Christian Bale will no longer be starring as Steve Jobs in the Aaron Sorkin-penned biopic.
A week and a half ago Bale was cast as Steve Jobs, but today he has decided to withdraw from the role, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter.
According to the report, Bale has had conflicting feelings about playing the technological innovator, and has decided that he is not the best actor for the part.
Said Sorkin about Bale supposedly agreeing to the role on October 23, “What we needed was the best actor. It’s like the NFL Draft. There are some people who make a science out of exactly [inaudible], we need to draft a middle inside line backer. Other teams say, ‘Who’s the best athlete on the board.’ We needed the best actor on the board in a certain age range and that’s Chris Bale.”
In related news, Seth Rogen was recently in talks to play Jobs’ Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, but no offer had yet been made. It’s currently unclear whether or not Bale’s departure from the role will affect this casting.
This Steve Jobs biopic was penned by The Social Network Oscar-winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin and will be directed by Slumdog Millionaire Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle. The biopic doesn’t have a title or release date at the present time.
The film will be based off of Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs which was published in October 2011 – shortly following the former Apple CEO’s death. The book, as noted by its synopsis, is based on over 40 interviews conducted by Isaacson over two years.
In an interview conducted in 2012, Sorkin said that the film will take place over three big scenes. “This entire movie is going to be three scenes and three scenes only. That all take place in real time,” he told The Daily Beast. “There will be no time cuts and each will take place before a product launch. Backstage before a product launch. The first one being the Mac, the second one being NeXT, after he had left Apple. And the third one being the iPod.”
Assuming Bale’s departure doesn’t delay the film significantly, shooting will begin in the next few months according to an earlier statement from Sorkin.
Bale was a near perfect choice for Jobs, so it’s a little sad to see him go. Hopefully the next lead actor who signs on will stick with the role and do a good job. As long as it’s not Ashton Kutcher again, this film has some real promise.