Tortured geniuses are always prime fodder for biopics, and if they have family-straining legal battles with massive corporations in their story, that’s all the better.
Which is why Universal have snapped up the rights to the life story of Robert Kearns, who invented the intermittent windscreen wiper, and his struggle with the huge Detroit car makers, who he claimed stole his idea. His all-consuming campaign put a serious strain on his marriage and his kids.
Greg Kinnear is playing Kearns, while Lauren Graham is his troubled wife, Phyllis. It’s a passion project for producer Marc Abraham, who is stepping up to the director’s chair for it. "I bought the rights eight years ago and always hoped to direct it," he blabbed to Variety. "This is a David vs. Goliath story, but I liked the fact that what Kearns fought for was almost whimsical and it shows the high cost someone can pay for refusing to compromise their dignity."
He starts cranking the cameras next month in July.
