In 2017, filmmaker Alfonso Gomez-Rejon debuted his most recent film “The Current War” at the Toronto International Film Festival. However, what critics and fans didn’t realize at the time is that the version that they would have screened for them was not approved by the filmmaker and wasn’t indicative of what he was trying to do. Instead, producer Harvey Weinstein got involved and drastically altered the film, rushed it for release, and compromised the vision that Gomez-Rejon had for his work. But now, after two years, and the fall of Weinstein, the filmmaker is ready to reveal his real cut of the high-profile film and hopefully spark interest in his film once again.
Deadline is reporting that Upstart 101 Studios has purchased the distribution rights to the film and will finally support it with a theatrical release later this year. And in doing so, the studio has given filmmaker Gomez-Rejon a chance to re-edit the film (as he always wanted to) and give audiences the true version of his story.
READ MORE: Bob Weinstein Issues Statement, ‘The Current War’ Dropped From Release
For those that have forgotten, “The Current War” stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Thomas Edison, Michael Shannon as George Westinghouse, and Nicholas Hoult as Nikola Tesla, as the three men fight for the future of the electricity standard.
“It had been accepted to Toronto based on an early cut and then came the rush to finish in time,” Gomez-Rejon said of the 2017 debut of “The Current War.” “I knew in my heart, and every fiber of my body was saying, it’s not ready. I was drowning in notes, to the point I was addressing them more than editing the film. I’d get them from London, and then more from New York. We rushed the mix, ADR, sound. You go in knowing [Harvey Weinstein’s reputation for re-cutting films]. People warned me to be careful and I was determined to not be another casualty until I saw the [Toronto] cut and felt like an idiot. I went in fearless and then suddenly you realize you are a casualty, a footnote.”
The filmmaker explains that when he finally saw the film in Toronto that fateful night, he realized that his vision was compromised. “I didn’t know what rock bottom was until that moment,” the director said. “I was completely shattered by one screening I knew I wasn’t ready for.”
However, two years have gone by and now the director had made changes that he feels drastically alters the film, in the best way.
“Everything missing is there now, including the right pacing that escalates the tension between these two men,” Gomez-Rejon said. “The heart of the film is restored: Edison’s relationship with his wife, and the explanation of her fatal illness and what it did to him. You feel her loss deeply and it carries you through as he goes to a dark side without her there to humanize his ambition. Westinghouse has been humanized without making him a saint, and there are now layers and complicated performances so that instead of spoon-fed emotion, everything is earned.”
He continued, “The music heightens the tensions of their war. There are new scenes with Tesla, who was never meant to be a lead character but now you see his genius and vulnerability. He doesn’t feel forgotten in this movie, and he gives heart and clarity to the clash between these two men and what drives them to go to such dark places.”
Upstart 101 Studios is expected to have a full theatrical release of “The Current War” reportedly beginning in August.
