Tesla -- Not the rock group, but the man. The myth. He was one of history's greatest inventors, but has faded into obscurity and cult status. When people think of the light bulb, they think of Edison. People don't realize that the method used to power that lightbulb today, and every other modern piece of electronic technology, for that matter, was devised by Nikola Tesla.
He originally came to America to work under Edison, but when his ideas were rejected, a rivalry was born. Tesla's ideas regarding practical use of electricity prevailed in the end (and persist to this day), but because he wasn't as business savvy as Edison, he ended up poor and raising pigeons.
I find it a tragic story of someone who clearly saw the future, being thwarted by greed and those in power. These days, people don't need to have a good idea, they just need to have an idea... and If you're a Kardashian sister, you don't even have a clue! Though somehow they are on TV every day influencing the next generation and spearheading the extraordinarily irritating vocal fry trend. It's because they know how to brand. They can sell their shitty brand to a public that doesn't even know what's best for them. This is what Edison was good at. He patented every single widget he could muster, so he could corner the market and edge out the competition.
If ideas succeeded on the merit of their quality alone, we'd live in a utopian society with endless free energy, flying cars, and Ke$ha would be mopping floors.
It would be great to see a biopic chronicling his life... but Hollywood is as guilty as the investors from 100 years ago who didn't want to take a chance on Tesla's brilliant ideas. His ideas are more relevant than ever! I suppose in order to make a movie about his life, I'd have to figure in a few hot babes, a car chase and some vampires.
