TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — For two decades, Robert Kearns waged an obsessive crusade against the auto industry, which he accused of stealing his invention. It destroyed his marriage, brought on a mental breakdown and may have cost him millions.

All because of a dispute over a humble piece of equipment: the intermittent windshield wiper.

Not exactly the stuff of Hollywood drama, you say? Veteran film producer Marc Abraham would beg to differ. He found Kearns' story so captivating that instead of hiring a director to bring it to the screen, he did the job himself.

"There was something about this story that I felt so personally committed to," said Abraham, who makes his directorial debut with "Flash of Genius," starring Greg Kinnear as Kearns. The movie, distributed by Universal Pictures, was shown during the recent Traverse City Film Festival and opens in theaters Oct. 17.

"I've always had a lot of respect for average working people," said Abraham, a Kentucky native who drove a beer truck, waited tables and sold baby pictures door-to-door while trying to break into show business. "Bob wasn't an ordinary man; he was probably a genius. But as a person, his lifestyle, his family scale, he was just an average guy. So I felt like I understood that."

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