In 1977, aspiring cartoonist Matt Groening moved from his hometown of Portland, Oregon to Los Angeles with dreams of becoming a writer. Like most people who move to Los Angeles with dreams of becoming a writer, he took on some of the most menial jobs imaginable. Groening worked in a sewage treatment plant, as a dishwasher, and as a waiter. All the while, Groening worked on what would become his signature creation, the "Life in Hell" comic strip.
Groening would leave "Life in Hell" comics in a small corner of Licorice Pizza, the celebrated Los Angeles record store where he occasionally worked. It was an embittered strip about modern life, a harsh critique of life, love, school, and work. Groening attacked everything the establishment celebrated as normal and good, finding nothing but misery in the real world.
"Life in Hell" was picked up by Wet Magazine and, later the Los Angeles Reader.
Groening would leave "Life in Hell" comics in a small corner of Licorice Pizza, the celebrated Los Angeles record store where he occasionally worked. It was an embittered strip about modern life, a harsh critique of life, love, school, and work. Groening attacked everything the establishment celebrated as normal and good, finding nothing but misery in the real world.
"Life in Hell" was picked up by Wet Magazine and, later the Los Angeles Reader.
- 3/30/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Taking on the iconic role of one of the most popular superheroes in the MCU, Tom Holland has swiftly ascended to the ranks of Hollywood’s most coveted actors. His breakout portrayal as Spider-Man has opened doors for him to exhibit his versatility beyond the superhero genre. However, his journey hasn’t been devoid of setbacks, both commercially and critically.
Tom Holland in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Despite the fame, success, and critical acclaim, the 27-year-old English actor has encountered instances where his films failed to resonate at the box office and faced critical scrutiny for various aspects.
Tom Holland’s Historical Drama That Failed to Generate Sparks at the Box Office
Following his debut as Spider-Man in the 2016 MCU film Captain America: Civil War and the success of Spider-Man: Homecoming, Tom Holland took on the role of Samuel Insull, an innovator and investor, in the 2017 historical drama The Current War.
Tom Holland in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Despite the fame, success, and critical acclaim, the 27-year-old English actor has encountered instances where his films failed to resonate at the box office and faced critical scrutiny for various aspects.
Tom Holland’s Historical Drama That Failed to Generate Sparks at the Box Office
Following his debut as Spider-Man in the 2016 MCU film Captain America: Civil War and the success of Spider-Man: Homecoming, Tom Holland took on the role of Samuel Insull, an innovator and investor, in the 2017 historical drama The Current War.
- 3/24/2024
- by Laxmi Rajput
- FandomWire
Eve Hewson is one of the most talented and beautiful actresses working in the film industry. The Irish actress began her career with a 2005 short film titled Lost and Found, and after that she made her feature debut with the 2008 film The 27 Club. Hewson’s first major role was in the 2011 drama film This Must Be It and recently she starred in Apple TV+’s musical drama film Flora and Son. So, if you love Hewson’s performances here are the 10 best movies and shows starring Eve Hewson that should be on your watchlist.
10. Behind Her Eyes (Netflix) Credit – Netflix
Synopsis: Simona Brown plays Louise, a single mother who has an affair with her psychiatrist boss David (Tom Bateman). Her life takes a strange turn when she later befriends his wife Adele (Eve Hewson), and she finds herself caught in a web of secrets and lies where nothing is what it seems.
10. Behind Her Eyes (Netflix) Credit – Netflix
Synopsis: Simona Brown plays Louise, a single mother who has an affair with her psychiatrist boss David (Tom Bateman). Her life takes a strange turn when she later befriends his wife Adele (Eve Hewson), and she finds herself caught in a web of secrets and lies where nothing is what it seems.
- 11/14/2023
- by Kulwant Singh
- Cinema Blind
Screenwriter Graham Moore, who won the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar in 2015 for “The Imitation Game,” has enlisted Mark Rylance and Dylan O’Brien to star in his directorial debut, “The Outfit.” Set in gangster-ridden Chicago, the film is set for release by Focus Features in February. Below, find the first trailer for the film.
The Oscar-winning Rylance (“Bridge of Spies”) plays Leonard, an English tailor who used to craft bespoke suits on London’s famed Savile Row. He heads to Chicago after a personal tragedy, where he operates a tailor shop in a rough part of town, making beautiful clothes for the only people in the neighborhood who can afford them: a family of gangsters.
Also starring are O’Brien (“The Maze Runner”), Zoey Deutch (“Set It Up”), Johnny Flynn (“Emma”), Simon Russell Beale (“The Hollow Crown”), and Nikki Amuka-Bird (“Nw”).
Moore co-wrote the script with Jonathan McClain. It marks the feature screenwriting debut for McClain,...
The Oscar-winning Rylance (“Bridge of Spies”) plays Leonard, an English tailor who used to craft bespoke suits on London’s famed Savile Row. He heads to Chicago after a personal tragedy, where he operates a tailor shop in a rough part of town, making beautiful clothes for the only people in the neighborhood who can afford them: a family of gangsters.
Also starring are O’Brien (“The Maze Runner”), Zoey Deutch (“Set It Up”), Johnny Flynn (“Emma”), Simon Russell Beale (“The Hollow Crown”), and Nikki Amuka-Bird (“Nw”).
Moore co-wrote the script with Jonathan McClain. It marks the feature screenwriting debut for McClain,...
- 11/17/2021
- by Chris Lindahl
- Indiewire
Exclusive: CAA has inked playwright and screenwriter Michael Mitnick.
Mitnick most recently wrote the Alfonso Gomez-Rejon feature The Current War about the electricity war between titans Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse which starred Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Shannon, Tom Holland, and Nicholas Hoult. The pic made its world premiere at TIFF in 2017.
Mitnick’s current projects include Lily and the Octopus at Amazon, the limited series Siegfried & Roy for Peter Chernin, and The Light of Days for Amblin Partners.
He is also adapting the anthology series Dial M for Murder for Alicia Vikander at MGM, with Terence Winter and Andrew Mittman executive producing. Mitnick previously adapted YA novel, The Giver, which Phillip Noyce directed for the screen.
Mitnick wrote the book for the new musical Scotland, Pa which had its world premiere at the Roundabout Theatre company in Fall 2019. His play Mysterious Circumstances, based on David Grann’s article in The New Yorker,...
Mitnick most recently wrote the Alfonso Gomez-Rejon feature The Current War about the electricity war between titans Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse which starred Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Shannon, Tom Holland, and Nicholas Hoult. The pic made its world premiere at TIFF in 2017.
Mitnick’s current projects include Lily and the Octopus at Amazon, the limited series Siegfried & Roy for Peter Chernin, and The Light of Days for Amblin Partners.
He is also adapting the anthology series Dial M for Murder for Alicia Vikander at MGM, with Terence Winter and Andrew Mittman executive producing. Mitnick previously adapted YA novel, The Giver, which Phillip Noyce directed for the screen.
Mitnick wrote the book for the new musical Scotland, Pa which had its world premiere at the Roundabout Theatre company in Fall 2019. His play Mysterious Circumstances, based on David Grann’s article in The New Yorker,...
