The Cry of Cthulhu

The Cry of Cthulhu was a planned film which never made it past the pre-production phase. It was envisioned as being the first original Lovecraftian film to directly incorporate elements of the Cthulhu Mythos.
==Production History==
Author and screenwriter Byron Craft finished the final draft of The Cry of Cthulhu in 1976; the following year, he partnered with Bill Baetz as co-producers, and the two began pitching their ideas to various studios while engaging artist and special effects creator Tom Sullivan to produce concept art for the project. Around 1978, the pair also secured the blessing of Arkham House's then CEO April Derleth, although they acknowledged that legally they were under no obligation to.
Later in 1978, producer Dino de Laurentiis, apparently unfamiliar with the legal status of H. P. Lovecraft's work, attempted to secure story rights from Arkham House, but were rebuffed. De Laurentiis then contacted Craft and Baetz, claiming a desire to finance The Cry of Cthulhu, with the only caveat being an executive producer credit. This soon turned out to be false, with de Laurentiis offering $100,000 for full rights to the script and total forfeiture of creative control, royalties and future franchising from Craft and Baetz, which was promptly refused.
Subsequently, Craft and Baetz attempted to produce The Cry of Cthulhu independently, but a lack of finances and time to pursue the project led to its being shelved.
==Legacy==
Craft decided to write a novelisation of his screenplay, which was eventually released as The Alchemist's Notebook in 2016. It's name was later returned to The Cry of Cthulhu to reflect its origins.
==External Links==
*Interview with Byron Craft at 2warpstoneneptune.com in which he describes the pre-production of The Cry of Cthulhu.
Category:Byron Craft works
Category:Expanded Mythos Film & Television