The Strange Adventures of H.P. Lovecraft

[_____V_____]

Universal and Imagine Entertainment are gearing up for The Strange Adventures of H.P. Lovecraft, a comic hyped by Reset. The studio has bought the film rights to Image Comics’ graphic novel, with the project a potential directing vehicle for Ron Howard.

The book bows April 8.

Universal sparked to "Lovecraft" because its take on classic horror fits in well with the studio’s library of monster fare featuring Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy and the Wolf Man, the last of which is being brought back to the bigscreen later this year.

Created by Mac Carter and Jeff Blitz, book borrows elements from Lovecraft’s life, such as his family’s struggle with mental illness and his own bouts with writer’s block, and transforms the young writer’s darkest nightmares into reality when he comes across a book that puts a curse on him and lets the evils he conjures up loose on the world.

Lovecraft, who died in 1937, is considered one of the most influential horror writers of the 20th century.

Carter, a commercial director, will pen the script and serve as executive producer alongside Blitz.

Carter and Blitz both helmed commercials for Anonymous Content, working on spots for such clients as McDonald’s, Yahoo, Coca-Cola and Toyota. Carter has since gone solo and has helmed more than 100 ads for clients.

Imagine’s Brian Grazer, Howard and David Bernardi, shingle’s senior VP, and director of development, Chris Wade, will serve as co-producers.

[Ferox13]

Originally Posted by _____V_____

the young writer’s darkest nightmares into reality

Its set in an interacial society..LOL..

I'm a huge Lovecraft fan but its sometimes hard to get to excited about this - his books by their very nature are unfilmable - 'undescribale horrors' don't look so undescribale when they're done in CGI...

That being said CALL OF CTHULU was near prefect and I felt Dagon wasn't too far from the mark (it would have been closer if the effects were better at the end or they dropped them).

Either way I'll still see if only for the HP sex scenes :)

[Assertion]

Now, I am a Lovecraft nut, but that being said I think that this will come off a bit too far from the mark, because of what Ferox said; Indescribable horrors aren't so indescribable in CGI.

On the positive, they could press the envelop and put the best of both worlds together, working with the outer planes and using the right techniques, while creating some more realistic scenes with ghouls and other such things then that would pull out great... except we're talking a comic film, based on Lovecraft, bought out by a larger producer... Yeah, all three make for bad luck... REAL BAD LUCK.

I did not like Dagon, didn't match up well enough with "The Shadow over Innsmouth"

[novakru]

........hm

[Ferox13]

Originally Posted by Assertion

I did not like Dagon, didn't match up well enough with "The Shadow over Innsmouth"

I thought it got the feeling/spirit pretty well in parts - Hell I love re-animator , how far is that from the short story. I must of missed the severed head oral sex bit in the book :-)

I would have looked to see what Del Toro would have done with AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS but it looks like thats not going to happen....

[Assertion]

The short story focuses on their more focused efforts to perfect the serum with both obvious insecurities and a constant need to keep everything quiet. several elements of the story, one through six in the chapters, are quite well done with the sense that you almost NEVER need to even see what's coming to imagine what's going on, mostly because the story is filled with sounds just hinting at what could be behind the next door, or under the sheet, or even the rejects thrown to the wind! I say go back and read it again, just because it's good. Most people don't agree with that but I love the story. No crappy college roommate element or some dean of medicine shit with zombie oral, but good old fashioned Frankenstein control of life gone Lovecraft. Also, they surround death like flies; once it's plague season and near the end they're in war, using fallen soldiers and severed limbs being reanimated without bodies, whereas the movie jumps that progression, which while understandable kinda kills the character development for west... I love his insanity.

Sorry for ranting.

[Ferox13]

LOL - I was being sarcastic. I meant that Re-Animator is so far from HP's vision in what actually happens and also its tone (hell it has yuky girls in it and no casual racism :). i actually read the story not so long ago....

If you're interested heres a list of Lovecraft films (I made this post on another forum):

The Call of Cthulhu (the recent Silent film) is by far the best adaptation of his work ever. Very close to the story in both plot and mood. An amazing piece of work..

Though Re-Animator and (too a much lesser degree) From Beyond are enjoyavle and fun movies they would have Lovecraft spinning in his grave...Nudity and girls for gods sake..LOL

The forementioned Beyond the Wall of Sleep was to see the great William Sanderson once again but that was about it..

Stuart Gordon's Dagon is a pretty decent adaptation of The Shadow over Innsmouth (despite the title) - pity Combs wasn't in the lead though. Gorndon also did a decent job of Dreams in the Witch-House in the 1st series of Masters of Horror. The Crimson Cult was another poor though all star cast version of Witch House too..

I enjoyed the DUNWICH HORROR - it did capture a little of the original story but not having Wilbur Whatley as the offspring of the Goat of 1000 young was dissapointing..

The Curse and Die Monster Die are both versions of The Color out of space and both are pretty lame despite the latter having the great boris Karloff in it.

Dark Heritage, The Lurking Fear and Hemoglobin are also sorta adaptions of Lovecraft's LURKING FEAR. The last film mentioned (with Rutger Hauer) is prolly the closet in my opinion despite never seeing a reference to it as such.

The Haunted Palace is another fave of mine starring the always fantastic Vincient Price - it's a version of The case of Charles Dexter Ward with a title change so it would fit in with the rest of the other AIP Poe films. The Resurrected is another (closer) version of the same story..

The Night gallery series has done a few good adaptations - Pickman's Model, Professor Peabody's Last Lecture and Cool air.

The Shuttered Room has mention of the Whatleys/Dunwich as well as been titled to the Lovecraft collaborator August Derleth.

Lemora, A Child’s Tale of the Supernatural, though not an adaptation has a lot of Lovecraft aspects including the Busride scene straight out of Innsmouth..Good film too..

Alot of other films have Lovecrafts influence:

Castle Freak - Similaritys to the Outsider

Necronomicon - Has Lovecraft as a character in it and The Evil Dead also has the Necronomicon as the cause of all the problems..

Cast a Deadly Spell - Also has Lovecraft as a character but this time he's a hardboiled detective in a fantasy world. It was folled with a sequal, Witch Hunt.

The Maze is another very influenced with a man trying hide his family secret of tainted genes..

In the Mouth of Madness always seems to come up too..

The Unnamable is full of Lovecraft name dropping - Randolph Carter/Miskatonic University etc etc...and is crap..As was the sequal.

[Assertion]

Thanks for the list, I always look forward to reasons to drive myself nuts and go nuts over fanatical obsession...

That being said, I just felt weird with Dagon. I felt like some more things could have been done with it but you can't make everyone happy, especially with movies. Hard media to use compromise in.

Excited for this comic adaptation. :)

Talking about HPL adaptations any thoughts on The Music of Erich Zahnn?:cool:

Really enjoyed this one.

[Doc Faustus]

Somebody made a film of that at one point. I can't remember who or when and I refuse to do research on the matter, but somebody did at one point.