YET ANOTHER POE FILM IN THE WORKS: 'THE BEAUTIFUL CIGAR GIRL'

Get ready Poe junkies because yet another Edgar Allan film is in the works...

News has recently hit the interwebs (via the India Times) of a cool semi-cryptic quote from Resul Pookutty, a sound man who won an Oscar for his work on "Slumdog Millionaire.

Says the film tech:

"I couldn’t be happier because I am doing a period film. It is a very special challenge because I have to recreate the sound textures of New York in 1854. It’s an adaptation of 'The Beautiful Cigar Girl' by Daniel Stashower and based on an eerie real-life experience of author Edgar Allen Poe which happened just months before his death. Joaquin [Phoenix]plays Edgar Allen Poe."

The central theme of the novel is death - the murder of tobacco clerk Mary Rogers - who was a minor celebrity in 1841 Manhattan. Her limp, beaten body was found along the Hudson shore in Hoboken, New Jersey in July 1841. While no one was ever convicted of the crime, a year later, an innkeeper claimed that Rogers was the victim of a botched abortion that took place at her inn.

Stashower’s book recounts the spectacle of the crime, from the death of the socialite to Poe's involvement.

In 1842, Poe made it the subject of his "The Mystery of Marie Rogêt," which featured his Parisian detective Dupin and his attempt to solve the murder. The story is said to be the first detective story (even though it was based on the events of a real crime)

Other than the Phoenix reference (he was supposedly retired from acting), there aren’t many more details available regarding the film.

The other Poe film in development is "The Raven," directed by James McTeigue and starring Jeremy Renner. A totally different movie, it contains a portrayal of Poe and his famous eerie poem.