Apparently theatre director Michael Grandage doesn’t think he has enough good actors in his debut film despite the presence of Colin Firth, Jude Law, Nicole Kidman and Laura Linney, because he’s adding a couple more. Guy Pearce and Dominic West are the latest recruits for **Genius.
With Skyfall’s John Logan providing the script based on A. Scott Berg’s biography, Genius recounts the true story of the relationship between legendary writer Thomas Wolfe (Law) and his talented editor Max Perkins (Firth). Kidman is set to play costume designer Aline Bernstein, who had a passionate, four-year relationship with Wolfe, while Linney will be Louise, Perkins’ wife.
Pearce and West are signed on to be two more literary giants who worked with Perkins: F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway. With his cast falling into place, Grandage plans to start shooting the film next month at Shepperton and on location in the UK. If the result is half as good as his theatre work, it will be one to watch out for.
Pearce, recently on screen in The Rover, will be seen in sci-fi pic Equals as well as dramas** Holding The Man** and Results. West is part of the cast for Pride and is recording a voice for Pixar’s Finding Dory.