Imagine spending years perfecting an invention, only to have your idea stolen from you. That's what happened to a college professor in Michigan in the 1960s. His story was the inspiration for the movie "Flash of Genius," opening this weekend in Chicago theaters.
Actor Greg Kinnear stars as Bob Kearns, a hard-working family man who devises the intermittent windshield wiper for automobiles. When Ford Motor Company takes his idea without giving him credit, an infuriated Kearns fights back.
Kinnear, and movie director Marc Abraham, made a stop at Chicago's Peninsula Hotel recently to promote the new flick and explain the the meaning behind the movie.
"It's such a preposterous idea that one guy would take on a company as big as Ford Motors," Kinnear explained. "Especially back then, in a company town."
Kearns' struggle is one most people can relate to. That's one of the reasons Abraham took on the project. A longtime writer and producer, Abraham is making his directing debut.
"Given the current climate in the country, people really do feel like that they're just not being treated properly by large organizations and that they've been taken advantage of," Abraham said.
"Flash of Genius" opens on Friday.
