THE RAVEN Starring John Cusack Picked up by Relativity Media
by Adam Chitwood Posted: January 20th, 2011
Yesterday, we brought you an image from the set of the Edgar Allen Poe thriller The Raven that was tweeted by star John Cusack in remembrance of the famed poet’s birthday. Today, it was announced that the film now has a US distributor. Deadline reports that Relativity Media has acquired the US distribution rights to the film. Directed by James McTiegue (V for Vendetta), the film tells the story of Poe teaming up with a detective to search for a serial killer who has kidnapped the author’s fiancée and gone on a murder spree that recalls Poe’s stories. The events all take place in the days before the poet’s death.
Cusack stars alongside Luke Evans (Tamara Drewe), Alice Eve (She’s Out of My League) and Brendan Gleeson. Cross your fingers for more sad-face Cusack pictures from the set as filming continues.
Peter Farrelly Says Benicio del Toro Still Top Choice to Play Moe in THE THREE STOOGES
by Matt Frisch Posted: January 20th, 2011
Although no one has officially signed on yet to the ever-rotating cast of the Farrelly brothers (There’s Something About Mary, Me, Myself & I) The Three Stooges, it looks like the directors have at least set their sights on one cast member for now, Benicio del Toro. Farrelly confirmed Del Toro’s status with the project, as well as addressed what they’re looking for in the audition process:
“Benicio [Del Toro] is the front runner for Moe, but we’ve not made a deal with him yet. Our feeling is that it just can’t be your take on Moe. It’s gotta be Moe. Someone could nail Curly’s mannerisms, but if you’re 130 pounds it probably wouldn’t work.”
Apparently one reason that casting has been held back is that certain actors feel they shouldn’t have to audition for the role given their A-lister status. Hit the jump for more information on the filming of The Three Stooges, as well as past casting rumors.
In a recent interview with The Providence Journal (via The Playlist) Peter Farrelly spoke at length about the project:
“It’s not a biopic. We want to give a matinee feel to it. But none of the studios had any interest in it at the beginning. There was a lot to prove. We even had to show that in the script, despite all the hitting the Stooges were known for, it could be a PG movie.”
The cast has been all over the place for this one. As we previously reported, rumors ran rampant that the cast had been filled out with Johnny Knoxville as Moe, Andy Samberg as Larry and Australian comic Shane Jacobson as Curly.In the end, they turned out to be exactly that—rumors. Prior to that casting news, the original lineup consisted of Benicio del Toro, Sean Penn and Jim Carrey set to play Moe, Larry and Curly respectively. However, Penn suddenly dropped out due to scheduling conflicts and Carrey quickly followed suit. There was even talk at one time of Paul Giamatti possibly picking up Penn’s vacant role as Larry, but as much as I like the guy, I’m not quite sure he would be the right fit for Larry.
Fair to say that at this point, everything still seems very much up in the air. But one thing is clear, these remaining parts will be cast sometime in the very near future. The movie is set to start shooting in Atlanta in April.
