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Tower to the People

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Tower to the People - Tesla's Dream at Wardenclyffe Continues
A 1904 image of Wardenclyffe Tower
Directed byJoseph Sikorski
Produced byColossal Molehill Productions
StarringJoseph Bessette
Matt Donnelly
Matthew Inman
Penn Jillette
Release date
  • October 4, 2015 (2015-10-04)
Running time
120 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$150,000

Tower to the People - Tesla's Dream at Wardenclyffe Continues is a 2015 documentary film directed by Joseph Sikorski about Nikola Tesla's Wardenclyffe Tower. The film documents the history and subsequent decline of the Wardenclyffe complex designed and built by Tesla in Shoreham, New York, as the main laboratory and facility for his experiments on wireless power transmission.

Sikorski focuses his documentary on the role of J.P. Morgan, one of the main investors behind the project, claiming Morgan pulled his support after realizing free wireless energy would hurt his own business interests.[1] Tesla could not find additional investments and in 1906 the project was abandoned and never became operational. After over a century of decay, the tower site was rescued by a successful fundraising campaign and will be converted into a museum – the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe – honoring the legacy of the Serbian American inventor.

The film builds on Fragments from Olympus, a feature and original screenplay about Tesla's life written by Joseph Sikorski and Michael Calomino[2][3] which received a "best screenplay" award at the Long Island International Film Expo in 2010.[4]

The distribution of the documentary was supported by a crowdfunding campaign hosted on Indiegogo and by an appeal published by comics writer Matthew Inman,[5] who also features in the film.[6] On October 4, 2014 the documentary premiered at the New Yorker Hotel in New York City, the same place where Tesla died in 1943. Director Jim Jarmusch, Tesla's great grandnephew William Terbo, the Consul General of Serbia Mirjana Zivkovic were among the guests.[7] The official release date in the United States is October 4, 2015.[8]

References

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  1. ^ Langfield, Amy (2014-10-17). "Underdog inventor Nikola Tesla gets his due with new museum". CNBC. Retrieved 2015-08-29.
  2. ^ Fragments from Olympus: The Vision of Nikola Tesla, 31 Oct 2014, retrieved 2015-07-04
  3. ^ Broad, William J. (2012-08-27). "To Keep Tesla's Flame Bright, Fans Return to His Workshop". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2015-07-04.
  4. ^ "Long Island Film Festival – Awards 2010". www.longislandfilmfestival.org. Retrieved 2015-07-04.
  5. ^ "Joseph Sikorski made a documentary about the Tesla Tower at Wardenclyffe - The Oatmeal". theoatmeal.com. Retrieved 2015-07-04.
  6. ^ Tower to the People-Tesla's Dream at Wardenclyffe Continues, 15 Jul 2014, retrieved 2015-07-04
  7. ^ Langfield, Amy. "Tesla—the other one—nets a big crowdfunding win". Retrieved 2015-07-04.
  8. ^ Tower to the People-Tesla's Dream at Wardenclyffe Continues, 15 Jul 2014, retrieved 2015-07-04
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