Genius - The thousand sides of a friendship
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Genius - The thousand sides of a friendship |
| Original title | genius |
| Country of production |
USA , UK |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 2016 |
| length | 104 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 6 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Michael Grandage |
| script | John Logan |
| music | Adam Cork |
| camera | Ben Davis |
| cut | Chris Dickens |
| occupation | |
| |
Genius - The thousand pages of a friendship (Original title Genius ) is an American - British film drama by Michael Grandage , which is based on the book Max Perkins: Editor of Genius by A. Scott Berg and portrays various historical people, but primarily the Lector Max Perkins and his great discovery Thomas Wolfe . The film premiered on February 16, 2016 as part of the Berlinale in the presence of the participating actors Colin Firth and Jude Law , where it was also shown in the competition for the Golden Bear. The film was released in selected US cinemas on June 10, 2016. It was first shown in German cinemas on August 11, 2016.
action
At the end of the 1920s , Max Perkins lived with his devoted wife Louise and their five well-off daughters in a villa on the outskirts of New York . One day the respected and well-known publisher's editor receives a wild, disordered 1000-page manuscript by the unknown young up-and-coming writer Thomas Wolfe , which had previously been rejected by all other publishers in the city and which he had shortly before in a final attempt at Charles Scribner ' Sons submitted to the lecturer's employer. Perkins quickly recognized the uniqueness of this work, was convinced that he had discovered a literary genius, and invited the author.
During the joint attempt to bring out the work, not only does a seemingly endless struggle over every formulation begin, but also a very special friendship between the two men. Perkins, who is privately only surrounded by women, develops fatherly feelings for his discovered genius , even if Wolfe is arrogant and impetuous and likes to drink. Perkins' Verlag publishes the novel with great success. Even if Wolfe often tramples the feelings of his fellow human beings, he can describe them masterfully and thus becomes the darling of New York society. When the two of them are working on Wolfe's second novel Von Zeit und Strom , Perkins also has to shorten it a lot, while Wolfe is constantly adding new paragraphs. There is little time for family or romantic relationships, and Perkins even has to send his family on vacation alone for focused work. Wolfe's lover, who initially supported him, costume designer Aline Bernstein, becomes increasingly jealous of the two men who seem inseparable. Wolfe is undergoing a transformation. While the first book was dedicated to his beloved, the second is dedicated to his editor - in the style of a grave inscription.
The previously so close relationship between Perkins and Wolfe begins to crumble. The contact is lost. Wolfe is going to the west coast. Due to the sudden onset of brain tuberculosis, he collapses on the beach and is later taken to a specialty hospital in Baltimore. The last letter he wrote on his deathbed was a farewell letter to Perkins. Perkins receives him only after Wolfe's funeral. He picks up on the earlier familiarity and thanks his old friend for his support. Perkins takes off his hat for the first time.
Historical background
After a brief period as a reporter for The New York Times , Max Perkins was hired as an editor at Charles Scribner's Sons in 1910 and married Louise Saunders that same year. Perkins' first big discovery as an employee of the company was F. Scott Fitzgerald . His third novel The Great Gatsby (The Great Gatsby) was a great success. Perkins also served as an editor for Fitzgerald's wife, Zelda . Through the Fitzgeralds, Perkins met the young Ernest Hemingway , whose work The Torrents of Spring was the first book to be published by Scribner's in 1926. In addition, Perkins promoted Thomas Wolfe, a talented young writer who, however, lacked any artistic self-discipline. Perkins helped him publish his first book, Look Homeward, Angel at Scribner's in 1929 . He wrote the long letter with which Wolfe sealed his break with Perkins on December 15, 1936, about two years before his death. The letter Perkins opens at the end of the film is Wolfe's last contact with the editor. He had written it on January 12, 1938 while he was in the Seattle Hospital and already suspected that he would die. The letter is not an attempt at reconciliation, but takes up the old friendship and familiarity of the two.
Mabel Wolfe was Thomas Wolfe's sister and was one of the few members of his family who believed in his ability as a writer. Wolfe's romance Aline Bernstein was a successful costume designer and was awarded a Tony Award in 1950 for her work . John Hall Wheelock had started working at Scribner's at the same time as Perkins and published his biography Editor to Author: The Letters of Maxwell E. Perkins (1950) three years after his death .
production
Staff and cast
After initially Bill Pohlad should take over the direction, he was later replaced by Michael Grandage . It acts with Genius to the film debut of Grandage, who had previously made a name as a theater director and as part of the Critics' Circle Theater Awards already four times as Best Theater Director and in 2010 with the Tony Award was awarded. The script was written by John Logan . Deviating from the novel, Logan focused his script adaptation on the relationship between Perkins and the young Wolfe.
