To mark the release of the movie Steve Jobs,
let's take a look at 7 things you probably
didn't know about Danny's Boyle's movie about
the co-founder of Apple.
Although the film is not a conventional biopic,
screenwriter Aaron Sorkin's script was loosely
based on Walter Isaacson's 2011 biography
of Steve Jobs, as well as Sorkin's own interviews
with key people in Jobs' life.
But what really influenced Sorkin's script
was talking to the Apple co-founder's first
daughter, Lisa, who Jobs originally denied
was his, even after a paternity test proved
otherwise.
Lisa chose not to speak to Isaacson for her
father's biography, but did give Sorkin an
insight into her relationship with her father,
which became an important part of the film.
According to Kate Winslet, who plays former
Macintosh marketing chief Joanna Hoffman,
at the table read, Michael Fassbender, who
plays Steve Jobs, was the only actor who didn't
need his script in front of him as he'd already
nailed all his lines.
However, before Fassbender landed the lead,
Leonardo DiCaprio and Christian Bale had both
been contenders.
And, according to leaked emails, initially
Aaron Sorkin wasn't keen on Fassbender playing
the part, claiming he'd never heard of the
star of the X-Men movies, Hunger, and Inglourious
Basterds.
Instead, early on, Sorkin was eager to see
Tom Cruise take the role.
The way director Danny Boyle approached filming
Steve Jobs was rather unusual compared to
most feature films.
First of all, he made sure there was plenty
of time for rehearsals to help the cast get
comfortable with Aaron Sorkin's fast-flowing,
dialogue-driven script, which was over 180
pages long.
The film is structured in three parts or acts
around the launches of the Macintosh in 1984,
the NeXT in 1988, and the iMac in 1998.
So, Boyle rehearsed and then filmed each act
separately, rather like a play, with three
weeks of rehearsals before he shot Act One,
and two weeks of rehearsals before filming
Act Two, and then again before Act Three.
He also shot the whole film in sequence, which
meant the actors could really get into their
characters in each of the different periods
the film covers.
Each act was shot in a different setting in
the San Francisco Bay Area.
The 1984 Macintosh launch was shot in the
Flint Center at De Anza Community College
in Cupertino, which was the same location
where the real-life launch took place.
For the launch of the NeXT, Danny Boyle filmed
at the San Francisco Opera House as he wanted
a location that reflected the script's sense
of operatic revenge after Jobs' departure
from Apple.
And for the iMac launch, Boyle chose to film
at San Francisco's Louise M. Davies Symphony
Hall as he felt its futuristic look suited
that part of the story.
To capture the spirit of each of the movie's
three eras and locations, cinematographer
Alwin Küchler used different types of film.
He shot Act One on 16mm to get a gritty and
grainy look that reflected the rough-edged
feel of the early days of the story.
For Act Two, he wanted the smooth, filmic
qualities of 35mm in order to echo the story's
operatic themes.
While in the film's third act, he went for
the digital ALEXA camera to match the hi-tech
feel and clean designs of that stage in Jobs'
story.
On top of that, because director Danny Boyle
wanted to give the film a fluid feel and for
the actors to be able to move freely, much
of the film was shot using a Steadicam, a
camera stabilizer mount that's typically used
for action or chase scenes.
In preparation for her role as Joanna Hoffman,
Kate Winslet watched old footage of Hoffman
with Jobs to get a feel for her mannerisms
and how she talked and dressed.
Winslet also met with Hoffman, who even lent
the production some of her clothes from the
eras the film depicts.
In fact, the production decided to give Winslet
an 80s asymmetrical hairstyle in the movie
as Hoffman told the actress how she disliked
symmetry so much that she used to wear just
a single earring or mismatched earrings.
Composer Daniel Pemberton took a different
approach to each of the film's acts, essentially
creating three different scores.
To give Act One an electronic vibe, Pemberton
used a variety of synthesisers that were popular
in 1984, including the Yamaha CS-80, which
featured heavily in Vangelis' music, as that
was especially fitting as Jobs was a big Vangelis
fan.
To reflect the operatic feel of Act Two, Pemberton
composed a score for a 74-piece classical
orchestra and voices and even wrote lyrics
in Italian about computers for the opera chorus
to sing!
As for Act Three, he produced most of the
music on a computer, using Apple software,
to create a more abstract sound design.
Now, let me know in the comments below, what
you think of Steve Jobs?
And what are your favourite biopics?
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Thanks for watching!
Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers!
