Production of Cthulhu underway in Astoria OR. Akham Productions of Seattle is filming this indepent film on a budget of $500k. They are looking for extras for a scence with the monsters coming out of the sea on Oct. 28th if anyone is interested.

Check it out:

[www.dailyastorian.com]

Here is a link to the movie's site with a trailer

[www.cthulhuthemovie.com]

I strongly urge those of you who live close enough to Astoria to jump on this -
The phone contacts are on the website - I particularly urge Scott and Ron to contact the producer as your knowledge and insight into Lovecraft will be valuable - I called the production manager and gave her my son's phone # - he has done a few films and when I saw they needed monsters emerging from the sea, I naturally thought of him at once - several of you fellows have email names that might be suitable for the creatures as well - and that is meant as a compliment. Astoria is also where "Kindergarten cop" and "Short Circuit" were filmed - beautiful placr to vacation in late October.

The cult film The Goonies was also shot in Astoria.

I am surprised that the producers did not take the time to go to the recent Lovecraft Film Festival in Portland, OR a couple of weeks ago. Another version of THE CALL OF CTHULHU, produced by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society, premiered there and is now available on DVD. This is an outstanding 47m long _Silent_ film with orchestral score done as it might have been had a contemporary film version of the story been filmed, and on the whole it is quite marvelous.
Unfortunately, I am working Oct 28, and as I am taking a week off to attend the WFC in Madison, where I am participating in a panel on Arkham House :) , I can't change my schedule.
Scott

Actually I was at the HP Lovecraft film festival back in October, and the trailer for Cthulhu was shown right before Patty Smith went on. And I talked briefly with the writer/producer afterwards. He gave me the website and there's some cool stuff up there...www.cthulhuthemovie.com...There's a longer, better looking trailer than the one they showed at the festival.

henry VIII? Is this the esteem'd Henry Vester III? Or perhaps the shade of King Henry the VIII? Either way this is an auspicious occasion as I'm fairly certain this would be the first post from either of these notables on the Eldritch Dark.

I'll have to look up the website you've mentioned as I'm not really familiar with this movie trailer, but in the meanwhile a hearty 'welcome aboard' goes out to Henry Vester, a true devotee of CAS if there ever was one!

-Ron

henry VIII Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Actually I was at the HP Lovecraft film festival
> back in October, and the trailer for Cthulhu was
> shown right before Patty Smith went on. And I
> talked briefly with the writer/producer
> afterwards. He gave me the website and there's
> some cool stuff up
> there...www.cthulhuthemovie.com...There's a
> longer, better looking trailer than the one they
> showed at the festival.

Henry,
Where were you, bud? I was looking for you and Dan Clore, but the only person I saw from the WeirdCon crew there was Rob Preston!
Scott

Scott, Henry, and the mysterious Henry VIII: I've just heard from Henry Vester III and discovered that he did not make the previous post in question (though he does live in Oregon and did consider attending the HPL film festival) and that the spirit of King Henry VIII is undoubtedly the real author . . . Fascinating!
Sorry, my mistake!
-Ron

Cthulu The Movie? Well, yes. It is about time that there was a movie based on the infamous Cthulu. And of course, one can only assume that such a film would also feature beings from even further away in time and space. So far, it is only on this website, that I have found any information on the Cthulu film. It would be much appreciated if you readers could update me about this. I'm still a bit out of touch, having not used this excellent website for so long.

Has anyone seen a 2001 movie called "Dagon". Recently came across it perusig the Sci Fi Channel the other day. For a corny low-budget B horror movie, it was actually quite good, borrowing quite liberally from "The Shadows Over Innsmouth", have to admit it was actually surprisingly good - considering the budget. Corny but some parts were genuinely quite creepy - some real Lovecraftian moments there.

"Dagon" sounds interesting, devilchicken. But as you will know, "Dagon" is a very short story and would not be easy for anybody to adapt for the "big screen". You made the point that it is "genuinely quite creepy". If that is the case, then I would certainly like to give it a try. Sadly for me, I live in the UK and don't yet have access to many different TV stations. Hopefully, it will be shown on one of the channels to which I do have access; or released in DVD format quite soon. By the way, "The Shadows Over Innsmouth" is one of my favourite HP Lovecraft stories (atmospheric indeed).

