Sony Drops Aaron Sorkin's Steve Jobs Movie, Universal May Take Over [Updated]

[Bobby Corwen]

Steve Jobs is no Abe Lincoln.

There is much interest in American history at the time of Lincoln. If Lincoln had been president last year, there would be hardly any interest now or later. With the possible exception being if it were because he came back from the dead.

The reason there is so much interest in Lincoln, is because of the world changes in play at such a critical time in history. And Lincoln was the man who had to face it and work to bring our country back together in the most trying of times and darkest moments of our history.

There were numerous issues at hand. And he had the daunting task of resolving some our most controversial issues in history. His impact on our country and the world is among the greatest of any person in American history.

Steve Jobs was a master marketer. A salesman. He could inspire sales like the master snake oil salesmen of years past.

Picture the men selling miracle medicines out of their horse wagons, fast tongues, fancy words, inspiring speeches, and you have Steve Jobs. But, Steve came about when computers and gadgets were the thing. And he knew how to market and talk and sell. He knew how to put a spin on it and make you buy before you came to your senses. He knew people wanted pretty, and he gave them pretty candy colors.

Steve did a lot. But, in the end, he was a salesman. He didn't reunite a divided country, he didn't do anything to abolish slavery, he didn't change the world. And to be honest, those are just a small portion of what Lincoln faced.

Steve was an inspiring figure who sold computers. 200 years from now, it won't matter to the average American. His impact just isn't that significant. The reality, is that 200 years from now, nobody's going to know or care what an iPod was. But, they will still care about the events that nearly ripped our country apart, and the people who lived at the time and had to struggle with those issues and bring about a resolution.

On the contrary, Lincoln was just simply tall. That's pretty much it lol.

That was his big trick to influence the dum dumbs of the past.

And he was a hustler, to a lesser extent than Steve. Mostly in the right place at the right time and accidentally was in a position to make something that was already gonna happen, happen. It can be argued that he slowed down freedom for slaves in certain areas in fact.

He wasn't even educated or went to school properly, he was super racist, tyrannical, and Machiavellian. His stupidity caused the unnecessary death of an extra half a million people. Read the book Forced into Glory.

people just latch on to Lincoln because of their self righteous egos.

And on top of that, Spielberg made the forgettable trash movie (by critical standards) about him that not even DDL could save.

So yeah, I'd much rather see a Jobs movie any day.

 

[Shasterball]

They are still making X-men movies? Woah...

 

[2010mini]

Why doesn't Disney/Pixar do it?

Just animate the damn thing and forget the actor drama!

Because animations still require actors, directors, screen writers...etc

 

[SarcasticJoe]

For me the thing that killed this movie was not that they've been unable to get a good actor to play Jobs (Fassbender is a good actor, but not the right one), but that they went with the same kind of compromise as that crappy one with Kutcher that they threw together as fast as possible after Jobs died. In my opinion three 30 minute shorts do not give enough to properly explain what kind of person Jobs was.

The way they should have done it is to take example of the movie about Lincoln where they focused most of the movie on the most challenging part of Lincoln's life, the civil war. With Jobs I think the best part to focus on would have been development of the Macintosh, starting from the visit to Xerox and ending when Jobs left the Apple in 85 after he got into trouble with the board of directors.

...

I personally disagree with you on what Jobs was to some extent...

In my opinion he was a lot more than just a salesman, because all a salesman does is try to make the thing he or she is selling look as good as possible. Salesmen don't need to believe in what they're selling, but Steve Jobs definitely did. The difference between Jobs and a pure salesman is that Jobs ether lead or was otherwise heavily involved in development of the products he sold. He may have had the title of CEO, but he handed over a considerable part of the tasks to Tim Cook so that he could focus on leading Apple's R n' D.

This is why you have all those stores about Jobs personally chewing out engineers in face-to-face confrontations and how he personally ran a lot of projects like the Macintosh development (where you have that story about how the engineers went behind his back on the floppy drive and had to hide a Sony engineer in the closet when he showed up at the lab).

 

[Kar98]

Now is a good time to ask if there's a need for a Steve Jobs movie. I mean we'll already know how it ends...

