10 Stephen King Stories That You Didn’t Know Were Being Made Into Movies

By Marc Richards

There are several projects underway to adapt Stephen King stories for film or for television. We’ll cover recent news, touch on projects that may be slowing down, and throw in a few that may never make it out of “development hell.”

1. Haven - Based on the novella The Colorado Kid, Haven is about a small Maine town that has long been a refuge for people with a wide range of supernatural abilities. This TV series premieres July 9, 2010 on the Syfy network.
2. Bag of Bones - A novelist grieving over the death of his wife moves into their summer home and discovers it is haunted. In February 2010 Mick Garris (The Shining, The Stand, Desperation) said that this mini-series “will hopefully be shooting late-spring, early-summer.” An announcement is expected soon concerning which network will air the mini-series.
3. Pet Sematary - When a family pet is buried in the local pet cemetery, it comes back to life. But, it comes back a little “different.” Screenwriter Matthew Greenberg (1408, Halloween H20) was recently hired to write the screenplay.
4. Home Delivery - Aliens infect earthlings with a zombie plague. Residents of a small island off the coast of Maine prepare to defend themselves as dead friends and relatives start to rise. Twin brothers John and Paul Buckholts optioned the film rights and have adapted this zombie short story. Japanese director Ryuhei Kitamura will take on the project.
5. It - Seven children in a small Maine town are terrorized by a shape-shifter who takes the form of a clown. According to a Variety article in March of 2009, Warner Brothers is moving ahead with the new film. Kevin McDonald will direct from a screenplay being written by Dave Kajganich.
6. Under the Dome - An entire small town in Maine is abruptly trapped under a giant, invisible dome. In November 2009 it was reported that Steven Spielberg will produce the film as a “series event” with a plan to shop it around to the TV networks.
7. From a Buick 8 - A car stored in a shed at the state police barracks in Statler, Pennsylvania is actually a portal between dimensions. Last reports state that the screenplay was approved by Stephen King, and Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Poltergeist, Salem’s Lot) has signed on to direct. Financing is currently at a standstill.
8. The Talisman - Young Jack Sawyer lights out cross country to save his dying mother. During his quest, he flips back and forth between Earth and a parallel Earth called The Territories, where almost everyone has a “twinner”…except for Jack. Steven Speilberg was attached for several years to this project and planned to adapt it as a 6 hour mini-series. It is listed on Internet Movie Database as being in “pre-production” with a release date of 2012, but as far as we can tell this one is dead in the water. Again.
9. The Dark Tower - Stephen King’s magnum opus about a gunslinger in another dimension, called Mid-World, who journeys toward a fabled tower said to be the nexus of all universes. J.J. Abrams was signed up to direct for a while, but turned the rights back over to King. In April 2010, it was reported that The Dark Tower may be adapted into a trilogy and a television series. Negotiations are ongoing at this point. Akiva Goldsman will write with Ron Howard producing and directing.
10. Cell - A cellphone signal turns all who hear it into zombie-like killers. Eli Roth was originally attached to direct the movie, but apparently that plan has been dropped. The new plan is for a four hour mini series to be written by John Harrison (Dune miniseries).

Marc Richards is a part time movie news blogger at http://NewMovieBuzz.com and may one day write the greatest screenplay in motion picture history.

For a few bonus news bits about Stephen King movies and a list of some recently released Stephen King movies that you’ve probably never heard of, head over to http://newmoviebuzz.com/movie-news-focus/10-stephen-king-stories-to-be-made-into-movies/ to read the rest of this article.

Article Source: Marc Richards

10 Stephen King Stories That You Didn’t Know Were Being Made Into Movies

This entry was posted on June 15, 2010 at 3:21 pm and is filed under Movies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

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