The only other thread I could find was the one with Fincher listed as the director in the headline (which ultimately ended up falling through), so I wanted to start a new thread because A) filming recently kicked off, and B) I finally got my hands on the script yesterday. I read the first 56 pages - which covers the behind-the-scenes in the half hour or so just before the Mac launch announcement in '84 - and man, it's so, so good. The first 56 pages are literally just one, long, continuous sequence of the chaos Jobs has to deal with leading up to the announcement (the demo not working properly, his ex-girlfriend showing up with their daughter who Jobs won't claim as his, pressure from Woz to acknowledge certain people in the presentation, etc.) and it's just stunningly good. Imagine the opening scene of The Social Network extended to half an hour, moving between the stage, hallway, and Jobs' dressing room, with way more at stake. It's that kind of back of forth, with that kind of biting Sorkin wit, and I loved every minute of it.

That said, I'm still debating whether or not I want to read the rest of the script and spoil the move, or wait. The next sequence is the launch of the NeXT computer four years later, and the final sequence is the launch of the iMac in 1998. In the first sequence with the Mac, there's a quick section of rapid flashbacks to "THE garage" with Jobs and Woz, but other than that, it's in 100% real time, and I imagine the next two sequences are much the same. It's hard to describe how well the nontraditional narrative works, but it absolutely does so far. Jobs is kind of a monster, with some hilarious exchanges, and Sorkin has found a way to inject so much history and personality into the dialogue. It really is amazing, at least from a screenwriting perspective, and couldn't be further from the Kutcher version.

Anyway, if anyone wants to read the script, let me know and I'll email it to you. It's super sensitive - you won't find it anywhere else - so I can't upload it. But leave a post saying you emailed me, I'll check my spam account (which I hardly ever check, hence the posts), and I'll send over a copy:

theohoff20@gmail.com

Again, I don't know if I'm going to finish the script myself, but I'd love to hear everyone else's thoughts.

A few more details below...

Title
Steve Jobs

Release Date
October 9, 2015

Director
Danny Boyle

Writer
Aaron Sorkin

Starring
Michael Fassbender - Steve Jobs
Kate Winslet - Joanna Hoffman, Mac head of marketing
Seth Rogen - Steve Wozniak
Jeff Daniels - John Sculley, former Apple CEO
Katherine Waterston - Chrisann Brennan, Jobs' ex girlfriend and the mother of his daughter

... plus a ton of other bit players and recognizable actors in more minor roles, one of which is Jobs' daughter, introduced at five years of age in the opening sequence, who, save for Jobs, apparently ends up being the main through-line/relationship in each of the three sequences.

Is this legal?...not that I have a problem if it's not.

Interesting.

I saw the one with Kutcher after it made its way through the theaters, etc, and was glad I waited. It was decent, but nothing to write home about. This sounds like a broader approach, which may be more appealing overall.

My one concern is having Seth Rogen in it. He doesn't have the acting "chops", to me, to play a serious character. He's passable in comedies, but has he even done a serious role yet?

Still, this sounds at least as good as the other movie about Jobs, and possibly better.

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Is this legal?...not that I have a problem if it's not.

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Ha, I can email it to whoever I want. I just can't publically post/host it. Granted, that's a fine a line here, but - knock on wood - unless Sony is Googling "Steve Jobs" + "TexAgs," I doubt they'll ever come across this thread. I've done this plenty of times before with absolutely no repercussions.

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Is this legal?...not that I have a problem if it's not.

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This is Texags. This has nothing to do with recruiting or coaching searches/coaches we want to fire. So no way it gets locked.

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Interesting.

I saw the one with Kutcher after it made its way through the theaters, etc, and was glad I waited. It was decent, but nothing to write home about. This sounds like a broader approach, which may be more appealing overall.

My one concern is having Seth Rogen in it. He doesn't have the acting "chops", to me, to play a serious character. He's passable in comedies, but has he even done a serious role yet?

Still, this sounds at least as good as the other movie about Jobs, and possibly better.

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Trust me, it's way, way better. This will definitely be an Oscar contender, and Sony placing in that prime October slot indicates as much.

As for Rogen, I definitely agree, but he only has like one, four or five page bit in the 56 pages I read so far. And it doesn't require too much. I think he can pull it off.

First pic from the set. I don't think they're technically in character here, as this is definitely from the first Mac sequence, which has no outdoor scene of them walking. Probably just them walking to set instead...

I cannot see Fassbender as Jobs AT ALL. Though I love him as an actor.

