Details Revealed for Steve Jobs Movie with Ashton Kutcher
I'm not sold on Ashton Kutcher playing Steve Jobs in this new biopic being developed. Sure he looks like him, but does he have that commanding presence that Jobs had? I'm not even sure if he's a good enough actor to even fake it. Producer Mark Hulme recently did an interview in which he talked about the film, its focus, what other famous tech innovators will be in the film, and why Kutcher got the job.
The working title of the movie is Jobs: Get Inspired, and itwill follow the the ups and downs of Steve Jobs life from the years 1971 to 2000. This is the exact same time frame that was explored in the TV movie Pirates of Silicon Valley. The movie will not be based on any one book like Sony Pictures' adaptation, which will be based on Walter Isaacson’s bestselling biography Steve Jobs. This one will come from a "wealth of source material."
Since Apple was a public company and since Steve Jobs was a very visible and much-written-about individual, there is a wealth of source material. We also enlisted the support of primary sources who knew him personally.
He goes on to reveal later that some other people in Jobs' life that will be represented in the movie such as Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, former Apple CEOs John Scully and Mike Markkula, and early Apple employee Daniel Kottke. About those roles Hulme said that they're "in discussions with some exciting actors for those roles but we’re not at liberty to announce other actors yet." I imagine they are going to try and get as many big name actors in these role as possible. Hulme goes on to explain why Kutcher ended up being cast in the role...
Since our film covers the early years of Apple, when Jobs was in his 20's, we needed an actor who could carry not only the youthfulness of Jobs at the time but also the psychological complexity. Because of that, and Ashton's physical similarities to Jobs, he's perfect for our film.
So they basically hired him for his looks and not his acting ability. Well... who knows? Maybe Kutcher will be able to effectively pull it off, but it's hard for me to believe, he's just such a terrible actor. Hulme says that they will get their Jobs movie out in theaters before Sony does, and that they are actually going to start shooting it next month. When asked if friends, family, and fans would like and appreciate the movie he said,
We have purposed for the movie to be an accurate and inspirational portrayal of his fascinating life and the huge impact he had on the world, so yes we expect his family and friends to appreciate it.
Notice he didn't include fans in his response. It would be great if this movie actually turned out to be good and that Kutcher does a great job in the role, but I think in the end Sony Pictures might end up making the better movie.
What do you think about this Ashton Kutcher Steve Jobs movie? Do you think the actor has what it takes to effectively play Jobs?