The Steve Jobs biopic, “JOBS” (yes, all caps), which stars Ashton Kutcher, will debut in theaters nationwide on Aug. 16, it was announced on Wednesday. It was originally scheduled to open on April 19, but Open Road Films announced in March it was delaying the release.
Why did the studio push the film’s release back nearly four months? According to Open Road, it was because the company didn’t have enough time to generate “buzz” around the film, and didn’t want to rush things. The film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival back in January.
With a new release date announced, we assume that Open Road has its marketing all in line. The press release is as follows:
Open Road Films will release “JOBS” — the highly anticipated film chronicling the story of Steve Jobs’ ascension from college dropout to one of the most revered creative entrepreneurs of the 20th century – nationwide on Aug. 16, 2013. “JOBS” details the major moments and defining characters that influenced Steve Jobs on a daily basis from 1971 through 2001.
The film plunges into the depths of his character, creating an intense dialogue-driven story that is as much a sweeping epic as it is an immensely personal portrait of Steve Jobs’ life. Directed by Joshua Michael Stern, written by Matthew Whiteley, JOBS was shot by Oscar-winning cinematographer Russell Carpenter and produced by Mark Hulme. JOBS stars Ashton Kutcher, Dermot Mulroney, Josh Gad, Lukas Haas, J.K. Simmons and Matthew Modine.
In addition to Kutcher, who stars as a young Steve Jobs, the film stars Josh Gad (as Steve Wozniak).
When a first clip from the film was released in January, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak had was critical of it. He called it “Totally wrong.”
There is another biopic in the works, and one based on the bestselling authorized biography of Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson. In the fall of 2011, shortly after Jobs’ death, Sony Pictures bought the rights to, and is currently developing, its own Steve Jobs movie.
That film is still untitled and has had no release date or casting announcements made. It is to be written by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin (“The Social Network”). Reportedly, it will focus on three moments in the history of Apple, and will follow Jobs in three 30-min scenes presented in real-time, showing events backstage at key Apple product launches.