- 1/5/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Ethan Hawke is an actor capable of doing just about anything. We’ve seen him tackle, over the years, nearly all genres and all sizes of production, winning acclaim consistently. Here, with Tesla, he’s apparently going the prestige biopic route, though looks can be deceiving. While the appearance here is of an independent take on what would usually be considered Oscar bait, instead we have a rather off-beat and even daring at times remix of a biographical tale. There are missteps from time to time, but the willingness to buck convention, as well as Hawke’s committed work, make it something to seek out. The film is, on the surface at least, a biopic of Nikola Tesla (Hawke), the inventor whose eventual breakthroughs in transmitting electrical power and light would change the world. However, he’s long been portrayed as a pawn in a battle for power (no pun...
- 8/22/2020
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
Ethan Hawke’s ‘Tesla” hits theaters this Friday — let’s take a look at the other actors who have portrayed Nikola Tesla, the famed inventor who is best known for his contributions to the design of the alternating current electricity system, in film and TV.
Ethan Hawke, “Tesla” (2020)
Ethan Hawke stars as Nikola Tesla in the film hitting theaters hits Friday. Directed by Michael Almereyda, Eve Hewson, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Jim Gaffigan, and Kyle MacLachlan also star. The film premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and was acquired by IFC Films.
David Bowie, “The Prestige” (2006)
The late David Bowie played the inventor in Christopher Nolan’s “The Prestige,” which also starred Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale and Scarlett Johansson.
Nicholas Hoult, “The Current War” (2017)
Hoult played Tesla in Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s historical drama, which chronicled the competition between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse over which electric power delivery system would be used in the U.
Ethan Hawke, “Tesla” (2020)
Ethan Hawke stars as Nikola Tesla in the film hitting theaters hits Friday. Directed by Michael Almereyda, Eve Hewson, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Jim Gaffigan, and Kyle MacLachlan also star. The film premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and was acquired by IFC Films.
David Bowie, “The Prestige” (2006)
The late David Bowie played the inventor in Christopher Nolan’s “The Prestige,” which also starred Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale and Scarlett Johansson.
Nicholas Hoult, “The Current War” (2017)
Hoult played Tesla in Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s historical drama, which chronicled the competition between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse over which electric power delivery system would be used in the U.
- 8/21/2020
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Wrap
After numerous delays, Well Go USA’s Cut Throat City is finally making its debut — and in theaters. Yes, you heard that right. The RZA-directed crime drama will make its way into select theaters starting today as they slowly start to open their doors across the country.
“Well Go is a supporter of the traditional theatrical window and when we initially read the script a couple years ago we truly envisioned Cut Throat City as a wide theatrical release,” said Doris Pfardrescher, President & CEO, Well Go USA. “It is a socially relevant film that we feel needs to be seen on the big screen. We also want to help support the cinemas as best we can in bringing life back to their business.”
She added, “Obviously, safety is an important part of reopening but we do feel that the cinemas are taking every precaution to make us all and the environment feel safe.
“Well Go is a supporter of the traditional theatrical window and when we initially read the script a couple years ago we truly envisioned Cut Throat City as a wide theatrical release,” said Doris Pfardrescher, President & CEO, Well Go USA. “It is a socially relevant film that we feel needs to be seen on the big screen. We also want to help support the cinemas as best we can in bringing life back to their business.”
She added, “Obviously, safety is an important part of reopening but we do feel that the cinemas are taking every precaution to make us all and the environment feel safe.
- 8/21/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Thomas Edison was often called the Wizard of Menlo Park. Which is to say that most Americans in the late 19th century viewed his patented incandescent lightbulb as a thing of magic, one so otherworldly it inspired the title of L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz. Yet much like the magician of that fantasy tale, the real-life wizard wasn’t the man behind the curtain; it was Nikola Tesla, the sphinxlike Serbian immigrant who discovered alternating electrical currents and, depending on who you ask, radio waves. If Edison was a wizard, then Tesla was something else entirely—an alien being sent down to imagine the face of the 20th century for us.
These singular contributions inform much of Michael Almereyda’s peculiar idea of a biographical film. Because, yes, despite its many eccentricities, Tesla is very much a biopic, and one just as bizarre as the genius of...
These singular contributions inform much of Michael Almereyda’s peculiar idea of a biographical film. Because, yes, despite its many eccentricities, Tesla is very much a biopic, and one just as bizarre as the genius of...
- 8/20/2020
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Have we enough evidence to name Michael Almereyda the American cinema’s greatest biographer? It’s a narrow range and hardly the highest bar to clear, yet his oeuvre yields both biopics (delightful whatsit Experimenter) and documentaries that show the largely unloved, oft-uncinematic concentration for everything it’s capable.
This week sees the addition of Tesla, Almereyda’s formally playful examination of Nikola Tesla’s life, work, legacy, and (because nothing is as it seems) vocal skills; he’s here reunited, some 20 years after their fantastic Hamlet, with Ethan Hawke in the title role and Kyle MacLachlan as Thomas Edison, while Eve Hewson, playing Anne Morgan, is our guide through this film’s puzzle. Praised since Sundance—where we said it marks “a testament to the independent spirit”—it arrives Friday via IFC.
Almereyda and I spoke over email about his decades-long quest to chronicle Tesla’s life.
The Film...
This week sees the addition of Tesla, Almereyda’s formally playful examination of Nikola Tesla’s life, work, legacy, and (because nothing is as it seems) vocal skills; he’s here reunited, some 20 years after their fantastic Hamlet, with Ethan Hawke in the title role and Kyle MacLachlan as Thomas Edison, while Eve Hewson, playing Anne Morgan, is our guide through this film’s puzzle. Praised since Sundance—where we said it marks “a testament to the independent spirit”—it arrives Friday via IFC.
Almereyda and I spoke over email about his decades-long quest to chronicle Tesla’s life.
The Film...
- 8/18/2020
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
If you want to be bored breathless by how Serbian inventor Nicola Tesla (1856-1943) figured into the feud between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse over direct and alternating currents, try 2019’s The Current War. It’s biopic trolling at its dullest. Or you may want to consider Tesla, which is both a corrective and a mesmerizing showcase for Ethan Hawke, playing the futurist who harnessed AC to light the eventual spark for our contemporary wireless world. Google searches, a Macbook and a cellphone make anachronistic cameos as Tesla mixes it...
- 8/18/2020
- by Peter Travers
- Rollingstone.com
IFC Films has launched a new trailer for ‘Tesla’ featuring Ethan Hawke.
Brilliant, visionary Nikola Tesla (Ethan Hawke) fights an uphill battle to bring his revolutionary electrical system to fruition, then faces thornier challenges with his new system for worldwide wireless energy. The film tracks Tesla’s uneasy interactions with his fellow inventor Thomas Edison (Kyle MacLachlan) and his patron George Westinghouse (Jim Gaffigan). Another thread traces Tesla’s sidewinding courtship of financial titan J.P. Morgan (Donnie Keshawarz), whose daughter Anne (Eve Hewson) takes a more than casual interest in the inventor. Anne analyzes and presents the story as it unfolds, offering a distinctly modern voice to this scientific period drama which, like its subject, defies convention.
Directed by Michael Almereyda, the film stars Ethan Hawke, Eve Hewson, Hannah Gross & Kyle MacLachlan.
Also in trailers – Bryan Cranston becomes a father to a Gorilla in trailer for ‘The One and Only Ivan...
