SpaceX, Twitter and electrical automotive maker Tesla CEO Elon Musk, attends a US Senate bipartisan Synthetic Intelligence (AI) Perception Discussion board on the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on September 13, 2023.
Stefani Reynolds | Afp | Getty Photographs
Possibly the most popular query in Hollywood proper now could be: Who will play Elon Musk?
Information broke Friday that hot-ticket indie studio A24 snagged the rights to movie Walter Isaacson’s biography of the controversial billionaire Tesla and SpaceX chief. NBC Information reported that the settlement got here after a extremely aggressive bidding struggle involving a number of studios and filmmakers.
As if that weren’t head-turning sufficient – A24, which dominated final 12 months’s Oscars, is fashionable amongst movie buffs for edgy fare like “Midsommar” and “Discuss to Me” – Darren Aronofsky is connected to direct the biopic.
The possibility to play such a divisive determine as Musk can be catnip to most actors anyway. However the probability to work with Aronofsky is probably going an added bonus. His bold films usually demand actors go to award-show-worthy extremes, giving him an awesome monitor file of steering performers to Oscar nominations and wins.
Earlier this 12 months, Brendan Fraser gained greatest actor for his function as a reclusive and depressed professor in Aronofsky’s “The Whale,” whereas Hong Chau obtained a greatest supporting actress nomination. In 2011, Natalie Portman gained greatest actress for the director’s psychological ballet drama “Black Swan.” Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei have been each nominated in 2009 for “The Wrestler.” Earlier than that, Ellen Burstyn was nominated for greatest actress in 2001 for Aronofsky’s disturbing drug-addiction drama “Requiem for a Dream.”
Darren Aronofsky attends the UK Premiere of ‘The Whale’ on the Royal Competition Corridor in the course of the 66th BFI London Movie Competition in London, United Kingdom on October 11, 2022.
Wiktor Szymanowicz | Future Publishing | Getty Photographs
However the Oscar mojo would not belong completely to Aronofsky.
Isaacson’s Steve Jobs biography provided the supply materials for the 2015 Danny Boyle movie of the identical title, which netted Michael Fassbender a greatest actor nomination for enjoying the late Apple mastermind. One other polarizing tech determine, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, was the topic of David Fincher’s 2010 drama, “The Social Community,” which led to star Jesse Eisenberg snagging a greatest actor nomination.
It stays to be seen who will find yourself getting the Musk function, which is able to draw extra scrutiny than most casting choices in Hollywood, given the billionaire’s outspoken and provocative presence on social media. Aronofsky’s protagonists additionally are usually irreparably flawed and self-destructive.
In the mean time, although, Musk seems pleased with the best way it is going. “Glad Darren is doing it. He is without doubt one of the greatest,” he posted on his platform X, previously referred to as Twitter.
CNBC has requested Musk about whom he’d wish to see play him within the film.
