After some repeated setbacks in the attempts to find an actor to play the lead role, the upcoming Steve Jobs biopic is seemingly now on a casting role. We've been hearing a number of updates about the project recently, and now word has come down that the movie has targeted and is close to signing its female lead.
Variety has gotten word that Kate Winslet is now in negotiations to join the Aaron Sorkin-scripted drama, though the trade doesn't really specify who she will be playing (simply identifying her as the "female lead"). Previous reports have suggested that it's Steve Jobs' daughter, Lisa Brennan-Jobs, who will be at the center of the movie, but having Winslet play that role doesn't make a ton of sense. After all, Winslet is actually two years older than the actor who would be playing her father, Michael Fassbender. It seems much more likely that she could play Laurene Powell Jobs, Steve Jobs' wife.
Should she sign on, Kate Winslet will be joining what is becoming a pretty stacked cast. In addition to Fassbender, Seth Rogen is attached to play Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, and Jeff Daniels is being looked at for Apple President John Scully. Surely the stars are not only drawn to the idea of performing an Aaron Sorkin screenplay, but also working with director Danny Boyle, who is at the helm of the project. The film is based on the biography written by Walter Isaacson, and it has been said that it will be told in three separate segments that all take place in real time during a different Apple presentation.
The Steve Jobs biopic is certainly going to be looking for Oscar gold come time for its release, and it wouldn't be incredibly shocking if that's part of what attracted Kate Winslet to it. After all, as Variety points out, she already has six nominations and one win under her belt, so she clearly shares similar tastes with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Whether or not it can result in a seventh nomination is something we'll have to wait and see about.
Winslet got a taste of both blockbuster and romantic comedy in 2014, having starred in both Divergent and Alan Rickman's A Little Chaos, and she already has a pretty big 2015 laid out as well. In addition to appearing in the Divergent sequel, Insurgent, she has also already finished work on both John Hillcoat's Triple Nine and Jocelyn Moorhouse's Rosalie Ham adaptation The Dressmaker. At this time it is unclear if the folks at Universal are looking at the Steve Jobs movie for late 2015 portion of their calendar, or if they are planning to hold it until 2016. At this point, it's probably best not to rush it.