The cast of Max Perkins with Colin Firth became known early on . Before filming, the actor had to read up on the works of Thomas Wolfe , whom he did not know before. After first the actor Sean Penn and later Michael Fassbender for the role of Perkins' genius (in English Genius ), Thomas Wolfe, were provided was announced in April 2014 that Jew Law would take it over. Law says he received help from a dialect trainer and fellow actor Laura Linney in preparation for the role in learning the southern accent, which North Carolina- born Wolfe spoke. Also in April 2014, Nicole Kidman was cast in the role of Aline Bernstein . On August 1, 2014, it was announced that Laura Linney had received the role of Louise Saunders in the film. In September 2014, Ernest Hemingway was cast with Dominic West and F. Scott Fitzgerald with Guy Pearce . Vanessa Kirby followed in October 2014.
Colin Firth (2014)
Jude Law (2007)
Nicole Kidman (2015)
Dominic West (2014)
Guy Pearce (2012)
Laura Linney (2009)
.jpg)
Filming
Filming began in Manchester on October 19, 2014 and ended on December 12, 2014. Other locations in the United Kingdom were Chatham in Kent , Black Park in Wexham in Buckinghamshire and the Railway Center in Didcot in south Oxfordshire .
Distribution and publication
In May 2015 it was announced that Lionsgate had secured the US rights to the film. The film premiered on February 16, 2016 as part of the Berlinale in the presence of the participating actors Colin Firth and Jude Law , where it was also shown in the competition for the Golden Bear. The film was released in selected US cinemas on June 10, 2016. The film was shown in German cinemas from August 11, 2016. In China, where the film was one of the 34 foreign productions that were allowed to be shown there in 2017 according to a quota, it was released on March 10, 2017.
reception
Reviews
David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter describes the cinematic reappraisal of the historical environment: The film could have done less with one or two shots of the busy pedestrian traffic on Fifth Avenue outside the Scribner building. But the depiction of New York at a time when an important chapter in the city's history was being written is nicely textured. Andreas Borcholte from Spiegel Online speaks of Genius as a warm-hearted literary and historical drama . Anke Westphal from the Berliner Zeitung believes: “Genius” touches the viewer, but doesn't get too close to them. But this is exactly where the problem of the film lies, because in the end you leave the cinema unchanged: Once again , you have dared a few glimpses into human abysses, which, however, did not seem so disturbing that you could not continue your life as before. “Genius” is well-groomed, sophisticated entertainment cinema - and therefore something that has its full justification.
Michael Sennhauser from SRF refers his criticism in particular to the work of the director: the theater man Michael Grandage stages his first film in a fluid and moving manner. But 'Genius' suffers from the same problem as most films about the literary circus: It has to draw the energy from the characters that should actually come from the texts. Even if the film follows all the conventions of book film, Genius, according to Sennhauser, still manages to capture a few moments that work out of the language and its musicality - not simply through the illustration of human dynamics. Nevertheless, the acting performance of the two protagonists is largely praised. Anke Sterneborg from RBB Kulturradio thinks : The Briton Jude Law plays the American author as an exaggerated, extroverted genius on the verge of madness, whereby the accent seems artificial. In contrast, Colin Firth shines in a bear-worthy way as a distinguished, restrained and sensitive editor who cuts with a clear will and at the same time grapples with whether he is exerting too much influence on the work.
Patrick Wellinski of Germany Kultur sees Genius a Men film , which is the women shown in the film unfair, especially Zelda Fitzgerald opposite. As a result, the film loses a certain sense of the reality [...] it wants to tell . With regard to the men shown in the film, especially in a scene in which Perkins and Wolfe are trying to shorten the script together, Wellinski asks himself: who is actually the genius? The writer or his editor? Peter von Becker from Tagesspiegel believes he has found an answer to this question : One is the genius of writing, the other a genius - friendship.
Gross profit
The film has worldwide revenues of $ 5.7 million.