 

[KdParker]

time to just let it go....

I just don't think now is the time for another Steve Jobs movie. In the public's eye, the just saw this movie.

 

[Mr. Dee]

Get a workable cast

These actors they are recommending, don't even look like Jobs. My recommendations.

- Steve Jobs
Patrick Dempsey with some makeup (iPhone early years) to early 2011, Noah Wyle (in exile years), my friend Isaac from Mexico (hippie 70s years - trust me, he looks like him, down to the slender nose), Try getting Bale for the emaciated August to September 2011 months.

- Lauren Jobs - Naomi Watts
- Jobs sister - Madonna or Susan Sarandon
- Woz (late 70s, early 80s) - Chris Hemsworth in makeup
- Lisa Jobs - Keira Knightley
- Reed Jobs - Nick Jonas

- Bill Gates
James Spader (late 80s annoying years), Napoleon Dynamite (early 80s annoying look years white cashmere sweaters). Michael J. Fox for 2007 Vista years to present.
- Walter Mossberg - Richard Dreyfuss
- Kara Swisher - Jennifer Melfi
- Steve Ballmer - Kyle Gass
- Tim Cook - Ryan Stiles
- Jony Ive - Sean Bean (he needs to bulk up and shave head)


I wish Robin Williams had lived, he would have played a great Bono.

Important scenes:
The attitude
His meanie attitude and taking Apple to 1 billion sales
Dealing with getting kicked out of Apple
Seeing the rise of Microsoft and Gates
Apple on the brink of dying
How he pitched Next Apple to buy it
The return and call to Gates to invest in Apple
The Mafioso attitude
Elevator firing employees left right and center scenes
The relationship with Apple
Dreamy scenes with Lauren where he sees her as his greatest achievement, contrasting the can do no wrong heroine in his life with other persons around him.
- The 2007 joint interview with Gates and the behind the stage cursing I heard took place between the two.
Tumultuous relationship with daughter.
The joy and tears he shed when he saw his son graduate high school
The difficulties and extremities of running Apple and dealing with his health
- Gates coming to visit.
- Gates leaving his home in frustration knowing Jobs is still going to be winning even in death.
- don't go too much in to details, but just show the strength of it.
- The last months
- End with the speech he did at that graduation
- Rare bloopers from Apple events.
- Do a campy scene where Jobs presentation at a WWDC event wasn't responding and he says to the crowd (they are probably scrambling right now), show persons indeed panicking and scrambling to get Steve's presentation working.

End it on a happy note.

Seriously, I could write a script here that could be fulfilling to a wide audience. Get into the mystery of Jobs and Apple, show people the dark, yet humorous side.

2 Hrs 30 mins

There is no need for the best of Hollywood, you are telling a story. You need people who indeed look like people in his life to keep the focus on the story. These people they are hiring don't look like him. Fassbender looks like an Irish man and that's all I will be thinking about if I watch a movie about Jobs. I need actors who can keep me engaged in the story line to make it feels like I am actually getting a peek into the guys life.

 

[Bobby Corwen]

These actors they are recommending, don't even look like Jobs. My recommendations.

- Steve Jobs
Patrick Dempsey with some makeup (iPhone early years) to early 2011, Noah Wyle (in exile years), my friend Isaac from Mexico (hippie 70s years - trust me, he looks like him, down to the slender nose), Try getting Bale for the emaciated August to September 2011 months.

- Lauren Jobs - Naomi Watts
- Jobs sister - Madonna or Susan Sarandon
- Woz (late 70s, early 80s) - Chris Hemsworth in makeup
- Lisa Jobs - Keira Knightley
- Reed Jobs - Nick Jonas

- Bill Gates
James Spader (late 80s annoying years), Napoleon Dynamite (early 80s annoying look years white cashmere sweaters). Michael J. Fox for 2007 Vista years to present.
- Walter Mossberg - Richard Dreyfuss
- Kara Swisher - Jennifer Melfi
- Steve Ballmer - Kyle Gass
- Tim Cook - Ryan Stiles
- Jony Ive - Sean Bean (he needs to bulk up and shave head)


I wish Robin Williams had lived, he would have played a great Bono.

