John Cusack Panel and Signing at C2E2 to Promote The Raven

John Cusack To Appear At Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2)

March 19, 2012

Critically Acclaimed Actor to Preview Trailer for The Raven

Norwalk, CT, March 19, 2012: John Cusack, a Chicago native and one of Hollywood’s most accomplished and respected actors of his generation, will appear at this year’s Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2). Mr. Cusack will participate in a Q&A session on Sunday, April 15th and show a trailer for The Raven, his new movie from Relativity starring Mr. Cusack as Edgar Allen Poe. The independent period thriller, which will be released on April 27th, is directed by James McTiegue and tells the fictionalized account of the last days of Poe’s life in which the poet teams up with a young Baltimore detective to hunt down a serial killer who uses Poe’s works as the basis for his murders. Mr. Cusack will also do a limited signing for 100 fans at C2E2.
“I am enormously pleased to share this news about John Cusack’s appearance at C2E2,” notes Lance Fensterman, Group Vice President for ReedPOP and Show Manager for C2E2. “I count myself as a major fan and the fact that he is now coming to C2E2 where he will meet and greet thousands of fans, many of whom share my enthusiasm and admiration for his films, is a perfect highlight. His participation at C2E2 reinforces how great our event has become and I know his appearance will be a huge attraction.”
Some other guests who will be participating in signings or panels at C2E2 include: Neal Adams, Axel Alonso, John Barrowman, Anthony Daniels, Chris Hardwick, Charlaine Harris, Adam Hughes, Stephanie Izard, Tom Morello, and Joe Quesada, to name just a few!
C2E2 will take place April 13 – 15, 2012 in the North Building at the McCormick Place Convention Center. For further information about other guests and activities at C2E2 as well as purchasing tickets, please visit www.C2E2.com.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Poe

Edgar Allan Poe would be 203 today. That's old. Cheers, sir, from our world to yours.

Fool's Views: Edgar Allan Poe Double Feature

Being that Edgar Allan Poe turned 202 last month (Jan 19), it seemed like the perfect occasion to check out two as-yet unViewed cinematic offerings based on the man's work. While producer/director Roger Corman more or less staked out the claim as Poe's most proficient and prolific celluloid champion (via a series of eight American International Pictures features from 1960-1964, affectionately referred to as the "AIPoes"), there have been numerous others, ranging from the sublime (Jean Epstein's 1928 version of The Fall of the House of Usher) to the ridiculous (David DeCoteau's recent Pit and the Pendulum abomination).

The two below fall somewhere in between.



Evening of Edgar Allan Poe, An (1972) (1st viewing) d. Johnson, Kenneth
Not really a film so much as a recorded concert reading of Vincent Price at his Vincent Priceyest, tearing into four Poe short stories for the benefit of the camera on what seem to be leftover sets from a traveling production of OLIVER! The howling histrionics will either delight or dismay, depending on one’s temperament, not to mention Price’s puzzling pronunciations of words like “bosom” as “BOOOZUM.” But for those who enjoy the “Merchant of Menace” at his hammy best, Uncle Vincent slices it thick and serves it sizzling.





Pit and the Pendulum, The (1991) (1st viewing) d. Gordon, Stuart
Re-teaming with frequent screenwriter and partner in crime Dennis Paoli, Stuart Gordon whips up another blend of comic yuks and graphic yechs for the Band boys (Charles and Albert). But like most of Gordon’s horror comedies following the one-two punch of RE-ANIMATOR and FROM BEYOND, it’s fairly uneven in tone and never really seems to know what it wants to be. Unless what it wants to be is a harsh and cruel Inquisition story following Lance Henriksen’s deeply disturbed monk, armed with a sadistic streak and a serious yen for Rona de Ricci’s female form (and hey, who can blame the guy? Chick is hot, and occasionally naked…), who just happens to be surrounded by the biggest bunch of bozos this side of Ringling Bros. To the point, Henriksen, de Ricci and her onscreen beau Jonathan Fuller seem to be the only ones taking the story seriously, as the rest of the hooligan cast (including Stephen Lee, Tom Towles, Carolyn Purdy-Gordon , William J. Norris and Jeffrey Combs) mug and swan about the place. That lovable lush Oliver Reed even shows up for a cameo, only to be walled up a la Cask of Amontillado. Oh, yes, as far as this being a faithful Poe adaptation…not so much. There is a pit, and a pendulum (a really sharp, spark-throwing one, too), both of which figure mightily into the full-steam climax, but the rest is pure Paoli pudding.