Brilliant, visionary Nikola Tesla (Ethan Hawke) fights an uphill battle to bring his revolutionary electrical system to fruition, then faces thornier challenges with his new system for worldwide wireless energy. The film tracks Tesla’s uneasy interactions with his fellow inventor Thomas Edison (Kyle MacLachlan) and his patron George Westinghouse (Jim Gaffigan). Another thread traces Tesla’s sidewinding courtship of financial titan J.P. Morgan (Donnie Keshawarz), whose daughter Anne (Eve Hewson) takes a more than casual interest in the inventor. Anne analyzes and presents the story as it unfolds, offering a distinctly modern voice to this scientific period drama which, like its subject, defies convention.
Directed by Michael Almereyda, the film stars Ethan Hawke, Eve Hewson, Hannah Gross & Kyle MacLachlan.
Also in trailers – Bryan Cranston becomes a father to a Gorilla in trailer for ‘The One and Only Ivan...
- 7/13/2020
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Ethan Hawke stars as the famed inventor Nikola Tesla in the new trailer for the upcoming biopic, Tesla, set to arrive in theaters and video on-demand services August 21st.
As the trailer teases, Tesla takes a slightly unconventional approach to the biopic. In early scene, Eve Hewson, who plays Anne Morgan — daughter of banker J.P. Morgan and one of Tesla’s biggest supporters — opens a laptop and speaks directly to the camera, as if she’s delivering a PowerPoint presentation: “If you Google Nikola Tesla you get 34 million results. It’s basically just four pictures.
As the trailer teases, Tesla takes a slightly unconventional approach to the biopic. In early scene, Eve Hewson, who plays Anne Morgan — daughter of banker J.P. Morgan and one of Tesla’s biggest supporters — opens a laptop and speaks directly to the camera, as if she’s delivering a PowerPoint presentation: “If you Google Nikola Tesla you get 34 million results. It’s basically just four pictures.
- 7/10/2020
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Ethan Hawke headlines the biopic, Tesla, having transformed himself—mustache and all—into the once-overlooked, retroactively-revered early 20th century inventor, Nikola Tesla. The indie offering, directed and written by Michael Almereyda, premiered this past January at the Sundance Film Festival, and will make its general release via IFC Films.
Tesla might initially seem like a historical biopic that’s quickly revisiting a topical well, focused on the electrical engineering achievements of Tesla in his famous involvement in the electricity rivalry between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse. After all, an impressively-cast movie covering that very rivalry, The Current War, just saw its belated wide release this past October. However, viewers get a meta-minded slap about 25 seconds into the film’s just-dropped trailer, proving that there’s more to it than we thought.
With that set, check out the trailer for Tesla just below.
As the official Tesla logline fully explains of the plot.
Tesla might initially seem like a historical biopic that’s quickly revisiting a topical well, focused on the electrical engineering achievements of Tesla in his famous involvement in the electricity rivalry between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse. After all, an impressively-cast movie covering that very rivalry, The Current War, just saw its belated wide release this past October. However, viewers get a meta-minded slap about 25 seconds into the film’s just-dropped trailer, proving that there’s more to it than we thought.
With that set, check out the trailer for Tesla just below.
As the official Tesla logline fully explains of the plot.
- 7/10/2020
- by Joseph Baxter
- Den of Geek
One of our most-anticipated films heading into Sundance Film Festival this year was Tesla, the latest film by the always inventive Michael Almereyda. As one can imagine, the director defied conventions finding new territory to mine from a figure (born on this day in 1856) recently captured in other biopics like The Current War. Led by Ethan Hawke and also starring Kyle MacLachlan, Jim Gaffigan, Donnie Keshawarz, and Eve Hewson, the film is now set for an August release by IFC Films, who have debuted the first trailer.
Dan Mecca said in his review, “Tesla plays a lot like Experimenter in its use of minimalist production design in parts (perhaps forced by budget) and exciting flights of fancy in others. Almereyda has been a Sundance mainstay for much of his career and it makes sense. His films are a testament to the independent spirit. Limitations be damned! The messy creativity on display is something to admire.
Dan Mecca said in his review, “Tesla plays a lot like Experimenter in its use of minimalist production design in parts (perhaps forced by budget) and exciting flights of fancy in others. Almereyda has been a Sundance mainstay for much of his career and it makes sense. His films are a testament to the independent spirit. Limitations be damned! The messy creativity on display is something to admire.
- 7/10/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Though we’ve seen Nikola Tesla portrayed in film by David Bowie and Nicholas Hoult in recent years as the inventor’s legacy has continued to grow, Ethan Hawke’s turn in the new film “Tesla” flips the biopic format on its head.
The first trailer for Michael Almereyda’s latest film “Tesla,” which dropped its first look Friday on Nikola Tesla’s 164th birthday, paints Tesla as everything from a mysterious historical icon, a philosophizer and even a rock star. Mixed in with Hawke sparring with Thomas Edison and wooing the daughter of J.P. Morgan, we see a modern day woman conducting a Google search of the roughly four images that exist of Tesla and Hawke taking a stage and grabbing a microphone while in character.
“The world we are living in is a dream that Tesla dreamed first,” Eve Hewson’s character says in the first trailer for the film.
The first trailer for Michael Almereyda’s latest film “Tesla,” which dropped its first look Friday on Nikola Tesla’s 164th birthday, paints Tesla as everything from a mysterious historical icon, a philosophizer and even a rock star. Mixed in with Hawke sparring with Thomas Edison and wooing the daughter of J.P. Morgan, we see a modern day woman conducting a Google search of the roughly four images that exist of Tesla and Hawke taking a stage and grabbing a microphone while in character.
“The world we are living in is a dream that Tesla dreamed first,” Eve Hewson’s character says in the first trailer for the film.
- 7/10/2020
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
The longtime rivalry between brilliant and eccentric inventors Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison remains one of history’s fiercest, with their developments of AC and DC currents, respectively, sparking a bitter feud that rocked the late 19th century. Their complex head-to-head is now the subject of director Michael Almereyda’s latest film “Tesla,” which stars Ethan Hawke in the title role opposite Kyle MacLachlan as Edison. The film also unpacks other wild aspects of Tesla’s life, both personal and professional. Ahead of the film’s release from IFC on August 21, and in celebration of Tesla’s 164th birthday on July 10, a new trailer for the film has dropped. Check it out below.
Written by Almereyda, who won the Alfred P. Sloan Prize for the film at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, “Tesla” also stars Eve Hewson, Jim Gaffigan, Hannah Gross, Josh Hamilton, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach. Here’s the official synopsis: “Brilliant,...
Written by Almereyda, who won the Alfred P. Sloan Prize for the film at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, “Tesla” also stars Eve Hewson, Jim Gaffigan, Hannah Gross, Josh Hamilton, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach. Here’s the official synopsis: “Brilliant,...
- 7/10/2020
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
I contend the world changed more between 1875 and 1900 than any other quarter-century in recorded history. From Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone to Thomas Edison’s phonograph and motion pictures, the masses were suddenly able to communi9cate and entertain in new ways. The world shrank and night was eliminated thanks to the light bulb.
It’s a fascinating period and one that has been overlooked until recently. First came, Graham Moore’s The Last Days of Night, a historical novel from 2016 that carefully detailed the battle between Edison and George Westinghouse for setting the electrical standard for America. Of course, alternating current won, but not without losses on both sides.
A year later, director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon tackled the same subject matter in The Current War, pitting Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch) against Westinghouse (Michael Shannon). In both stories as in history, the mad genius of Nikola Tesla (Nicholas Hoult), is a naïve innocent,...
