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The Devil in the White City from EP Scorsese/DiCaprio
heard about this recently and thought i'd post the news. it's still early in the works but she has obtained the rights to the eric larson book and is going to have the screenwriter from K-19 adapt it. she'll direct.
http://www.kathrynbigelow.com/upcoming.html THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY Adaptation of the book of the same name. From amazon.com: Author Erik Larson imbues the incredible events surrounding the 1893 Chicago World's Fair with such drama that readers may find themselves checking the book's categorization to be sure that The Devil in the White City is not, in fact, a highly imaginative novel. Larson tells the stories of two men: Daniel H. Burnham, the architect responsible for the fair's construction, and H.H. Holmes, a serial killer masquerading as a charming doctor. Burnham's challenge was immense. In a short period of time, he was forced to overcome the death of his partner and numerous other obstacles to construct the famous "White City" around which the fair was built. His efforts to complete the project, and the fair's incredible success, are skillfully related along with entertaining appearances by such notables as Buffalo Bill Cody, Susan B. Anthony, and Thomas Edison. The activities of the sinister Dr. Holmes, who is believed to be responsible for scores of murders around the time of the fair, are equally remarkable. He devised and erected the World's Fair Hotel, complete with crematorium and gas chamber, near the fairgrounds and used the event as well as his own charismatic personality to lure victims. Combining the stories of an architect and a killer in one book, mostly in alternating chapters, seems like an odd choice but it works. The magical appeal and horrifying dark side of 19th-century Chicago are both revealed through Larson's skillful writing. |
Thanks for the heads up; nice to see her working again. BTW: if you find the H. H. Holmes character interesting you might also like <b>Depraved</b> by Harold Schechter, which is a non-fiction account of his murders.
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Boy, this sounds like the kind of material that Bigelow would really do justice to - let's hope it happens!
(I'll have to check out the book - I lived for several years in that neighborhood.) |
Great news! I plan on reading this soon.
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Just did some checking and found this info about a documentary about H.H. Holmes that is imminent:
http://www.waterfrontchicago.com/holmes.htm |
thanks for the link. it's pretty interesting, i had never heard of him before (and i took a class of serial killers)! i'm not far enough into the book to know much about him yet but so far he's fascinating. he made a great living on bogus businesses and by ripping off labor.
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This could be a very interesting movie, if done right. The book is excellent and very suspenseful, and I believe that Kathryn Bigelow would bring a good version to the screen with the right script.
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I'm about two-thirds of the way through the book right now and it's utterly fascinating. But the thought of the people behind K-19 and Point Break adapting this movie doesn't exactly fill me with confidence.
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And I liked both point break and k-19.
As well as blue steel, strange days, the weight of water, the loveless and near dark. So I suppose kathryn bigelow has yet to dissapoint me. |
Originally posted by Sunday Morning And I liked both point break and k-19. As well as blue steel, strange days, the weight of water, the loveless and near dark. So I suppose kathryn bigelow has yet to dissapoint me. |
Devil in the White City (D: Scorsese) S: DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio will star in the long-in-development “The Devil in the White City” with Martin Scorsese directing for Paramount, sources confirm. The project, which has been in the works for more than a decade, reunites DiCaprio with Scorsese two years after “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Paramount won an auction to buy the movie rights to Erik Larson’s book “The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America.” The studio has previously owned the rights twice. Billy Ray, whose credits include “Captain Phillips” and “The Hunger Games,” will write the script. Producers are DiCaprio and his Appian Way partner Jennifer Davisson along with Stacey Sher, Scorsese and Rick Yorn. DiCaprio first joined the project in 2010. DiCaprio will play H.H. Holmes, who murdered between 27 and 200 people, mostly single young women. Set against the backdrop of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, “The Devil in the White City” tells the intertwining stories of fair architect Daniel H. Burnham and Holmes, who used a hotel he built near the fairgrounds to lure his victims. “The Devil in the White City” was first put in development in Hollywood by Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner through their Cruise/Wagner banner via the shingle’s deal with Par, but the option lapsed in 2004. Paramount reacquired the film rights in 2007 and set it up with producers Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher, whose shingle Double Feature Films had a first-look deal with the studio at that point. Besides “The Wolf of Wall Street,” DiCaprio and Scorsese have made “Gangs of New York,” “The Aviator,” “The Departed” and “Shutter Island” together. DiCaprio is repped by LBI, which also reps Scorsese. CAA, Management 36o and attorney Peter Nichols rep Ray. |
re: The Devil in the White City from EP Scorsese/DiCaprio
Just read the Wiki entry on H.H. Holmes and his murder castle and that was beyond creepy. Yikes.
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re: The Devil in the White City from EP Scorsese/DiCaprio
Never heard of the guy, but saw who is attached, some of the stuff that happened and I want to see this movie NOW.
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re: The Devil in the White City from EP Scorsese/DiCaprio
This is gonna suck.
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re: The Devil in the White City from EP Scorsese/DiCaprio
The book was pretty meh (IMO) but I think it will make for an even better movie. From a visual perspective, the recreation of the Chicago World's Fair will be pretty damn spectacular.
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re: The Devil in the White City from EP Scorsese/DiCaprio
It's interesting that DiCaprio is playing the killer...I would have thought he would play the architect. I haven't read the book, so I don't know the ages of both characters.
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re: The Devil in the White City from EP Scorsese/DiCaprio
Originally Posted by Shannon Nutt
(Post 12559491)
It's interesting that DiCaprio is playing the killer...I would have thought he would play the architect. I haven't read the book, so I don't know the ages of both characters.
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re: The Devil in the White City from EP Scorsese/DiCaprio
Originally Posted by Throwing Copper
(Post 12559586)
Spoiler:
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re: The Devil in the White City from EP Scorsese/DiCaprio
Originally Posted by EctoCooler
(Post 12558942)
This is gonna suck.
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re: The Devil in the White City from EP Scorsese/DiCaprio
Originally Posted by jacob_b
(Post 12559877)
I don't think Leo and Scorsese have put out a movie together that doesn't "suck".
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re: The Devil in the White City from EP Scorsese/DiCaprio
Originally Posted by jacob_b
(Post 12559877)
I don't think Leo and Scorsese has put out a movie together that has "suck".
Originally Posted by Shannon Nutt
(Post 12559491)
It's interesting that DiCaprio is playing the killer...I would have thought he would play the architect.
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re: The Devil in the White City from EP Scorsese/DiCaprio
This is funny as only last week in watched a documentary on H.H. Holmes. Seriously creepy story and total nut job. He makes Hannibal Lecter seem like Jesus in comparison. The castle he built to kill and destroy is seriously screwed up. The story cold be really interesting, just not sure Di Caprio is the right choice. I think he is a fine actor, but i have yet to ever see a performance where he has blown me away. For some reason Scorsese is in love with the guy, and thats a shame as De Niro coulod sure use Scorsese to get his groove back.
Still in the hands of Marty i think thisn will be worth watching. |
re: The Devil in the White City from EP Scorsese/DiCaprio
Originally Posted by EctoCooler
(Post 12558942)
This is gonna suck.
I have to admit your posts do amuse me. |
re: The Devil in the White City from EP Scorsese/DiCaprio
Originally Posted by jacob_b
(Post 12559877)
I don't think Leo and Scorsese has put out a movie together that has "suck".
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re: The Devil in the White City from EP Scorsese/DiCaprio
Originally Posted by james2025a
(Post 12559971)
I think he is a fine actor, but i have yet to ever see a performance where he has blown me away.
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