In the works for a few years now, The Current War is one of those projects that has "Academy Award" written all over it, especially in light of The Theory of Everything and The Imitation's Game's success. Based on a Black List script by Michael Mitnick (The Giver), the film chronicles the rivalry between inventors Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse. Ben Stiller seriously considered directing the film for awhile, with Timur Bekmambetov, Sacha Baron Cohen, and most recently Paul King circling it as well. Now we may have a better idea of who will be in front of and behind the camera for what is shaping up to be a major prestige picture.
According to The Tracking Board, Benedict Cumberbatch is set to play Edison in the film, with Bekmambetov, who is also a producer, now on board to direct. In the late 1880s, Edison and Westinghouse were engaged in a competitive rivalry to be the first to create a stable electric current. Edison was a proponent of stable currents while Westinghouse, who became the victim of a public smear campaign, lobbied for alternating currents.
With The Weinstein Co. backing this one they're obviously looking to launch a major awards campaign for it, which makes it odd that Bekmbetov would be their guy to direct it. As the guy behind Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Wanted, and the upcoming Ben-Hur remake, high-class dramas have never really been his thing.
