Steve Jobs Movie Dead At Sony

The high-profile Steve Jobs movie has been put into turnaround by Sony Pictures, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. The movie, which was being produced by Scott Rudin, Mark Gordon and Guymon Casady, was to be directed by Danny Boyle from a script by Aaron Sorkin. Michael Fassbender is attached to play the Apple co-founder.

The much-discussed project, based on Walter Isaacson's biography of Jobs, will now be shopped to other studios. Universal is said to be interested in the project with an eye on next year's awards season. But the film has struggled to cast a lead, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Christian Bale both attached for a time. Bale exited abruptly earlier this month, with Fassbender the latest expressing interest in playing Jobs.

Why the project is being let go by the studio isn't immediately clear but sources say that Annapurna Pictures, the production and financing shingle run by Megan Ellison, was to be involved as a partner on the feature project and had backed out. Despite that, producers were still in the midst of casting the project and had made an offer to Scarlett Johansson for a part.

More to come...