Julian L Hawksworth

Any further news about this film, Noel (or anybody else)? It is sad that so few films have been based upon the works of HP Lovecraft. Then again, even fewer films (if any) have been inspired by the stories of Clark Ashton Smith.

Julian L Hawksworth

I'd certainly like to see the film when it is done, but from the information given on the two websites, above, I don't hold out much hope.

The first website, from The Daily Astorian, shows a picture of "actress Amy Minderhout", "Secured to a piling", where she "endures the chilly Columbia River during several takes for a scene in "Cthulhu."" A girl tied to a post? Not that I dislike traditional horror-film tropes like this, but it really has nothing to do with Lovecraft.

The second website describes the films plot as: "A Seattle history professor, drawn back to his estranged family on the Oregon coast to execute his late mother's estate, is reaquainted with his best friend from childhood, with whom he has a long-awaited tryst. Caught in an accelerating series of events, he discovers aspects of his father's New Age cult which take on a dangerous and apocalyptic significance."

Seattle? Oregon? New Age cult? Tryst? Are they sure this is an H. P. Lovecraft adaption?

But who knows, one can never really tell unless you've seen it.

Apparently the film Dagon (I still haven't seen it) was able to translate HPL's atmosphere rather well to the Spanish coast, but I still can't see why someone cannot set an HPL film in New England, perhaps filming it in Canada as The X-Files did in its early seasons, if costs are prohibitive, in order to get the proper "decayed" atmosphere.

Indeed, I really wish that Fox television would avail themselves of the opportunity to make a series of TV movies based on Lovecraft's works, especially given Fox's apparent preference for weird and unusual subject matter. The stories are in the public domain, so getting the rights would be no problem. There is already an established HPL fanbase, and his works are popularly known, assuring a wide viewing audience. And actors like Brent Spiner or Willam Dafoe would be, I think, excellent choices to portray a stodgy Lovecraftian-academic hero. And special effects could render the horrors seen at the end of "Mountains of Madness" quite wonderfully.

GDC



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 10 May 06 | 02:31PM by Gavin Callaghan.

For anyone who's interested - Dagon is available on R1 DVD from Amazon.com, and is quite cheap.

[www.amazon.com]

The movie is cheap as well BTW, budget-wise at least but its quite well made - the cast plays it straight, and they do capture the paranoid uneasiness of Lovecraft. Its worth seeing just to see the crumbling Innsmouth (or Imboca as it is referred to in the movie) with its inhabitants in varying stages of degeneracy.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10 May 06 | 07:39PM by devilchicken.

In response to Gavin's post, I would like to day that he has made me think again regarding the potential quality of the film concerned. Even so, I share most of his views regarding 20th Century Fox. I would like to add that they are an excellent provider of TV entetainment , in addition to their numerous film ventures. By the way, I like the X-Files too, Gavin. The second website synopsis which you mentioned; reminds me in some ways of that classic novel, "The Lurker at the Threshold". Lastly, a thankyou to devilchicken, for pointing out where a copy of the DVD can be acquired. But in view of what Gavin has found out about this film, I'm not 100% convinced that it would be worth buying. Thanks for reading my comments.

Julian L Hawksworth

Dagon was directed by Stuart Gordon, who also wrote and directed Re-Animator and From Beyond, all three based on the writings of HPL. I enjoyed all three movies, but they are very violent and very graphic. In Dagon there is a scene of an evil priest, a knife in each hand, disemboweling an elderly man... very graphic. Of the three, I would choose Dagon as my favorite. It has a darker, more eerie atmosphere than the other two, with less but more successful attempts at humor.

I found an interview with Dagon's director. Some of the pictures, like one of a woman with the lower body of an octopus, are very Lovecraftian.
[www.esplatter.com]

I still say its worth a look - the protagonist of the movie is little more than a poor man's Bruce Campbell wearing a "Miskatonic University" sweatshirt, but its played almost totally straight. For a low budget straight to DVD movie its actually very well done.

