Indiegogo Alert: 27: Crossroad Blues, Director James Cooper

Posted By on March 21, 2013

27: Crossroad Blues Image Comics

27: Crossroad Blues Image Comics

Get excited, everyone. Get really, really excited. On March 20th, 2013, the film adaptation of Image Comcis’ 27: Crossroad Blues (by writer Charles Soule) goes live. It will be an intense month long, all-or-nothing Indiegogo crowd funding campaign to reach the projected film budget of $65,000. Soule is critically acclaimed as creator for the 27 Image/Shadowline series, Strange Attractors for Archaia Press and and DC Comic’s Swamp Thing. James Cooper (Hoax Hunters: Haunchyville, Elijah the Prophet) is signed on as director for the supernatural drama.

27 is a series dedicated to exploring the mysterious “27 club” for musicians (the one where you can only gain admission by being incredibly gifted musically and by succumbing to an untimely death at the age of 27). 27: Crossroad Blues, for those unfamiliar with Soule’s Image Comics series, brings to life the legend of the 1930s blues musician Robert Johnson, who reportedly sold his soul to the devil in exchange for extraordinary and exemplary guitar skills. This story is a popular one, and proves it’s ability to translate well to the screen as CW’s Supernatural (2006) proved with their episode, “Crossroad Blues,” dedicated to the legend. In Soule’s series, the devil turns out not to be the only supernatural entity in contention for Johnson’s talent…and his hands.

“The legend of the bluesman selling his soul at the crossroads is one of the most enduring stories in pop culture, revisited again and again across all mediums.  I was thrilled to create my version of the tale with the original story in my 27 comics universe, and I can’t wait to see what James and the rest of his team do to translate it to film,” says Soule.

27: Crossroad Blues, Image Comics

27: Crossroad Blues, Image Comics

“The first time I read the story, I was sucked in by the striking imagery and storytelling. Charles and Renzo created a rich story in only 12 pages, and I saw the film potential immediately. I’m thrilled Charles is giving me the chance to bring it to life,” says Cooper.

Cooper appears more than capable of taking on this thrilling project, as his history with  the film shorts Hoax Hunters: Haunchyville and Elijah the Prophet have proven his ability to tangle with bringing the supernatural and wondrous in comics to the screen. Cooper has already worked alongside Image Comic writers to bring about a trailer for the comic series (you can and should check it out here). Cooper, a fan of both comics and the paranormal, seems like a natural choice for director.

But wait, it gets better. And cooler. And way, way nerdier.

b_watson

Photo: IMDB

This adaptation of the Johnson legend has attracted some remarkable — and albeit quirky and eclectic — names to the cast and crew. The cast is slated to include Benjamin Watson (LA Complex) as Robert Johnson himself and Christine Horne (Cybergeddon, Flashpoint) as The Nine. For extra nerd-tastic excitement, Erebus will be played by Elias Toufexis, who has had roles on a variety of tv shows such as Smallville, Supernatural, and Lost Girl, but is perhaps most notable for his voice-acting of the protagonist Adam Jensen in the video game Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Not convinced yet? Howabout we throw in that the devil will be played by Stephen Hart, who is no stranger to film adaptations with roles on Silent Hill, Max Payne, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, and of course, Oz The Great and Powerful.

And that’s just the cast. Joining Cooper on the crew side of things is the award-winning Visual Effects Supervisor Martin Tori (Splice, also from Silent Hill and Resident Evil: Apocalypse). The Director of Photography will be Pasha Patriki (The Collapsed), and the film’s original score will be done by Andrew Raiher, whose worked on projects such as Constantine and TMNT. Peter Mabrucco (Attachments) and Yaw Attuah (Trigger, In Between Dreams) will serve as Co-Producers.

Yes. You’ve read all of that correctly. Soule and Cooper have called for their Avengers-level of awesome crew to assemble, and assemble they have. And Soule and Cooper are fully aware of the importance of their fans to their project, and have decided that  when the film is completed it will make it’s debut by touring comic conventions across North America before hitting up the film festival circuits. We love you, too.

For more information about the campaign and to make a pledge, visit www.27crossroadblues.com.

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About the Author

Kaitlin Tremblay
Kaitlin Tremblay is a recent graduate of the Creative Book Publishing Program from Humber College; she has also received her Master's in English and Film, Specialization in Gender and Genre and a BA in Creative Writing. Kaitlin is a writer, a painter, a gamer, with a love for all things horror. Read more from Kaitlin at ThatMonster, Medium Difficulty or follow her on Twitter. Kaitlin's work has also appeared on The Border House, Gamasutra, and Comics Should Be Good.