For a while, James McTeigue was just one of the guys behind the scenes on great movies like The Matrix, which translated to a his first directing job on V for Vendetta — another wonderful film. Now that some positive feedback has come out of the Comic Con screening of his latest film, Ninja Assassin, this man is well on his way to becoming one of the top talents in the industry.
While Ninja Assassin is still a little ways off with a November release date, the director spoke to /Film recently about some of his upcoming projects, including the official confirmation of his next film: The Raven.
The movie will be loosely based on the final five days of the dark and legendary Edgar Allan Poe, adding a fictional tale about the author trying to track down a dangerous killer who is murdering people based on the writings of Poe himself.
Here’s what McTeigue had to say about the movie:
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.
As someone who has always known Edgar Allan Poe, but doesn’t know much about him, it was somewhat of a surprise to learn that he did have a very mysterious final few days of life. Apparently in his final hours, the man was running around the streets wildly, wearing someone else’s clothes and calling for help while repeating the name “Reynolds.” Of course, Poe was probably one of the many brilliant minds of that time who took down unbelievable amounts of Absinthe, so it could have just been that. It’s actually a pretty fitting end for a figure with a reputation such as his, I guess.
The script was written by Hannah Shakespeare and Ben Livingston.
Sounds great! Though I would probably be more excited if it were H.P. Lovecraft
Apparently in his final hours, the man was running around the streets wildly, wearing someone else’s clothes and calling for help while repeating the name “Reynolds.” Of course, Poe was probably one of the many brilliant minds of that time who took down unbelievable amounts of Absinthe, so it could have just been that.
Ahem… None of this is true. The only part that is close is the “Reynolds” thing, though it’s unclear if that really happened and many Poe scholars consider it apocryphal. Before being checked into the hospital, it was noted his clothes were ragged – quite unusual for Poe – and did not fit well. Poe never drank absinthe, nor was he running through the streets in his final hours. Poe’s final few days were actually quite normal: he fell in and out of consciousness at a hospital before dying there.