Movies
DiCaprio Ready to Chase ‘The Devil In The White City’
It’s been a long time coming but the bidding war for the film rights to Erik Larson’s The Devil In The White City: Murder, Magic And Madness At The Fair That Changed America has finally ended with Paramount sealing the deal, besting Universal and Fox. Directing will be Martin Scorsese off of a script by Billy Ray. Leonardo DiCaprio, who has long championed the book and wanted to be a part of the film, will play the leading role Dr. H.H. Holmes, a serial killer who used the Chicago World Fair as a cover for his dastardly murders. Holmes is believed to have killed somewhere between 27-200 people.
Deadline delves deeper into Holmes’ depravity, stating:
Holmes constructed The World’s Fair Hotel, an inn more lethal than the Bates Motel, especially for young single women. The sociopath used charm and guile to lure guests into what became known as a “murder castle,” a haunt that had a gas chamber, crematorium and a dissecting table where Holmes would murder his victims and strip their skeletons to sell for medical and scientific study.
The Devil In The White City is one of my favorite books. Larson expertly tells the history of the creation of the Chicago World Fair and how Holmes used the mass confusion to build his death trap of a hotel. Larson writes this completely nonfiction book as though it were fiction, ultimately crafting a story that is delightfully engaging and a sheer pleasure to read. I honestly can’t recommend the book enough to anyone who hasn’t read it. It’s well worth every second of your time.
It’s too early for a release date or for any other casting announcements but, believe me, we’ll be keeping an eye on this one.
In the wake of Backrooms and Obsession, everyone is prowling YouTube for horror shorts to adapt and horror filmmakers to scoop up, so don’t be surprised to see a whole bunch of upcoming articles about YouTube success stories crossing over into theaters. One horror short that’s already been picked up for expansion is Dolly director Rod Blackhurst’s Alone Time.
The 12-minute short was uploaded in 2014 and has amassed nearly 2 million views at the time of this article being written, and Deadline reports that it’s getting a feature adaptation.
Witchcraft Motion Picture Company & Fever Dream will turn the viral short into a feature film.
Alone Time follows Ann Saunders, a young NY professional whose carefully constructed life begins to unravel following a devastating personal loss. “Seeking refuge from a collapsing relationship, a deteriorating family situation, and mounting emotional trauma, Ann reluctantly joins her closest friend on a remote camping trip deep in the Adirondack wilderness.”
The synopsis continues, “When her friend mysteriously disappears, Ann becomes convinced that an unseen figure is stalking her through the forest. What begins as a survival nightmare slowly transforms into something far more disturbing as fractured memories, conflicting realities, and hidden truths force Ann to confront the possibility that the greatest threat may not be lurking in the woods at all, but buried deep within her own psych.”
“Alone Time has quietly followed me for over a decade,” director Rod Blackhurst said in a statement. “What began as a short film about isolation and the weight of life now feels more relevant than ever. The original short found its audience organically online long before that was considered a legitimate path for filmmakers. Bringing it to life as a feature allows us to explore those themes on a much larger and more psychologically unsettling canvas.”
Blackhurst is directing the feature length expansion.
You can watch the original Alone Time short film below.