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Tribeca '09 Preview! Mr. Beaks Gets To The Heart Of TELL-TALE With Director Michael Cuesta!

Interesting idea by chrth	Apr 14th, 2009 02:38:29 PM
But I feel the same way about that I do almost every adaptation of Jekyll and Hyde: the original is so damn perfect, modifying it can only make it worse.
by The_Observer	Apr 14th, 2009 02:38:58 PM

That said, I'm intrigued and hope it does well by chrth	Apr 14th, 2009 02:39:36 PM

Whoops, that should say 'about', not 'almost' by chrth	Apr 14th, 2009 02:40:05 PM

I agree with chrth by Kief_Ledger	Apr 14th, 2009 02:51:17 PM
interesting idea, but the original is so amazing that there is really nowhere to go but down in terms of quality. Do you think the government can make a list of books, short stories, and movies that can no longer be remade?
the re-imaging of this by alice 13	Apr 14th, 2009 02:54:43 PM
kinda eliminates the idea that the killers guilt drives him nuts, right? in poes tale, the killer is alone with the body under his floor and he cannot ignore it. or am i thinking of a different story altogether.
The more Poe the better... by FlickaPoo	Apr 14th, 2009 02:54:46 PM
...of course the Tell Tale Heart is so short and simple that any film version can't have much more than a title in common with the story...and hopefully something heart-related in the plot. Sounds interesting though.
Cautiously optimistic by Sonny_Williams	Apr 14th, 2009 03:05:48 PM
I do love Poe, have his complete short story collection on my bookshelf. Cuesta seems to have the right stuff to make a compelling movie out of this. Can't wait to hear the verdict from Tribeca.
alice 13 by Kief_Ledger	Apr 14th, 2009 03:09:28 PM
in the original story, the killer is confronted by the police inside the house where he hid the person he killed under the floorboards. The police suspect nothing, but the killer still hears the heartbeats of the person he killed under the floorboards, so right as they're about to leave he screams out "Villains! dissemble no more! I admit the deed! --tear up the planks! here, here! --It is the beating of his hideous heart!" Sorry I'm taking a class where we thoroughly analyzed the story, so it's pretty fresh in my head.
Kief_Ledger- awesome! by alice 13	Apr 14th, 2009 04:46:16 PM
its been a while since i read it. i forgot about the police being there. yeah so pesonal guilt does him in. a nice modern twist could have been the killer just kills and runs and then gets THE heart transplant. or the killer thinks anyone he meets could be THE heart transplant recipient.
I don't know... by wampa 1	Apr 14th, 2009 05:10:17 PM
...but it sure smells good!
when i first read the premise by DocDaneeka	Apr 14th, 2009 05:11:58 PM
i rolled my eyes, but after reading the rest of the interview i have to say it sounds interesting.
terminator SCC cancelled? by Mr_X	Apr 14th, 2009 05:51:46 PM
thats the word on ew street man. dont be hating on me.
Can it be.. by Therealumlaut	Apr 14th, 2009 06:54:33 PM
as good as http://tinyurl.com/c3ng5q
Sounds cool. by COCKNASTY_BUTTSTANK	Apr 14th, 2009 07:15:13 PM
And I do love me some Lena Heady. And Josh Lucas is pretty rad, he just needs to pick some better movies. Looks like he is.
The animated version is a beauty by BenBraddock	Apr 15th, 2009 12:31:50 AM
Very imaginitive and atmospheric, a classic. Think it's on YouTube
Btw, where's that Poe biog? by BenBraddock	Apr 15th, 2009 12:37:21 AM
Sly? Err... Jacko? Anyone?
I love L.I.E. and Dexter by red_weed	Apr 15th, 2009 09:07:55 AM
So yay for this! paul dano is great in l.i.e. btw. thats where i first saw him and then didn't recognize him in the girl next door... hah. Anyways i hope this gets good distribution and eventually makes it's way to Australia.
Gotta check this out.... by LongIslandMan	Apr 20th, 2009 10:54:13 PM
Wasn't sure if I would be going to this..... Now I KNOW I am.
"TELL TALE" TRIBECA PREMIERE CAUSES AUDIENCE MEMBER TO HAVE A H by LongIslandMan	Apr 24th, 2009 11:23:09 PM
NO FRICKING KIDDING-- "TELL TALE" TRIBECA PREMIERE CAUSES AUDIENCE MEMBER TO HAVE A HEART ATTACK! HOLY SHIT!!!!!!! I just caught the premiere of the Tony and Ridley Scott produced TELL TALE at the Tribeca Film Fest and I’m still shaking. Both from the film--- and from what fucking happened during the screening. After I read Mr. Beaks article about this flick earlier in the week , I was interested in checking it out. Holy shit, what a film. And I kid you not. It was so intense, about ten minutes from the end after one of the most traumatic sequences, some dude in the audience literally had a heart attack. For REAL. The film was paused for half an hour while the paramedics came and attended to the poor guy, who was taken out a stretcher. After the film came back on for yet another shocking ten minutes, I asked around