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IMDbPro

Genius

  • 2016
  • PG-13
  • 1h 44m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
21K
YOUR RATING
Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman, Jude Law, and Laura Linney in Genius (2016)
Trailer for Genius
Play trailer1:56
14 Videos
35 Photos
BiographyDrama

A chronicle of Max Perkins's time as the book editor at Scribner, where he oversaw works by Thomas Wolfe, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and others.A chronicle of Max Perkins's time as the book editor at Scribner, where he oversaw works by Thomas Wolfe, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and others.A chronicle of Max Perkins's time as the book editor at Scribner, where he oversaw works by Thomas Wolfe, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and others.

  • Director
    • Michael Grandage
  • Writers
    • John Logan
    • A. Scott Berg
  • Stars
    • Colin Firth
    • Jude Law
    • Nicole Kidman
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.5/10
    21K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Michael Grandage
    • Writers
      • John Logan
      • A. Scott Berg
    • Stars
      • Colin Firth
      • Jude Law
      • Nicole Kidman
    • 78User reviews
    • 130Critic reviews
    • 56Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 6 nominations

    Videos14

    Genius
    Trailer 1:56
    Watch Genius
    Genius Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:32
    Watch Genius Official Trailer
    Genius
    Clip 1:24
    Watch Genius
    Genius
    Clip 1:13
    Watch Genius
    Genius
    Clip 0:32
    Watch Genius
    Genius
    Clip 1:13
    Watch Genius
    Genius: Every Word Matters
    Clip 1:13
    Watch Genius: Every Word Matters
    Genius: To Their Years
    Clip 1:25
    Watch Genius: To Their Years
    Genius: Trust Me
    Clip 1:14
    Watch Genius: Trust Me
    Genius: Publish
    Clip 1:06
    Watch Genius: Publish
    Genius: Good Day
    Clip 0:47
    Watch Genius: Good Day
    Genius: I'm A Writer
    Clip 0:30
    Watch Genius: I'm A Writer

    Photos35

    Guy Pearce in Genius (2016)
    Dominic West in Genius (2016)
    Colin Firth and Jude Law in Genius (2016)
    Colin Firth and Laura Linney in Genius (2016)
    Nicole Kidman in Genius (2016)
    Nicole Kidman and Jude Law in Genius (2016)
    Laura Linney in Genius (2016)
    Colin Firth and Jude Law in Genius (2016)
    Colin Firth and Jude Law in Genius (2016)
    Colin Firth and Jude Law in Genius (2016)
    Colin Firth and Jude Law in Genius (2016)
    Colin Firth and Jude Law in Genius (2016)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Colin Firth
    Colin Firth
    • Max Perkins
    Jude Law
    Jude Law
    • Thomas Wolfe
    Nicole Kidman
    Nicole Kidman
    • Aline Bernstein
    Laura Linney
    Laura Linney
    • Louise Perkins
    Guy Pearce
    Guy Pearce
    • F. Scott Fitzgerald
    Dominic West
    Dominic West
    • Ernest Hemingway
    Vanessa Kirby
    Vanessa Kirby
    • Zelda Fitzgerald
    Gillian Hanna
    Gillian Hanna
    • Julia Wolfe
    Angela Sant'Albano
    Angela Sant'Albano
    • Bertha Perkins
    • (as Angela Ashton)
    Eve Bracken
    Eve Bracken
    • Zippy Perkins
    Katya Watson
    • Jane Perkins
    Lorna Doherty
    • Peggy Perkins
    Makenna McBrierty
    • Nancy Perkins
    Miquel Brown
    • Eleanor, Perkins' Maid
    Corey Johnson
    Corey Johnson
    • John Wheelock
    Lucy Briers
    Lucy Briers
    • Miss Wyckoff
    Harry Attwell
    Harry Attwell
    • Assistant Editor
    Ray Strasser King
    Ray Strasser King
    • James, Mailroom Clerk
    • (as Ray Strasser-King)
    • Director
      • Michael Grandage
    • Writers
      • John Logan
      • A. Scott Berg
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      A. Scott Berg's biography "Max Perkins: Editor of Genius", on which the film is based, won the National Book Award in 1978.
    • Goofs
      Maxwell Perkins tells Thomas Wolfe his book needs a new title that will appeal to potential purchasers, and gives the example of F. Scott Fitzgerald changing the title of a novel from "Trimalchio in West Egg" to "The Great Gatsby." The real Perkins, as Fitzgerald's editor, certainly would have known that "The Great Gatsby" was a flop upon its release in 1925 and did not sell well until the 1950s.
    • Quotes

      Aline Bernstein: I don't exist anymore. I've been edited.

    • Crazy credits
      The title "Genius" appears on the screen 9 minutes into the movie.
    • Connections
      Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Jude Law/Keri Russell/Fall Out Boy (2015)
    • Soundtracks
      Flow Gently Sweet Afton
      (Sottish traditional)

      Composed by Jonathan E. Spillman

      (1873)

      Performed by London Voices

    User reviews78

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    two geniuses
    "Genius" is the story of the great editor Maxwell Perkins and his relationship with Thomas Wolfe, author of Look Homeward Angel, You Can't Go Home Again, and other novels and stories.

    One thing before I start - the IMDb message board has to be the only place where people ADMIT they've never heard of Thomas Wolfe, much less read anything he wrote. I'm not sure I would be so forthcoming with that info.

    The cast is fantastic: Colin Firth as Perkins, Jude Law as Wolfe, Laura Linney as Mrs. Perkins, and Nicole Kidman as Aline Bernstein, who brings Wolfe's novel to Perkins in real life.

    Perkins is shown as a hard-working man, working with people like Fitzgerald and Hemingway and trying to balance his work with family, which consists of a wife and five daughters. He reads Wolfe's 300,000+ word novel and realizes the man is great genius - he also writes too many words. When he talks to Wolfe, he realizes why - he talks too many words, too. He's unmarried and having an affair with stage designer Aline Bernstein. It's a turbulent relationship that lasts around five years.

    His relationship with Perkins is turbulent too. At first Wolfe accepts Perkins' drastic cuts in his world; later on, he fights them. Nevertheless, Wolfe becomes a son to Perkins and Wolfe considers him his only friend.

    Jude Law and Nicole Kidman are unrecognizable in makeup, hair, and accent, and they both do terrific jobs. Law is a bombastic, exuberant, undisciplined Wolfe; Firth, who actually looks more like Thomas Wolfe than Law, is always excellent. Here he plays a restrained man who allows room for the temperaments of his various writers and attempts to be the voice of reason.

    Guy Pearce has a small role as F. Scott Fitzgerald. Something I read said he stole the movie. I love Guy Pearce, I would see him in anything (and have) but to me he wasn't Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald was a sweet-looking man, also a weak and drunken one, and Pearce did not portray that. Probably he did what the script and director dictated.

    I found this movie a good story that was not well-paced and on the talky side. I know today we're not used to movies with a lot of dialogue, but there's always room for sharp, witty dialogue as in "All About Eve," for instance. This didn't have enough of that kind of writing and became tedious and sagged in spots.

    The end of the film is very touching. I recommend seeing this for the performances.
    helpful•23
    4
    • blanche-2
    • Sep 16, 2016

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 10, 2016 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official site (Japan)
    • Languages
      • English
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • Daho
    • Filming locations
      • Didcot, Oxfordshire, England, UK
    • Production companies
      • Desert Wolf Productions
      • Michael Grandage Company
      • Riverstone Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $1,361,045
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $98,274
      • Jun 12, 2016
    • Gross worldwide
      • $7,435,006
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 44 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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