Awards (selection)
Film by the Sea 2016
- Nomination for the Film and Literature Award ( Michael Grandage )
- Nomination for Best European Film (Michael Grandage)
Berlin International Film Festival 2016
- Nomination for best debut film (Michael Grandage)
- Nomination as best feature film for the Golden Bear (Michael Grandage)
Web links
- Genius - The thousands of pages of a friendship in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Genius - The thousands of pages of a friendship with Rotten Tomatoes (English)
- Genius - Factsheet of Lions Gate (PDF)
- Genius in the program of the 66th Berlinale
Individual evidence
- ^ Certificate of Approval for Genius - The thousand pages of friendship . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry (PDF; test number: 160316 / K).
- ^ A b Charles Scribner's Sons: An Illustrated Chronology In: library.princeton.edu. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
- ↑ November 13 (1936): Thomas Wolfe to Maxwell E. Perkins, Charles Scribner III In: The American Reader. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
- ↑ Horst Bienek: Review: Wolfe, Thomas: Briefe In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (at GBV ), February 24, 1962. (PDF; 10 kB)
- ↑ a b c Daniel Jacobs: Sean Penn is supposed to play Max Perkins in "Genius" In: filmstarts.de, August 4, 2010.
- ^ A b Leo Barraclough: Guy Pearce, Dominic West Join Michael Grandage's 'Genius' In: Variety, September 26, 2014.
- ↑ Colin Firth in an interview with Alexander Soyez: 'A bit of obsession is in order' ( Memento of the original from February 17, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: RBB Online, February 16, 2016.
- ↑ Adam Chitwood: Colin Firth and Michael Fassbender to Star in Genius In: collider.com, November 1, 2012.
- ↑ Tobias Breitwieser: Jude Law replaces Michael Fassbender in the writer biopic 'Genius' In: filmstarts.de, April 26, 2014.
- ↑ British actor Jude Law worked on southern American accent for 'Genius' In: reuters.com, February 17, 2016.
- ^ Brendan Bettinger: Nicole Kidman Joins Genius In: collider.com, April 9, 2014.
- ↑ Genius ( Memento of the original from September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: ssninsider.com, December 15, 2014.
- ↑ Pete Hughes: Hollywood stars Jude Law and Nicole Kidman steam in to film latest blockbuster In: heraldseries.co.uk, November 25, 2014.
- ↑ Rebecca Ford: Cannes: Lionsgate Nabs US Rights to 'Genius' With Colin Firth In: The Hollywood Reporter, May 13, 2015.
- ↑ 66th Berlin International Film Festival. The complete festival program ( Memento of the original from December 8th, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: berlinale.de. Accessed February 10, 2017 (PDF; 18.9 MB)
- ↑ Leo Barraclough: Michael Grandage's 'Genius' to World Premiere at Berlin Film Festival In: Variety, December 11, 2015.
- ↑ Berlinale 2016: first films for the competition and Berlinale Special ( Memento of the original from February 6, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: berlinale.de, December 11, 2015.
- ↑ Trailer premiere: Genius - The thousand sides of a friendship In: Stern Online, June 11, 2016.
- ↑ David Rooney: Colin Firth plays famed New York literary editor Max Perkins, with Jude Law as his most challenging author, Thomas Wolfe, in theater director Michael Grandage's feature debut In: The Hollywood Reporter, February 16, 2016.
- ↑ Andreas Borcholte: Berlinale Diary: No Peace, No Sex In: Spiegel Online, February 16, 2016.
- ^ Anke Westphal: Berlinale Competition. A great writer, but a ridiculous person In: Berliner Zeitung, February 16, 2016.
- ↑ Michael Sennhauser: 'Genius': When the editor with the literary genius In: SRF, February 18, 2016.
- ↑ Anke Sterneborg: 'Genius'. An impressive ensemble of top-class actors ( memento of the original from May 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: RBB kulturradio, February 17, 2016.
- ↑ Patrick Wellinski: Audio "Berlinale Criticism Competition: 'Soy Nero' 'Genius' ( Memento of the original from February 17, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. In: Deutschlandkultur Radio, February 17, 2016 (mp3)
- ↑ Peter von Becker: Jude Law and Colin Firth shine in 'Genius' In: Der Tagesspiegel, February 17, 2016.
- ↑ Genius In: boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
- ↑ Pamela Rolfe: Juan Antonio Bayona's 'A Monster Calls' Leads Goya Award Nominations In: The Hollywood Reporter, December 14, 2016.
