ScreenCrave.com » John Cusack

First Official Photo of John Cusack in The Raven

Krystal Clark — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 00:28:49 +0000

Back in November we posted a paparazzi photo of John Cusack on the set of James McTeigue’s The Raven. Today we’ve got our first look at the actor in character via The Huffington Post. We’d like to say that we love the photo and everything it represents but unfortunately it feels kind of underwhelming, safe, and dare we say…predictable?

When you think of Edgar Allan Poe, a black suit, goatee, and a raven always comes to mind. This photo looks overly airbrushed and it seems as if they were going for an artistic feel (like a painting) but we’re not feeling it.

We learned back in August that Cusack would step into the shoes of Poe when he announced his casting via his Twitter page. He wrote, “ill 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.” It was a casual casting announcement that was quickly confirmed by the trades.

The Raven will also co-star Luke Evans and Alice Eve. Evans will play a detective who partners with Poe to search for a serial killer who has kidnapped the author’s fiance (Eve) and has gone on a murdering spree that mimics the author’s work.

What do you think of the first photo from The Raven?

First Photo: John Cusack as Edgar Allan Poe in The Raven

Krystal Clark — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 17:30:03 +0000

Stop the presses! The first photo of John Cusack on the set of James McTeigue’s latest film The Raven has surfaced online. Not only does the actor strikingly resemble the historic writer, but he also looks like Robert Downey Jr. circa Sherlock Holmes. Do you notice the similarities here? Check out the full photo of Cusack and get more details on the film below…

We have to admit, Cusack does look just like Poe with the exception of the Robert Downey Jr./Tony Stark goatee. The Raven will also co-star Luke Evans and Alice Eve. Evans will play a detective who partners with Poe to search for a serial killer who has kidnapped the author’s fiance (Eve) and has gone on a murdering spree that mimics the author’s work.

What do you think of Cusack as Poe? Does he fit the part?

Source: Gawker

John Cusack to Play Edgar Allan Poe in The Raven

Krystal Clark — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 20:18:55 +0000

John Cusack is about to go from making us laugh in Hot Tub Time Machine, to depressing the hell out of us as a paranoid author. According to the actor’s official Twitter page, he’s landed the role of Edgar Allan Poe in James McTeigue’s adaptation of The Raven. The film will be a thriller (duh) based on the poem of the same name that centered on one man’s decent into madness.

Cusack showcased his great sense of humor when he broke the news stating, “ill 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.”

When Coming Soon spoke to McTeigue about his interpretation of the famous poem he said it will be “a straight adaptation.” The Raven is a serial killer thriller in which the famed horror author has to help solve clues connected to a string of murders based on his stories. The film will be set in Baltimore during the 1850s.

Should I go take another look at his work in 1408 and Identity to get a better feel for “horror-thriller Cusack?” It’s been a while since I’ve watched him in something that didn’t make me laugh. Jeremy Renner was rumored to star in the film earlier this year but now that he’s signed on for Mission Impossible 4, that’s probably not going to happen.

What do you think of John Cusack playing Poe?

Hot Tub Time Machine Red Band Trailer

Krystal Clark — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 22:13:20 +0000

After watching the first trailer for Hot Tub Time Machine, I was already excited to see the film, and now a red band version has been released. That means some of the film’s raunchier jokes will be exposed, and with a cast of this caliber that will work in its favor. The title Hot Tub Time Machine tells you exactly what the film’s about and makes no apologies for its unrealistic premise…

The film centers on four friends who unwittingly go back in time after a drunken afternoon at a ski resort. They’re transported to 1986 where they see everything from cassette players to leg-warmers make a comeback. They use their prior knowledge of the future to try and start over, and improve their depressing lives. The film stars John Cusack as a man who’s been dumped by his girlfriend; Rob Corddry as a party guy who can’t find the party; Craig Robinson as a man controlled by his wife, and Clark Duke as a man obsessed with video games.

On the surface, this movie sounds ridiculous, but it still looks funny. This trailer is definitely NSFW so be careful of any onlookers before you take a gander.

Hot Tub Time Machine hits theaters on March 19, 2010.

Does the red band trailer for Hot Tub Time Machine look funny to you? Are you interested in seeing the movie?

Hot Tub Time Machine Trailer On Its Way

Laura Aguirre — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 02:02:09 +0000

Here’s a reason why you should go to the movies this weekend — the Hot Tub Time Machine trailer will be previewed! (I never said it would be a good reason). Anyways, /Film has been informed by MGM that the green-band trailer will be released online this Thursday, December 17th 2009.