It’s a fascinating period and one that has been overlooked until recently. First came, Graham Moore’s The Last Days of Night, a historical novel from 2016 that carefully detailed the battle between Edison and George Westinghouse for setting the electrical standard for America. Of course, alternating current won, but not without losses on both sides.
A year later, director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon tackled the same subject matter in The Current War, pitting Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch) against Westinghouse (Michael Shannon). In both stories as in history, the mad genius of Nikola Tesla (Nicholas Hoult), is a naïve innocent,...
- 4/6/2020
- by Robert Greenberger
- Comicmix.com
‘Onward’ (Photo credit: Disney).
In his 63 years as a film programmer, Bob Parr had never experienced anything like the current crisis as ticket sales flatlined across the country over the past few weeks.
“All exhibitors and distributors are losing a lot of money,” the Wallis Cinemas consultant told If on Sunday. “Many cinemas have closed because there are no patrons.
“Many small exhibitors make their living in school holidays and barely break even except for blockbusters during the remaining time. They are in the business because they love it.”
Later that day the Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced all cinemas and entertainment venues, registered and licensed clubs, hotels, pubs, casinos and nightclubs will close today.
Exhibitors and distributors had been steeling themselves for that decision after cinemas were shuttered in the Us, the UK and myriad other markets.
Now facing zero cash flow, they have to lay off permanent and casual staff,...
In his 63 years as a film programmer, Bob Parr had never experienced anything like the current crisis as ticket sales flatlined across the country over the past few weeks.
“All exhibitors and distributors are losing a lot of money,” the Wallis Cinemas consultant told If on Sunday. “Many cinemas have closed because there are no patrons.
“Many small exhibitors make their living in school holidays and barely break even except for blockbusters during the remaining time. They are in the business because they love it.”
Later that day the Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced all cinemas and entertainment venues, registered and licensed clubs, hotels, pubs, casinos and nightclubs will close today.
Exhibitors and distributors had been steeling themselves for that decision after cinemas were shuttered in the Us, the UK and myriad other markets.
Now facing zero cash flow, they have to lay off permanent and casual staff,...
- 3/23/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Universal City, California, March 20, 2020 – Let there be light! Dive deeper into the electric true story behind one of the greatest unknown battles in American invention and ingenuity in The Current War: Director’S Cut, available on Digital now and on Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand on March 31, 2020, from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. This suspenseful “smart historical drama” gives an inside look at one of the most impactful events in history as it set the foundation for modern life – the creation of electricity. With “vivid performances” from an all-star cast including Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Shannon, Nicholas Hoult and Tom Holland, the film from director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon and with a script by Michael Mitnick provides a compelling tug-of-war story that is enhanced through both the immersive visual style and powerful cast performances. Full of emotionally gripping moments from beginning to end, audiences can see the fascinating The Current War: Director’S Cut when the film arrives on Digital,...
- 3/21/2020
- by ComicMix Staff
- Comicmix.com
Village Roadshow Ltd (Vrl) acknowledges its cinemas and theme parks may be forced to close, citing international precedents.
The company told investors today it was making contingency plans if that happens as it reported theme park attendances have slumped due to Covid-19 and curbs on international travel.
The postponement of Hollywood releases Mulan, Fast & Furious 9, A Quiet Place II, Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway and No Time to Die would have a significant impact on the exhibition division’s earnings, it said.
As If reported, Palace Cinemas closed indefinitely yesterday and other chains have reduced capacity and staggered seating.
The top 20 titles’ Bo takings fell to an all-time low in the week ending yesterday, grossing $6.9 million. This weekend will be even worse with only one new wide release, Roadshow’s The Current War.
The period drama about the face-off between irascible inventor Thomas Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch) and genteel...
The company told investors today it was making contingency plans if that happens as it reported theme park attendances have slumped due to Covid-19 and curbs on international travel.
The postponement of Hollywood releases Mulan, Fast & Furious 9, A Quiet Place II, Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway and No Time to Die would have a significant impact on the exhibition division’s earnings, it said.
As If reported, Palace Cinemas closed indefinitely yesterday and other chains have reduced capacity and staggered seating.
The top 20 titles’ Bo takings fell to an all-time low in the week ending yesterday, grossing $6.9 million. This weekend will be even worse with only one new wide release, Roadshow’s The Current War.
The period drama about the face-off between irascible inventor Thomas Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch) and genteel...
- 3/19/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
It’s the morning after the premiere of Tesla, the new film from Michael Almereyda starring his frequent collaborator Ethan Hawke as the titular inventor. I’m sitting with the writer/director at a restaurant in the center of the Sundance Film Festival, also joined by Eve Hewson and Jim Gaffigan. Both have hefty roles in the film. Hewson plays Tesla’s almost-lover Anne Morgan while Gaffigan plays entrepreneur George Westinghouse. As we all order some breakfast, Almereyda starts in on the origins of this long-gestating project.
[Note: This interview has been edited for clarity and length.]
Michael Almereyda: The percolation [of Tesla] was lengthy. And in a way… I can just acknowledge that it is the first script I wrote. It was optioned in 1983 but never made. Jerzy Skolimowski, the great Polish director, was going to do it. I was flown to London…
We’re briefly interrupted to clarify our food orders. As Gaffigan confirms his breakfast to the waitress, she...
[Note: This interview has been edited for clarity and length.]
Michael Almereyda: The percolation [of Tesla] was lengthy. And in a way… I can just acknowledge that it is the first script I wrote. It was optioned in 1983 but never made. Jerzy Skolimowski, the great Polish director, was going to do it. I was flown to London…
We’re briefly interrupted to clarify our food orders. As Gaffigan confirms his breakfast to the waitress, she...
- 2/3/2020
- by Dan Mecca
- The Film Stage
A Michael Almereyda film can be a special thing. A few years back, the writer/director gave us Experimenter, an impressive kinda-biopic of Stanley Milgram starring Peter Sarsgaard and Winona Ryder. Two decades ago, Almereyda rendered an arresting, modern take on Hamlet. Just as Ethan Hawke was his Prince of Denmark then, so is he Nikola Tesla now.
Tesla plays much like Experimenter in its use of minimalist production design in parts (perhaps forced by budget) and exciting flights of fancy in others. Almereyda has been a Sundance mainstay for much of his career and it makes much sense. His films are a testament to the independent spirit. Limitations be damned! The messy creativity on display is something to admire.
Here we follow Tesla as he leaves his job working under Thomas Edison to pursue some radical notions. He connects with businessman and Edison rival George Westinghouse, to whom he...
Tesla plays much like Experimenter in its use of minimalist production design in parts (perhaps forced by budget) and exciting flights of fancy in others. Almereyda has been a Sundance mainstay for much of his career and it makes much sense. His films are a testament to the independent spirit. Limitations be damned! The messy creativity on display is something to admire.
Here we follow Tesla as he leaves his job working under Thomas Edison to pursue some radical notions. He connects with businessman and Edison rival George Westinghouse, to whom he...
- 1/30/2020
- by Dan Mecca
- The Film Stage
Before the lights went down at the world premiere of “Tesla,” writer-director Michael Almereyda said that his unconventional biopic of the famously enigmatic futurist was inspired by “Derek Jarman, Henry James, and certain episodes of ‘Drunk History.’” He wasn’t kidding. What starts as an earnest (if lyrical) profile of the man who invented Elon Musk soon explodes into something more appropriately postmodern when Nikola Tesla (Ethan Hawke) and Thomas Edison (Kyle MacLachlan) get into a heated ice cream fight, and a woman’s voice comes over the soundtrack to inform us that it probably didn’t happen this way.
