Screenwriter Jane Goldman has worked with Matthew Vaughn on a number of projects, including Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class, and both Kingsman: The Secret Service and Kingsman: The Golden Circle. However, she's also worked on a number of her own projects including the Daniel Radcliffe led The Woman in Black and upcoming Victorian murder mystery The Limehouse Golem starring Bill Nighy.
Directed by Juan Carlos Medina, it also stars Olivia Cooke, Douglas Booth and Eddie Marsan. I recently had the opportunity to have a brief chat with Jane about the movie and found out about what led her to this project and the challenges associated with that. She also drops some very interesting hints about what's next for the Kingsman franchise and how she feels to see Wonder Woman succeed.
RLJ Entertainment will release The Limehouse Golem is in Theaters, on VOD and Digital HD on September 8th, 2017 and it hits the UK tomorrow. A trailer and synopsis can be found down below.
What was it that attracted you to The Limehouse Golem and made you want to adapt the novel?
I'd read the book before I was a screenwriter and I just fell in love with it. It was the first time I'd ever had the conscious thought, 'Gosh, I would love to see this as a movie.' I even ended up looking to see if anyone was going to make it but I don't think at the time I was really thinking that I would like to adapt it because that wasn't what I was doing; I was writing novels and non-fiction but not screenwriting. I was just very, very excited about seeing this world brought to life. I really fell in love with the world.
What is it about this story that you feel makes it stand out from other murder mysteries set in this era, particularly those featuring Jack the Ripper?
On the surface, it appears to be a Jack the Ripper whodunnit but I think the story very quickly takes you in other surprising directions. It wasn't about how can I create an exciting serial killer; for me, Jack the Ripper was more of an archetype and in some ways, whether this is meant to be before him or a different version, I think there's a sense that it's meant to evoke that archetype but what's important is the public's response to the murders and how it impacts the people around them. There are gory murders, but to me it wasn't about how can I make this different from Jack the Ripper because when I was reading the book I felt extremely satisfied by it and didn't feel like I needed it to be one thing or another so it wasn't about making it different. Once you get into the story, it becomes immediately apparent that it's not just another murder mystery. It just happens to be in Victorian London but there are a lot of other creepy and intriguing stuff going on interconnected with the murders.
When it came to adapting a novel, what were some of the biggest challenges you faced?
This particular novel was incredibly challenging to adapt which is why when I got the opportunity, I didn't hesitate but when I sat down to actually start, it hit me that in terms of the way it's structured, there's just no way you could do a direct adaptation. It uses some literary tricks and approaches which just wouldn't work on screen. For me, the challenge was about figuring out what the cinematic equivalent of that was and trying to tap into how I felt as a reader and what made me fall in love with it and how I could as a writer recreate that feeling for audiences watching in the cinema. Without giving too much away, there's a sense in the book that you're constantly being told the truth but the truth isn't exactly what it seems. There's one way of doing that in the book and there's then the question of how you replicate that in a movie. It was challenging but I loved doing it.
You're obviously well-known for your work in the comic book realm, are you interested in bringing your talents to the Marvel Cinematic or DC Extended Universes?
I haven't really thought ahead to that kind of thing but I really love what's going on in both of those universes right now. I don't think there's one particular property I'm desperate to get my hands on at the moment but the Kingsman Universe will continue to expand and this second movie opens up the world so there are a lot of other places to go with that. I continue to be an avid reader of these things, though!
Finally, what are your thoughts on the recent success of Wonder Woman?
I'm thrilled to see it's a success and I'm very, very happy that it's now been proven to the people that hold the purse strings that it doesn't matter what gender a superhero is. I'm equally happy with male and female characters but I loved Wonder Woman and thought it was terrific and couldn't be happier that it was the huge success that it was.
A serial killer stalks the Limehouse streets of Victorian London in 1880, the terrified population of this squalid district of the East End believe that the “Golem”, a monster from Judaic mythology, is responsible. Inspector Kildare of Scotland Yard is handed the impossible task of solving these heinous crimes and his investigations lead him on a race across the capital from The Old Bailey, to Newgate Prison, to the music halls of London and the British Museum. His chief suspects are music hall superstar Dan Leno, political agitator Karl Marx, writer and philosopher George Gissing and journalist John Cree. Kildare believes that famed performer Little Lizzie Cree, who is almost certainly destined to hang for the poisoning of her husband, holds the key to the identity of the real Golem. Kildare must solve the case and in doing so, he believes he will save the life of Elizabeth Cree.