stories, “The Tell-Tale Heart” (first published in 1843). We spoke with Director John LaTier about his upcoming film based on the timeless tale, who told us that in addition to fleshing out the story, he also gave a “vulture’s eye” wink to a few other classics of literature and Poe-try!
F
ans of Poe are no doubt familiar with one of his most popular short
THE
Famous Monsters. A reading of the short story by Edgar Allan Poe clocks in at just under 15 minutes. How did you expand that to a feature length story? John LaTier. When I first started working on the screenplay, I immersed myself in Poe’s work. From “The Black Cat” to his prose poem “Eureka,” I found inspiration throughout the pages to create a story based in the world of the “The Tell-Tale Heart” that stayed true to all of Poe’s dark fantasies.
BY SEAN FERNALD
FM. Have the characters been updated for modern times, or is this still largely a “gothic period piece” horror story? JLT. It is a modern film, but in a timeless setting. I tried to explore the city of New Orleans and use its vintage exterior to create a world unique to itself.
FM. Does TTTH delve into the narrator’s “extreme senses?” JLT. “The Tell-Tale Heart” explores all the senses. This was a big part of the description in the screenplay.
FM. Will there be any nods to other E. A. Poe stories or poems in the film? JLT. You will see quite a few nods throughout, but nothing so extreme that if you’re not versed in Poe, you won’t get it. I tried to make the entire movie a reference to Poe’s work.
TELL-TALE HEART
FM. The original short story didn’t feature a female character. How does Rose McGowan figure into the story? JLT. Rose plays the classic femme fatale in this movie. I wanted to have a driving force between the old man and Shaun, and what better force than a love interest?
FM. Were any of the actors E. A. Poe fans? What are the participants’ early memories of POE (or this story in particular). JLT. Rose read Poe when she was 4 years old and would spend time in Italy with her head to the floorboards, listening for the beating heart. We both shared a love for Poe and it made working together on the film an amazing experience.
We also got a chance to run this quick query by Patrick John Flueger (the film’s Narrator, fresh off of this summer’s FOOTLOOSE):
FM. From FOOTLOOSE to TTTH . . . that’s quite a change. What was the key factor that appealed to you with this role? PJF. In Footloose, I was the bad guy, and in this one, I guess I’m the hero, even though I do bad things, so that’s really different. Shaun’s character is really interesting, because it is a much darker role in a lot of
ways.
FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND • MAR/APR 2012
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