14 DAY TRIAL // Actor Matthew Modine will be playing the role of John Sculley in the upcoming jOBS biopic starring Ashton Kutcher as the visionary genius on his journey to make a dent in the universe from 1971 through the 21st century.
"The interesting thing about that is some people may look at John Sculley as a villain in the story, an antagonist in the story," Modine told CBS News in an interview.
He went on to compare the situation at Apple with that of Michael Jordan, when he was playing basketball in high school: “...he was kicked off the team. He was cut,” said Modine. “And had Michael Jordan not been cut, a lot of people believe he wouldn't have found the aspiration and desire to show his coach that he was wrong and become the Michael Jordan who changes the game of basketball."
Indeed, the story is very similar to Jobs’ during Sculley’s tenure at Apple, when the new CEO reportedly convinced the board of directors to fire the Apple co-founder, following an internal power struggle.
Modine noted that it was his feeling that “had John Sculley not fired Steve Jobs from Apple Computers [sic] and Steve go on the journey that he did when he was away from Apple Computers that we wouldn't be speaking about Steve Jobs today.”
John Sculley was the CEO of PepsiCo when he was lured into Apple by Jobs himself with the historical pitch: "Do you want to sell sugared water for the rest of your life? Or do you want to come with me and change the world?"
Directed by Joshua Michael Stern, and produced by Five Star Institute's Mark Hulme, the indie biopic jOBS will also feature "Book of Mormon" star Josh Gad, who will portray the less-known (but equally-adored by geeks) Apple co-founder, Steve Wozniak.
Ahna O’Reilly, known for her appearance in The Help, will play Chris-Ann Brennan, Steve Jobs’ girlfriend.