What is it? Biography of literary editor Max Perkins (Colin Firth), who was editor for works by Ernest Hemingway (Dominic West), F. Scott Fitzgerald (Guy Pearce) and Thomas Wolfe (Jude Law). Why is it a major player? Director Michael Grandage, here making his cinematic debut, is an acclaimed theatre director, and while talent directing theatre doesn't always translate to directing for the big screen, Grandage at least has a fantastic cast to work with on his first feature film. Along with Firth, Law, Pearce and West, Genius also stars Nicole Kidman and Laura Linney, and they're all working from a script by Gladiator scribe John Logan, whose Oscar for Best Screenplay - here, it'll be adapted, from Pulitzer Prize-winning author A. Scott Berg's book - may be overdue. The film's main downfall could be that it's just too prestige-y - in recent years, the Academy has largely opted out of picking films based solely on how prestigious the topic is and has focused on quality instead, so a film like this would need to transcend cliches and expectations to do well. If it's any good, it must also be said that prestige films of quality still make their mark, so Genius could nudge in if it wields that cast and that story effectively.
Lover of film, writer of words, pretentious beyond belief. Thinks Scorsese and Kubrick are the kings of cinema, but PT Anderson and David Fincher are the dashing young princes. Follow Brogan on twitter if you can take shameless self-promotion: @BroganMorris1
