Move over, Ashton Kutcher and Aaron Sorkin. There’s a new Steve Jobs biopic coming to town. (Well, sorta.) And there’s no fiddling with facts this time around. In fact, aside from there being an actual man named Steve Jobs who ran Apple, there are few facts to be found here at all.
On April 15, Funny or Die will be taking its own stab at immortalizing the tech legend with the debut of “iSteve.” Says Ryan Perez, writer and director, “…it’s not based on very thorough research — essentially a cursory look at the Steve Jobs Wikipedia page.” I don’t know what’s better — that a comedy website known for short-form vids is trying out an epic 60-to-75-minute format, or that they cast Justin Long, the original Apple hipster, as good old Steve.
Of course, poking fun at Jobs might be a risky proposition. There are a lot of fankids who still mourn his loss, begging the question of whether it’s too soon to revel in any jabs at the departed Apple co-founder. But Producer Allison Hord doesn’t think this should be a problem. Of the movie’s tone, she says “even the harshest fanboy critics will be able to laugh with us.”
Hord knows a thing or two about comedy. She produced Funny or Die’s infamous “You’re So Hot” vids starring Dave Franco and Christopher Mintz-Plasse. So if anyone can bring this parody to life, it should be her and Perez. (If you don’t know him, you might know his work. He’s the one responsible for lampooning “Zero Dark Thirty,” setting Navy SEALs on a mission to coax Osama bin Laden out with a puppy and a pizza.)
Of course, if you’d rather save your yucks, you can always hang on for Kutcher’s more serious take to hit screens…whenever that will be.