While chatting it up with Eli Roth about his faux trailer in Tarantino and Rodriguez's Grindhouse (in theaters April 6), Roth tells us all sorts of goodies about his next project, an adaptation of Stephen King's Cell. King's novel is a throwback to his early apocalyptic horror novels. In a single moment, a pulse sent out through cell phones around the world turns every phone user into a crazed, murderous zombie. Read on for the skinny.
While out promoting his faux trailer and cameo in Dimension Films' upcoming GRINDHOUSE Eli Roth told Bloody-Disgusting some interesting things about his next project, CELL, "The writers are Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, who wrote 1408 (also originally a King story). Now that I’m getting closer to locking picture on Hostel 2 I’ve been meeting with them more regularly. They’re working on the draft."
He continues, "My first question was when I adapted it was: “Can I deviate from the book, am I going to piss off Stephen King”? I heard he was mad at Kubrick, I don’t want him at mad at me. But apparently King was like “Do whatever you want”. And my feeling is always “do whatever’s best for the film”. There are certain elements that make the book great but I think that first and foremost you owe it to the movie. I think the keyword is that it’s an adaptation, not a replication."
In terms of the opening scene, which pretty much defines the book, "I love the opening, but I also want to keep that tension from the opening 40 pages of the book going throughout the whole film," Eli explains, "I think the book, for me, where it loses tension is where suddenly you don’t feel like the phone crazies are trying to kill them, you feel like they’re steering them. So it’s all about finding other ways to make it so you still feel the tension that any second you can get killed, and carrying that tension throughout the whole film.
The movie is planned to take place in Boston and possibly shoot there.
The biggest news is that Eli is open to a Stephen King cameo, "If he wants to, sure! That’s the good thing about Cell, there’s crazy people running around, everybody who wants to be killed… there’s plenty of blood for everyone!"
thats awesome
i love Roth and enjoy King!
its hard to adapt Kings material without doing a 6 hour flick...so i'm hoping for the best out of this...
i worked at a theatre and met King...
i was gonna ask him about it but i was too busy being really creeped out by the man
I'm reading the book right now. About halfway through. Tis great, but I hope he doesn't make the film mindless (no pun intended) and not go all gore all the time, but instead has substance, like the book did. I think he might do pretty good...
Roth is turning into one of the greatest horror directors and King is king. This book kicked ass and Eli is the right person to do it. I'll be first in line!
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Cell
STARRING: DIRECTOR: Eli Roth WRITER: Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewsk, Stephen King
While out promoting his faux trailer and cameo in Dimension Films' upcoming GRINDHOUSE Eli Roth told Bloody-Disgusting some interesting things about his next project, CELL, "The writers are Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, who wrote 1408 (also originally a King story). Now that I’m getting closer to locking picture on Hostel 2 I’ve been meeting with them more regularly. They’re working on the draft."
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