This time it is not about science-fiction, this time it is about true science. The stories of two of the most important scientists of the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. Of course, as always happens, in this kind of biopics some real-life facts can be modified, made-up, or omitted to give form to an entertainment film piece, but the characters, the happenings and the essentials of their work in order to build the world we live in right now are and will always be there. Today we talk about Marie Curie and Nikola Tesla biopics, both of them coming out this summer.
Radioactive (2019) tells the story of the scientific and romantic passions of Marie Sklodowska-Curie, born in Poland, and Pierre Curie, a couple of chemists who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person and the only woman to win the Nobel Prize twice, and the only person to win the Nobel Prize in two different scientific fields. She died in 1934, at the age of 66, of aplastic anemia from exposure to radiation in the course of her scientific research and the course of her radiological work at field hospitals during World War I.
Radioactive (2019) is directed by Iran-born filmmaker Marjane Satrapi. She has been responsible for very interesting films like Oscar-nominated Persepolis (2007), and horror-comedy The Voices (2014). The film is based on the graphic novel Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout by Lauren Redniss. Jack Thorne, a film and TV writer, and producer who has participated in shows like Skins (2007–2013), The Fades (2011), or His Dark Materials (2019– ), has been in charge of the screenplay. Rosamund Pike incarnates Marie Curie, while Sam Riley is Pierre Curie. The rest of the cast is formed by Anya Taylor-Joy, Cara Bossom, Aneurin Barnard, Katherine Parkinson, Simon Russell Beale, Tim Woodward, Jonathan Aris, Mirjam Novak, Corey Johnson, Demetri Goritsas, and Michael Gould.
On the other side, Tesla (2020) brings a freewheeling take on visionary inventor Nikola Tesla, his interactions with Thomas Edison and J.P. Morgan‘s daughter Anne, and his breakthroughs in transmitting electrical power and light. Born in what would be modern-day Croatia, he was an inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, and futurist who is best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system. Tesla pursued his ideas for wireless lighting and worldwide wireless electric power distribution in his high-voltage, high-frequency power experiments in New York and Colorado Springs. In 1893, he made pronouncements on the possibility of wireless communication with his devices. Yes, he is a direct responsibility of our current way of life.
Tesla (2020) has been written and directed by Michael Almereyda, responsible for several multi-awarded documentaries and feature films like Another Girl Another Planet (1992), Nadja (1994), The Eternal (1998), Hamlet (2000), and Blade Runner (1982)-related documentary Escapes (2017). Ethan Hawke portrays Nikola Tesla, while Kyle MacLachlan is his rival Thomas Edison. Together with them, Eve Hewson, Hannah Gross, Jim Gaffigan, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Josh Hamilton, Lucy Walters, James Urbaniak, and Rebecca Dayan also star.
Radioactive (2019) premiered as the Closing Night Gala at the Toronto International Film Festival on 14 September 2019. To celebrate International Women’s Day, the film’s UK premiere took place on 8 March 2020, ahead of its 20 March wide release by StudioCanal. Its international release is scheduled to be on 24 July 2020 on Prime Video.
Tesla (2020) had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 2020. Shortly after, IFC Films acquired distribution rights to the film and set it for an August 21, 2020 release.
Here you can watch the official trailer for Radioactive (2019).
Here you can watch the official trailer for Tesla (2020).