That said, I am looking forward to this solely because of Sorkin's dialogue.

If anything, my main "concern" is Fassbender. He's a phenomenal actor, obviously, and one of my favorites, but as you can see, at least in the early years, he looks nothing like Jobs. I hope that's not too much of a distraction. For a comparison, here's Jobs' Mac announcement speech (in the same clothes), which we don't actually see in the movie (it cuts right before he walks onto the stage)...


(fast forward to the 40:55 mark)

Was typing as you posted, Brian. Right there with you.

just stopping in to say how much i hate sorkin. i effing can't stand that sheeetstain!!

as for fassbender, I bet he pulls it off. He is just that good.

^ I hope you're right. If he does, it'll be an epic performance.

I'm not concerned about Rogen at all. Comedic actor to serious actor works a lot more often than not, and he was great in 50/50. Maybe his voice might take me out of it, but I think he's got the chops.

If Jonah Hill can pull it off, Seth Rogen definitely can.

I am not a fan of Jonah.

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The first 56 pages are literally just one, long, continuous sequence of the chaos Jobs has to deal with leading up to the announcement (the demo not working properly, his ex-girlfriend showing up with their daughter who Jobs won't claim as his, pressure from Woz to acknowledge certain people in the presentation, etc.) and it's just stunningly good. Imagine the opening scene of The Social Network extended to half an hour, moving between the stage, hallway, and Jobs' dressing room, with way more at stake. It's that kind of back of forth, with that kind of biting Sorkin wit, and I loved every minute of it.

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That sounds like Locke, except in person instead of over a cell. Which is to say, that sounds awesome.

I'm with TC on this - I'm more worried about Fassbender. The look is off. How's his accent game (those throw me off easily)?

Rogen seems to look and act the part. Have you seen Woz in an interview? Even if, or especially if, Rogen fails in acting, he will pull off Woz. That dude is eccentric.

I just don't understand the fascination with Steve Jobs. One of our own (A&M grad Heidi Campbell) may have come the closest in a paper that managed to make The Atlantic.

Maybe I should read the script. I'll email you, TCTTS.

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That sounds like Locke, except in person instead of over a cell. Which is to say, that sounds awesome.

I'm with TC on this - I'm more worried about Fassbender. The look is off. How's his accent game (those throw me off easily)?

Rogen seems to look and act the part. Have you seen Woz in an interview? Even if, or especially if, Rogen fails in acting, he will pull off Woz. That dude is eccentric.

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Locke is a great comparison. It's basically crisis upon crisis thrown at Jobs in much the same way, with a ticking clock 'til the announcement, which is the most important in Jobs' career.

As for Fassbender, I have to admit, it was hard picturing him saying some of the dialogue as Jobs. Winslet's character has probably the second most dialogue/screentime, and you can absolutely picture her in the role. She's perfect. Same with Rogen and Katherine Waterson (the love interest in Inherent Vice, who's the real-life daughter of Sam Waterson from The Newsroom). It's so easy to picture them and a few others in their respective roles. But Fassbender is the only one that's a big question mark. That said, again, if he pulls it off, he's definitely going to win awards.

Fassbender will kill it

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Fassbender will kill it

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Would love nothing more. I will say, having now read it, it's even harder picturing Christian Bale saying some of this stuff / in the role. I can see why he ultimately dropped out. Fassbender can at least a be little more cunning in the same way Jobs was.

Just sent an email asking about the script. Very curious to see what a Sorkin script reads like!

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Fassbender will kill it

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Would love nothing more. I will say, having now read it, it's even harder picturing Christian Bale saying some of this stuff / in the role. I can see why he ultimately dropped out. Fassbender can at least a be little more cunning in the same way Jobs was.

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While I have no doubt that Fassbender can not only pull it off, but be absolutely incredible as Jobs, I am a little taken aback by his appearance. You're probably right that picture isn't from an actual scene, but I just assumed the hair would be different and that he may even have some makeup/prosthetics to make him look more like him. But I've no doubt that they'll get it right.

I'm also excited that Danny Boyle is taking this on. He's such a talented director.

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Just sent an email asking about the script. Very curious to see what a Sorkin script reads like!

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Awesome. Just emailed it.

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Fassbender will kill it

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Would love nothing more. I will say, having now read it, it's even harder picturing Christian Bale saying some of this stuff / in the role. I can see why he ultimately dropped out. Fassbender can at least a be little more cunning in the same way Jobs was.

