Genius

New York in the 1920s. Max Perkins, literary editor at Scribner’s Sons is the first to sign such subsequent literary greats as Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. When a sprawling, chaotic 1,000-page manuscript by an unknown writer named Thomas Wolfe falls into his hands, Perkins is convinced he has discovered a literary genius. Together the two men set out to work on a version for publication and a seemingly endless struggle over every single phrase ensues. During this process, Perkins the gentle family man and Wolfe the eccentric author become close – a relationship eyed with suspicion by their wives. When ‘Look Homeward, Angel’ becomes a resounding success, the writer grows increasingly paranoid. Genius is based on A. Scott Berg’s award-winning biography ‘Max Perkins: Editor of Genius’ which has been adapted for the screen by renowned scriptwriter John Logan (Skyfall). Making his cinematic debut with this journey back through time to the New York of the Roaring Twenties is successful London theatre director Michael Grandage.