Hot Tub Time Machine is a time-travel comedy starring John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Clark Duke, Chevy Chase, and everyone’s favorite character actor, Craig Robinson. It’s about a group of unhappy men who travel back to their younger days in 1986, through a ski resort jacuzzi. Sure, the plot sounds wacky, but perhaps this amazing cast will be able to make the wackiness produce some good laughs.

The film is set to hit theaters on March 19, 2010. In the meantime, here’s the red-band trailer. Enjoy.

What do you think of Hot Tub Time Machine so far?

2012 Press Conference: Emmerich, Cusack, Peet, Ejiofor

Mali Elfman — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:54:03 +0000

2012 crashes into theaters this weekend with all the destruction you could possibly hope for. A few weeks ago in Wyoming not far from the highly explosive Yellowstone National Park, we got to talk to director Roland Emmerich, John Cusack, Amanda Peet, and Chiwetel Ejiofor on their thoughts about big budget action films, the myths behind 2012, and how Roland decides which monuments to destroy and which to leave alone.

If you’re too lazy to read the edited version of the press conference below, you can listen to full press conference here (you might want to skip to about 4 minutes in, there’s a lot of babbling until about 3:10 after Amanda Peet comes in):

What are your personal thoughts of what will happen in 2012?

Roland Emmerich: It is peculiar how 2012 is this date that there are a lot of ideas about it, and we chose the destructive one. I think destruction works better in the movie. The preparations, well, I will go ski. It is December 21st, which is skiing season. I will chose the highest mountain there is. If the world ends, you know, what can I do? If not, I will ski down.

John Cusack: I will try to get on Roland’s trip to be on that mountain.

Amanda Peet: Yeah, can I come?

John Cusack: Do you know the book, The Return of Queztacoatl? That book, I think, is a little more in line with what I think will happen; a shift in consciousness. That seemed to be more of what I think will happen rather than an actual end of days.

Chiwetel Ejiofor: I don’t ski, so I can’t join them. Unfortunately. Besides, I think avalanches are something to worry about, so I’ll just spend it kind of quietly with family and friends and hope for the best. I don’t have a real opinion about 2012. I think it is, like John said, a shift in consciousness. It feels like things are converging and that something has to change, and maybe it will center around that time.

Amanda Peet: I am kind of a hypochondriac, and I worry about a lot of things, so I’m really going try to not worry about it too much.

How much scientific research was done for this script?

Emmerich: From the beginning, there was the Earth’s crust displacement theory, which we found was a theory that was big enough, in a way, to cause all this flooding. That was the main reason why I chose this one. Before we started writing the script, we actually met with a professor of science at USC, in Los Angeles, and asked him how it could all unfold. He told us first that he doesn’t believe in the displacement theory. We asked him if he could give us some insight, and he said the only way this could work is if a molecule mutated into another kind of particle. He said from that moment, all bets are off. No scientist would say that this could not happen because this has never happened before. That was the concept we chose. I also believe that there has some sort of feeling of believability in the movie.

In earlier versions of the script, did you ever have a stronger focus on the cosmology or was that already figured out and get to the disasters?

Emmerich: We discussed that too. We said we wanted a little bit of that at the beginning. First of all, there are so many theories and so many different ways to do it. We just felt it has to be over relatively fast. At the end, it is not only a story about 2012, but it is a modern retelling of Noah’s Ark.

Do you think of this film as a sort of cautionary tale?

Emmerich: I don’t think the film is to warn about anything, so it is not a cautionary tale. It is a cautionary tale in a way, maybe in a way of if this is going to happen, what is important in life and what is savable, and how should we save things. For me, I am always a little suspicious of governments, so it is also an expression of that. Then I always think movies have to be fun. If a movie is not fun, I don’t want to do it.

Cusack: I think it also taps into the paranoia around the world.

Ejiofor: People tend to in tragedies. Obviously, in the tragedies we see in the world now. People tend to find great unity in that. I think that is one of the things this story talks about. I think you have to have a lot of optimism in humanity and people. I think that is part of this story and what it is getting at. There is an inherent good and these things bring them out sometimes.

For the actors, was this the most physical movie you have ever done, and what was it like working in front of a green screen?

Cusack: Yeah, this was pretty action packed for sure. It wasn’t any different than a lot of films, in a way, because of the production design. Usually, you have the entire set built, and then in back of the set would be a green screen. There was a massive production design team working on the set. When we were on the mountain at the end, there would be a huge glacier field and there would be blue screens in the background, so we were always acting with regular sets; it was the backgrounds that were being digitally enhanced…Yeah, a lot of running, jumping, and tumbling. You got to stay stretched out or you could pull a hamstring, for sure.

