Movies
Finally Some News on ‘Torso’ Adaptation
Some disappointing and crazy news comes in via MTV’s Splash Page where they interviewed Brian Michael Bendis, one of the two brains behind the comic book Torso. This past January Paramount lost the rights to adapt the film, and it looks like David Lynch won’t be directing, but there is some new light that has been shed that should give some hope to those wanting to see a live-action adaptation.
Torso is a true crime comic book limited series written by Brian Michael Bendis and Marc Andreyko, with art and lettering by Brian Michael Bendis. It is based on the true story of the Cleveland Torso Murderer, a serial killer who was active during 1934 to 1938. He received his nickname because he left only the torsos of his victims. Without fingerprints or dental records, these victims were very difficult to identify in a time before DNA testing. The investigator on the case was Eliot Ness, Cleveland Safety Director and former head of the Untouchables.
“A week ago I had final, but this weekend, not so much with the final,” Bendis told MTV when I asked if he had a “final word” on the project’s status.
“Last December, we got the green light … and then three days later there was no green light,” he said. “Imagine you get a call, you won the lottery… [then] no, you didn’t. It’s much worse than never getting the call. It was a very exciting moment, and then it went away.”
“The rights reverted back to [co-creator Marc Andreyko] and myself, and it all kind of went away,” he continued. “Now, not so much. Things are percolating back and movement is afoot behind the scenes to get it going again with all the principals, so… we’ll see what happens.”
Movies
‘Desperation’ – Sam Raimi and ‘Final Destination Bloodlines’ Directors Teaming for Stephen King Movie
Stephen King’s 1996 novel Desperation is headed back to the screen, with Jeff Sneider breaking the news on The InSneider that Sam Raimi, Stephen King, and Final Destination Bloodlines directors Adam B. Stein and Zach Lipovsky are coming together for the film.
Sam Raimi will produce the upcoming Desperation movie, while Stein and Lipovsky are on board to direct. Searchlight Pictures is the studio attached to the feature film project.
Published in 1996, Stephen King’s novel Desperation was previously turned into a made-for-TV movie starring Ron Perlman, Tom Skerritt and Steven Weber back in 2006.
Wikipedia reminds, “Desperation is a story about several people who, while traveling along the desolated Highway 50 in Nevada, get abducted by Collie Entragian, the deputy of the fictional mining town of Desperation. Entragian uses various pretexts for the abductions, from an arrest for drug possession to ‘rescuing’ a family from a nonexistent gunman. It becomes clear to the captives that Entragian has been possessed by an evil being named Tak, who has control over the surrounding desert wildlife and must change hosts to keep itself alive.
“They begin to fight for their freedom, sanity and lives before realizing that if they are ever to escape Desperation, they must trap Tak in the place from which he came.”
Desperation was published at the same time as Stephen King’s own “mirror novel” titled The Regulators, which shares characters but takes place in an alternate universe.
The union of Sam Raimi and Stephen King is an exciting one for fans of both Raimi and King, and there’s a nice bit of full circle history there too. As you may recall, it was Stephen King’s review of The Evil Dead that Raimi credits for saving and legitimizing his indie debut feature.
And the rest is history! Stay tuned for more on this developing story.
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