Luke Evans and James McTeigue laid a wreath at Edgar Allan Poe's grave

BALTIMORE — Actor Luke Evans and director James McTeigue laid a wreath at Edgar Allan Poe's grave as they paid their respects and talked about their upcoming film "The Raven," which re-imagines the American writer's last days.

Evans, 32, plays a young Baltimore detective hunting for a killer who is using Poe's grisly stories as the inspiration for a string of murders. John Cusack plays Poe, who joins the hunt.
Poe died in Baltimore on Oct. 7, 1849.

Evans said he was captured by Poe's biography and considers him the "godfather of American literature." He said he learned of Poe's heartbreak and alcoholism and his unique role in history as the first American writer who tried to make a living by writing.

"This man started something that's still thriving today, the murder stories and the detective," Evans told The Associated Press. "He was the beginning of all of that."
The movie is a blend of fact and fiction, marrying Poe's tumultuous life with his stories, which sets it apart from other Poe films, McTeigue said.

Poe's famous poem, "The Raven" figures into the script in a scene where he gives a dramatic reading of the poem to a lady's society luncheon. It's clear, though, that Poe is just "going through the motions because he has to make a living," McTeigue said.

Both Evans, who is Welsh, and McTeigue, who is Australian and known for his film "V for Vendetta," were eager to visit Baltimore for the first time. McTeigue said he researched Baltimore scenes for the film, but it was shot in Budapest, Hungary, for its older architecture.
Visual effects were used to add the historic Baltimore Harbor, Fell's Point and the city's Washington Monument to the film.

"The Baltimore of 1849 doesn't exist anymore," McTeigue said. Still, he said, "it's nice to come and walk the streets and be where Poe is."