The master horror storyteller has done it again. Movie deals for three–and possibly all four–of the novellas in Stephen King’s best-selling collection If It Bleeds were announced this week.
It’s not merely bleeding–it’s gushing.
The latest King blockbuster, as reported by Deadline, has drawn interest from Netflix, Blumhouse and Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story), who will adapt Mr. Harrigan’s Phone. John Lee Hancock is already on board in the director’s chair, with Jason Blum, Carla Hacken and Murphy producing the feature film. Marci Wiseman and Jeremy Gold will serve as executive producers.
In this novella, a boy in Maine (of course!) does odd jobs for the elderly Mr. Harrigan and, in return, receives scratch-off lotto tickets that pay off, enabling the youngster to buy Harrigan his first smart phone. When Harrigan passes away, the boy puts the phone in the old man’s pocket–and is shocked when he gets a text message from beyond the grave!
In addition, another novella–Rat–has been optioned to Ben Stiller, who has plans to produce, direct and star in the film. This story follows a frustrated writer who makes a “Faustian bargain with a rat to alleviate his writer’s block.” But he discovers that the deal he made to achieve success has cost him the life of a loved one.
Another novella in the book, The Life of Chuck, has been snapped up by Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan) who, at this writing, is only aboard as producer. This tale deals with Charles Krantz, who passes away at age 39 of a brain tumor “and whose life is segmented into several eerie supernatural chapter breaks.”
The last–but hardly the least–novella, If It Bleeds, reportedly may be part of a deal that may revolve around Holly, the clairvoyant detective on HBO’s The Outsider. So, it may be that this novella–which follows the exploits of Holly Gibney of the Finders Keepers detective agency–will be incorporated into the TV series at some point in time.
If It Bleeds, as reported here in Horror News Network, hit book stores back in April, after being released two weeks early to get it into the hands of King’s Constant Readers before the COVID-19 pandemic shut everything down.
Keep reading Horror News Network for future details on all of these film adaptations from If It Bleeds.
