According to a report, Ashton Kutcher is set to play Steve Jobs in an Indie film about the highly influential technology entrepreneur. Directed by Joshua Michael Stern – with a script authored by Matt Whiteley – the film will depict Jobs throughout his life as he rapidly ascended from just another 60’s ‘hippie’ participating in the counterculture movement to one of the biggest figures in technology and country’s greatest creative minds.
The film is being funded by Mark Hulme of Five Star Institute, and is scheduled to begin production in May (which is while Kutcher is free during a hiatus from working on his CBS sitcom “Two and a Half Men”, where, interestingly enough, he plays the role of internet billionaire Walden Schmidt).
He’s no stranger to the technology world in real life, either. The Telegraph points out that he was the first Twitter user to surpass one million followers back in 2009. He’s also made investments in technology startups, including Foursquare and Skype, while participating in the technology community on Twitter and Quora. With his background in technology, and perhaps slight resemblance to a younger Jobs, he certainly seems like a good candidate for the role.
This Indie film isn’t going to be the only movie about Jobs. Sony Pictures is also developing a movie about Jobs, based off of Walter Isaacson’s biography. That being said, it’s interesting how Kutcher will be starring in the Indie film, and not the one backed by Sony Pictures. Nevertheless, it should be interesting to see who the rest of the cast is throughout this movie (and to see who will be casted in the Sony Pictures film). Any ideas for who could play other major supporting characters, such as Apple Computer co-founder Steve Wozniak, or perhaps then-Pepsi CEO John Sculley?
What also will be interesting to see are the differences between the two movies. Will the Sony Pictures film have more details about the events in Jobs’ life – at least according to the biography – while the Indie film will focus more on intense storytelling and script? Will each showcase certain part(s) of Jobs’ life better than the other?
Also, just how accurate is Isaacson’s portrayal of Jobs? As with everything, it can’t possibly be 100% objective. In fact, the biography even recently came under fire with criticism from pundits like John Gruber who felt that the portrayal of Jobs in Isaacson’s book was good, but with “several holes and egregious errors.”
Update: The star of Twitter and TV sitcoms is doing a quick indie film, not the Sony biopic.
(via Variety)
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