Wow. It’s been since the beginning of December that we had anything new on James McTeigue’s thriller, The Raven starring John Cusack as Edgar Allen Poe. I'm a fan of both Poe and Cusack so I've been intrigued about this since the first images of Cusack in costume were revealed. He certainly 'looks' the part, even if a tad more robust than a consumptive alcoholic. I also have to say that I really like the dark, gritty look to this. So far it plays like Fincher by way of Caleb Carr, but it also reminds me of old Hammer horror pics starring Vincent Price. Those things are not as disparate as they might seem.  Both evoke the Victorian era, one in London, the other in an American city like New York or Baltimore.

Synopsis:

In this gritty thriller, Edgar Allan Poe ( Cusack) joins forces with a young Baltimore detective (Luke Evans, Immortals) to hunt down a mad serial killer who’s using Poe’s own works as the basis in a string of brutal murders. Directed by James McTeigue (V for Vendetta,Ninja Assassin), the film also stars Alice Eve (Sex and the City 2), Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges) and Oliver Jackson-Cohen (Faster).When a mother and daughter are found brutally murdered in 19th century Baltimore, Detective Emmett Fields (Evans) makes a startling discovery: the crime resembles a fictional murder described in gory detail in the local newspaper—part of a collection of stories penned by struggling writer and social pariah Edgar Allan Poe. But even as Poe is questioned by police, another grisly murder occurs, also inspired by a popular Poe story.

Realizing a serial killer is on the loose using Poe’s writings as the backdrop for his bloody rampage, Fields enlists the author’s help in stopping the attacks. But when it appears someone close to Poe may become the murderer’s next victim, the stakes become even higher and the inventor of the detective story calls on his own powers of deduction to try to solve the case before it’s too late.

Enjoy the new pics (thanks to Collider) and hopefully we’ll have more by the time the 9th March (UK) and April 27 (US) release dates roll around. I’m in, are you?

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There’s a new UK poster for Bel Ami, the latest adaptation of the Guy de Maupassant short story about a young man’s rise to power in Paris via his manipulation of the city's most influential and wealthy women.

A great deal of the film's success will hinge on Pattinson's sex appeal, of course.  I like the fact that there is a comparison on the poster to Dangerous Liaisons. Pattinson’s fans, most of them, may be too young to get the reference, but those who do remember that film (as well as the very stylish version known as Valmont, with Colin Firth) will be interested in Bel Ami.  (A costume drama set in fin de sicle Europe will need all of the help it can get).

The cast also includes Kristin Scott Thomas and Uma Thurman (the latter, two beautiful actresses who just happen to be over 40. I’m delighted they’re both being treated as ‘sexual beings’),  Christina Ricci who looks as light and fragile as a porcelain doll, Holliday Grainger (Lucrezia Borge in The Borges), Philip Glennister and Colm Meaney. Bel Ami finally has release dates of March 2 in the US and 9^th March in the UK.

I’m not sure how I feel about the new poster for James McTeigue’s The Raven. (I know I wasn’t happy that the film got pushed back to April.) The psychedelic raven’s wings look like they’ve sprouted from John Cusack’s back and turned him into an angel from hell.  I suppose I just need to go with it, as much as a slight alcoholic consumptive is being played by John Cusack. It is stunning though, as have been the two previous.

The cast of the fictionalized account of the last days of Edgar Allan Poe's life, in which the poet pursues a serial killer whose murders mirror those in the writer's stories, also includes Luke Evans, Alice Eve, Brendan Gleeson and Oliver Jackson-Cohen. It opens 9^th March in the UK and April 27 in the US.

Millennium Entertainment has issued a new one-sheet for Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s fright-fest, The Intruders, which blanks out Clive Owen’s lovely face. Although I’m sure that’s meant to be a clue to the plot, I don’t have to like it.

Millennium’s press release:

"From visionary filmmaker JUAN CARLOS FRESNADILLO (28 Weeks Later, the upcoming Highlander reboot), INTRUDERS is the chilling story of two children living in different countries, each visited nightly by a faceless being who wants to take possession of them.
INTRUDERS stars CLIVE OWEN (Children of Men), CARICE VAN HOUTEN (Repo Men), PILAR LÓPEZ DE AYALA (Juana la Loca),DANIEL BRÜHL (Inglorious Bastards), KERRY FOX (Shallow Grave) and HÉCTOR ALTERIO (Son of the Bride)."

The Intruders finally comes out March 30^th.

Red Lights from director Rodrigo Cortes (Buried) was also snapped up for release by Millennium Entertainment, just after its Sundance premiere. Elizabeth Olsen stars alongside Robert De Niro, Sigourney Weaver and Cillian Murphy.

The plot follows De Niro as a famous blind telekinetic who becomes the number one target of a “university- backed team of paranormal skeptics.”

Red Lights hits Fresnadillo’s native Spain in March. No US dates confirmed yet, but we’ll keep you posted.

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It’s not me, right? Nicole Kidman looks like Ann Margaret circa Kitten with a Whip or Viva Las Vegas. I'm thinking the curl to Zac Efron’s lip says he thinks so too. Seriously though, I absolutely love the retro 70’s vibe (befitting the story) this first poster for The Paperboy is giving off.

The Paperboy is based on a 1995 sexual thriller by Pete Dexter (“Paris Trout”) and Dexter developed the film over the course of ten years with Pedro Almodovar, who is one of the producers. The film is directed by Lee Daniels in his follow-up to 2009’s Precious. He tabled his much talked about MLK biopic, for which he’d tapped David Oyelowo (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Help, MI-5) to star, in order to tackle The Paperboy.

