One of Hollywood’s most successful independent film studios is working on an Elon Musk biopic.
A24, known for award-winning movies including Moonlight, Uncut Gems and Everything Everywhere All at Once, is adapting a recent authorised biography of the Tesla billionaire by the journalist Walter Isaacson.
Darren Aronofsky will direct the film, according to Puck, a showbusiness newsletter.
Elon Musk will not be the first Isaacson biography of a Silicon Valley titan to receive the Hollywood treatment. His book on the Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was adapted into a 2015 film directed by Danny Boyle, with Michael Fassbender starring in the lead role.
Puck reported that A24 won the rights to the book after bidding war. Playing the world’s richest man, who has as many admirers as critics, will be one of the most sought-after roles in Hollywood.
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Isaacson, 71, spent two years shadowing 52-year-old Musk for the book, joining him in meetings, walking factory floors together and interviewing those close to him. The biography explores Musk’s childhood in South Africa and his difficult relationship with his father Errol, who is depicted as abusive.
Musk made his fortune after moving to California, where he sold his stake in PayPal and made a reported $175 million. He founded his space exploration company SpaceX in 2002 and was an early investor in Tesla, which is now the world’s most valuable car manufacturer.
He bought Twitter for $44 billion last year and has renamed it X, promising to dedicate the platform to free speech. Critics say Musk, who has claimed that the “woke mind virus” poses a serious threat to western civilisation, has allowed disinformation to spread on the service.
Musk’s personal life has also attracted intense scrutiny. He has fathered 11 children and has had high-profile relationships with the actress Amber Heard and the musician Grimes.
