A long-developing project about the electricity battle betweenThomas EdisonandGeorge Westinghouselooks like it’sfinallycoming together—and with an extremely solid team, too.THRreports thatBenedict CumberbatchandJake Gyllenhaalare in talks to play Edison and Westinghouse, respectively, inThe Current War, a film that dramatizes the battle over the supply of energy in the late 1880s. Edison was a staunch defender of direct current (DC), while Westinghouse and Westinghouse Electric championed alternating current (AC).
But that’s not all!Me and Earl and the Dying GirldirectorAlfonso Gomez-Rejonis in talks to direct the picture for The Weinstein Company, making this an incredibly formidable package that’s coming together. The project first made waves whenMichael Mitnick’s script made the Black List in 2011—the year in whichThe Imitation Game, starring Cumberbatch, topped the Black List, coincidentally.Timur Bekmambetovwas the first to flirt with the director’s chair (he remains onboard as a producer), then in 2013Ben Stillerwas looking to possibly take the helm. We hadn’t heard much of anything aboutThe Current Warsince that time, but it appears as though the movie is finally heating up.
Westinghouse is apparently the protagonist in the script, so while Cumberbatch gets the flashier name, Gyllenhaal will be the lead character. TheNightcrawleractor is currently getting ready to shootTom Ford’sNocturnal Animals, while Cumberbatch is preparing to shoot the lead role in Marvel Studios’DoctorStrange, which begins production later this year. Gomez-Rejon, meanwhile, is gearing up to start production this fall on his next project,Collateral BeautystarringWill SmithThe plan is forThe Current Warto be Gomez-Rejon’s next film after he completesBeauty.
As a big fan of science, Gyllenhaal & Cumberbatch, andMe and Earl and the Dying Girl, this comes as swell news to me. How about you, folks? Are youelectrifiedby this development?