"Dagon" is one of the best Lovecraft adaptations, although, despite the title, it is really based on "The Shadow Over Innsmouth". Personally I find the gore unnecessary, but it seems to be an expected part of the genre. At least Stuart Gordon seems to have a genuine appreciation of Lovecraft, rather than just using his name to gain some credibility.

As to the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society's silent "Call of Cthulhu" - there's a real "low budget" movie, to be recommended without reservations!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 14 May 06 | 04:27PM by Mikey_C.

Mikey C, have you seen "Castle Freak"?. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this film was also based on an HP Lovecraft story (called "The Outsider" and not one of my favourites by the way). I do not share your view that Stuart Gordon always shows "a genuine appreciation of Lovecraft". His take on "Re-animator" was too humorous and graphic to resemble any material which Lovecraft would have been proud of. However, I do like Stuart Gordon's interpretation of "From Beyond". He seems to have created an updated version of this clasic story, don't you think?

Julian L Hawksworth

"From Beyond" is a case in point, really. Gordon picks up the idea and runs with it, but chooses to include another Lovecraftian element to flesh it out, i.e. a shoggoth. As for "Herbert West", I understand that HPL regarded this as a piece of hackwork himself, so it was an opportunity for self-parody. So, SG's take on it isn't entirely inappropriate. I haven't seen "Castle Freak" yet, so can't comment - but the Lovecraft connection seems a bit looser: I wasn't aware it was based on "The Outsider".

Lovecraft cinema can be fun, but, for me, it can never substitute for the written page. The imagination conjures up worse terrors than can be made of latex.

Castle Freak is a peculiar and interesting film, worth seeing, but I didn't even realize that it was loosely based on one of Lovecraft's stories -- the film certainly doesn't have a Lovecraftian atmosphere. If it was Stuart Gordon's meaning to be such, then I'm afraid that his own vision of the story does not carry the philosophy of HPL, or, is so far removed to be something of SG's own.

from http://www.comingsoon.net/news/indietopnews.php?id=15354:
Exclusive: William H. Macy is Edmond
Source: Edward Douglas July 12, 2006


Edmond is not an easy movie by any stretch of the imagination.

Based on the stageplay by David Mamet and directed by Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator), it may be the role of a lifetime for William H. Macy, who has been friends with Mamet since before the play was first performed in 1982. Macy plays the movie's title character, who one day decides to leave his wife, sending him spiraling down a dark path, a night immersed in sex and violence. If you thought that Macy was amazing in the Coen Brothers' Fargo or Wayne Kramer's The Cooler, than you haven't really seen Macy let loose like he does in this film.

http://www.indiewire.com/people/2006/07/indiewire_inter_7.html:
indieWIRE INTERVIEW: "Edmond" director Stuart Gordon
indieWIRE (July 13, 2006)
Starring William H. Macy and Julia Stiles, director Stuart Gordon's ("Re-Animator") "Edmond" is the story of a successful businessman who abandons his wife and family after a fateful visit to a fortune-teller. Following her musings, he leaves on a voyage to New York's seedy underworld in a quest for self-discovery. Along the way though, he kills a pimp and a wannabe actress, and ends up in jail. "Edmond," written by David Mamet, based on his play, opens in limited release by First Independent Pictures Friday. Gordon answered questions from indieWIRE about his film and his early yearnings to make the Mamet play into a film.


Please share a bit about your background...

I'm 58 years old. Was born in Chicago. Co-founded the Organic Theater in Chicago in 1970 and was artistic director for 15 years. Joe Mantegna ("The Godfather" Trilogy) and Dennis Franz (TV's "NYPD Blue") among the actors in the ensemble. I produced and directed the first professional production of David Mamet's play, "Sexual Perversity in Chicago" in 1974.


In 1985 I directed my first feature film "Re-Animator" which won a Critics' Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Based on its success I was offered a three-picture deal and moved to Los Angeles where I now reside....






Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 24 Jul 06 | 04:45PM by Boyd.