Ejiofor: I got off pretty lightly being in the government. Yeah, I had a couple of days of fun work, but that was it. I was slightly envious not to be able to work on the shaky floor. It looked pretty cool.

John, what was the hardest thing for you to do in this movie?

Cusack: I thought it was pretty fun actually. It was a great group of people, the story was great, and the studio was great. Roland has done this so many times before. What would be a crushing technical process for other directors, he seems to do very effortlessly, so he just focuses on the characters. I got to work with Amanda again. It was a great part. It was kind of a good gig all the way around.

Amanda, can you talk about you saw your character’s relationship with John’s character when you read the script?

Peet: John’s character was my true love and I was really hurt by different things. I kind of chose a different path. That’s the end of the story. I think that’s how I saw it and obviously.

Chiwetel, how much did you learn from the experience of making Endgame? And what is the importance of helping young filmmakers?

Ejiofor: I had a really interesting time on that project. I didn’t know anything about the talks at all. I knew that Thabo Mbeki had been exiled to London…I knew that they were being hunted down by the secret police in South Africa, but I didn’t know that William Young had organized these talks between the Africans. When I read the script and got involved in the project, I was really amazed by how quiet the story was, how accurate the film is, and how much those talks did progress the movement for the release of Nelson Mandela. I think it is an amazing period of history and a real indication that these negotiated talks can really bring extraordinary results.

Roland, you tend to add in a lot of humor with the disaster films, and this film had a lot of funny dialogue. Did you intentionally try to insert the funny dialogue to offset the catastrophic events?

Emmerich: Yeah, it was a little like that in a way. I had this discussion with, Harold, my co-writer. We kind of asked ourselves what the tone of the movie should be. I always believe that when such an extreme thing happens, and it is about survival, you have to give the people release. If they cannot laugh once in a while, they will not enjoy the movie. We went for the tone of Independence Day, which is similar. For The Day After Tomorrow, I didn’t want to do that because I thought with the theme of the movie, and what I wanted to tell, it was too serious.

Do you like to choose which places you will destroy in your films?

Emmerich: Well, it is not like I walk around and I think, “Well I could destroy this or I can destroy that.” It is like a world tour, “Why did you destroy our city?” It is just the fact that it has to come out of the story. Jackson Curtis lives in LA, and I live in LA. You know, everyone in LA constantly talks about when California will sink into the ocean, and then we just decided to do that. It was like a starting point. Yellowstone Park was kind of intricate in the story too. Yes, we knew in the beginning that we wanted to have certain events and then we kind of followed that. Then sometimes it is born from something quite interesting. For example, at one point, we discussed some part you could not save. For example, the Sistine Chapel and the famous painting where God and Adam touch fingers. I said, “Oh great, we have to show how this gets destroyed.” Then we said, “Well we are already there, why don’t we have the church fall on people’s heads?” I am against organized religion so that is how we thought of it.

Cusack: You have to be careful if you are standing outside the church.

Emmerich: The message is never pray in front of a big church. Pray by yourself. Then there is this funny thing, where we had one angle where you see the Pope in the background, and these shots were done in England by the same guys who did Angels & Demons. They conveniently left out the Pope, and I said, “We have to see a little bit of him. He is the Chairman after all.”

What about the JFK Aircraft carrier destroying the White House?

Emmerich: Again, Harold said, “If you don’t destroy the White House, you will be asked about that.” I said, “ I cannot destroy the White House again.” He said, “Well, just do it in a different way.” At that time, I was reading a lot about the Kennedys. As a kid, maybe about twelve and a half, I visited these old war ships in the Chesapeake Bay and they had just inaugurated JFK there. I was really excited as a kid. It was about a wave, and then you know JFK comes back to the White House. I thought it was kind of clever. I told Harold, “Let’s go for it!”

Roland, you previously mentioned that you are against organized religion and we see these Christian monuments destroyed. Why not do something really controversial and do another Islamic site?

Emmerich: I wanted to do that, but my co-writer, Harold, said, “I will not want to have a target on my head because of a movie.” He was right. In the Western world, we have to think about it.

Did you have any visual references of the destruction to know how to react properly?

Peet: Tommy.

Emmerich: It was a Scottish accent.

Peet: Do it John, come on.

Cusack: It was a mascot for me. Does Scottish accent. He is screaming. He is the most fantastic guy in the world.