The voice belongs to Eve Hewson, playing J.P. Morgan’s daughter Anne with the same contemporary brio she brought to “The Knick,” and we cut to find her sitting at the Macbook Pro that she’ll be using as a reference guide and slide projector to lead us through the...
The voice belongs to Eve Hewson, playing J.P. Morgan’s daughter Anne with the same contemporary brio she brought to “The Knick,” and we cut to find her sitting at the Macbook Pro that she’ll be using as a reference guide and slide projector to lead us through the...
- 1/28/2020
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Inventor Nikolai Tesla is more popular today than when he died penniless in a New York hotel in 1943. Back then, he was the futurist who swore he could summon unlimited, clean, wireless electromagnetic energy from the earth — a neat idea, but surely coal and oil were fine. In the 21st century, as temperatures rise, Tesla has grown in stature as humanity’s fumbled savior, the martyr of missed opportunities who was bullied by every businessman he met, most of whom still have their names welded to global conglomerates. No wonder hip actors like David Bowie and, now, Ethan Hawke have signed on to play the genius.
“Tesla,” which waltzes through the Serbian immigrant’s partnerships with Thomas Edison (Kyle MacLachlan), George Westinghouse (Jim Gaffigan), and J.P. Morgan (Donnie Keshawarz), and his rumored flirtations with Morgan’s daughter Anne (Eve Hewson) and the actress Sarah Bernhardt (Rebecca Dayan). Anne narrates the film,...
“Tesla,” which waltzes through the Serbian immigrant’s partnerships with Thomas Edison (Kyle MacLachlan), George Westinghouse (Jim Gaffigan), and J.P. Morgan (Donnie Keshawarz), and his rumored flirtations with Morgan’s daughter Anne (Eve Hewson) and the actress Sarah Bernhardt (Rebecca Dayan). Anne narrates the film,...
- 1/28/2020
- by Amy Nicholson
- Variety Film + TV
"It's sort of a thing that just sucks you back in," veteran film executive David Glasser says of the film business as we record an episode of the Awards Chatter podcast at The Hollywood Reporter's Los Angeles offices. "It's what I know. It's all I know."
Back in January, the 48-year-old launched 101 Studios, a global entertainment studio which is behind the recently released director’s cut of Alfonso Gomez-Rejon's The Current War, a period drama starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Thomas Edison, Michael Shannon as George Westinghouse, Nicholas Hoult as Nikola Tesla and Tom Holland as Samuel Insull. The original cut premiered ...
Back in January, the 48-year-old launched 101 Studios, a global entertainment studio which is behind the recently released director’s cut of Alfonso Gomez-Rejon's The Current War, a period drama starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Thomas Edison, Michael Shannon as George Westinghouse, Nicholas Hoult as Nikola Tesla and Tom Holland as Samuel Insull. The original cut premiered ...
- 11/19/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
"It's sort of a thing that just sucks you back in," veteran film executive David Glasser says of the film business as we record an episode of the Awards Chatter podcast at The Hollywood Reporter's Los Angeles offices. "It's what I know. It's all I know."
Back in January, the 48-year-old launched 101 Studios, a global entertainment studio which is behind the recently released director’s cut of Alfonso Gomez-Rejon's The Current War, a period drama starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Thomas Edison, Michael Shannon as George Westinghouse, Nicholas Hoult as Nikola Tesla and Tom Holland as Samuel Insull. The original cut premiered ...
Back in January, the 48-year-old launched 101 Studios, a global entertainment studio which is behind the recently released director’s cut of Alfonso Gomez-Rejon's The Current War, a period drama starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Thomas Edison, Michael Shannon as George Westinghouse, Nicholas Hoult as Nikola Tesla and Tom Holland as Samuel Insull. The original cut premiered ...
- 11/19/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Current War: Director’s Cut, directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) is now out in theaters after a trying two year journey. With five new scenes and a different score, the picture is closer to Gomez-Rejon’s ultimate vision on the battle for electricity that involved Thomas Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch) and [...]
The post Alfonso Gomez-Rejon Reflects On George Westinghouse’s Legacy And ‘The Current War’ appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.
The post Alfonso Gomez-Rejon Reflects On George Westinghouse’s Legacy And ‘The Current War’ appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.
- 11/3/2019
- by Hollywood Outbreak
- HollywoodOutbreak.com
"The Current War", based on true events, is a period drama about the greatest inventors of the nineteenth century industrial age -- Thomas Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch) and George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon). It captures the passion, charisma and genius of these visionaries. It also throws a light on the advent of commercial and domestic electrical systems during that era.
Set in the 1880s, the film tells us about how the duo engaged in a battle of technology and ideas to determine whose electrical system was superior. While Edison ruthlessly promotes his direct-current technology, George Westinghouse sees the limitation in Edison's work, so he begins working successfully with alternating current, allowing him to forge ahead in the game of supremacy.
The complicated lives and work habits of these two innovators reflects a lot of what we see in today's complex entrepreneurs. You admire them for their foresight to change the course of...
Set in the 1880s, the film tells us about how the duo engaged in a battle of technology and ideas to determine whose electrical system was superior. While Edison ruthlessly promotes his direct-current technology, George Westinghouse sees the limitation in Edison's work, so he begins working successfully with alternating current, allowing him to forge ahead in the game of supremacy.
The complicated lives and work habits of these two innovators reflects a lot of what we see in today's complex entrepreneurs. You admire them for their foresight to change the course of...
- 11/2/2019
- GlamSham
It makes sense that on the week when people dress up for make believe, the movie that created one of the most popular characters of Halloween 2019 returned to No. 1 in its fourth weekend.
D.C. Comics’ “Joker” fell only 35 percent in its fourth weekend — and more impressively, it’s on a weekend that tends to see a fall in grosses. It also was helped by the weakness of three new wide releases.
Grosses are likely to stay close to the same period a year ago. That’s a positive shift, but the gap remains around $525 million with only a little more than two months to close it.
“Joker” would be doing well by any gauge; it’s especially true with a $65 million production cost, and updated worldwide figures surging to $850 billion. It looks like it could have as much as $100 million left in it, even without the China date that...
D.C. Comics’ “Joker” fell only 35 percent in its fourth weekend — and more impressively, it’s on a weekend that tends to see a fall in grosses. It also was helped by the weakness of three new wide releases.
Grosses are likely to stay close to the same period a year ago. That’s a positive shift, but the gap remains around $525 million with only a little more than two months to close it.
“Joker” would be doing well by any gauge; it’s especially true with a $65 million production cost, and updated worldwide figures surging to $850 billion. It looks like it could have as much as $100 million left in it, even without the China date that...
- 10/27/2019
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
Put on a happy face: In its fourth weekend in theaters, Warner Bros.’ “Joker” returned to the top of domestic box office charts, narrowly defeating Disney’s “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.”
The two villains had been in a close race for first place, but Sunday estimates show “Joker” will walk away victorious with $18.9 million in ticket sales. Those rankings could change Monday morning after final tallies are reported since “Maleficent 2” is trailing behind with $18.5 million.
It’s rare for any film to claim No. 1 in its fourth outing, but the surprise (and non-consecutive) win for “Joker” highlights its impressive endurance despite initial fears that it would incite violence. It’s only the third movie this year — following Universal’s “Glass” and Disney’s “Avengers: Endgame” — to secure in first place during three weekends. “Joker” also recently became the most successful R-rated movie in history, collecting $849 million worldwide. Joaquin Phoenix’s...
