The entertainment industry is still reeling from the ongoing scandal regarding the alleged sexual deviances of renowned film producer Harvey Weinstein. He has denied all charges against him of harassment, assault and non-consensual intercourse by numerous women who have worked with him in films for three decades. His new black reputation has earned the ire of celebrity activists such as actress Rose McGowan, and seen Weinstein removed from the film studio he founded and barred from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Still, his ouster from The Weinstein Company did not prevent their latest film “The Current War” starring Benedict Cumberbatch, from being removed from its planned premiere date this Thanksgiving.
Removed to avoid controversy
“The Current War,” an independent historical biopic from The Weinstein Company (TWC) chronicling the DC-AC electricity war of the late 19th Century, is being pulled by its studio from its November 24 release. This is in response to the fallout from the scandal wrought by the allegations brought upon their founder Harvey Weinstein, and the perceived complete downturn in interest in the film as a result of its association to the disgraced producer. The new tentative schedule being given for premiering the movie is sometime in 2018, though when exactly has not been determined.
Harvey’s brother and TWC co-founder Bob Weinstein announced the undeserved fate of “The Current War” in a statement released Friday, October 13.
Initially, he only tried to assure the public that his brother’s predicament will not spell doom for the studio he helped build, citing other productions that remain on a schedule such as “Paddington 2” and the Robert De Niro starrer “War with Grandpa.” But media caught on that he made no mention about the biopic in which Benedict Cumberbatch portrays the inventor Thomas Edison.
This was the latest measure of putting “The Current War” under wraps since its screenwriter Michael Mitnick begged off appearing on a panel at the New York Film Fest last Thursday, October 12.
Hand of Weinstein
Originally screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, “The Current War” followed the grandstanding competition between Cumberbatch’s Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon) as they tried to promote their respective electrical current systems over the other.
When the TIFF audience appeared unenthusiastic, The Weinstein Company edited out about 12 minutes of the original 107-minute movie, with Harvey Weinstein personally involved in the process.
Perhaps that in addition to everything else has ensured that should “The Current War” be released by TWC anytime this year it will definitely bomb because of Weinstein’s perceived folly. The biopic runs the risk of losing a chance for an Oscar nomination by being delayed in its full release.
