John Cusack cast as Edgar Allen Poe in "The Raven"

John Cusack posted to Twitter today:

"officiali- will play edgar allen poe in fall-a-film called the raven, send any poe- gold - my way as i begin this journey into the abyss."

The film, "The Raven" is directed by James McTeigue and tells a fictional tale of the last five days of Poe's life as he joins a detective in the hunt for his fiance's kidnapper. The serial killer is committing murders inspired by Poe's work.

The movie begins filming on Oct 25 in Budapest.

This sounds like it could be a good film, especially if they do the serial killer properly. As long as the serial killer is "worthy" of mimicking Poe's stories, the movie should be good.

"Master of the Macabre" WILLIAM CASTLE speaks from the grave

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM THE �MASTER OF THE MACABRE� WILLIAM CASTLE

Don�t think that a little thing like being dead would preclude me from attending �The Return of William Castle� retrospective at the Film Forum in New York City beginning Friday, August 27th (http://www.filmforum.org/films/castle.html)

I am very much present. And I do so remember how I loved scaring the living daylights out of all of you��But I�m not done yet. Not by a long shot.

I am sure you are dying to know what to expect from me now that I�m back with FROM THE GRAVE!, a new tale of terror and my first novel, that will scare a corpse out of his own grave. So, everyone, if you get a whiff of my beloved Don Diego #5 cigars during �The Return of William Castle� retrospective, don�t be alarmed, know I�m there with a grin that stretches from here to eternity. And for the faint of heart, beware we might meet in the �Coward�s Corner.�

WHO: My daughter Terry Castle will be on hand Friday night to introduce the opening double bill of �The Return of William Castle� retrospective. The dear child had a most unusual childhood and has endured the legacy of a father who is indeed larger than life. I wonder what she will say about me? Does she believe I�m back FROM THE GRAVE?

WHY: I never met a gimmick I didn�t like. Many consider me to be the godfather of the modern horror movie genre and and �experiential films.� And to think I died in 1977 thinking I was unsuccessful.

Background: I made over forty B movies following a formula for box office success: low-budget chillers geared to the burgeoning Youth-sploitation market including The Tingler, House on Haunted Hill, 13 Ghosts, Macabre, Strait-Jacket (the latter scripted by Psycho's Robert Bloch), and Homicidal � which TIME magazine liked better than Psycho. They called me a master of ballyhoo who shamelessly promoted his pictures with highly effective gimmicks, some of which will be lovingly re-created for the Film Forum�s 15 film retrospective, �The Return of William Castle� running August 27 through September 6 in NYC.

To Read the latest messages from, or leave a message for, William Castle:

http://www.williamcastle.com
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