Bale Bails On Jobs: With Christian Gone, Is It Time To Admit Steve’s Biopic Is In Trouble?
It looks like the Aaron Sorkin-penned Steve Jobs biopic will have to keep on looking for its lead, as a new report holds that prospective star Christian Bale is out of the running to play the iconic Apple co-founder.
News of the latest development in the Jobs biopic’s saga broke on Monday with the Hollywood Reporter citing sources close to the picture as saying that Bale has fallen off of the project. This just weeks after Bale’s name surfaced as a top pick for the role, and just a week after the project’s writer, Aaron Sorkin, called Bale “the best actor on the board” for the project.
Bale didn’t have to audition for the part of Jobs, though the actor did meet with executives on the project to discuss the role before tentatively agreeing to take the part.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Bale made the decision to drop out of the project “after much deliberation and conflicting feelings” and a review of Sorkin’s script. Bale is said to have decided on his own that he was not right for the part.
Bale’s departure marks just the latest setback for a film project that appeared at its inception to be a sure shot. As the Verge notes, the project started with David Fincher as its director and Bale as its lead, before moving on to Danny Boyle directing with Leonardo Dicaprio starring and eventually switching back to Bale.
With Bale dropping out of the project agin, the only big names on the project are Sorkin and Boyle, who directed 28 Days Later and Trainspotting. Comedy actor Seth Rogen was recently revealed to be in discussions to play Steve Wozniak, Jobs’ partner in founding Apple, but the film will no doubt turn on whether a truly A-list actor can be locked down to play the iconic Apple visionary.
While its director and script are largely locked down, Bale’s departure will in some sense knock the Jobs biopic back to square one. The picture was on track to begin shooting this winter, but now Boyle will need to begin meeting with actors again in order to lock down the lead role.
The Sorkin-penned Jobs biopic was announced around the same time as a competing Jobs picture, one starring Ashton Kutcher in the role of the Apple CEO and Josh Gad as Steve Wozniak. That film was released in August of last year to largely negative reviews, but it did see release. Sorkin and Boyle’s effort, meanwhile, has undergone multiple personnel changes since its announcement, which is rarely a good sign for a film project.
[Lead image via BaleHeadsBlog]
