Blog Archives
The Quintessential iMovie?
For better and for worse, rightly or wrongly, there is one name that rises above the rest in the public’s current vernacular who has defined and inspired entire generations with his technological vision:
Steve Jobs.
From a crowded garage to a revolutionary empire in the new center of the universe, Steve Jobs managed to get his voice heard with a reverberating force years after his death. According to screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, the movie Steve Jobs consists of three scenes/pivotal moments in his life and career. Three scenes doesn’t seem sufficient for such a cultural giant, but the verdict will remain undecided until it premieres. Strangely, Michael Fassbender (who plays Jobs) looks nothing like him. Not even close. For such a star-studded cast, writer, director and admired figure, that remains a very odd choice. His casting makes no sense considering Jobs was a real person with distinguishable attributes. At least Ashton Kutcher looked, walked and acted like him.
To think that Christian Bale was so close to accepting this role, but I/the world continues to digress with a collective sigh.
From this trailer, it appears the film will be accurate (based on his acclaimed biopic), intense and insightful for those interested in his excitingly playful presentation skills, combative nature and mysterious family conflicts behind-the-scenes. Will fans take a big, long line around the corner bite out of the latest Steve Jobs film? Only if this version reveals a major surprise at the end, like Jobs did so many times throughout his tumultuous life and career.
Steve Jobs should leave us hungry and dreaming of something creatively foolish.
Happy Monday!
Do you own an Apple product?
Sorry, foolish question.
The surreal impact that Steve Jobs and Steve “The Woz” Wozniak have had on our realities will always be remembered and cherished. This is true for the multiple generations of people who have come together to join this astonishing, once-in-a-lifetime movement…especially the employees at the Apple Store.
And for good reason.
These two visionaries (for different reasons) mastered the complexities of technology and business while they added cool, groundbreaking innovations that forever altered personal communication and information gathering in our modern society. Aside from the alpha roll-out of their Apple Watch, what’s the next big headline for this tech company?
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the first teaser trailer for the long-awaited Steve Jobs movie with an adapted screenplay by Aaron Sorkin.
Change the World This Week!
The Dark Apple
“Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”
(emphasis on the latter here)
Rumor is that acclaimed actor Christian Bale is the leading candidate for portraying the late Steve Jobs in the major motion picture based on Walter Isaacson’s biography of the technology icon, with a screenplay penned by Aaron Sorkin. Fans of Bale, especially for his role as Batman in Christopher Nolan’s epic Dark Knight trilogy, cannot help but dream about the prospects of the actor bringing the same kind of intelligent, conflicted and controversial edge to the Apple co-founder (who was also intelligent, conflicted and controversial) as he did with Bruce Wayne and his alter-ego.
Every once in a while, Conan O’Brien and his team does something entertaining. The video clip below is one of those moments:
Steve Jobs’ black turtlenecks apparently had more armor than I realized…
“How does somebody know what they want if they’ve never even seen it?”
Steve Jobs changed the world forever with his innovative products, released as if they were all continuously moving along an assembly line for him to pick up at his leisure. His business savvy has also been celebrated and assuredly studied by aspiring businessmen, businesswomen and big thinking dreamers in their basements and even parent’s garages. The iMac computer is not owned solely by Americans, but by adults and children all around the world. And not just this Apple product either. Terms like iPod, iPhone, iPad, iMac and Macbook Pro are household names. Techies and millions of fawning fans alike listened to his every word whenever he casually strolled onto that plain stage in northern California with a wall-sized projection screen behind, clothed in his trademarked look: blue jeans, New Balance sneakers and his low-key black turtleneck. In hand was his next big device to make its grand premiere, ready for an exhilarating public test run.
Rightly so, he is admired. In this age of increasing globalization, it was nice to say when he was alive that, ‘he’s one of ours….he’s an American innovator.’ It’s still nice to say. Walter Isaacson’s Behemoth of a book, “Steve Jobs,” details his life and includes just about any bit of information anyone would like to know about the man and technological icon. A movie is set to be adapted from this book by famed screenwriter Aaron Sorkin for a movie called, “Steve Jobs.” For those who are drawn to Jobs’ life and career, love dramatic stories as portrayed in cinema but can’t wait for this film to be released sometime down the road, they are in luck.
Lights. Camera. Genius.
“That ’70s Show,” “My Boss’s Daughter” and the cult classic “Dude, Where’s My Car?” offer a snapshot of the portfolio of the man chosen to fill the soles of some of the most famous New Balance shoes in history. Ashton Kutcher, the director, writers and cast are preparing to premiere the major motion picture, “jOBS” at the Sundance Film Festival tonight (Nationwide April 19th on Apple’s 37th Anniversary). Many may scoff at the idea of Michael Kelso portraying such a serious and beloved figure. However, before passing judgement, first take a look at a side-by-side comparison:
(www.sellcell.com)
Now come the vital questions that will surely be asked before and after the premiere: did director Joshua Michael Stern present the right details, milestones and key decisions to appropriately define the gigantic life of Steve Jobs through his multiple decades of leading Apple onto the top-shelf of the technological world? What overall theme and events did they decide to drive the story with? Is it accurate?
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak (“The Woz”) recently shared his reaction of the first released clip of “jOBS” as seen below to the website Gizmodo. “Not close…we never had such interaction and roles…I’m not even sure what it’s getting at…personalities are very wrong although mine is closer…don’t forget that my purpose was inspired by the values of the Homebrew Computer Club along with ideas of the value of such machines and Steve J. wasn’t around and didn’t attend the club so he was the one learning about such social impact of the future,” Wozniak said.
Here is the aforementioned clip:
One thing that can be agreed upon is that the final retort from Kutcher/Jobs excitedly foreshadows the empire the two of them would soon begin to build. It’s probably safe to say that this clip alone will generate a significant buzz of curiosity about the movie.
Interestingly, Alexis Kleinman of The Huffington Post recently noted something very insightful about the clip. “With the premiere of the Steve Jobs biopic “jOBS” quickly approaching this month, its creators are doing something Apple never would: Pumping up excitement by offering a sneak-peak.” It’s certainly something to ponder…
Without seeing this movie in its entirety, it’s impossible to declare whether or not the script is misleading throughout or simply taking a little bit of artistic licensing, which does happen in Hollywood, for better and for worse. This could be the only hiccup or it could be first drip in a waterfall of inaccuracies. Until the lights go down and the movie is premiered, no fan/critic will know. The question is with his true life so fascinating and inspiring, why has such a step been taken for this important one minute scene? A few fortunate people will likely discover that truth tonight.
I suppose that like any Apple product though, there will be the occasional bug. Maybe “jOBS” is just life imitating art?
Come April 19th, will you give it a Friday night?
Jimmy's Daily Planet 