Peet: You have a camera this close to you, and obviously you are looking at nothing. He would have to narrate, basically bit-by-bit, what tragic [event] we were responding to.

Emmerich: When it comes down to the scene, you want to do it in one take because you cannot ask the actors to do it in pieces. You have to figure out how to do it. Tommy came to me and said, “Okay, give me the key points.” Then we wrote them down and he was just reading them off a piece of paper with great emotion. Everyday he was as enthusiastic as it gets.

Peet: It was hard for us new people to know how to calibrate our responses to this incredible destruction.

Cusack: He had it all rigged out, almost like a video game. You wouldn’t really see it in all it’s detail, but you knew that you were going to be flying through these two buildings with a train going over your head, so you knew the sequence. The planes and the cars were all on hydraulics. When I come to pick them up, there is an entire city block with white picket fences and houses and the whole thing was on hydraulics. A whole city block with cars on it was pulsating, so it was like walking onto a pretty wild set. It wasn’t all green screen and imagination.

You tend to have a lot of melodramatic elements in your films, why do you add in these elements as opposed to just action?

Emmerich: When you tell stories about human beings, some people call it melodramatic. I call it heartfelt and true. I think when you make movies like this, you have to make people laugh, cry, and scared. I try to do that.

Check out the film in theaters November 13th!

Further Reading:

Roland Emmerich Drinking Game for 2012

Mali Elfman — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:53:00 +0000

This week in theaters, Roland Emmerich, the master of cinematic world-destruction will be releasing his latest film 2012 with Amanda Peet and John Cusack. The film feels like you’re on a roller-coaster ride with the world crashing down around you. The only way to make the movie even more fun is to add some booze! We all know that Emmerich likes to add a few jokes about religion and politics while coming up with the best damn way to kill everyone in the world, so why not cheers to another Emmerich masterpiece?

Without further ado, I introduce to you, The Roland Emmerich Drinking Game!

Drink Whenever You See:

A Giant Wave – Bigger the wave, bigger the chug!
A Political Figure Being Mocked
A Religious Icon Being Killed/Destroyed
A Plane take off, dip down, and then regain flight
A crack suddenly appears, opens up and tries to consume someone
You hear someone with a ridiculous over the top accent
You see a tiny little man in the background dangling off a building and then falling to his death

Bonus Shots: Drink every time you think Woody Harrelson shot his scenes high.

Follow these simple rules and I guarantee you’ll be shitfaced by the end of the film! Enjoy!

Note: This drinking game was made for 2012, but with a few minor adjustments you could also use it for The Day After Tomorrow or Independence Day. Just swap Woody for Jeff Goldblum and waves for explosions in Independence Day. And for The Day After Tomorrow, add in whenever you see someone breathing in and out fake movie breath.

2012 Makes John Cusack an Action Star

Mali Elfman — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:57:32 +0000

John Cusack has been in the acting game for 20 plus years and is mainly known for his quirky demeanor and unique performances. You’ve seen him in supporting roles, as the lead in an offbeat comedy or even a dark thriller, but never running around dodging debris in a full out action film. If you look at his resume, he’s never been the gung ho jump-from a burning building type so what made him want to take on the genre with the king of disaster movies, Roland Emmerich?

We recently caught up with Cusack at a press conference for the film 2012, and he shed some light on why he finally made the big leap (figuratively and literally) to becoming an action star.

A lot of you are probably thinking that this is nothing new because Cusack was featured in the 1997 blockbuster, Con-Air. Well, guess what? The key word in that sentence is “featured”, everyone knows that movie was all Nicolas Cage and his long flowing wig. Although some people are considering this a big change, Cusack was excited to get involded in the process.

“I think it was the combination of the project, director, and the actors. It was nice to be wanted… I got the call, and they told me, “Roland Emmerich’s movie, they want you to do it, and we’ll send you the script.” I said, “Great!” Then I read the script and it was a real page-turner. I thought it was very surprising. By the end of the film, I actually got quite emotional and very tense. I just thought it was a really good, big, epic movie all the way around.”

This could easily be considered Cusack’s most physically demanding and effects driven film to date…

“There was a massive production design team working on the set. When we were on the mountain at the end, there would be a huge glacier field and there would be blue screens in the background, so we were always acting with regular sets; it was the backgrounds that were being digitally enhanced. Yeah, a lot of running, jumping, and tumbling. You got to stay stretched out or you could pull a hamstring, for sure.”

Even though there was a lot of movement involved, Cusack didn’t see the filmmaking process as tedious as you might think.

