New Adaptation of Stephen King’s ‘In The Deathroom’ In the Works [Indie Spotlight Solo]
I’ve never talked about Stephen King with y’all, have I? That’s particularly strange, given that he was a huge influence in molding lil’ Giallo’s writing aspirations. So, you’d think I would have mentioned him once or twice. Shoot, Pet Sematary and Night Shift are two of my favorite books ever! I guess I just talk about a lot of stuff, and some things fall through the cracks of my brain. Oh well, I’m talking about him now, which I suppose is all that matters. What about him, though? I’m glad I assumed that you asked that question! Let me answer it for you.
For the longest time, King’s been doing his “Dollar Baby Program”, which allows aspiring filmmakers to buy nonexclusive rights to his stories (not under contract, so Lawnmower Man is off the table) for the exuberant price of one dollar. With that, the filmmaker may adapt and produce the story, but can’t distribute or otherwise profit from it. Oh, and King himself will view the product once it’s finished… no pressure.
Award-winning filmmaker and Renegade Film Festival founder Vanessa Ionta Wright (Rainy Season, I Baked Him A Cake) is taking on the Dollar Baby challenge, deciding to do so by adapting King’s short story, In The Deathroom. Her film is appropriately titled — Deathroom!
The short story tells of a “deadly battle of wits between a captured New York Times photographer and a sadistic military commander”, so I’m presuming the screenplay, written by Edward Santiago (The Badge, The Gun & the Hangman’s Noose, Knights of a Valiant Heart), won’t stray too far from that premise.
The film stars Jenna Kanell (Terrifier, The Bye Bye Man), with a crew including director of photography Mark Simon (A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, One Missed Call) and SFX artist “Monster” Midian Crosby (The Haunting of Hill House, Lovecraft Country) so far. It should be noted that “one hundred percent above-the-line are women, BIPOC, and members of the LGBTQ community, plus sixty percent of the cast are Latina/o.”
As Wright stated:
“The thing we are most proud of is the diversity and visibility surrounding the film.”
Cheers to that! I dig it!
To keep up-to-date on the film’s development, be sure to follow their Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. As always, as soon as I know more, you will.
Until next time…
Ciao, friends!
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