LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Ashton Kutcher will play Steve Jobs in a movie about the late Apple co-founder from his early days as a "wayward hippie" up through to his technology ventures, according to show business publication Variety.

The independent film "Jobs" is based on a script by Matt Whiteley and will be directed by Joshua Michael Stern ("Swing Vote").

A separate movie project about Jobs, based on the 2011 biography by Walter Isaacson, is being developed at Sony Pictures Studios.

Kutcher, who replaced Charlie Sheen on the long-running television sitcom "Two and a Half Men," is scheduled to shoot the movie during that TV series' production hiatus.

Kutcher's big-screen credits include "Valentine's Day," "What Happens in Vegas" and "The Butterfly Effect."

(Reporting by Sheri Linden; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)