Following the collapse of negotiations with David Fincher, Sony Pictures is reportedly in talks with director Danny Boyle to take over its Steve Jobs biopic, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Boyle is said to be interested, and has reportedly already spoken to Leonardo DiCaprio about starring.
The film is based on Walter Isaacson’s best-selling autobiography about Apple’s charismatic co-founder. Sony had initially hoped to reunite Fincher with his Social Network cohorts, screenwriter Aaron Sorkin and producer Scott Rudin, both of whom are already attached. Negotiations recently fell apart when the director reportedly sought full control over the film’s marketing and $10 million up front, a sum one Sony insider is said to have called “ridiculous.” Fincher was also believed to be looking at Christian Bale for the lead, but the actor was never officially offered the role.
After writing and producing 2013’s Trance, the Academy Award-winning Boyle recently directed the pilot for the British comedy-drama Babylon. Prior to that, in 2012, the director was tasked with creating the opening ceremonies for the 2012 London Summer Olympics. If DiCaprio is interested in the role and accepts, it would reteam the director and actor for the first time 2000’s The Beach.