The two villains had been in a close race for first place, but Sunday estimates show “Joker” will walk away victorious with $18.9 million in ticket sales. Those rankings could change Monday morning after final tallies are reported since “Maleficent 2” is trailing behind with $18.5 million.
It’s rare for any film to claim No. 1 in its fourth outing, but the surprise (and non-consecutive) win for “Joker” highlights its impressive endurance despite initial fears that it would incite violence. It’s only the third movie this year — following Universal’s “Glass” and Disney’s “Avengers: Endgame” — to secure in first place during three weekends. “Joker” also recently became the most successful R-rated movie in history, collecting $849 million worldwide. Joaquin Phoenix’s...
- 10/27/2019
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
by Tony Ruggio
After more than a year of pre-release hell at the scissorhands of Harvey Weinstein and his terrible deeds, The Current War has finally seen the light of day. Tackling the industrial war over electricity between famed inventor Thomas Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch) and business magnate George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon), it’s a good story well told. Well, after a rough first half, anyway. The epic narrative is rushed and contracted in the early going, before evening out and focusing more on character in the final stretch.
The breakneck pacing actually does the film a disservice, as we barely get to spend time with Edison, Westinghouse, or their creations before director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon barrels forward to the next moment in history. Classical themes of greed, power, and loss are threaded like any other biopic of powerful men, but the greatest subtext lays therein, where the two men differed so greatly.
After more than a year of pre-release hell at the scissorhands of Harvey Weinstein and his terrible deeds, The Current War has finally seen the light of day. Tackling the industrial war over electricity between famed inventor Thomas Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch) and business magnate George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon), it’s a good story well told. Well, after a rough first half, anyway. The epic narrative is rushed and contracted in the early going, before evening out and focusing more on character in the final stretch.
The breakneck pacing actually does the film a disservice, as we barely get to spend time with Edison, Westinghouse, or their creations before director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon barrels forward to the next moment in history. Classical themes of greed, power, and loss are threaded like any other biopic of powerful men, but the greatest subtext lays therein, where the two men differed so greatly.
- 10/27/2019
- by Tony Ruggio
- FilmExperience
The Clown Prince of Crime and the Mistress of Evil will duke it out at the box office for the No. 1 spot this weekend, with “Joker” estimated to take in about $19 million in its fourth weekend while “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” is projected to earn about $18.3 million in its second frame.
“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” took in about $4.82 million on Friday while “Joker” yielded $5.4 million, hinting that “Joker” may end up the winner.
The gritty drama starring Joaquin Phoenix in the titular role has so far totaled $258 million domestically for Warner Bros. with an additional $512 million overseas. Todd Philipps directed “Joker,” which garnered controversy ahead of its release for its sympathetic depiction of the villain, from a script he co-wrote with Scott Silver. Zazie Beetz, Robert De Niro, and Frances Conroy also star. It recently passed “Deadpool 2” as the highest-grossing R-rated movie worldwide, and should surpass $800 million this weekend.
“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” took in about $4.82 million on Friday while “Joker” yielded $5.4 million, hinting that “Joker” may end up the winner.
The gritty drama starring Joaquin Phoenix in the titular role has so far totaled $258 million domestically for Warner Bros. with an additional $512 million overseas. Todd Philipps directed “Joker,” which garnered controversy ahead of its release for its sympathetic depiction of the villain, from a script he co-wrote with Scott Silver. Zazie Beetz, Robert De Niro, and Frances Conroy also star. It recently passed “Deadpool 2” as the highest-grossing R-rated movie worldwide, and should surpass $800 million this weekend.
- 10/26/2019
- by Erin Nyren
- Variety Film + TV
Midday Update: It’s Joker all-the-time. As we told you previously, the Warner Bros./Village Roadshow/Bron Studios feature will lead its fourth weekend at the B.O. , but midday estimates have it pegged for $17.7M, -39%, for a running total of $276.3M. Worldwide should be at $825M by end of weekend. The Todd Phillips directed movie is already the highest grossing R-rated pic of all-time, beating Deadpool with profit north of $464M.
Disney’s Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is second with an estimated $15.9M, -57% for a 10-day of $62.8M.
Sony’s Zombieland: Double Tap is seeing $12.2M, -54% in weekend 2, for 10-day of $47.6M.
MGM/Uar’s The Addams Family still strong in weekend 3 with $10M in 4th place, -39%, for a running total of $71M.
Sony/Screen Gems Black and Blue is seeing $8.3M in 5th after a $2.7M Friday including last night’s $675K.
Outside the top five,...
Disney’s Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is second with an estimated $15.9M, -57% for a 10-day of $62.8M.
Sony’s Zombieland: Double Tap is seeing $12.2M, -54% in weekend 2, for 10-day of $47.6M.
MGM/Uar’s The Addams Family still strong in weekend 3 with $10M in 4th place, -39%, for a running total of $71M.
Sony/Screen Gems Black and Blue is seeing $8.3M in 5th after a $2.7M Friday including last night’s $675K.
Outside the top five,...
- 10/25/2019
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
The year is 1880. Thomas Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch), future inventor of many great things and already a whiz at self-promotion, has brought a group of finely dressed, top-hatted businessman by train to a field in Menlo Park, New Jersey. Then, upon their exit, he shows them what he’s just patented: a glass tube that gives off a light. He flips a switch and the entire grounds are illuminated by what appears to be dozen of these new contraptions. “Gentlemen, I hope you brought your checkbooks,” he quips. Now, if he...
- 10/25/2019
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
Nikola Tesla demonstrates what he can do with electricity at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, in Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s historical drama The Current War. Photo courtesy of 101 Studios.
Two technology titans battle for supremacy in The Current War, a showdown between Thomas Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch) and George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon), as they race to electrify the country with either AC, alternating current, or DC, direct current, power. The disrupter who may shift the balance of power between the inventor and the industrialist is a brilliant immigrant named Nikola Tesla (Nicholas Hoult).
There is much to admire in director Alfonso Gomez‐Rejon’s fine period drama that details the real history struggle between competing technologies and the giants of history behind them. The film should go a ways towards introducing contemporary audiences to the less-remembered George Westinghouse as well as giving us a closer look at Edison and Tesla, although...
Two technology titans battle for supremacy in The Current War, a showdown between Thomas Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch) and George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon), as they race to electrify the country with either AC, alternating current, or DC, direct current, power. The disrupter who may shift the balance of power between the inventor and the industrialist is a brilliant immigrant named Nikola Tesla (Nicholas Hoult).
There is much to admire in director Alfonso Gomez‐Rejon’s fine period drama that details the real history struggle between competing technologies and the giants of history behind them. The film should go a ways towards introducing contemporary audiences to the less-remembered George Westinghouse as well as giving us a closer look at Edison and Tesla, although...
- 10/25/2019
- by Cate Marquis
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
To say that this weekend's release of The Current War: Director's Cut is a long time coming is to understate things. The project, about the competition between geniuses Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse to power the world with electricity - has been in the works since 2011, when the screenplay hit the Hollywood Black List. It didn't go before cameras until 2016, with Alfonso Gomez-Rejon behind the camera and Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Shannon (in a role once intended for…...
- 10/25/2019
- by Eric Walkuski
- JoBlo.com
How do you make a movie about current events that’s set in the 1800s? Well, when the “current” in question in electricity and the events is the race to electrify America, that’s how. That’s exactly what The Current War is about, as Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse battle for energy supremacy as America was switching [...]
