by Justin Cook
Less than a week after the Steve Jobs biopic written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by Danny Boyle was pronounced “dead” at Sony Pictures, Universal Studios has picked up the project.
A spokesman for Universal confirmed the news on Monday. The movie reportedly had a price tag somewhere north of $30 million when it was shopped around to studios. Universal had expressed interest in the project for quite some time now, so it was expected that they would try to adopt it.
Michael Fassbender is attached to play iconic Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in the upcoming biopic. Originally the role was supposed to be played by The Dark Knight and The Fighter actor Christian Bale, but he eventually dropped out.
Scott Rudin, Mark Gordon and Guymon Casady will produce the film, which is based on the 2011 biography entitled Steve Jobs, written by Walter Isaacson.
Sony had acquired the rights to the book quickly after Jobs’ death in 2011. Considering how long the studio spent developing the project, it was certainly a surprise when they decided to abandon it.
Also in talks to star as fellow Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is This is the End and Neighbors actor Seth Rogen.
The movie will only have three long scenes, each before the launch of important Apple products, including the debut of the Macintosh in 1984 and the first iPod in 2001.
The Steve Jobs biopic will be the second major motion picture made about Jobs, the first being last year’s Jobs. That film starred Ashton Kutcher and Josh Gad as Jobs and Wozniak. The film was not the success many thought it would be. It only grossed $36 million worldwide and was met with mixed to negative reviews.
However, with Oscar-winners Danny Boyle and Aaron Sorkin aboard, the upcoming Steve Jobs project has a lot more potential to be the great film many are hoping for.
Source: The Wrap
