In 2012, it was announced that award-winning theatre director and producer Michael Grandage would make his film directing debut with an adaptation of Max Perkins: Editor Of Genius. Back then, Colin Firth and Michael Fassbender were set to star in the film, simply called Genius, but after a period in limbo, the film is finally set to begin shooting this year, with Firth, Nicole Kidman and Jude Law in the leads.
Genius is based on A. Scott Berg’s biography, which traces the story of Perkins, who worked with literary giant Thomas Wolfe on his books and developed a complicated friendship that altered their lives. Firth is set to play Perkins, with Law as Wolfe. Kidman’s role hasn’t yet been specified.
Law’s casting marks the second time he’s been part of a role swap with Fassbender: on Jane Got A Gun, the X-Men star left the hero’s role, which was then filled by Joel Edgerton. Law took over from Edgerton in the villain’s part, but he also left the film as it began shooting.
Grandage will be hoping he has more luck than the Gun team, and he’s looking to start pre-production on the film in August for a planned October shoot. It marks a reunion of the director with Law, who recently starred in Henry V for Grandage on the London stage to considerable acclaim, and a reunion of Kidman and Firth, who have recently appeared together in both The Railway Man and the upcoming Before I Go To Sleep.