While Sony is working with Aaron Sorkin on an as-of-yet untitled film based on the official biography of Steve Jobs and independent filmmakers have already debuted their take on Steve Jobs with a portrayal by Ashton Kutcher in Jobs, for some those two films might skew too much towards the serious side of cinema. If you're looking for a, uh, lighter portrayal of the late Apple co-founder, then Funny or Die has good news for you, because that's what they're doing with iSteve.
iSteve is due out on the 15th of April and represents a new format for Funny or Die. Traditionally, Funny or Die's work has trended towards the shorter clip-length fair, typically not much longer than a few minutes. iSteve is expected to clock in at over an hour. While Jobs starred Ashton Kutcher, who for all intents and purposes is not just a well-known name but also bears an uncanny resemblance to a young Steve Jobs, iSteve is sticking to Funny or Die's comedy roots by casting Justin Long in the titular role. If that name rings a bell or that face looks familiar, that's because Long is none of than "Mac" from Apple's highly successful "Get a Mac" ad campaign. Long appeared as the young, hip, and carefree Mac, juxtaposed in more than sixty ads over a span of four years against the stodgy, clumsy, and fumbling PC played by John Hodgman.
The teaser trailer released today by Funny or Die is pretty short on both imagery of Long and obvious funny. The tone is firmly tongue-planted-in-cheek, with a voice rattling off a lengthy list of traits attributed to Jobs and eventually cutting to Long yelling in dramatic "angry Steve" fasion. Funny or Die's also released an image of Long as the older Steve Jobs, aping the famous black-and-white 2006 Albert Watson portrait of Jobs. Long is having a little more difficulty pulling off the Jobs look as well as Kutcher did, though we imagine that's part of the appeal behind iSteve - the cheesy makeup and too-big turtleneck aren't meant to be taken seriously. With a name like iSteve, how could you?
Source: Funny or Die; Via: AppleInsider
