"One of the negative things about the Internet," actor John Cusack remarks when asked about rumors surrounding casting in his new film, "The Raven," "is unnecessary information. Stuff that doesn't serve any real purpose and can be detrimental to someone's ego or ... like I say, useless. Hopefully a good editor or writer knows what facts to use and which ones to pass by."

The American star, who has appeared in more than 50 movies since the early 1980s, is referring obliquely to the actors with greater box-office cachet who were also sought for his role as the celebrated writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809-49) in "The Raven." His comment sounds halfway between a subtle warning and a plea. In any case, this production teams Cusack with relative newcomer Luke Evans as a young detective.

Fate may have won out in the end, though, as the plum role of the brilliant — yet ultimately doomed — American writer suits Cusack. Fully made up as Poe, his resemblance to pictures of the author, "the father of the detective story" via his pioneering novella "Murders in the Rue Morgue," is striking. For one thing, Cusack — who is of Irish origin — is also pale, black-haired and typically not a smiler.