What started as an idea for a fake movie trailer has transformed into a feature-length Steve Jobs biopic scheduled for release on the Funny or Die website on 15 April.
iSteve (which, as ridiculous as it sounds, was the working title for Walter Isaacson’s famous biography of the Apple trailblazer) stars Justin Long as the late Steve Jobs, along with Jorge Garcia as Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, James Urbaniak as Bill Gates and Michaela Watkins as his wife Melinda.
The 81-page script was apparently written in three days by Ryan Perez and the entire 60 to 75-minute film shot in just five days. This will be the first feature film from Funny or Die, famous for its comedic shorts, and it will proudly be the first Steve Jobs biopic to reach audiences.
Ashton Kutcher’s unfortunately titled jOBS was originally due for release on 19 April, but this has been delayed following a lukewarm reaction to the film’s debut at the Sundance Film Festival. Meanwhile, Aaron Sorkin, the writer behind The Social Network, is also penning a Steve Jobs biopic for Sony Pictures.
The exclusive teaser trailer for iSteve reveals little of the footage from the film bar a glimpse of Long as the man himself and plenty of hyperbolic dialogue. Casting Long as the titular character is quite the (Apple) genius move from the Funny or Die team, seeing as he previously played the personification of a Mac computer in Apple’s famous ‘Get a Mac’ campaign.
