Hey Sony! Pay David Fincher What He Wants to Direct Your Steve Jobs Movie

Earlier this week it was announced that David Fincher was no longer attached to direct Sony Picture's Steve Jobs biopic. The script was written by Aaron Sorkin, and to have the two guys who brought us The Social Network develop this movie would have been a dream team of awesomeness. They would have delivered one hell of an incredible film.

So why isn't Fincher going to direct it anymore? Because he wanted $10 million up front in fees, as well as control of the marketing. The studio won't agree to that, so the director walked. Fincher is one hell of a talented individual, and the guy makes virtually perfect films. Knowing that he is going to deliver a high quality film that they know is going to be good, I say give it to him. The guy isn't going to let you down, and more importantly, he's not going to let the fans down either.

Apparently Sony, let him have "considerable input" into the marketing of their 2011 film The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, including honoring his request to use the tagline "The feel bad movie of Christmas" in its campaign. According to the report, a source says "Fincher also had the studio create metal, razor-blade-shaped one-sheet materials for the film that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to produce but were not suitable for display in theaters."

I'm sorry, but the marketing built around The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was freakin' brilliant! I loved every bit of it. It's a shame that we never got to see those razor blade shaped posters. Studios spend all kinds of money on marketing for movies that never sees the light of day, so that's hardly an excuse to not let Fincher direct the movie or have control over marketing. The guy is smart and talented and the movie just won't be as good without him. 

The report goes on to say that  Fincher could re-enter negotiations, but that his fee is ridiculous. The source says, “You’re not doing Transformers here. You’re not doing Captain America. This is quality — it’s not screaming commerciality. He should be rewarded in success but not up front." 

Why not up front? As I said before, the guy would deliver the studio the best possible product. Isn't that what they want in the films they make? And one final question… Why would they want anyone else to direct it? There's still hope that he could end up making the movie, and I hope they can reach some kind of agreement. 

The biopic is based on Walter Isaacson's bestselling authorized biography. That book was based on more than 40 interviews that the author had with Jobs, as well as interviews with friends, family, and colleagues. Fincher wanted Christian Bale to play Jobs in the film, which would have been brilliant casting.

The film itself is said to consist of three long scenes that feature the launches of some of Apple's most buzzed-about product launches, including the Mac, NeXT (after Jobs had left Apple), and the iPod.

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