We’ve long been wise to the fact that Sylvester Stallone is just chomping at the bit to tell the story of Edgar Allen Poe. Hell, even before it was officially announced back in 2005 that Sly was tackling a screenplay about the haunted wordsmith, he made no secret about his desire to give the author a bigscreen biopic. But it’s been a long while since we heard any news about the project, mostly due to some movies about a boxer and a war vet that Stallone had to get out of his system first. The last time we wrote anything about POE was when the script was reviewed last year. (Head on over HERE to relive the moment.) But maybe we’ll begin writing about it more often, now that it may be close to coming to fruition…
In an interview with Metro International, Downey says he’s extremely interested in portraying E.A. Poe, citing the screenplay Stallone has written… From the article: “[Sylvester] Stallone wrote a great script that he wants to direct about Edgar Allen Poe,” Downey confides, grinning.
Hmm… Is Downey grinning because he knows something and isn’t telling? Or is it because, after years of abusing hard drugs like they were going out of style, he’s a mutli-millionaire and a movie star who gets to do any project he damn well pleases..? Maybe we’ll never know…
I for one would love to see Stallone do something this unusual, and who better than Downey to play the tortured substance-abuser? It’s what he does! (If you’re interested in seeing a very respectable Poe performance, check out Jeffrey Combs’ take on the absinthe-lovin’ writer in Stuart Gordon’s “Masters of Horror” episode “The Black Cat”.)
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