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While I have no doubt that Fassbender can not only pull it off, but be absolutely incredible as Jobs, I am a little taken aback by his appearance. You're probably right that picture isn't from an actual scene, but I just assumed the hair would be different and that he may even have some makeup/prosthetics to make him look more like him. But I've no doubt that they'll get it right.

I'm also excited that Danny Boyle is taking this on. He's such a talented director.

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Yeah, I'm right there with you. The first trailer is going to be so interesting to see/hear Fassbender in the role, and see how he looks in context as opposed to some random on-set pic.

And yeah, Boyle is such a cool, unique choice. I would have obviously loved Fincher more than anyone, but Boyle's an awesome replacement.

Went ahead and read the second sequence last night - about the NeXT announcement - and while not quite as entertaining as the Mac sequence, it has an AWESOME ending leading into the third and final sequence, dealing with the iMac announcement. But I'm stopping there. I want to save at least some kind of surprise for the movie itself.

Just finished reading the script and damn, I'd sign a deal with the devil to write like Sorkin.

I didn't watch the Kutcher movie about Jobs and didn't hear a tremendous amount of buzz about it when it was in theaters, but EVERYONE will be buzzing about this movie. There are so many fascinating little moments, so many great slams, and the character arch of Jobs and his daughter is so much more compelling than what we saw in Social Network that folks are going to love this.

Fassbender's intensity will be great, but I'm curious how he'll veil his* accent and how he'll handle some of the more vulnerable moments. Rogen should be perfect as Woz.

I can't wait to see this flick. Y'all should be looking forward to it, too. Thanks for sharing the script, TC.

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Just finished reading the script and damn, I'd sign a deal with the devil to write like Sorkin.

I didn't watch the Kutcher movie about Jobs and didn't hear a tremendous amount of buzz about it when it was in theaters, but EVERYONE will be buzzing about this movie. There are so many fascinating little moments, so many great slams, and the character arch of Jobs and his daughter is so much more compelling than what we saw in Social Network that folks are going to love this.

Fassbender's intensity will be great, but I'm curious how he'll veil in accent and how he'll handle some of the more vulnerable moments. Rogen should be perfect as Woz.

I can't wait to see this flick. Y'all should be looking forward to it, too. Thanks for sharing the script, TC.

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Awesome to hear! Hadn't talked to a single other person who's read it yet, so I was curious to know if I was alone in my enthusiasm or not. This gets me even more fired up. And yeah, the dialogue is on fire. I laughed out loud multiple times at a few of those slams (the "Well someday you'll have to tell us how you did it" to Jobs was one of my favorites).

Overall, I'm right there with you. This is absolutely going to be one of the most buzzed about movies of the fall.

This is awesome to hear. I recently had a chance to see Woz speak at an event and he is a very interesting guy. Looking forward to seeing how Rogen pulls him off.

How is the relationship between Woz and Jobs depicted in the script? Or is there not much to go on?

^ From the first two thirds I've read of the script, without giving anything away, there's definitely conflict between them, but it's a really cool relationship in that Jobs also voices a ton of respect for him. Woz is like his little brother who's kind of done a couple things to annoy him, but ultimately, Jobs is beyond loyal to him, and sticks up for him against other parties. I really, really like how it's handled.

^ The Woz and Jobs relationship is as unique as the individuals themselves. There's no one label to put on it, but TC sums up how it plays out in the first two segments pretty well.

Thanks guys. That's one of the most anticipated parts for me especially since Woz was apparently pretty involved from a consulting perspective on this one.

^ Just know that Woz doesn't have a huge role. I'd say next to Jobs, Kate Winslet as Joanna Hoffman has the most dialogue/screentime, then maybe his ex girlfriend and daughter, and then just below them, Rogen as Woz and Jeff Daniels as John Scully are kind third or fourth tier. But not really. It's hard to explain. At least in each of the two sequences I've read, every character kind of gets their moment with Jobs, and so maybe it's all equal in that regard. Though, Winslet is definitely more prominent than the others, as she's almost always right by Jobs' side, always ushering him around (and combating him like no one else can - she's really a great character).

Sculley-Jobs is definitely the second-most interesting relationship behind Jobs-his daughter. Woz is a neat presence that shines some insight on Jobs from a different angle, but he's not the biggest player in this script, so you might find yourself wishing you'd seen more of him.

Scripts can probably change, though.

I've completely given up on Fassbender resembling Jobs in any way, physically. Accepting the fact that it's going to be all about demeanor, which is fine. From the set...