Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions have released the Genius trailer online. The film stars Jude Law as acclaimed author Thomas Wolfe and Colin Firth as celebrated editor Maxwell Perkins, and focuses on the tumultuous relationship between the two men as they try to edit Wolfe’s unwieldy novel and ego.

While Genius has all the makings of top-notch films, the same could be said of the other times Firth and Nicole Kidman (who plays Wolfe’s girlfriend) have co-starred in a film, or really Firth movies at all from 2010 onwards. With the exception of Kingsman, he hasn’t done anything tremendous since his Oscar win, which is a shame because he’s such a talented actor, and this has the potential to be a solid drama. But the June release date for a film that looks like it should be in awards season makes me incredibly wary. Here’s hoping that it’s just a bit of clever counterprogramming and that this film is the real deal.  At the very least, we'll get to see Guy Pearce and Dominic West as literary giants F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, respectively.


Check out the Genius trailer below via Yahoo! Movies. The film opens June 10th, and also stars Laura Linney.

Here’s the official synopsis for Genius:

From Academy Award-nominated screenwriter JOHN LOGAN (Gladiator, The Aviator, Hugo, Skyfall) and acclaimed, Tony Award-winning director MICHAEL GRANDAGE in his feature film debut, comes Genius, a stirring drama about the complex friendship and transformative professional relationship between the world-renowned book editor Maxwell Perkins (who discovered F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway) and the larger-than-life literary giant Thomas Wolfe. Based on the biography “Max Perkins: Editor of Genius” by A. SCOTT BERG, Genius stars COLIN FIRTH as Perkins, JUDE LAW as Wolfe, NICOLE KIDMAN as Aline Bernstein, a costume designer sharing a tumultuous relationship with Wolfe, LAURA LINNEY as Louise Perkins, Max’s wife and a talented playwright, GUY PEARCE as F. Scott Fitzgerald and DOMINIC WEST as Ernest Hemingway.


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Image via Lionsgate