Aaron Sorkin to adapt Walter Isaacson's "Steve Jobs" biography

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs

/ Apple

(CNET) All rumors that "The Social Network" writer Aaron Sorkin was toying with Sony's offer to write a screenplay based on Steve Jobs' life have been substantiated. Sony announced today that the Academy Award-winning screenwriter has accepted the job.

"Steve Jobs' story is unique: he was one of the most revolutionary and influential men not just of our time but of all time," co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment Amy Pascal said in a statement today. "There is no writer working in Hollywood today who is more capable of capturing such an extraordinary life for the screen than Aaron Sorkin; in his hands, we're confident that the film will be everything that Jobs himself was: captivating, entertaining, and polarizing."

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In the tech world Sorkin is best known for his Academy Award-winning adaptation of "The Social Network," which was based on how Mark Zuckerberg built the Facebook empire. But he has also wrote screenplays for several other esteemed films, plays, and TV shows, such as "The West Wing," "Moneyball," and "A Few Good Men."

Sony quickly grabbed the rights to Walter Isaacson's best-selling biopic "Steve Jobs" shortly after the Apple co-founder died from a rare form of pancreatic cancer at the age of 56 last October. According to the Web site Film, Sony sealed the deal for $1 million. Recently, rumors have surfaced that Sony was looking to get George Clooney or Noah Wyle to play the role of Jobs.

This article first appeared at CNET under the headline "'Steve Jobs' biography to become Aaron Sorkin movie."

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Steve Jobs: 1955 - 2011