In college I once took an entire class on H.P. Lovecraft. It was called The Weird Tale, a fitting name considering not only the subject matter he wrote but also his personal life. The author's father went insane from syphilis, his mother was committed to a mental institution and for the majority of his life, he lived like a hermit. Perhaps because of this, he turned into one of the greatest letter writers in history. One of my favorite Lovecraft stories places him at home, writing anti-astrology letters to the local paper and then using a pseudonym to sarcastically respond to his own letters with stupid, grandiose claims on the surface arguing for the benefits of the pseudoscience but in actually, exposing its frauds to any educated reader. Pure genius. Now a new script is taking Lovecraft out of that comfortable nest he built for himself and placing him in the crosshairs of trouble.
According to Empire, John August is working on an adaptation of the comic series The Strange Adventures Of H.P. Lovecraft. The source author, Mac Carter, previously took a stab at a screenplay himself, and it's from that starting point that August will begin his retooling work. A frequent Tim Burton cohort, he wrote the dazzling, underrated Big Fish and seems a prime candidate for this material. Once completed, the story will follow Lovecraft as he battles a host of creepy, otherworldly figures akin to the ones he so enthusiastically created. Don't expect him to embrace the unknown though. As I said before, he was a hermit, at least until he opened up later in life, that enjoyed the quieter aspects of existence.
At one point, Frost/Nixon director Ron Howard was on board, but don't expect him to see the project through. He's got plenty on his plate and it's been awhile since he confirmed his interest.
