Einstein Biopic Coming!

Albert Einstein is the poster boy for genius. His image adorns countless dorm walls and his wild-haired, grizzled visage is a symbol for the quintessential “mad scientist”. Which is ironic, because Einstein was anything but insane. He was one of the most lucid, thoughtful, and measured minds in scientific history. His realm of expertise wasn’t just limited to theoretical physics and complex mathematics, but plain old common sense as well. Einstein’s thoughts on ethics, religion and humankind’s loss of rationale thought when ruled by dogmatic doctrine is well-documented. And highly revered by many people, including myself. I ain’t no big-brained whiz, but I’ve always loved his wisdom-filled anecdotes.

So it’s quite baffling as to why a proper big screen treatment of Einstein’s life took this long to materialise. By “proper”, I mean a high-profile project with major studio backing. Like the one now being attempted by director Wayne Wang (“The Joy Luck Club”). Hollywood Studios International (HSI) announced the project today, tentatively titled “Einstein”. The script is being written by veteran Ron Bass, whose words won him an Oscar for “Rain Man”. Good combo, I say.

HSI president Eric Christenson said: “Coming aboard a project that teams Wayne Wang and Ron Bass is tremendously exciting, and we have something special on our hands with ‘Einstein.’ People know the name and the theories, yet most people don’t know the fascinating details of his life’s story.”

And some of those details might include the man’s colourful love life. Lest you think that Einstein was always this kindly, grandfatherly-type chap, you might be surprised to know that he was quite the ladies man in his younger days.

Executive producer Koldo Eguren confirms this: “People don’t know about his struggles with poverty, his dyslexia, his love for music, his relationships with the women in his life, his persecution by the Nazis and his battle to deal with living in the public eye and being under constant scrutiny. Ron’s screenplay peels back the layers and allows us to see past Einstein the scientist and Einstein the celebrity, showing us Einstein the man.”

That to me, is the perfect equation.