Brief synopsis: An idealistic reporter for the Miami Times returns to his Florida hometown to investigate a case involving the murder of a local sheriff. He’s eventually helped by his younger brother, Jack (Zac Efron) as they investigate the possible wrongful conviction of a death row inmate (John Cusack). Matthew McConaughey plays Ward James, who teams with another reporter (Oyelowo as Yardley). During the course of the investigation, Jack falls for the woman (Kidman) whom the convict has been romancing through prison correspondence.

The Paperboy stars Oyelowo, McConaughey, Cusack, Kidman, Efron and Scott Glenn. Millennium/Nu Image picked it up for distribution during the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. No release dates are yet known, but if they’re giving us a poster then we should have a date soon, probably in time for Cannes 2012. (I hope so, Nicole Kidman needs to make us forget Trespass…like pronto.)

A new international trailer has dropped for The Raven starring John Cusack as Edgar Allen Poe. I've been intrigued about this since the first images of Cusack in costume were revealed and it’s been nearly two months since we had the first domestic trailer. Cusack certainly 'looks' the part and since I'm a fan of both Poe and Cusack, I'm already in. I also have to say that I really like the dark, gritty look to this. So far it plays like Fincher by way of Caleb Carr, but it also reminds me of old Hammer horror pics starring Vincent Price. Those things are not as disparate as they might seem.  Both evoke the Victorian era, one in London, the other in an American city like New York or Baltimore.

The official synopsis: "In this gritty thriller, Edgar Allen Poe (John Cusack) joins forces with a young Baltimore detective (Luke Evans) to hunt down a mad serial killer who’s using Poe’s own works as the basis in a string of brutal murders. 

When a mother and daughter are found brutally murdered in 19th century Baltimore, Detective Emmett Fields (Luke Evans- another actor who seems to be everywhere these days: Immortals, The Three Musketeers, The Hobbit films, among others) makes a startling discovery: the crime resembles a fictional murder described in gory detail in the local newspaper—part of a collection of stories penned by struggling writer and social pariah Edgar Allan Poe. But even as Poe is questioned by police, another grisly murder occurs, also inspired by a popular Poe story.

Realizing a serial killer is on the loose using Poe’s writings as the backdrop for his bloody rampage, Fields enlists the author’s help in stopping the attacks. But when it appears someone close to Poe may become the murderer’s next victim, the stakes become even higher and the inventor of the detective story calls on his own powers of deduction to try to solve the case before it’s too late."

Directed by James McTeigue, The Raven also stars Alice Eve, Brendan Gleeson (always a plus) and Oliver Jackson-Cohen and will be released in the US on March 9, 2012.

My friends at Relativity have released a trailer for The Raven starring John Cusack as Edgar Allen Poe. I'm excited! I've been intrigued about this since the first images of Cusack in costume were revealed. He certainly 'looks' the part and since I'm a fan of both Poe and Cusack, I'm already in. (At one time both Ewan MacGregor and Joaquin Phoenix were attached to star as Poe. I think Cusack is a much better match.) I'm loving the dark, gritty look of the film. It reminds me of old Hammer horror pics starring Vincent Price.

Directed by James McTeigue, The Raven also stars Luke Evans (another actor who seems to be everywhere these days: Immortals, The Three Musketeers, The Hobbit films, among others)as a Baltimore detective who teams up with Poe to solve a series of grizzly murders that would seem to be based on Poe's works. The Raven also stars Alice Eve, Brendan Gleeson (always a plus) and Oliver Jackson-Cohen and will be released in the US on March 9, 2012.

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There’s a dramatic new poster for James McTeigue’s The Raven starring John Cusack as Edgar Allen Poe. Cusack’s co-star Luke Evans tweeted the poster earlier today: “New Raven poster! Awesome job guys!!” (@Mr_Luke_Evans)  This one is very cool. Reminds me of some of those Saul Bass posters from the 60s.

The Raven is a fictionalized account of the last days of Edgar Allan Poe’s life, in which the poet joins forces with a Baltimore detective in pursuit of a mad serial killer (are there any other kind?) whose brutal string of murders mirror those in the writer’s stories. Evans plays Det. Emmett Fields.

The official synopsis:  When a mother and daughter are found brutally murdered in 19th century Baltimore, Detective Emmett Fields makes a startling discovery: the crime resembles a fictional murder described in gory detail in the local newspaper—part of a collection of stories penned by struggling writer and social pariah Edgar Allan Poe. But even as Poe is questioned by police, another grisly murder occurs, also inspired by a popular Poe story.
Realizing a serial killer is on the loose using Poe’s writings as the backdrop for his bloody rampage, Fields enlists the author’s help in stopping the attacks. But when it appears someone close to Poe may become the murderer’s next victim, the stakes become even higher and the inventor of the detective story calls on his own powers of deduction to try to solve the case before it’s too late.”

Cusack is in talks to star with Nicolas Cage in The Frozen Ground, a drama to shoot this fall in Anchorage, Alaska based on true events surrounding Alaska’s most notorious serial predator, Robert Hansen, a respected family man who for over 12 years abducted more than 24 women and flew them into the Alaskan wilderness to be hunted. Cusack would play Hansen while Cage is in talks to play a principled and dedicated Alaskan State Trooper who finds Hansen’s only surviving teen victim alive on the street. Ooooo!

The Raven costars Alice Eve, Brendan Gleeson, and Oliver Jackson-Cohen (soon to be seen in What’s Your Number?) and will open in the US on March 12, 2012.