Important scenes:
The attitude
His meanie attitude and taking Apple to 1 billion sales
Dealing with getting kicked out of Apple
Seeing the rise of Microsoft and Gates
Apple on the brink of dying
How he pitched Next Apple to buy it
The return and call to Gates to invest in Apple
The Mafioso attitude
Elevator firing employees left right and center scenes
The relationship with Apple
Dreamy scenes with Lauren where he sees her as his greatest achievement, contrasting the can do no wrong heroine in his life with other persons around him.
- The 2007 joint interview with Gates and the behind the stage cursing I heard took place between the two.
Tumultuous relationship with daughter.
The joy and tears he shed when he saw his son graduate high school
The difficulties and extremities of running Apple and dealing with his health
- Gates coming to visit.
- Gates leaving his home in frustration knowing Jobs is still going to be winning even in death.
- don't go too much in to details, but just show the strength of it.
- The last months
- End with the speech he did at that graduation
- Rare bloopers from Apple events.
- Do a campy scene where Jobs presentation at a WWDC event wasn't responding and he says to the crowd (they are probably scrambling right now), show persons indeed panicking and scrambling to get Steve's presentation working.

End it on a happy note.

Seriously, I could write a script here that could be fulfilling to a wide audience. Get into the mystery of Jobs and Apple, show people the dark, yet humorous side.

2 Hrs 30 mins

There is no need for the best of Hollywood, you are telling a story. You need people who indeed look like people in his life to keep the focus on the story. These people they are hiring don't look like him. Fassbender looks like an Irish man and that's all I will be thinking about if I watch a movie about Jobs. I need actors who can keep me engaged in the story line to make it feels like I am actually getting a peek into the guys life.

I like the idea of this and it illustrates how much there is to Steve.

I guess the biggest issue with the "3 scenes" setup is that sadly it can only encompass the Steve at work, and not Steve as a whole epic person.

The most interesting things are about psychology.

I want someone who understood the full extent of the secrets of his ego from an almost sobering but respectful realization of his psychology to truly humanize his story and tell the story of the psychology behind the superhero and living legend while at the same time celebrating him as such to the benefit of his glory.

 

[rsocal]

On the contrary, Lincoln was just simply tall. That's pretty much it lol.

That was his big trick to influence the dum dumbs of the past.

And he was a hustler, to a lesser extent than Steve. Mostly in the right place at the right time and accidentally was in a position to make something that was already gonna happen, happen. It can be argued that he slowed down freedom for slaves in certain areas in fact.

He wasn't even educated or went to school properly, he was super racist, tyrannical, and Machiavellian. His stupidity caused the unnecessary death of an extra half a million people. Read the book

people just latch on to Lincoln because of their self righteous egos.

And on top of that, Spielberg made the forgettable trash movie (by critical standards) about him that not even DDL could save.

So yeah, I'd much rather see a Jobs movie any day.

My 2 cents....

Both Lincoln and Jobs had great influences moving our country forward in two completely different ways. Lincoln in human rights, and Jobs technology.

I'm not sure if Lincoln was forced to stop slavery and don't really care, the bottom line is he made it happen!

Jobs was more then just a salesmen, he had great vision of what technology could, should and would be far before others did. He made tech user friendly for the masses and gave us (me) things we didn't even know we wanted.

Think of the lives that have been touched for the better, by both of these men. I feel they both deserve the recognition for their contributions to the world!

I'm going to read the book Forced into Glory you mentioned, sounds interesting.

 

[Bobby Corwen]

My 2 cents....

Both Lincoln and Jobs had great influences moving our country forward in two completely different ways. Lincoln in human rights, and Jobs technology.

I'm not sure if Lincoln was forced to stop slavery and don't really care, the bottom line is he made it happen!

Jobs was more then just a salesmen, he had great vision of what technology could, should and would be far before others did. He made tech user friendly for the masses and gave us (me) things we didn't even know we wanted.

Think of the lives that have been touched for the better, by both of these men. I feel they both deserve the recognition for their contributions to the world!

