Joins Ashton Kutcher as Jobs in indie TV-movie

The independent Steve Jobs biopic jOBS has added another veteran actor to its case, gaining Matthew Modine (best known for his string of hit movies in the mid-80s, including Full Metal Jacket) to play the role of former Apple CEO John Sculley, the former Pepsi executive recruited by Jobs to run Apple who ended up forcing Jobs out of the company. He joins star Ashton Kutcher as Jobs and Broadway star Josh Gad as Steve Wozniak.

Modine confirmed the casting to CBS News on Tuesday, reports AppleInsider and has already posed for publicity photographs like the one seen below. The jOBS movie, being produced by Five Star Feature Films and directed by Swing Vote's Joshua Michael Stern, will cover a significant portion of Jobs' life beginning prior to the formation of Apple in the mid-70s and going through his early leadership of the company, exile (during which time he started NeXT and bought Pixar) and eventual return and quick success with the iMac.

In the interview with CBS, Modine describes Sculley as an important catalyst that set Jobs on the path that lead to a lot of personal growth and renewal. The sentiment is similar to one echoed by Jobs himself in his famous speech to Stanford graduates in 2006, in which he said that getting fired from Apple was (in hindsight) one of the best things that ever happened to him. The complex and changing relationship between Jobs and Sculley is explored in detail in Jobs' biography as well.

Also starring in the film is Ahna O'Reilly, who will play Chris-Ann Brennan, an early girlfriend of Jobs and the mother of his first child, Lisa. Principle filming is already underway, and has included the famous garage where Apple was first established. The low-budget film is said to be completed by the end of the year, though whether it will have a theatrical release or be sold to a TV network is not clear.

A larger-budget, major-studio film about Jobs is also in production, though at a much earlier stage of work. Sony Pictures has optioned the rights to Walter Isaacson's biography of Jobs, and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network) is currently researching and writing the screenplay.

by MacNN Staff