VARIOUS: John Cusack and the cast of 'The Raven' shine at the premiere of Edgar Allen Poe's darkest tale

Record ID: 220792

  • Title: VARIOUS: John Cusack and the cast of 'The Raven' shine at the premiere of Edgar Allen Poe's darkest tale
  • Date: 24th April 2012
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (APRIL 23, 2012) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) EXTERIOR OF LOS ANGELES THEATRE PULL OUT OF SIGN TO RAVEN BIRD (*** FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ***) JOHN CUSACK POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS CUTAWAY CUSACK HOLDING BIRD (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOHN CUSACK ON "THE RAVEN" SAYING: "Edgar Allan Poe is a genius and sort of a master, who sort of gets enrolled or invited in a meta-physical way into one of his own stories. In doing that, you get Poe having to deconstruct Poe and he has to find out who the mind of the killer is. But, he actually has to explore his own stories and his own imagination. So, rather than a straight bio-pic that you would see at "Masterpiece Theatre," it is much more imaginative in gets involved in Poe's subconsciousness a little more." ACTRESS ALICE EVE POSING WITH THE RAVEN PAN FROM STILL PHOTOGRAPHERS TO EVE POSING (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTRESS ALICE EVE ON BEING SCARED DURING FILMING, SAYING: "I think I had nightmares for six months and I definitely was scared and I tried to prepare myself to do it. I really anticipated it and that really counts a lot in mental preparation. It was intense when I went into the box. We were in Serbia and it was the bleak mid-winter and I missed my Mom at times." (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOHN CUSACK ON PREPARING FOR THE ROLE, SAYING; "There is so much stuff and there is great biographies and all his writings are there. So, much of his writings are autobiographical and very revealing and rough and beautiful and tough. So, there was so much to choose from. It is part fact, part fiction and part legend that is all mixed up into one." PANS FROM THEATRE CEILING TO ARRIVAL LINE PHOTOGRAPHERS DIRECTOR JAMES MCTEIGUE JOHN CUSACK TALKING TO REPORTERS
  • Embargoed: 9th May 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVACKXQTKMECNIGAJ2JUO3VHNNED
  • Story Text: John Cusack and the cast of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" shined on the red carpet Monday night (April 23), helped by the historic Los Angeles Theatre that set the perfect backdrop for the gothic thriller's premiere.
    In the film, director James McTeigue brings to life the macabre and lurid tales of Edgar Allan Poe with veteran actor John Cusack taking on the role as the infamous author. When a madman begins committing horrific murders inspired by Poe's darkest works, a young Baltimore detective (Luke Evans) joins forces with Poe in a quest to get inside the killer's mind in order to stop him from making every one of Poe's brutal stories a blood chilling reality. A deadly game of cat and mouse ensues, which escalates when Poe's love (Alice Eve) becomes the next target.
    "Edgar Allan Poe is a genius and sort of a master, who sort of gets enrolled or invited in a meta-physical way into one of his own stories," said Cusack, in explaining the modern plot twist to the film.
    "In doing that, you get Poe having to deconstruct Poe and he has to find out who the mind of the killer is. But, he actually has to explore his own stories and his own imagination. So, rather than a straight bio-pic that you would see at "Masterpiece Theatre," it is much more imaginative and gets involved in Poe's subconsciousness a little more."
    Cusack also explained the preparation for taking on the role of Poe.
    "There is so much stuff and there is great biographies and all his writings are there," said Cusack. "So, much of his writings are autobiographical and very revealing and rough and beautiful and tough. So, there was so much to choose from. It is part fact, part fiction and part legend that is all mixed up into one."
    Co-star Alice Eve, who plays Poe's love interest, said she was unnerved at times during the making of the gothic thriller.
    "I think I had nightmares for six months," explained Eve.
    "I definitely was scared and I tried to prepare myself to do it. I really anticipated it and that really counts a lot in mental preparation. It was intense when I went into the box. We were in Serbia and it was the bleak mid-winter and I missed my Mom at times."
    The film also stars Brendan Gleeson and Oliver Jackson-Cohen.
    "The Raven" opens on April 27th.
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