The post Benedict Cumberbatch: Young Director Was Perfect Choice For ‘Current War’ appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.
The post Benedict Cumberbatch: Young Director Was Perfect Choice For ‘Current War’ appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.
- 10/25/2019
- by Hollywood Outbreak
- HollywoodOutbreak.com
Sony’s action-thriller “Black and Blue” opened with $675,000 at 1,962 sites on Thursday night.
Meanwhile, Stx’s horror movie “Countdown” has called up $515,000 million at 2,150 North American locations in Thursday night preview showings.
Both new arrivals are expected to wind up with less than $10 million during the weekend, which will be dominated by holdovers. The fourth weekend of Warner Bros.’ hit “Joker” and the second session of “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” will probably be battling for the top spot at somewhere between $15 million and $20 million. “Joker” has shown impressive staying power with $256 million domestically in its first 20 days.
The second weekend of Sony’s “Zombieland: Double Tap” will likely wind up in third place in the $10 million to $15 million range. The horror-comedy sequel has topped $33 million in its first six days.
“Black and Blue,” released through Sony’s Screen Gems, is projected to gross $6 million from 2,062 theaters during its first three days of release.
Meanwhile, Stx’s horror movie “Countdown” has called up $515,000 million at 2,150 North American locations in Thursday night preview showings.
Both new arrivals are expected to wind up with less than $10 million during the weekend, which will be dominated by holdovers. The fourth weekend of Warner Bros.’ hit “Joker” and the second session of “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” will probably be battling for the top spot at somewhere between $15 million and $20 million. “Joker” has shown impressive staying power with $256 million domestically in its first 20 days.
The second weekend of Sony’s “Zombieland: Double Tap” will likely wind up in third place in the $10 million to $15 million range. The horror-comedy sequel has topped $33 million in its first six days.
“Black and Blue,” released through Sony’s Screen Gems, is projected to gross $6 million from 2,062 theaters during its first three days of release.
- 10/25/2019
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Matthew Schuchman Oct 24, 2019
After the film was taken away, Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Shannon say The Current War Director's Cut is the movie they set out on.
It seems unfair that a film should be branded by the scandal it played no role in, yet was still left sitting on the shelf for two years as a result. But that is exactly the case with The Current War. Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s new film about the titanic struggle at the turn of the 20th century over who “owns” the lightbulb, and the varying types of electric currents therein. The movie stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Thomas Edison and Michael Shannon as George Westinghouse, the two men who battled to bring electrical lighting across the United States... and who ensnared the genius of Nikola Tesla (Nicholas Hoult) along the way.
The film was originally under the banner of The Weinstein Company, and before...
After the film was taken away, Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Shannon say The Current War Director's Cut is the movie they set out on.
It seems unfair that a film should be branded by the scandal it played no role in, yet was still left sitting on the shelf for two years as a result. But that is exactly the case with The Current War. Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s new film about the titanic struggle at the turn of the 20th century over who “owns” the lightbulb, and the varying types of electric currents therein. The movie stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Thomas Edison and Michael Shannon as George Westinghouse, the two men who battled to bring electrical lighting across the United States... and who ensnared the genius of Nikola Tesla (Nicholas Hoult) along the way.
The film was originally under the banner of The Weinstein Company, and before...
- 10/24/2019
- Den of Geek
Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s The Current War has taken its time to make its way across the world. This week sees the release of a film with a fantastic cast and a sizzling story. Benedict Cumberbatch leads the film as the great American inventor Thomas Edison with Michael Shannon as his rival, revered entrepreneur, George Westinghouse. HeyUGuys favourite Nicholas Hoult turns up as the eccentric inventor Nikola Tesla, Katherine Waterston is Westinghouse’s outspoken wife Marguerite.
If that wasn’t good enough the cast also include Spider-Man Tom Holland as Edison’s confident young secretary Samuel Insull, Succession’s Matthew Macfadyen is the famous financier and banker J.P. Morgan, and Tuppence Middleton is Edison’s supportive wife Mary.
This week James Kleinmann sat down with the cast to talk about their experiences on the film. You can see that below.
The Current War is released on the 25th of October.
If that wasn’t good enough the cast also include Spider-Man Tom Holland as Edison’s confident young secretary Samuel Insull, Succession’s Matthew Macfadyen is the famous financier and banker J.P. Morgan, and Tuppence Middleton is Edison’s supportive wife Mary.
This week James Kleinmann sat down with the cast to talk about their experiences on the film. You can see that below.
The Current War is released on the 25th of October.
- 10/24/2019
- by Jon Lyus
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
"The Current War", starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Shannon, will release in India on November 1.
The film, directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, is about visionary scientists locked in a battle to light up the world, by pitting Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse as rivals.
Cumberbatch plays Edison and Shannon is Westinghouse. The film also features Nicholas Hoult, Tom Holland, Katherine Waterston, Tuppence Middleton and Matthew Macfadyen.
Disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein was involved with the project before The New York Times exposed him with a detailed report on the allegations of sexual misconduct by several women. The film was "almost shelved" following the expose.
According to Gomez-Rejon, the film was salvaged with the help of his mentor Martin Scorsese, as per reports.
"He agreed to be (a producer) just as a safety net. God forbid that the worst would happen, he'd be there as a safety net, and if the final cut wouldn't go to me,...
The film, directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, is about visionary scientists locked in a battle to light up the world, by pitting Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse as rivals.
Cumberbatch plays Edison and Shannon is Westinghouse. The film also features Nicholas Hoult, Tom Holland, Katherine Waterston, Tuppence Middleton and Matthew Macfadyen.
Disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein was involved with the project before The New York Times exposed him with a detailed report on the allegations of sexual misconduct by several women. The film was "almost shelved" following the expose.
According to Gomez-Rejon, the film was salvaged with the help of his mentor Martin Scorsese, as per reports.
"He agreed to be (a producer) just as a safety net. God forbid that the worst would happen, he'd be there as a safety net, and if the final cut wouldn't go to me,...
- 10/24/2019
- GlamSham
Despite three new nationwide releases, domestic box office charts look to be dominated by holdovers — Warner Bros.’ “Joker” and Disney’s “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” — during the last weekend in October.
“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” debuted last weekend with $36 million in North America, enough to dethrone “Joker” after the super-villain origin story’s back-to-back victories. But unless the “Maleficent” sequel has an exceptionally strong sophomore outing, “Joker” could reclaim its box office crown during its fourth weekend of release. “Maleficent 2” is expected to add another $14 million to $16 million, while “Joker” could pocket $15 million this weekend.
Joaquin Phoenix’s “Joker” just crossed $250 million in domestic ticket sales and is nearing the $500 million mark at the international box office. With momentum expected to carry through Halloween, “Joker” is on track to become the highest-grossing R-rated movie in history. It currently stands behind “Deadpool 2” ($785 million) and “Deadpool” ($783 million) in that category.
“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil...
“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” debuted last weekend with $36 million in North America, enough to dethrone “Joker” after the super-villain origin story’s back-to-back victories. But unless the “Maleficent” sequel has an exceptionally strong sophomore outing, “Joker” could reclaim its box office crown during its fourth weekend of release. “Maleficent 2” is expected to add another $14 million to $16 million, while “Joker” could pocket $15 million this weekend.
