Backstage with… Christian Bale and The Pale Blue Eye cast on humanising Edgar Allen Poe

Published

2 years ago

January 6, 2023

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He’s known as a master of macabre, for pioneering the short story in the US and is credited with inventing the detective fiction genre.

But perhaps far less is known about the gothic writer Edgar Allan Poe as a person.

Now, a new film about the poet is looking to change that. The Pale Blue Eye – based on the book of the same name – explores the period of Poe’s life when he found himself at the US Military Academy. The movie imagines the young writer teaming up with a detective to investigate a series of murders.

While Poe is played by Harry Potter star Harry Melling, Christian Bale plays the lead veteran detective Augustus Landor, and the starry ensemble cast also includes Gillian Anderson, Timothy Spall and Lucy Boynton.

But as filming started in November 2021, Bale told Sky News’ Backstage Podcast that, despite being part of a big cast, he largely spent his time off-camera on his own.

“It was still right in the middle of COVID,” he explained.

“I think they were being really draconian with me – like they wouldn’t let me see anybody, because everybody was getting ill at some point, but they were like, ‘man, if you get ill the whole production has to stop’.”

“So they were like ‘get back to your room and stay in your room’ – and I did!”

The film is a murder mystery, so only when it’s over does the viewer realise the breadcrumbs that have been left for them along the way in terms of figuring out whodunnit.

Bale, who is also one of the movie’s producers, says, as an actor, it makes for an interesting challenge.

“I would give Scott [Cooper – the film’s director] some variation, some choices he could have in the edit room,” Bale said.

“Scott is always very meticulous and really very precise in what he wants and he tends to be exactly right, so he doesn’t experiment too much.

“But, with this, because it was such a particular balancing act, I tried to give him a few variations and I think he really nailed it.”

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Poe isn’t the main character, but the film explores the literary trailblazer in a setting most people aren’t aware he was ever in.

Gillian Anderson told Sky News’ Backstage Podcast that’s one of the things that made the film attractive to her.

“It was interesting to dive into something that had such a strong element of gothic thriller-esque, but at the same time, an origin story about somebody who wouldn’t normally be in that kind of circumstance.

“The fact that he was at West Point [the military academy] for a period of time – what does a person who is an artist, who is so different from what you might normally find at West Point and the rigidity of West Point, what do they do under those circumstances?

“I think that that threw into light a whole other side of Poe that I hadn’t really even thought about before, which I found fascinating,” she told the podcast.

The actress plays Mrs Marquis, the wife of the doctor who performs an autopsy on one of the murder victims. The character is a real oddball and Anderson admits that it’s good fun to play someone so strange.

“It’s very freeing – I remember feeling that a few years ago I did Blanche in [A Streetcar Named Desire at the National Theatre] and there’s something about Blanche that you just feel like you could do almost anything. It just feels that you can give all of those bits that you’ve restrained in yourself to another character.

“It was similar with Mrs Marquis, I think, because she’s so unpredictable, and what we see in the film is real eccentricity and quirkiness.

“To be able to push that to varying levels on a day is enjoyable.”

Poe also comes across as odd at times.

Melling, who plays him, says that while preparing for the role he found himself engaged in some curious behaviour himself – rehearsing lines in his local cemetery.

“Very respectfully, I should add,” he told Backstage.

“But yeah early on, I was reading a lot about Edgar being obsessed with the dead with death and the occult, and I thought, you know, I’m just going to head to the graveyard with my book and see what comes to me.

“And it slowly became a routine of going to the cemetery, and reading a bit, and just going through some of the things he says, and just slowly building up that world for him and how he thought. It was just a very early sort-of building block phase to getting to Edgar.”

Melling says he also set off on a deep dive in terms of researching the writer.

“What I found really useful was his early life – losing both his parents, being adopted, moving to London, then moving back to Virginia,” he said.

“All of that stuff about being a bit of a nomad early on explained a lot in terms of what Scott Cooper’s script was doing with this character, who was constantly trying to invent himself a persona as the young poet.