and it seems that the gentlemen in question will be okay. (PRAYERS AND BLESSINGS FOR A FULL RECOVERY) I still can't believe this shit happened. But seriously, this film is THAT damn intense. Who would have thought the best in new horror was to be found at Tribeca ? After a rash of dumbed-down remakes like FRIDAY THE 13th and unimaginative crap like THE UNBORN and THE UNINVITED, this is the real deal, a welcome and refreshing return to the high-end, brooding psychological dread of films such as Roman Polanksi’s REPULSION and THE TENANT, Adrian Lyne's JACOB’S LADDER, Alan Parker's ANGEL HEART, Christopher Nolan's MEMENTO or the collective works of David Fincher (THE GAME, PANIC ROOM, SEVEN and ZODIAC). Edgar Allen Poe by way of David Cronenberg, you might even say, and as he said in his interview with Mr. Beaks, director Michael Cuesta (who gave us L.I.E. and TV’s DEXTER) has definitely watched his share of Cronenberg ; for in mood, tone and character reality TELL TALE falls right in line with THE DEAD ZONE, THE BROOD and THE FLY. I am amazed that nobody has ever sought to adapt Poe’s THE TELL-TALE HEART before. Of all the Vincent Price/Roger Corman Poe pics, not one tackled the story. Screenwriter Dave Callaham cleverly uses the basic elements of the classic short tale, but whereas the undying heart of Poe’s story lay beating in the murdered body of the protagonist’s victim beneath the floorboards under which he was buried, here that heart rests in the chest of single father Josh Lucas, recipient of a transplant from what turns out to be a murdered man whose dead spirit is bent on revenge. Just like the hands of the serial killer grafted onto the severed stubs of an unwitting pianist in the horror classic MAD LOVE, this relocated organ begins to take over Lucas in both body and mind, drawing him ever closer, and ever more violently, towards those responsible for the crime. Along the way there are some great supporting characters that add a level of humanity which really flesh out the piece and raise the stakes. There is Lucas’ young daughter who suffers from a degenerative bone disease (SO Cronenberg) that brings her in touch with Sara Connor herself, Lena Heady, playing a caring and (what else) sexy doctor that becomes the glue between father and daughter when their world begins to break apart as Lucas spirals more and more out of control. Heady is terrific, as is Lucas, who truly shines in his role, making us feel so deeply for his plight at the same time that we are frightened of the murderous monster he is becoming. Adding real spice to the mix is the always amazing Brian Cox, playing a cop whose character defies cliché when he goes from hunting Lucas to becoming his Svengali-like puppeteer. Twists abound, nothing goes the way you think it will go, whether it be the plot or the frequent outburst of gruesome horror that abound. From the grisly opening credits depicting the bloody murder of the heart’s original owner to its graphic transplant into Lucas, director Cuesta does not shy away from the gore. But it’s done with a sense of poetry and craft that, coupled with the film’s breathtaking cinematography and Rhode Island locale make you both want to watch AND look away. All this adds up to an underlying tone of dread that I could not shake from the moment the film began to its melancholy finale. Truly channeling Poe at its core, this is a haunting piece of filmmaking. A real beauty. Again, films like DON’T LOOK NOW come to mind. All of this is not to say that the film doesn't have a few drawbacks, such as some of the romantic relationships (e.g. hot doctors falling in love with sickly, broke-ass patients) and rather convenient detective work. There also could have been more villain character development for my taste. Regardless, for those looking for cerebral horror that truly approaches art, this is a rare treat. But not to worry, blood hounds. Without giving spoilers, suffice it to say there is a sequence near the climax that rivals the “Is it safe” dental drilling sequence from MARATHON MAN in terms of faint-inducing squirming. If not heart attack inducing as judged from the horrific situation tonight. (Again, I thank GOD that this audience member will be all right--- and again, prayers and blessings for a full recovery). A soon to be referenced classic sequence in the making for sure. Hats off to Tribeca for being the unlikely showcase for new directions in horror. May this film find the distribution and audience it deserves. It’ what HORROR movies are truly meant to be. Mr. Poe himself would be proud. Submitted by JJ Butler aka LongIslandMan

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Tribeca '09 Preview! Mr. Beaks Gets To The Heart Of TELL-TALE With Director Michael Cuesta!

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