Karaszewski and Alexander Pick Up Cell
Filed under: Horror, Thrillers, Deals, Scripts, Newsstand, Remakes and Sequels
It looks like Eli Roth is going to be pretty busy for awhile. Roth is currently filming Hostel: Part II in Prague, the sequel to his highly successful goo-fest, and will also be directing the movie adaptation of Stephen King's Cell once he's done killing off a bunch of pretty girls. There hasn't been much movement on Cell , beyond a few hints of the gore to come, but AICN reports that Roth has chosen writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski to pen the screenplay.Alexander and Kareszewski have written a mixed bag of scripts so far, (Ed Wood, The People Vs. Larry Flynt, Agent Cody Banks) and Roth is known for violent and disturbing subject matter; having read King's novel he has a lot to work with here. However, with Roth busy on the Hostel sequel, it should be awhile before Cell goes into production, let alone arrive in theaters. But even if we have to wait for Cell, there is still the film version of King's short story 1408 with John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson (off yet another Scott Alexander script) to keep us content and (hopefully) satisfied in the interim.
I've always had a soft spot for Stephen King books, but the movies have been inconsistent to say the least. For every Carrie there has been a Christine, so I remain pretty skeptical whenever someone decides to bring one of his stories to the screen. Yet, as long as he can handle the story (which is pretty basic), I feel Roth and his love for carnage are the perfect fit to tackle King's creepiness. What do you think?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-23-2006 @ 9:31AM
Alex said...
This is great news. I think the biggest thing keeping Roth from making a truly GREAT horror film is that he's more concerned with making great movie moments than telling a good story. Roth the director is far more advanced than Roth the writer. Cabin Fever and Hostel both had their share of moments (some of which are permanently branded in my brain) but they're not quite on par with something like Texas Chainsaw Massacre or even something more recent like 28 Days Later.
By hiring established screenwriters, who have written a few good scripts (even if they did write the Problem Child movies too), and working with source material by the most popular horror novelist ever - and it's a pretty good book too - Roth the director might finally blow us away.
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11-16-2006 @ 1:34AM
Frans Berkhout said...
You'r right. I think it's a "hit-and-miss" thing with King movies. I'm so excited about 1408. Actually, I didn't even know they were making a movie already. And I just love JOhn Cusack! Samuel L. Jackson's cool too. The most disappointing King movie I ever saw was "The Stand." I had high expectations because the book was so good. As for King's writing, I heard he's planning to write a Novel (romance). I seriously hope he gets away with it. He's a really good writer, mostly because of his original ideas; so imaginative. But with all his books, you'll see at least a couple of cheesy one-liners and cornball puns. So, a romance novel is a bit risky. Anyway, about Hostel - I hated that movie. It wasn't bad. I just hated the thought that something like that could happen in real life; it's so sick! But the movie was good actually (if you enjoy gory films).
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