Universal could end up with Steve Jobs biopic as Sony drops out

With no one signed yet to play the lead, Sony Pictures has decided to drop out of the expected Steve Jobs film written by Aaron Sorkin. Originally expected to star Leonardo DiCaprio, the Titanic star dropped out leaving Christian Bale as the favorite to portray the enigmatic Apple co-founder. But Bale also pulled out of the movie, leaving Michael Fassbender as the most recent name linked to the role. Seth Rogen is rumored to play Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.

Sony had purchased the movie rights to Walter Isaacson's book about Steve Jobs after the Apple CEO passed away in 2011. With Sony out of the picture, Universal is rumored to be interested in the project. The movie is said to show Jobs backstage before three major media events that were turning points in his life. The first event is the unveiling of the Mac. The second is a media event dealing with Apple's purchase of NeXT Computer, which is how Steve Jobs returned to Apple after his forced departure from the company he built. The third and last act shows Jobs backstage before the introduction of the Apple iPod. Just recently it was revealed that Jobs' daughter Lisa will be one of the major characters in the film.

Last year, the Ashton Kutcher vehicle Jobs hit the silver screen and was a bomb. With Sorkin writing the script, and a huge budget behind it, there are much higher hopes for this movie. But now that Sony has pulled out, it might take a big name like Universal to soothe the nerves of those involved. With DiCaprio, Bale, and now Sony all deciding against participating in the biography, there could be some problems behind the scenes that are making it hard for major players to commit to the picture.

source: Dateline, Variety via AppleInsider