Stephen King’s Latest Novella Spawns Multiple Deals – from Aronofsky to Blumhouse

This article was written exclusively for The Film Magazine by George Taylor.

Stephen King’s latest collection of short stories, “If It Bleeds”, released earlier this year, has already attracted the attention of Hollywood, Deadline reports. Three of the four stories featured have already found option deals. An option deal means the film studios are given an exclusive temporary right to purchase the book as long as they live up to the contract’s terms.

The first is “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone”. Netflix have teamed up with horror aficionados Blumhouse and Ryan Murphy to produce the feature. Blumhouse, helmed by Jason Blum, are behind some of the most popular horror films in recent years such as The Invisible Man and Get Out. This adaptation will join a plethora of upcoming projects for the studio, including a Wolfman remake starring Ryan Gosling. Ryan Murphy is well versed in the horror genre too, co-creating the FX series ‘American Horror Story’. “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone” will be the fourth King adaptation produced by Netflix, with the first three being Gerald’s Game, 1922 and In the Tall Grass. John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side; Saving Mr. Banks) is set to direct.

Ben Stiller (Zoolander; The Meyerowitz Stories) has optioned the story titled “Rat”. Currently Stiller has attached himself to produce, direct and star in the film. The story is based around a writer facing writer’s block, so he makes a deal with a rat to free him of his struggles in exchange for the death of a loved one.

Finally, Darren Aronofsky’s (Requiem For A Dream; Mother!) production company, Protozoa, have optioned “The Life of Chuck”. Most of Protozoa’s films are directed by Aronofsky himself, however he is currently only on board as a producer.

Stephen King’s work is often adapted by Hollywood. Some famous films based on his work include The Shining, It and more recently Doctor Sleep.

Written by George Taylor

You can support George Taylor in the following place:

Twitter: @MrGeorgelax