Independent 'jOBS' movie to debut at Sundance January 27
updated 09:43 pm EST, Mon December 3, 2012
Stars Ashton Kutcher as Apple co-founder Steve Jobs
The low-budget independent feature film jOBS, covering the early years of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs' early adulthood, will premiere at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival on January 27, according to the Hollywood Reporter. While the film will not be in competition, it will have a prestigious spot as the closing movie of the festival. The film stars Ashton Kutcher as Jobs, with Book of Mormon star Josh Gad as Steve Wozniak. The festival is based out of Park City, Utah.
In addition to Kutcher and Gad, the film features J.K. Simmons, Lukas Haas, Dermot Mulroney and Matthew Modine. The director of the festival, who has seen what is presumably the final cut of the film, said that the film has "something inspirational" in its tale, which follows Jobs from his pre-Apple college life and voyage of self-discovery through to his return to Apple and the launch of the iMac in 1998. Sundance's Trevor Goth also said viewers would be impressed by Kutcher's performance, which he termed a "formidable" and "remarkable" portrayal that "tries to grasp all the nuances of who Steve Jobs was."
The film covers a roughly 30-year period in Jobs' life, from the 70s to the eve of the 21st century, and included filming at the home formerly owned by Jobs' parents that originally housed Apple in its earliest days as well as shooting in India to illustrate some of Jobs' foreign adventures. Kutcher's resemblance to the young Jobs is strong, but it remains to be seen if he can capture Jobs' mannerisms and personality.
The film is at Sundance to attract buyers and distributors, who may opt to make it a theatrical film or purchase it for a TV-movie, depending on the strength of the production. The film is likely to focus on Jobs' interactions with some of the more important people in his life, including Wozniak, his early girlfriend and the mother of his daughter, Chris-Anne Brennan (played by Anna O'Reilly) and his contentious relationship with later Apple CEO John Sculley (Modine). The film was directed by Joshua Michael Stern (best known for Swing Vote) and is not to be confused with the big-budget, Aaron Sorkin-penned biopic helmed by Sony Pictures currently still in pre-production.
