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Will Aaron Sorkin take on Steve Jobs?

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EXCLUSIVE: Steve Jobs was front and center again Sunday night when ’60 Minutes’ aired its much-anticipated interview with his biographer, Walter Isaacson. It proably won’t be the last time the Apple co-founder will dominate our screens.

Sony is moving forward with a Steve Jobs movie based on Isaacson’s book. And one of the writers being courted by producers to pen his story, according to a person who was briefed on the project but not authorized to speak about it publicly, is Aaron Sorkin, Hollywood’s chronicler-in-chief of the complicated visionary.

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The ‘Moneyball’ and ‘Social Network’ writer was said by the person to be considering the prospect but had made no decisions. Sony and a Sorkin representative declined to comment on the writer’s potential involvement.

Would the writer be a good fit for the story of the Apple leader, which is being produced by ‘Saving Private Ryan’ producer Mark Gordon and the Hollywood management and producing mainstay Management 360?

Sorkin is known for penning stories about the lives of fiercely smart, if difficult, figures, of which Jobs certainly was one. Isaacson’s take on the late executive as someone whose penchant for ‘magical thinking’ was both a great advantage and a fatal liability seems particularly suited to a Sorkin script, as does the detail about Jobs’ biological father, whom he met unwittingly at a Silicon Valley restaurant.

Of course, Sorkin could feel like he’s already been done the Silicon Valley thing with ‘Social Network.’ And Sorkin did know Jobs, which could make things a bit sticky. In fact, it’s rare for a biopic to cover someone who so recently died, which could create a challenge for any writer.

On the other hand, the tech pioneer had once asked Sorkin to write a Pixar movie. Sorkin declined, saying he couldn’t ‘make inanimate objects talk.’ But writing a movie about the man behind Pixar might serve as a certain kind of tribute.

Whoever winds up penning it, there’s clearly an appetite among the viewing public for Jobs’ story, especially as told by Isaacson: Sunday night’s edition of ’60 Minutes’ was up an impressive 47% in the coveted 18-49 demographic compared to the previous week.

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-- Steven Zeitchik

twitter.com/ZeitchikLAT

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