philip railsback Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Telluride Review: Flash of Genius
Filed under: New Releases », Telluride », Universal », Theatrical Reviews », Festival Reports », Cinematical Indie »
Flash of Genius is a conventional crowdpleaser but not, I'm pleased to report, a shameless one. Chronicling the true story of a college professor's fight to reclaim his invention – the intermittent windshield wiper – from the car company that stole it, the film does many of the things you'd expect, but it may also surprise you. Don't let its Telluride placement fool you: this is a staunchly mainstream, unchallenging film, the sort of underdog-vs.-corporate-behemoth story you've seen time and again. But it's a decent rendition, hitting the right notes without insulting our intelligence.
Now, the intermittent windshield wiper is not exactly the light bulb. If you're not familiar with the term, the wiper is "intermittent" in the sense that it can pause between wipes – a problem that apparently puzzled engineers at all the major car companies until Kearns cracked it the late 60s. But part of what's nifty about the film is its ability to create suspense and curiosity around something so seemingly mundane. Kearns' first demo of his device to Ford is exciting in a very goofy way, but exciting nonetheless.
Philip Railsback's 'Barstow' Heads for the Big Screen
Filed under: Comedy », Casting », Deals », Scripts »
Just over a year ago, Christopher Campbell blogged about Flash of Genius heading towards production with Greg Kinnear. It's the story of Robert Kearns, the man who invented the intermittent windshield wiper and had to battle automakers all the way to the Supreme Court to get payment for his patent. Campbell noted: "The problem with waiting so long to get the film into production is that now Kearns has passed away and won't get to see how well Kinnear portrays him."But Kearns isn't the only one who's missing the chance to see the film come to fruition -- screenwriter Philip Railsback died a few years ago. But that's not stopping his unfinished work. The Hollywood Reporter posts that the late writer's brother, Steve Railsback, is planning to bring one of Philip's final scripts to the screen -- a dark comedy called Barstow. Starring Keith Carradine and Scott Wilson, the film focuses on "three desperate characters, one of whom finds hope in a small, depressed town." The screenwriter had penned the script a decade ago, "after living among poor residents of the eponymous California town."
These are just two of a handful of Railsback's scripts that are in development. It's too bad he can't see them come together.
Jeremy Renner Wants To Be An Avenger
Directors We Love: Jim Jarmusch
Indie Roundup: 'Sweetgrass,' 'Clarkworld,' 'Broken Embraces'
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Watch: Famous 'Matrix' Scene Re-Created with LEGOs
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