I'm going to read the book Forced into Glory you mentioned, sounds interesting.

Yes I think that is the vital master thesis for both...

The ability to influence others.

Being a master of illusions.

The machiavellian ability to bend the room and control the world around you.

It fascinates us because we want to learn from it. Understanding what makes these characters tick.

That is why the psychology is so important because thats the real fascinating raw meat; what do people like this who are so influential think like so i can study their psychological mettle and see what information I can extrapolate from it.

But these men are not to be judged in traditional terms of average men because they will scare you.

Martin Luther King was a hustler and a prostitute loving plagiarizer with a fake Phd and communist ties. But the man could hustle and speak well in public.

Abraham Lincoln was a hustler and an ego maniac. He wanted to go down in history and was motivated by that more-so than some love for righteousness which he used as a machiavellian tool for success. He abused the declaration of independence, had slave owner friends, and had little interest in ending abolition as per some pre-meditated principle of correctness. But the man could hustle and speak well in public.

Steve Jobs was gangster as hell and did a bunch of crazy things and yelled at a lot of people. But the man could hustle and speak well in public.

So all of these characters are revered despite their hidden "evil" because the truth is all humans are as such. Everyone loves Lincoln and MLK and treats them like saints.

Why? Because despite being practically thugs, they got stuff done.

The lesson that they and Steve truly taught us, is sometimes you have to be a little bit gangster to get things done properly.

So we study their psychology to understand what made them so effective.

Remember, nice guys finish last and we should not be afraid to revere him just because he wasn't a saint, neither were many other people who we treat as such.

 

[cjboffoli97]

Turnaround

Just because Sony has put this project into turnaround does not mean that they still might not make this picture. This may be nothing more than a ploy to "ice" someone who is currently connected to the project. The idea that they'd put the film into turnaround simply because of a conflict over shooting dates seems ridiculous. There is something else going on here and what sources are feeding to the press is likely misinformation.

I don't know exactly how this particular deal is structured, but what often happens when a project goes into turnaround is that the person who sold the project to Sony will have an option in which the film rights revert back to them for a set period of time, let's say 30 days for example. And during that time they can shop the project around to other studios willing to make it. The problem is that Sony gets to bill a mountain of development expenses against the project to potential buyers, making it pretty much unattractive to anyone else. And if the project doesn't get set up elsewhere, then Sony regains the power to make changes to the personnel or other decisions related to the project which they might not have at the moment.

Of course they might also have just taken another look at the film (which came to them with Leo attached) and decided that it wasn't a winner without a bankable star who can open the picture. The project's best chance is for the film to get set up elsewhere with a big name attached. So I expect that's what all of the agents are very busy doing right now. Otherwise, the film has higher odds against it now due to the development expenses that Sony has piled on which, as we know with studio accounting, has little relation to reality and has everything to do with preventing another studio from succeeding with this project.

 

[iPadCary]

However this movie ends up, one thing's for sure:
it cannot possibly be any worse than the "Fantastic Four" reboot.
I think that's a physical impossibility.

 

[laurim]

By all accounts I have read, Jobs was not a very nice person on a personal level. I, for one, am pretty much done with the all the hero worship surrounding him. He built people friendly computers and developed an iPhone, great. How did he treat his family?

I would rather the production companies focus their resources on someone whose life impacted the both world, and people, in a positive way. The two are not mutually exclusive.

Newsflash: People are complicated and people who do great things are often so driven to do those great things that personal lives takes a back seat. Even Ghandi wasn't always a very nice person. There's a book about Jesus called "Infancy Gospel of Thomas" that didn't make it into the bible:

http://web.archive.org/web/20090226...biblical_studies/noncanon/gospels/inftoma.htm

From wikipedia:
"One of the episodes involves Jesus making clay birds, which he then proceeds to bring to life, an act also attributed to Jesus in Quran 5:110,[1] although Jesus's age at the time of the event is not specified in the Quran. In another episode, a child disperses water that Jesus has collected. Jesus, aged one, then curses him, which causes the child's body to wither into a corpse. Another child dies when Jesus curses him when he apparently accidentally bumps into Jesus, throws a stone at Jesus, or punches Jesus (depending on the translation).

