Ramanujan biopic ‘Infinity’ tells mathematician’s journey – Tracy Morgan to star in Ed Helms’ comedy ‘The Clapper’

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Sarah Connor (right), and James Bay perform during the 2016 Echo Music Awards in Berlin on April 7. (AP)
Sarah Connor (right), and James Bay perform during the 2016 Echo Music Awards in Berlin on April 7. (AP)

LONDON, April 8, (RTRS): British actor Dev Patel tackles numbers and formulas in “The Man Who Knew Infinity”, a biopic looking at the life of Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan.

The drama follows the journey of the Indian accounting clerk, who was brought to England before World War One by Cambridge University professor Godfrey Harold Hardy (Jeremy Irons), as he seeks to prove himself and his theorems.

Patel, who admits he is “terrible” at maths, said in an interview the role was both challenging and emotional.

“It’s daunting but actually when you read the script, it was a very emotional read … It was actually a very triumphant story for me, a very enlightening film and I wanted more people to know about it, because I didn’t know about this incredible man,” he said.

“If I could help breathe life into his legacy, then I was happy to do so and that’s what we did.”

In the movie, which also stars British actor Toby Jones and writer and comedian Stephen Fry, Patel’s character faces challenges such as racism, rejection and serious illness.

The 25-year old, known also for “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”, said he was able to base his portrayal on photographs of the mathematician and his notebooks.

“There was no real physical material that we could mimic, there was no found footage or anything of how he spoke. You know, the cliché is a picture says a thousand words, but it really is true,” he said.

“We tried to capture the essence of this man and his resilience that you could see in the pictures, you could read in the book. He’s fiercely passionate and that’s something I could really dial into.”

“The Man Who Knew Infinity” hits UK cinemas on Friday and US theatres from April 29.

Also:

LOS ANGELES: Tracy Morgan is in talks to star in the comedy “The Clapper” alongside Ed Helms and Amanda Seyfried.

Dito Montiel is directing the film from his own script, adapted from his book of the same name about a man who works on infomercials and is selected to appear on a late night talk show. If the deal goes through, Morgan will play Helms’ best friend.

The project is being produced by Montiel with Robin Schorr. Helms and Mike Falbo are also producing through their Pacific Electric shingle. Alex Lebovici and Michael Bien are the executive producers.

Morgan worked with Montiel on the 2011 drama “The Son of No One.” The former “30 Rock” star recently returned to the business after a car accident left him seriously injured in 2014. He gave his first TV interview following the crash on “Today” last June, made a surprise appearance at the Emmy Awards in September and hosted an episode of “Saturday Night Live” in October.

He recently wrapped production on “Fist Fight” with Ice Cube and Charlie Day. Morgan is attached to star as Redd Foxx in the Weinstein Co’s “Richard Pryor: Is It Something I Said?” alongside Mike Epps as Pryor.

Morgan is repped by CAA, and Hansen Jacobson Teller Hoberman Newman Warren Richman Rush and Kaller. The news was first reported by Deadline Hollywood.

LOS ANGELES: Robert DeFranco’s Dragon River has optioned the rights to George Jehn’s memoir, “Final Destination: Disaster — What Really Happened to Eastern Airlines.”

Infamously known as the airline that mysteriously lost Flight 980, Jehn’s memoir chronicles the controversial sale of Eastern Air Lines, at one time the second largest airline in the free world, to Frank Lorenzo’s Texas Air Corporation, which led to its certain demise. It is written from the perspective of an 18-year veteran Eastern pilot’s perspective, as the author was intimately involved in many aspects of the tumultuous events that culminated in the sale.

This marks the first major acquisition for DeFranco’s Dragon River. DeFranco formerly ran A7SLE Films, where he was responsible for numerous projects including, “The Devil’s Rooming House,” now in production, and “The Last Word,” which premiered at SXSW.

The transaction was handled by Francesca Minerva of Changing Lives Press.

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