'The Current War' to Take Cues from 'Steve Jobs,' 'The Social Network'
The Weinstein Company has finally gotten The Current War onto its feet, after a number of years of struggle since its Black Listing in 2011, the script by Michael Mitnick. Alfonso Gomez-Rejon is directing the film with Benedict Cumberbatch starring as Thomas Edison. Also starring is Michael Shannon and Nicholas Hoult, and filming is underway in London.
Producer Basil Iwanyk has been doing the rounds for John Wick Chapter 2, and has taken some time to talk about various other projects like Robin Hood: Origins. This time, he talks to Collider about The Current War, which audiences can expect to draw parallels with Aaron Sorkin films The Social Network and Steve Jobs.
“It’s the story of the race to kind of light up the eastern seaboard, specifically Manhattan, between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse. The movie isn’t played like a stodgy period drama, it feels like The Social Network or Steve Jobs. It’s the idea of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs went toe-to-toe to create the lightbulb, and that’s what these characters were. They’re larger than life, and they’re aggressive and tough and funny and geniuses, and that’s the vibe of the movie.”
Both those films are stunning, and if The Current War can match those in quality and in style then this might just be a winner. It revolves around the late 1800s rivalry between Edison and Westinghouse (Shannon) in the race to invent the defining mode of producing electric power and light.
The producer gave credit to the Weinsteins for the choice of director.
“I have to say it was the Weinsteins. They’re the ones that really pushed Alfonso, and they were right. For a movie about light and about lighting the world, you want a director who is a visualist, you want a director who is playful with the medium, and that’s Alfonso. You look at Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, it could’ve been a very straightforward YA movie but there’s a real style to it. He was Scorsese’s assistant for a long time, and Scorsese just plays with the medium and filmmaking—that’s what Alfonso does, and it just makes it an event to watch it.”
The film also stars Katherine Waterston, Tom Holland, Matthew Macfadyen, and Tuppence Middleton.
Source: Collider
