John Cusack to Play Edgar Allen Poe in The Raven
After starring in a lot of mostly forgettable films over the past decade, John Cusack recently re-emerged last year with a starring role in Roland Emmerich’s last blockbuster 2012. While it’s unclear if the movie’s success was in any way related to his involvement (I’m guessing not), it will be interesting to see if he can leverage it into more high profile gigs. His next film is the ’40s period spy drama Shanghai, but now he looks to have an even more promising role on the horizon as the star of James McTeigue’s next film The Raven. It is a thriller set in the 1850s with Edgar Allan Poe himself being required to track down a serial killer. Cusack recently announced via Twitter that he will play Poe.
This is not a biopic, nor is it a direct adaptation of Poe’s work, but rather a fictionalized melding of the two. In the final days of Edgar Allen Poe’s life, the poet is called upon to stop a murderer who is using his own stories as inspiration for his crimes. (Poe’s real death is a mystery; he was found delirious on the streets of Baltimore, wearing someone else’s clothes, before dying a few days later in the hospital.) The story will take place in 1850s Baltimore, but the movie will be shot in Europe to give it a gothic sensibility.
James McTeigue is, of course, the longtime collaborator of The Wachowskis, who directed both Ninja Assassin and V For Vendetta for them. Now he is finally getting a chance to strike out on his own, and I’ll be very curious to see what the end result is. As for Cusack, he played a writer caught in haunted hotel room in the adaptation of Stephen King’s 1408, and he’s also been in a number of other thrillers like Identity, so it seems like a good fit all around. Are you looking forward to The Raven?
Comments (7)
THIS…SOUNDS….AWESOME!!!
Posted by Rick on August 30th, 2010Sure, I’m looking forward to The Raven! Only not with John Cusack as Poe.
Posted by Less Lee Moore on August 30th, 2010Cusack will need to lose some weight for that role! I believe Poe was skinny as a rail.
Posted by Heather on August 30th, 2010Stallone is going to be pissed!
Posted by Chewrog on August 30th, 2010The film will open with Cusack and McTeigue taking a shit directly on a copy of the Raven. Because it’s ya’know an allegory and stuff.
Posted by Alex on August 31st, 2010Is there really enough material in The Raven for a 100 minute film? is this a genuine attempt at adapting a classic or a shameless cash-in?
If it’s going to be a biopic-ish thing, then maybe he can pull it off. he can just channel the neurotic Craig Schwartz from Being John Malkovich and be set.
Posted by Steve on August 31st, 2010NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Where’s Stallone’s film?!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by TheAllKnowingGod on August 31st, 2010Leave a Reply