When Joseph and Mary's neighbors complain, they are miraculously struck blind by Jesus. Jesus then starts receiving lessons, but arrogantly tries to teach the teacher instead, upsetting the teacher who suspects supernatural origins. Jesus is amused by this suspicion, which he confirms, and revokes all his earlier apparent cruelty. Subsequently he resurrects a friend who is killed when he falls from a roof, and heals another who cuts his foot with an axe."

Makes Jesus sound a little like Damien or that Twilight Zone kid who keeps his family hostage because anything he wishes for comes true so you better not make him mad.

Complicated people make for much more interesting movies than one-dimensional people.


Also, movies probably have all these issues and changes on a regular basis. We just don't hear about it. How often have you heard a rumor about X movie coming out soon and years later it finally shows up? I've been waiting for a Cloverfield sequel forever.

----------

Because animations still require actors, directors, screen writers...etc

What? Those characters don't talk on their own?? Disillusioned

 

[C DM]

Now is a good time to ask if there's a need for a Steve Jobs movie. I mean we'll already know how it ends...

Yeah, a Titanic movie, for example, would clearly not do well at all.

 

[Teste]

I'm amazed that there are still people out there who believe that the reason actors and Sony are jumping from this movie isn't because it's obviously going to suck

 

[C DM]

I'm amazed that there are still people out there who believe that the reason actors and Sony are jumping from this movie isn't because it's obviously going to suck

Probably because things of this nature aren't all that out of the ordinary for many productions in Hollywood (including those that turn out just fine). That is to say there isn't necessisarily a specific thing that is behind it (or that that specific thing is that the movie itself is bad), or that it actually pretty much predetermines that the movie won't do well.

Hey, and what do you know, the update in the article does in fact imply it's something else and not something about the movie "sucking".

 

[winston1236]

I think the longer they take to release this the less people will go to see it.

----------

Unlike Universal, Sony makes lots of electronics. Could it be that the folks who make TVs, stereos, cameras and yes, computers, didn't want to have to support a movie about a successful competitor?

Wrong. Sony pictures is a separate division and the most profitable of all Sony divisions. They do what they want.

 

[jigzaw]

They need to bring Fincher back. That was mistake number one. Danny Boyle is a good director, but this does not sound like a good match for him. He relies way too much on directorial flourishes, crazy camera moves, and smash-cut editing to do justice to what sounds like basically a play written by Sorkin. Could Sony be doing so poorly that they can't meet Fincher's salary? Seriously? Look at the home run that Social Network was. Look at how Gone Girl just did. Fincher would knock this thing out of the park and make it a critical AND commercial success. They'd be partying it up at the Oscars in a year if they did the right thing and put Sorkin and Fincher together again. Hopefully Universal does this.

 

[rsocal]

Yes I think that is the vital master thesis for both...

The ability to influence others.

Being a master of illusions.

The machiavellian ability to bend the room and control the world around you.

It fascinates us because we want to learn from it. Understanding what makes these characters tick.

That is why the psychology is so important because thats the real fascinating raw meat; what do people like this who are so influential think like so i can study their psychological mettle and see what information I can extrapolate from it.

But these men are not to be judged in traditional terms of average men because they will scare you.

Martin Luther King was a hustler and a prostitute loving plagiarizer with a fake Phd and communist ties. But the man could hustle and speak well in public.

Abraham Lincoln was a hustler and an ego maniac. He wanted to go down in history and was motivated by that more-so than some love for righteousness which he used as a machiavellian tool for success. He abused the declaration of independence, had slave owner friends, and had little interest in ending abolition as per some pre-meditated principle of correctness. But the man could hustle and speak well in public.

Steve Jobs was gangster as hell and did a bunch of crazy things and yelled at a lot of people. But the man could hustle and speak well in public.

So all of these characters are revered despite their hidden "evil" because the truth is all humans are as such. Everyone loves Lincoln and MLK and treats them like saints.

Why? Because despite being practically thugs, they got stuff done.

The lesson that they and Steve truly taught us, is sometimes you have to be a little bit gangster to get things done properly.

