Civilization slipped into its second dark age on an unsurprising track of blood, but with a speed that could not have been foreseen by even the most pessimistic futurist. It was as if it had been waiting to go. On October 1st, God was in His heaven, the stock market stood at 10,140, and most of the planes were on time (except for those landing and taking off in Chicago, and that was to be expected). Two weeks later the skies belonged to the birds again and the stock market was a memory. By Halloween, every major city from New York to Moscow stank to the empty heavens and the world as it had been was a memory.
—Stephen King, Cell
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| Mmmm... Mochalattebloodynokiaccino! |
Samuel L Jackson has officially joined the cast of
Cell—the latest adaptation of a Stephen King novel for the big screen—joining lead star John Cusack (
Con Air,
Being John Malkovich) who has been making a bit of a comeback with
The Raven and
The Frozen Ground. Both actors already shared the screen under the King banner in 2007's haunted hotel horror
1408, one year after King released
Cell on unsuspecting audiences everywhere.
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| Cusack and Jackson at the 2007 premier of 1408 |
King's novel, a tribute to Richard Matheson and his classic
I Am Legend, and also to the movies of George Romero (who, decades ago, attributed
Night of the Living Dead to that very same author and novel), is an apocalyptic survival tale that takes a surprisingly fresh and disturbing slant on cyber terrorism.
Artist Clay Riddell (Cusack) is trapped in downtown Boston when "the Pulse" sends everybody that answers their phone murderously insane. With only a neurotic gay office worker (Jackson) and the traumatised young Alice (yet to be announced) for company/protection, he begins a terrifying and heartbreaking journey by night from Boston to Maine to see whether or not his estranged wife and his son picked up their phones. But just when it seems the madness is coming to an end, the flocks of "phone crazies" begin to change, proving that the Pulse was only the beginning of a greater horror!
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| Scriptwriter Adam Alleca |
Cell has been written for the screen by Stephen King and by Adam Alleca, who wrote the screenplay for the remake of
Last House on the Left. It will also be directed by Tod "Kip" Williams, who was responsible for
Paranormal Activity 2.
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| Cell director Tod "Kip" Williams |
So regardless of Alleca's experience, we should be guaranteed a faithful story, maybe with a few twists thrown in by King himself. And also, despite Williams only having directed four feature films, he has the experience as a director, writer and producer of horror, drama and comedy to make
Cell all that its fans deserve. That beats the previously suggested direction of Eli Roth, right?
This seems like some pretty positive news. King's novels and shorts (stories, not pants) have been getting a lot better over the last two decades, with the likes of
The Green Mile, "1408," and
The Mist. His stories deserve great films, but because they're usually so big, they end up in TV miniseries format, like
The Stand,
Desperation and
Under the Dome.
With
Cell's film adaptation being relatively old news by now, I'm sure King and co. have enough tricks up their sleeves to meet and even exceed expectations. I can hardly wait. Stay posted, Fanboys!
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