To mark the 21st March DVD and Blu-ray release of director Danny Boyle’s brilliantly realised movie Steve Jobs, Flicks And The City takes a look at some fascinating facts about the film.
*A Family Affair
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.
*Michael Fassbender
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.
*Kate Winslet
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.
*A Different Kind of Film
The way director Danny Boyle approached filming Steve Jobs was rather unusual compared to most feature films.
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.
*Locations
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.
Steve Jobs is available on Digital HD now, and on DVD and Blu-ray from 21 March 2016. Special features include: The Making Of Steve Jobs, Feature Commentary with Director Danny Boyle, and Feature Commentary with Writer Aaron Sorkin and Editor Elliot Graham.
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