What are YOUR favorite big screen Poe outings?

Neo-Futurists seeking performers for new show "FEAR"

The Neo-Futurists are looking for 6–8 performers for their upcoming show, “Fear,” curated and directed by Noelle Krimm.


“Fear” is an environmentally-staged walking tour inspired by the works of Edgar Allen Poe. The audience will be led through the Neo-Futurarium, which will be transformed into “a thinking man’s haunted house” featuring local writer-performers, dancers, and visual artists.

“Fear” is looking for a group of 6–8 performers with multidisciplinary experience to collaborate on small-scale performative or visual installations that will take place in and around the Neo-Futurarium during the show. Led by Neo-Futurist Rachel Claff, these performers will create “ambient” pieces of work that will enhance the overall environment of the space. Some emphasis will be put on creating durational pieces that may not include the physical performer (visual installation, sound- or touch-based work).

Commitment dates are as follows:

August 29th – Performance/brainstorming workshop with Rachel Claff, 11-5pm
September 5 & 6, 12 & 13 – Build/install dates at the Neo-Futurarium (times TBA; located at 5153 N. Ashland Avenue. Performers will only be required to work short shifts during build/install.)
September 17th, 7:30pm – Dry run
September 18th & 19th, 7:30pm – Run-throughs with invited guests
September 24 – October 31 – performances on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:30pm. NOTE: Nobody will be required to work every single performance; we will rotate different performers/installations in and out during the six-week run.

Applicants should send an inquiry to Rachel Claff at rclaff@gmail.com by August 15th, 2009. Please include:

1) Your first and last name, and contact information (email, phone)
2) A resume indicating your performance experience and other skills (see below)
3) Two work samples (brief descriptions and photos are acceptable) or website links
4) Why you feel you would be a good fit for this show

Experience in the fields of visual art, performance/art installation, movement, sound-based work, and/or carpentry and construction are a definite plus. All submissions will be considered.

RE-ANIMATOR team reunites to bring Poe onstage...

From the good folks at iF Magazine:

"When it comes to putting new blood into a horror author of yore, few director-actor collaborators have made terrifying words cinematically relevant for a new generation of fear fans like Jeffrey Combs and Stuart Gordon. Indeed, H.P. Lovecraft would probably send salutations from his eldritch realm for the gorily stylish energy they injected into such adaptations of his work as RE-ANIMATOR, FROM BEYOND and CASTLE FREAK- films that created a new legion of Lovecraft admirers to hungrily seek out his printed work anew. Gordon, who got his start in avant-garde theater productions replete with nude Peter Pans and onstage torture, directed the wiry Combs to new realms of psychotic brilliance in these films, establishing the actor as an icon of mad science.

"But Gordon and Combs didn’t stop at Lovecraft, as the actor’s supporting role in his Poe-inspired PIT AND THE PENDULUM would ultimately lead to Combs playing the author himself for Gordon in “The Black Cat,” a MASTERS OF HORROR episode that twisted Poe’s real-life insanity into one of his most notorious stories. It’s no wonder that with their help, Poe has continued to conjure images of shackled corpses, ever-lowering blades and quothing ravens. Yet even Poe’s own fiction could hardly match the horrific travails of his own self-destructive life, where tragedy upon tragedy led the legendary author / poet / detective / critic to a grim fate.

"Now with a book by RE-ANIMATOR co-author Dennis Paoli, Jeffrey Combs and Stuart Gordon are summing up Poe’s brilliant madness into a one-man stage play called NEVERMORE: AN EVENING WITH EDGAR ALLEN POE that is anything but a typically genteel “evening with.” For what starts out as Poe reciting his poetry and fictional stories ends up in a painful, near-psychotic breakdown that reveals the madness and sorrowful humanity within an author few really know beyond a rep full of lies. And for Combs/Gordon fans who’ve thrilled to their notorious screen collaborations, it’s a rare chance to experience the same chills, and powerhouse performance in the flesh- an evening that both men have determined their audience won’t forget at the outré Steve Allen theater in Los Angeles..."

Check out If's exclusive interview with the two horror titans ... and more information about the play HERE.