For a while now, Michael Fassbender has been attached to period drama Genius, the feature-film debut of theatre director Michael Grandage. It’s set to focus on legendary author Thomas Wolfe and the friendship he had with well-known literary editor Max Perkins (who worked with talents like Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald in their glory days). Unfortunately, we now have news that Fassbender has departed the project, perhaps due to his commitment to the Assassin’s Creed adaptation. Replacing him will be Jude Law, who is joining a solid cast that already includes Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman.
Hugo scribe John Logan penned the script for this one, which was adapted from Perkin’s biography and will depict the literary icon as someone who “served these authors not only as editor extraordinaire, but also as critic, psychoanalyst, father-confessor, and devoted friend.” From the sounds of it, Perkins had a complex and unique relationship with some of the authors he worked with, including Wolfe, and I’m excited to see his story come to life on the big screen.
Filming on Genius is set to begin this October. No word yet on a potential release date, but given the cast that’s involved, I wouldn’t be surprised if it shows up as an awards contender late next year.
