Sundance's Closing Night Film already set for distribution
This month's Sundance Film Festival hasn't even kicked off yet, and already one of its hottest titles has been sold to the highest bidder. Director Joshua Michael Stern's Steve Jobs biopic, "jOBS," might not be the most high profile film about the departed Apple founder (after all, Aaron Sorkin is still said to be crafting a script based on Walter Isaacson's meticulously researched biography), but now it will at least be the first one to hit theaters near you.
Cinema Blend reports that the film has already been picked up for theatrical distribution, with Open Road Films (the same company that put out two solid 2012 films, "The Grey" and "End of Watch") snapping up the rights and already announcing that it will be released sometime in April of this year. Considering that even Sundance hits often take months (or even years) to get release, this is quite good news for "jOBS." The film was already given a stamp of Sundance approval with its plum spot as the fest's Closing Night Film, so this news should only heighten expectations for the new project.
And, yes, you're not insane - this is the Jobs film that stars Ashton Kutcher. Despite that perhaps questionable casting, the film promises to "[detail] the major moments and defining characters that influenced Steve Jobs on a daily basis from 1971 through 2000" and will "[plunge] 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." Stern and screenwriter Matthew Whitely were reportedly "granted unprecedented access during shooting to the historic garage in Palo Alto, that served as the birthplace to Apple Inc.," so "jOBS" will hopefully come with some scenic veracity.
The film also stars Dermot Mulroney, Josh Gad, Lukas Haas, J.K. Simmons, and Matthew Modine.