Funny or Die Prepares Steve Jobs Biopic
Because two Steve Jobs biopics weren’t enough, Funny or Die will release their own film about the Apple mastermind, iSteve, online on April 15th – before either of the other films is due out.
Starring Justin Long as Jobs, The New York Times reports that the film reportedly clocks in at around 60 to 75 minutes, making it the longest project from the site, which specializes in short-form comedy videos. Tagged as “The first Steve Jobs movie,” the other two are Jobs, an indie film staring Ashton Kutcher (which premiered at Sundance, but just had its April 19th release date pushed back), and one produced by Sony and being written by Social Network scribe Aaron Sorkin that’s still in pre-production.
Aaron Sorkin Shares Details of Steve Jobs Biopic
“In true Internet fashion, it’s not based on very thorough research – essentially a cursory look at the Steve Jobs Wikipedia page,” Ryan Perez, the writer and director, said. “It’s very silly. But it looks at his whole life.”
Funny or Die’s movie also stars James Urbaniak as Bill Gates, Michaela Watkins as Melinda Gates and Jorge Garcia as Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.
“We were kicking around the idea of making a fake Steve Jobs movie trailer, and as often happens in a writers’ room, the joke kind of escalated,” said producer Allison Hord.
Perez – who recently starred in a Zero Dark Thirty parody for Funny or Die – said he wrote the 81-page script in about three days and the movie was shot in five. “We might not be the best, but we will be the first,” joked Perez.