“I thought it was pretty fun actually. It was a great group of people, the story was great, and the studio was great. Roland has done this so many times before. What would be a crushing technical process for other directors, he seems to do very effortlessly, so he just focuses on the characters.”

Although many of us don’t think of Cusack as an action hero, he found himself quite comfortable in the role. When asked about the challenges of doing a film like this, he was all smiles…

“I thought it was pretty fun actually. It was a great group of people, the story was great, and the studio was great. Roland has done this so many times before. What would be a crushing technical process for other directors, he seems to do very effortlessly, so he just focuses on the characters. I got to work with Amanda again. It was a great part. It was kind of a good gig all the way around.”

He’s got that right, if there’s anything Roland Emmerich knows how to do it’s destroy the world with some technical savvy. He’s like the MacGyver of disaster movies, just give him a camera, some string and an open fuse. Even though John is revered for his lighter roles, it’s good to see him step outside the box into something that has him fighting against conformity or in this case, the elements.

What do you think of John Cusack taking on an action role in 2012?

New 2012 Theatrical Trailer

Krystal Clark — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 01:51:23 +0000

The second theatrical trailer for Roland Emmerich‘s 2012 has arrived. The film hits theaters on November 13th and stars John Cusack as a man who has to lead his family to salvation in the middle of a global disaster. The film also features Chiwetel Ejiofor, Danny Glover, Oliver Platt, Thandie Newton, and Danny Glover. Unlike its predecessor this trailer actually gives us some insight into why the world is falling apart.

Check out the latest trailer for 2012…

The year 2012 has been at the center of a heated debate for what seems like forever. Various cultures suspect that it will be the year the world ends, and mankind is brought to it’s knees. With this film, Emmerich makes sure he does everything he can to make the event seem as real as possible. Sure the graphics aren’t as great as they could be, but this looks like it’s going to be an awesome popcorn movie.

What do you think of the second trailer for 2012?

2012 Extended Video Clip

Krystal Clark — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:48:45 +0000

Last night the television networks went crazy when over 100 channels premiered a five minute clip from the Roland Emmerich film, 2012. The footage will look eerily familiar to those of you who attended the movie’s panel at this year’s Comic-Con. It’s pretty much the same footage, but they edited out a swear word or two for general audience purposes. The language may be different, but the onslaught of destruction stays the same.

Take a look at the extended clip from 2012…

I love the magic of movie making, because in the middle of a natural disaster we all know someone who’s a certified pilot, right? The amount of destruction shown in this five minute clip, should give you a gauge of how CGI heavy this movie will be. Some of the stuff is way over the top but then again that’s what makes it so fun. It’s a guilty pleasure.

2012 hits theaters on November 13, 2009.

New Explosive 2012 Photos

Krystal Clark — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 02:50:02 +0000

The Roland Emmerich disaster flick, 2012 won’t hit theaters for another two months, but we’ve got just the thing to tide you over. On the UK website Heyuguys, they’ve posted a batch of photos from the movie that features nothing but fear and destruction. Those are the two things that every good Roland Emmerich film needs and without them we have nothing. Good thing there’s plenty of that to go around in this apocalyptic CGI-fest.

Take a look and the wreckage…

To browse our gallery, select any photo and it will enlarge and then allow you to scroll through the photos…

For more 2012 destruction check out the international trailer, an airplane clip from the film, and the latest poster.

The year 2012 has been at the center of a heated debate for what seems like forever. Various cultures suspect that it will be the year the world ends, and mankind is brought to it’s knees. With this film, Emmerich makes sure he does everything he can to make the event seem as real as possible. 2012 stars John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Danny Glover, Oliver Platt, Thandie Newton, and Danny Glover.

2012 debuts in theaters nationwide on November 13th.

What do you think of the latest photos from 2012?

2012 Airplane Escape Movie Clip

Krystal Clark — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 02:40:01 +0000

A new clip has been released from the upcoming Roland Emmerich film, 2012. The following footage isn’t as peaceful and serene as the theatrical poster we showed you yesterday, but it does give us a glimpse of John Cusack in action. The film won’t hit theaters until November 13th, so this is the best we can do until another trailer is released to the public.

Hold on, you’re in for a bumpy ride…

Why is the pilot’s accent so thick? Why is the passenger’s accent so thick? I’m starting to notice a trend here. The special effects don’t look amazing in this clip, but I can only imagine how much it cost to produce. Damaging several luxury cars and a jet in the middle of a “blizzard” doesn’t come cheap, but I’m sure the blatant product placement for Bentley took care of some of the cost.

What do you think of the first clip from 2012?

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