Edgar Allan Poe Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Edgar Allan Poe died almost 160 years ago, but his life and death is still surrounded with enough mystery and spooky theories to make the old 'scaremaster' proud. A few years back, there had been talk of a Poe biography from Sylvester Stallone (with Robert Downey Jr. allegedly circling the role) but it looks like Sly's not the only one with Poe on the brain. /Film recently got the chance to speak with James McTeigue (V for Vendetta) about his latest, Ninja Assassin, and he told them that he has also started working on a Poe-inspired thriller, titled after the famous poem, The Raven.

If you happened to have skipped high school English, The Raven was Poe's poem about a man haunted by his lost love (and, if you need a quick refresher, just watch The Simpson's classic Treehouse of Horror episode). But McTeigue isn't interested in trying to improve upon previous Poe films (like Roger Corman's classics) and instead, his film will be a fictional take on Poe's final days, and put the author smack dab in the middle of a murder investigation.

Hannah Shakespeare and Ben Livingston have already completed a script about Poe on the trail of a murderer who's using his literary works as a source of inspiration. It sounds pretty clever on paper, and McTeigue told /Film, "It's like the poem, The Raven, itself, crossed with Se7en. It should be pretty cool. The script is really good and everyone responds to it really well. I'm in the middle of casting."

Maybe if Stallone's project doesn't make it out of development hell alive, Downey could play Poe for McTeigue instead, what do you think?

Just about anyone who follows horror has bemoaned the sorry state of the genre these days. Nearly everything is a remake, either of some 1970s or 1980s classic or of some recent Asian hit. The rare films that aren't remakes are simply lazy copies of whatever worked a year earlier, the current "torture porn" subgenre, for example. And hardly anything screens for the press, which means that even the studios now understand how low things have sunk.

The new film The Ruins likewise isn't screening for the press, but it is based -- of all things -- on an actual book! With pages! It's by Scott B. Smith, who many years ago wrote both the book and screenplay for the excellent A Simple Plan. The new movie inspired me to look up other literary-based horror movies (whether inspired by novels or short stories). Sadly, aside from Stephen King and the upcoming Midnight Meat Train (based on Clive Barker's short story), I couldn't find much good recent work, but there is plenty to choose from ...

The long-in-the-works Edgar Allan Poe biopic may be a step closer to getting produced. Cinemablend is reporting this as an "unconfirmed rumor," but it sounds like Viggo Mortensen may take on the juicy role of one of the most famous (and famously drug-addled) horror authors of all time. Who is writing and directing this biopic? Why, Sylvester Stallone, of course! The site's source says "Stallone has recently met with Viggo Mortensen and has offered him the role of Edgar Allan Poe in the film. Mortensen is considering the role although he wants some slight revisions in the script."

Since Stallone announced this project years ago, various actors have been mentioned as possible Poes. That list includes Robert Downey, Jr. and Johnny Depp, who certainly seem like fitting choices. The Cinemablend source also mentions that Clifton Collins, Jr. (Capote) and John Hawkes (American Gangster), two solid actors who look a lot like the author, are being considered should Viggo bail. Back in 1994, Stallone spoke about his Poe biopic with Interview. saying "I could probably produce it or direct it. I couldn't play Poe, because there's no way the baggage that I would bring to the role could ever be assimilated by the public. But I should do it, because it's the best thing that I've ever written, including Rocky or Paradise Alley." Stallone may consider the Poe screenplay his best, but what is his deepest and most profound script? Quoth The Raven, "Rocky Four."

Additionally, for more Stallone, USA Today has published a photo along with a lengthy article on the new Rambo film, due out early next year.

