Steve Jobs movie starring Ashton Kutcher is not a joke
The news that Ashton Kutcher is to play Steve Jobs in a new movie was revealed on 1 April, but it's no joke.
When the news that Ashton Kutcher is to play Steve Jobs was revealed on 1 April, I probably wasn't the only one to think, "Nice try -- April Fool." But it seems the Two and a Half Men star will indeed don the black turtleneck for a biopic entitled simply Jobs.
Entertainment bible Variety actually considered holding back the news because of the date, but has confirmed this is no joke -- and shooting starts next month.
The movie will depict the life of Apple founder Steve Jobs from his creation of the company in a garage on April Fool's Day in 1976, through the wilderness years after he was fired, and up to his return to a foundering Apple in 1997.
Jobs is directed by Joshua Michael Stern, who also helmed Kevin Costner-starring Swing Vote and wrote The Contractor (which starred Wesley Snipes and was filmed in Cardiff). The script is written by one Matt Whiteley. Cameras roll in May, when Kutcher starts his summer break from filming inexplicably popular sitcom Two and a Half Men, in which he replaced Charlie Sheen and plays an Internet millionaire.
Tech-savvy Kutcher was the first person to reach a million followers on Twitter and was involved in VoIP startup Ooma. But it's rare to see him play a straight role, especially as complex a man as Jobs appears to have been.
The authorised biography by Walter Isaacson published shortly after Jobs' untimely death last year revealed the Apple boss to be a volatile and demanding man. Is the dumb one from That Seventies Show the right choice to give us an insight into what really made him tick? Press play on our video and see if you can picture Kutcher in the role.
Kutcher's film isn't the first Jobsography around. Sony Pictures is preparing a film based on Isaacson's book, but casting is yet to be announced. And in 1999, ER star Noah Wyle played Jobs opposite The Breakfast Club's Anthony Michael Hall as Bill Gates in TV movie Pirates of Silicon Valley.
Is Ashton Kutcher the right man for the Jobs? Who would you cast as Apple's visionary but temperamental founder? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or on our new-look Facebook page.
Image: The Hollywood Reporter Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images; Tom Munnecke/Getty Images