Joaquin Phoenix’s “Joker” just crossed $250 million in domestic ticket sales and is nearing the $500 million mark at the international box office. With momentum expected to carry through Halloween, “Joker” is on track to become the highest-grossing R-rated movie in history. It currently stands behind “Deadpool 2” ($785 million) and “Deadpool” ($783 million) in that category.
“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil...
- 10/23/2019
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
It’s rare that a movie gets a new lease on life without having to become a cult classic. About two years ago, The Current War made its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival, hoping to be a major Oscar player for The Weinstein Company. However, a combination of middling reviews, the lack of a budget for an Oscar campaign, and of course, the fall of Harvey Weinstein, contributed to the flick sitting on the shelf. Now, with a new cut and a new distributor, the project is seeing the light of day, rechristened as The Current War: Director’s Cut. Most who have seen both versions declare this a vast improvement, but is it worth your time? Read on to find out! The film is an historical drama as much as it is a biopic, focused on a battle of wills between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse, with...
- 10/23/2019
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon finally gets to release his version of his long-in-the-making “The Current War.”
The film, about the competition between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse, was originally set to be distributed by the Weinstein Company after Harvey Weinstein recut it, much to Gomez-Rejon’s chagrin. To make matters worse, Weinstein premiered the movie at the Toronto Film Festival in 2017.
“It was incredibly painful,” Gomez-Rejon tells Variety. “Because you go up on stage and you’re representing the cast and crew who took this journey with you, and you know deep down in your heart that you haven’t been allowed to give your best. Or you give your best under those conditions and it’s not good enough.”
The film was almost shelved when the Weinstein Company shuttered following sexual misconduct allegations against Weinstein.
But on Monday night in New York City at AMC Lincoln Square, Gomez-Rejon premiered “The Current War: Director’s Cut.
The film, about the competition between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse, was originally set to be distributed by the Weinstein Company after Harvey Weinstein recut it, much to Gomez-Rejon’s chagrin. To make matters worse, Weinstein premiered the movie at the Toronto Film Festival in 2017.
“It was incredibly painful,” Gomez-Rejon tells Variety. “Because you go up on stage and you’re representing the cast and crew who took this journey with you, and you know deep down in your heart that you haven’t been allowed to give your best. Or you give your best under those conditions and it’s not good enough.”
The film was almost shelved when the Weinstein Company shuttered following sexual misconduct allegations against Weinstein.
But on Monday night in New York City at AMC Lincoln Square, Gomez-Rejon premiered “The Current War: Director’s Cut.
- 10/23/2019
- by Michael Appler
- Variety Film + TV
The final weekend of October will be a quiet one at the box office. Between the release of “Zombieland” and “Maleficent” sequels last weekend, the continued success of “Joker,” and a crowded November release slate starting with a new “Terminator,” the major studios are mostly sitting out of this weekend.
But one film that will be released wide this Friday comes with a very long and turbulent road to theaters. “The Current War,” Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s biopic about the corporate battle over America’s first electric grid, will finally be released after it was dropped by the now-defunct Weinstein Company.
“The Current War” was originally set for release in November 2017 after receiving poor reviews at the Toronto International Film Festival, but was pulled from release after Harvey Weinstein’s sexual assault accusations came to light. The film was picked up by Lantern Capital, who bought The Weinstein Company’s assets...
But one film that will be released wide this Friday comes with a very long and turbulent road to theaters. “The Current War,” Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s biopic about the corporate battle over America’s first electric grid, will finally be released after it was dropped by the now-defunct Weinstein Company.
“The Current War” was originally set for release in November 2017 after receiving poor reviews at the Toronto International Film Festival, but was pulled from release after Harvey Weinstein’s sexual assault accusations came to light. The film was picked up by Lantern Capital, who bought The Weinstein Company’s assets...
- 10/22/2019
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
Roughly two years after being shelved when the then-Weinstein Company film got caught up in the sexual misconduct allegations against co-founder Harvey Weinstein, Alfonso Gomez-Rejon's The Current War is finally set to hit theaters Friday, this time as a director's cut.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at the New York premiere of the 101 Studios film Monday night, the director described the journey from the near-death and eventual rebirth of his film, which follows the dramatic race between Thomas Edison (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) and George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon) to illuminate the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, as emotionally wrought....
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at the New York premiere of the 101 Studios film Monday night, the director described the journey from the near-death and eventual rebirth of his film, which follows the dramatic race between Thomas Edison (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) and George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon) to illuminate the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, as emotionally wrought....
- 10/22/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Roughly two years after being shelved when the then-Weinstein Company film got caught up in the sexual misconduct allegations against co-founder Harvey Weinstein, Alfonso Gomez-Rejon's The Current War is finally set to hit theaters Friday, this time as a director's cut.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at the New York premiere of the 101 Studios film Monday night, the director described the journey from the near-death and eventual rebirth of his film, which follows the dramatic race between Thomas Edison (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) and George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon) to illuminate the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, as emotionally wrought....
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at the New York premiere of the 101 Studios film Monday night, the director described the journey from the near-death and eventual rebirth of his film, which follows the dramatic race between Thomas Edison (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) and George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon) to illuminate the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, as emotionally wrought....
- 10/22/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A casualty of Harvey Weinstein’s downfall, Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s thought-to-be awards-contender that was rushed for a lukewarm Tiff reception in 2017 finally sees the light of day. Retitled The Current War: Director’s Cut due to the director’s extensive revisions (thanks to producer Martin Scorsese’s contractual ability to block the other version’s release), the film remains narratively identical with effective pacing tweaks that fix some of what gave me pause two years ago. The most noticeable change is the slight increase in screen-time for Nicholas Hoult’s Tesla to help provide the character his deserved due alongside the two leads (Benedict Cumberbatch’s Edison and Michael Shannon’s Westinghouse).
I liked the film with reservations back then and enjoyed it a bit more now. Hardly a different film, it exists as a stronger variant of what already was. Whether that’s enough to win over its detractors remains to be seen,...
I liked the film with reservations back then and enjoyed it a bit more now. Hardly a different film, it exists as a stronger variant of what already was. Whether that’s enough to win over its detractors remains to be seen,...
- 10/22/2019
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
The celebrity-wannabe energy infusing contemporary culture’s understanding of tech executives, the most recent generational coat of paint applied to the corporate domination of everyday life, has found an unusual and ill-fitting home in “The Current War: Director’s Cut,” the latest film from director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (“Me and Earl and the Dying Girl”).
Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival in September of 2017, where it was received with a collective shrug, the film was then caught in limbo as its original distributor, The Weinstein Company, dissolved in the aftermath of sexual assault charges brought against company co-head Harvey Weinstein (whose producing credit here has been removed). While waiting for a proper theatrical release, Gomez-Rejon re-edited the film, hence its new colon-necessitating but not confusion-abating title.
Not that there’s anything confusing about this real-life 19th century drama. The story of Thomas Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch) and George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon...
Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival in September of 2017, where it was received with a collective shrug, the film was then caught in limbo as its original distributor, The Weinstein Company, dissolved in the aftermath of sexual assault charges brought against company co-head Harvey Weinstein (whose producing credit here has been removed). While waiting for a proper theatrical release, Gomez-Rejon re-edited the film, hence its new colon-necessitating but not confusion-abating title.
Not that there’s anything confusing about this real-life 19th century drama. The story of Thomas Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch) and George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon...
- 10/22/2019
- by Dave White
- The Wrap
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