If you're a fan of Benedict Cumberbatch, or historical movies, you may remember seeing a trailer several months ago for a movie called The Current War that has still yet to see the light of day. The film was originally set to release near the end of 2017, but, since the movie was being produced by The Weinstein Company, which has been going through a major scandal since last year, the film has been put on a shelf. While one might expect having his work be put away like that might upset Cumberbatch, the actor says that he's more than happy to let the movie hold off on being released, even for years, if that's what is necessary to distance the movie from the studio, and the man, as much as possible. According to Cumberbatch...
If it takes us not releasing our film for a couple of years just to be rid of that toxicity, I'm fine with that... to step back and be as far removed from that influence as possible, both as filmmaker and as human being.
The fiilm, The Current War, follows the battle between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse as the two compete to be the ones in control of the new emerging technology of electricity. It also co-stars Nicholas Hoult as Nikola Tesla. Originally, the film was supposed to be in limited release back in November of last year, as the movie was expected to be a significant contender during awards season. However, it was felt at the time that the movie would be tainted by its association with The Weinstein Company and might not be given a fair shake for award consideration. As such the movie was pulled from the release schedule.
Now, however, The Current War has an entirely different problem, as The Weinstein Company is currently going through bankruptcy. This means the fate of the movie is very much up in the air. While there had been talk of a sale of the company, it now appears that won't happen. Whether the Weinstein Company will itself survive in some form is far from clear. More than likely, company assets, like say, movies the studio has produced, may need to be sold off to deal with the existing debts, which means The Current War may end up being changing hands before it can actually be released. According to his comments to The Telegraph, Benedict Cumberbatch is fine with letting things wait.
If you've forgotten The Current War entirely, check out the trailer below.
If the film had the potential to be an award winner before, one assumes that could still be the case. Depending on how quickly decisions are made regarding The Weinstein Company The Current War could perhaps be released as soon as this fall, but legal proceedings like this don't often find a resolution quickly, meaning it could potentially be years before we the rights to the film find a permanent home and the movie can finally be seen.
