Just saw this on Google News… read the story here: http://www.mobiledia.com/news/111617.html
Sony Pictures is in negotiations for the film rights to the Steve Jobs biography, as
the studio looks to make a biopic on Apple’s co-founder.
The studio is reportedly set to pay between $1 and $3 million for the rights to
Walter Isaacson’s book, which is based on more than 40 official interviews with
Jobs himself, as well as dozens of others with his friends and family.The movie would reportedly focus on Jobs and how he built Apple.
Buying the rights to Isaacson’s book is likely a key first step to making an
accurate and successful movie about the Apple founder. The biography contains
hundreds of anecdotes from Jobs’ personal life, and he worked closely with
Isaacson right up until the book’s completion, making it the only biography on
Jobs he approved.The biography is not scheduled to be released until October 24, and the
finalization of the film rights would likely occur soon after. Although Jobs
died just last week, the film would not be released until late next year or
likely even the year after.Sony Pictures tackled the life of another star in the tech world just last
year with the film “The Social Network.” Actor Jesse Eisenberg played Facebook
CEO Mark Zuckerberg and the film received positive reviews and was a hit at the
box office, despite Zuckerberg’s claim that the movie contained factual
inaccuracies.A film about Steve Jobs would likely be even more of a box office draw, but
it would not be the first movie about him. In 1999, the made for TV movie
“Pirates of Silicon Valley” depicted the relationship a young Jobs had with Bill
Gates. Jobs reportedly hated the movie and the script, but was a fan of actor
Noah Wyle, who depicted him in the film.Whatever studio ends up with the rights to his biography, Steve Jobs’
popularity and draw in popular culture makes it likely a movie about his life is
on its way.