So we study their psychology to understand what made them so effective.

Remember, nice guys finish last and we should not be afraid to revere him just because he wasn't a saint, neither were many other people who we treat as such.

Interesting, and something to think about.

Gangster style is how **** gets done, a necessary evil!

Most great people have some interesting quirks, some a little darker then others.

S.J RIP

 

[knoxtown]

More likely, as good of a director as Danny Boyle may be (subjective), I think he's totally wrong for this movie. Sony knows that too.

 

[C DM]

I think the longer they take to release this the less people will go to see it.

----------



Wrong. Sony pictures is a separate division and the most profitable of all Sony divisions. They do what they want.

Don't think the timing would be as big of a factor. Many movies about all kinds of people can do well or not so well when they are released earlier or later--not sure if timing is necessarily as big of a factor as it might seem to some.

 

[Mystic386]

By all accounts I have read, Jobs was not a very nice person on a personal level. I, for one, am pretty much done with the all the hero worship surrounding him. He built people friendly computers and developed an iPhone, great. How did he treat his family?

I would rather the production companies focus their resources on someone whose life impacted the both world, and people, in a positive way. The two are not mutually exclusive.

Jobs has impacted the world and peoples lives in a positive way.

Jobs by all accounts was a great family guy. Heading home each day to be with family and working later at night. Every single account I've seen of family has been positive. The guy also lived in suburbia.

You say you're tired of the worship. Worship is not the right word. I am in awe of the guys talent. He repeatedly states he just wanted to make the best products. He has redefined computers, phones and movies. What Pixar created changed animation. And through these movies you see that ethic of the best. Jony Ive says the same thing. We are not interested in making money, we are just interested in making the best products. Do that and the rest takes care of itself.

Sure there are accounts Jobs being abrasive and expecting high standards. When you look at his life and what he achieved there are few people that would match his sheer genius. How often do you get talented, smart, tech savvy geek, salesman, handsome, deep thinking, wise, knows how to hire good people, all wrapped in one person. Steve Jobs is a very unusual human being.

 

[Robstevo]

Jobs has impacted the world and peoples lives in a positive way.

Jobs by all accounts was a great family guy. Heading home each day to be with family and working later at night. Every single account I've seen of family has been positive. They guy also lived in suburbia.

Didn't ge refuse to acknowledge he was the father of his daughter for many years ? Dispute DNA tests proving it?

He also bought his way into getting a nice liver ( or what ever it was ) instead of being on the waiting list like everyone else ( probably caused the death of someone who was actually waiting for it as well)

There is also the fact it doesn't seem like he donated much of his billions he probably had , compared to the legend of bill gates who will probably he remembered forever for not only his bringing billions of computers to the rich and the poor, but the foundation he and his wife have created that will save the lives of millions and give people a chance in life.


Steve jobs was a **** , a great great leader and mind , who knew what people will want before they even knew themselves , and he was also a great speaker with lots of charisma.

 

[imronburgundy]

This was going to be a Redbox rental for me, if even.

 

[farewelwilliams]

He didn't dig anything up. It was going to be a rehash of stuff from Isaacson and others.

please read:
http://www.imore.com/aaron-sorkin-says-casting-announcement-his-steve-jobs-movie-imminent

In his new interview with The Independent, Sorkin stated that one of the big roles in his biopic will be that of Jobs' daughter Lisa Brennan-Jobs. She spoke with Sorkin as part of his research into the script. Sorkin said:

She didn't participate in Walter Isaacson's book, because her father was alive at the time, and she didn't want to alienate either of her parents, so I was very grateful that she was willing to spend time with me ... She is the heroine of the movie."

----------

What... about a once top writer on the wane who can't write a decent enough script about one of the most dynamic and complex men of the last quarter of the 20th century to attract top talent and unwavering support by a studio?

Honestly, plenty of movies about has-been writers are already out there. We don't need another, do we? Sounds a bit like Leaving Las Vegas. Just substitute the wet stuff for powder.

how can you judge a script when you haven't even seen/read it?
there's a million other reasons (unrelated to the script) as to why a studio would drop a movie.