess is that the indie version will be more introspective, while Sorkin’s version will depict Jobs friendships and clashes on his way to making Apple what it is today.
Alright, back to the Sorkin version. First a quick rundown of Sorkin’s screenplay and teleplay credentials (A Few Good Men, Malice, The American President, The Social Network, Moneyball, and the upcoming HBO series The Newsroom)). Impressive stuff, but Sorkin isn’t anywhere close to slowing down. Right now he is writing two screenplay adaptations, screenplays for The Newsroom, and making his Broadway librettist debut and motion picture directorial debut.
Sorkin won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Social Network. He has also acquired the motion picture rights to The Politician, by Andrew Young about the downfall of former Senator John Edwards. He will adapt the book for screen, make his directorial debut with the film, and produce. He is currently in production on the HBO series The Newsroom, which is scheduled to premiere on June 24, 2012. Sorkin will also return to the theater and make his Broadway debut as a librettist with the 2013-2014 production of Houdini. Based on the life of legendary magician Harry Houdini, the musical will star Hugh Jackman and will feature music and lyrics by 3 time Oscar and 4 time Grammy winner Stephen Schwartz.
[Source: MCN]]