The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Josh Lucas will star in Tell-Tale, a psychological thriller directed by Michael Cuesta. Cuesta directed two very good indies -- L.I.E. and Twelve and Holding, and has helmed episodes of two of my favorite shows -- Six Feet Under and Dexter. The film's producers include big-time directors/brothers Tony Scott (Top Gun) and Ridley Scott -- who is currently tearing up the box office with the terrific American Gangster. The script was written by Dave Callaham, who also penned the video game adaptation Doom. (Had to look that up because THR managed to mention every aspect of the film but the screenwriter -- see why writers feel under-appreciated?)

Tell-Tale is a contemporary adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's classic story "The Tell-Tale Heart," (which was also reimagined as a hilarious Simpsons episode -- "Lisa's Rival"). Lucas will play a "single father whose recently transplanted heart leads him on a frantic search to find the donor's killer before a similar fate befalls him." I love the Poe story, so I'm up for this new take. Lucas was rumored to be playing Captain Pike in the upcoming Star Trek film, but we learned this morning that's not the case. What I really think Lucas should be doing is a movie where he, Matthew McConaughey, and Bradley Cooper try to tell each other apart for two hours.

True! -- nervous -- very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am! but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses -- not destroyed -- not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute. After dealing with Edgar Allan Poe's literary Tell-Tale Heart, I wonder if the narrator's acute hearing can pick up this piece of news. The Hollywood Reporter has posted that Ridley and Tony Scott, through Scott Free Productions, is cooking up a modern-day re-imagining of Poe's classic tale of loud hearts and floorboards.

It's said to be a psychological thriller on the backdrop of modern science, which makes me wonder if they're going the so-hot-right-now repo route and putting that loud, beating heart in the narrator. Then again, they've taken the "heart" part out of the title, so maybe they're going for a different organ/appendage. A stomping foot? A wiggling tongue? Whatever the case, Lisa Wilson, head of worldwide sales for Hyde Park, says: "Ridley and Tony are great storytellers. We feel that Tell-Tale will differentiate itself from other genre fare in its sophistication, quality, and commerciality. It is a thrilling blend of the supernatural and psychological mixed with riveting suspense and action."

So, what sophisticated pen could be behind this? How about Doom screenwriter Dave Callaham? This is where I really start to worry about the project. Sure, he might have written one hell of a script, and it'll be the sort of movie to knock all of our socks off -- but Doom isn't something that gives me confidence. His only other writing credit: the upcoming film called The Horseman. As for director, that honor has gone to Six Feet Under and Dexter director Michael Cuesta. So, what are the chances now that Michael C. Hall jumps on board?

In November, Chris Ullrich brought news of a possible Edgar Allan Poe project that would be developed by Clive Barker. A family film, Barker's creation will center on a group of teens who try to uncover the truth about the last weeks of Poe's life. (Poe's life has been shrouded in mystery due to the posthumous writing of a grudge-holding man named Rufus Wilmot Griswold.) This twist sounds great and all, but what I'm about to share sounds even better. I am trying to keep my fan-girl excitement in-check, as this isn't set in stone, but IESB has reportedly gotten their hands on a script entitled Forevermore -- it details the last days of Poe, and mixes in his life and his writing into one poetic, dramatic feature.

Said to have been penned by Grant Boucher, visual effects artist-turned-screenwriter, the script details the final moments of Poe's life. (For a few days, after being picked up from the streets, Poe lay in Washington College Hospital before ultimately succumbing to death.) Boucher uses this time to have Poe's life flash before his eyes -- in what is called "Dreamland" -- reliving memories, his writing, his dreams and his nightmares. Poe falls in and out of lucidity as he struggles with his nemesis, The Shadow.

As if that wasn't enough, all of the dialog in the script is written in rhyming couplets, and some scenes are direct adaptations of his writing -- which could just be the best way to incorporate Poe's short stories into cinematic form, without trying to beef them up into features. And to make the potential project even more appealing -- rumor has it that the script has made its way to Johnny Depp, who has not only shown interest in bringing Poe to the screen before, but considers the writer to be one of his favorites. Now we just have to wait and see if this becomes fact or merely hopeful fantasy.