Story highlights
Comedy site Funny or Die plans a spoof Steve Jobs biopic
Feature-length movie stars Justin Long, the "I'm a Mac" guy from Apple ads
Film's writer says he's an expert because he owns an iPhone and checked Wikipedia
Spoof will be posted online April 15, as two major Steve Jobs films are on horizon
Forget Ashton Kutcher and Aaron Sorkin. The next Steve Jobs biopic you see will star the “I’m a Mac” guy and come from the twisted minds of Funny or Die.
The comedy website confirmed Tuesday that it’s planning its own feature-length version of the Apple co-founder’s life, “iSteve.”
Starring as Jobs will be Justin Long, whom most people know from Apple’s “I’m a Mac-I’m a PC” ads but who also appeared in TV’s “Ed” and “New Girl” and films like “Live Free or Die Hard,” “Drag Me to Hell” and “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.”
In a publicity photo, Long mimics the pose Jobs struck on the cover of Walter Isaacson’s 2011 biography, “Steve Jobs,” looking something like a cross between Jobs and a brainy homeless man.
Funny or Die plans to release its movie, which will clock in between 60 and 75 minutes, on April 15.
Writer and director Ryan Perez says that although his Web movie faces serious competition from Hollywood, he’s confident his take will shine through.
“I got an iPhone last year,” he said. “I’m confident that qualifies me to be an expert on Steve Jobs.”
He said the project began as one of the short-form sketches Funny or Die is best known for: a spoof trailer for a Jobs biopic.
“At some point, someone just threw out that we should make the movie,” he said.
Perez wouldn’t give away any plot details but suggested that the movie – researched through “a cursory reading of the Steve Jobs Wikipedia page” – will be ridiculous enough that it won’t run the risk of offending fans of Jobs’, who died in October 2011.
“We took quite a bit of dramatic license with Steve Jobs’ life, but not as much as the makers of ‘Argo’ took with their story,” he said.
The announcement comes as two high-profile Jobs films move along the Hollywood pipeline.
Perhaps the most highly anticipated is being penned by Academy Award-winner Aaron Sorkin, the screenwriter behind “The West Wing,” “The Newsroom,” “A Few Good Men” and “The Social Network.” It will reportedly be divided into three scenes, all of which will unfold in real time.
“Jobs,” a lower-budget affair starring Ashton Kutcher, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to mixed reviews in January. It had been scheduled to open in theaters April 19, to coincide with Apple’s 37th anniversary, but now has been pushed back.
Funny or Die has a partnership with HBO, which, like CNN, is owned by Time Warner.