“But there’s only so much you can take research I think… and also people have such a fixed idea of who Edgar is. It was very interesting to go back and work out, ‘okay, who is this person before we get to this idea of this icon, this American writer of the macabre and the dark?’, and that was a really interesting exercise for me.”

Melling’s co-star Lucy Boynton agreed the script certainly sheds new light on Poe.

“[The film is] exploring the person behind the reputation and facade that we’re aware of,” she told Sky News.

“I think I’ve realised I hadn’t really questioned what he, what the person behind all of that work and kind of gothic forefront, would be, so it was really beautiful to see Harry’s interpretation of that but also just the exploration of this script of the sensitivity behind the strength of that work.”

The Pale Blue Eye is streaming on Netflix.

Hear our review in the latest episode of Backstage – the film and TV review podcast from Sky News.

Entertainment

Glastonbury 2025 line-up revealed

Published

2 hours ago

March 6, 2025

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The 1975 and Olivia Rodrigo will be among the stars headlining Glastonbury Festival this year, it has been announced.

Glastonbury organisers have revealed the line-up for this summer’s event, taking place between 25 June and 29 June, after months of speculation.

The 1975 will take to the iconic Pyramid Stage on the Friday to headline, then Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young will perform on Saturday and Olivia Rodrigo on the Sunday.

Other big names performing include British pop sensation Charli XCX, rapper Loyle Carner electronic group The Prodigy.

The announcement comes after Sir Rod Stewart was booked for the Sunday teatime legend slot and Young was confirmed as a headliner earlier this year.

Young’s announcement in January came amid some confusion, as he had days before told fans he was pulling out of the festival because the BBC’s involvement was a “corporate turn-off”.

The Canadian singer-songwriter later said this decision was down to “an error in the information I received”.

The 1975 will be headlining for the first time, having made their Glastonbury debut in 2014.

The Cheshire band, known for hits such as Somebody Else and Chocolate, have regularly made headlines due to the antics of frontman Matty Healy.

Glastonbury, which takes place at Worthy Farm in Somerset in the summer, has worked closely with the BBC – its exclusive broadcast partner – since 1997.

Appetite for the esteemed festival saw standard tickets sell out in 35 minutes in November.

They cost £373.50 plus a £5 booking fee, up £18.50 from the price from the 2024 festival, and were sold exclusively through the See Tickets website.

The date for the resale – where tickets not fully paid for are put back up for purchase – is set for some time in spring.

The headliners last summer on the iconic Pyramid Stage were Dua Lipa, SZA and Coldplay, who made history as the first act to headline the festival five times.

2026 is likely to be a year off for Glastonbury, with the festival traditionally taking place four out of every five years, and the fifth year reserved for rehabilitation of the land.

Entertainment

Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX BRIT Awards appearances spark hundreds of Ofcom complaints

Published

18 hours ago

March 5, 2025

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Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX BRIT Awards appearances spark hundreds of Ofcom complaints

Ofcom received 825 complaints over the Brit Awards, with the majority relating to Sabrina Carpenter’s raunchy performance and Charli XCX’s outfit, the media watchdog says.

US pop star Carpenter, 25, sported a red sparkly military-style blazer dress for her performance at the awards show on Saturday night, paired with stockings and suspenders for a rendition of Espresso.

The song was mixed with a Rule Britannia mash-up, as dancers in military parade dress followed her.

She then switched to a red sparkly bra and shorts for her next song, Bad Chem, which she performed alongside dancers in bras and shorts while sitting suggestively on a large bed.

Carpenter later received the global success award at the ceremony, and was also nominated in the international artist and international song of the year categories.

But much of the buzz on social media surrounded her performance, which took place before the 9pm watershed.

Ofcom said some of the complaints were also aimed at British pop sensation Charli XCX, who dominated the night by winning five awards, including album of the year.

Some viewers took issue with her outfit – a black see-through dress.

The singer addressed the concerns during her acceptance speech for artist of the year, saying: “I heard that ITV were complaining about my nipples. I feel like we’re in the era of ‘free the nipple’ though, right?”

Carpenter paid tribute to the UK in her acceptance speech, saying: “The Brits have given me this award, and this feels like such an insane honour in a very primarily tea-drinking country… you really understood my dry sense of humour because your sense of humour is so, so dry. So I love y’all more than you even understand.”

Entertainment

Why is Noel Clarke suing The Guardian?

Published

22 hours ago

March 5, 2025

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Actor Noel Clarke begins his High Court libel case against The Guardian’s publisher today.

Clarke, 49, is suing Guardian News and Media (GNM) over a series of articles it published about him in April 2021.

They were based on the claims of 20 women Clarke knew “in a professional capacity” who allege his behaviour towards them amounted to sexual misconduct.

Clarke, known for his roles in the Kidulthood trilogy and Dr Who, “vehemently” denies “any sexual misconduct or wrongdoing”.

What will the trial cover?

Clarke is suing GNM for libel, sometimes also referred to as defamation.

It’s a civil tort – not a criminal offence – defined as false written statements that have damaged the person’s reputation. This means Clarke can seek redress or damages but no one will face charges or prison.

Clarke claims the articles The Guardian published in 2021 altered public opinion of him, damaged his reputation, and lost him work.

He said after the allegations emerged: “In a 20-year career, I have put inclusivity and diversity at the forefront of my work and never had a complaint made against me.

“If anyone who has worked with me has ever felt uncomfortable or disrespected, I sincerely apologise. I vehemently deny any sexual misconduct or wrongdoing and intend to defend myself against these false allegations.”

The Guardian is defending the claim on the basis of truth and public interest.

It said in its statement: “Our reporting on Noel Clarke in 2021 was based on the accounts of 20 brave women. After we published our first article, more women came forward.

“At trial, 32 witnesses are set to testify against Mr Clarke under oath. We look forward to a judge hearing the evidence.”

The trial will only focus on liability – not the amount of damages to be paid if Clarke is successful.

The actor tried and failed to get the case struck out in January, with his legal team saying it had “overwhelming evidence” of “perversion of the course of justice”.

His lawyers told the High Court three of the journalists involved in the articles had “deliberately and permanently” deleted messages, which meant he could not get a fair trial.

Lawyers for GNM told the court there was “no adequate evidential basis” for Clarke’s application for a strike out and said it sought “to smear Guardian journalists and editors without any proper justification”.

The trial, which will be presided over by judge Mrs Justice Steyn, is expected to last between four and six weeks.

What has happened since the articles were published?

A month before the articles about him were published in April 2021, Clarke received BAFTA’s outstanding contribution to British cinema award.

However, once the allegations against him emerged, he was suspended by the organisation and the prize rescinded.

His management and production company 42M&P told Sky News they were no longer representing him and Sky cancelled its TV show Bulletproof, starring Clarke and Top Boy actor Ashley Walters as the lead roles.

ITV also decided to pull the finale of another of his dramas, Viewpoint, following the Guardian articles.

The Met Police looked into the allegations against Clarke for any potential criminal wrongdoing, but in March 2022 announced they “did not meet the threshold for criminal investigation”.

Clarke filed the libel claim the following month and has attended several of the preliminary hearings in person.

He says he has faced a “trial by media” – and that the ordeal has left him suicidal and in need of professional help.

‘Rising star’

Clarke made his TV debut in a revived version of Auf Wiedersehen Pet in 2002.

Soon after he played Mickey Smith in Dr Who and Kwame in the six-part Channel 4 series Metrosexuality.

He wrote and starred in the film trilogy Kidulthood, Adulthood, and Brotherhood, which were based in west London, where he grew up, and explored the lives of a group of teenagers given time off school after a bullied classmate takes their own life.

It was a box office success and eventually saw Clarke given BAFTA’s rising star prize in 2009.

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.