Fox to finalize deal for movie adaptation of Stephen King's 'The Boogeyman'
20th Century Fox is reportedly close to finalizing a deal for a movie adaptation of Stephen King's s 1973 short story 'The Boogeyman,' with Scott Beck and Bryan Woods of 'A Quiet Place' fame attached to pen the script for the film. 'The Boogeyman' has proven to be a favorite amongst short filmmakers and creators.
It has been adapted into shorts seven different times in what King termed as 'dollar baby deals' — which are non-commercial and non-exclusive rights options that allow up and coming filmmakers to access high-end materials that they could not afford on normal terms. Shawn Levy Dan Levine and Dan Cohen from 21 Laps will be producing the flick, reports Deadline.
The story of 'The Boogeyman' unfolds in the office of Dr. Harper, a psychiatrist, where a man by the name of Lesley Billings talks to the doctor about the 'murders' of his three young children. Billings, who seems paranoid and schizophrenic as he describes the causes of his children's death, says that each of his three children were left alone in their bedrooms before their death and that they all cried 'Boogeyman!' before he left them; following their deaths, the closet door was found to be open slightly despite Billings' insistence that they had previously been shut.
It was first adapted into a movie by Jeff C. Schiro in 1982 and has also been performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as a full-length theatrical play. In 2010, Irish filmmaker Gerard Lough also adapted it into a 27-minute movie but the 20th Century Fox venture will be the first studio feature adaptation for the popular short story.
'The Boogeyman' will continue the recent trend of studios hedging their bets on a Stephen King novel or novella. Following the unprecedented success of 'It: Chapter One,' which grossed over $700 million worldwide, announcements have been made for movie adaptations of 'In the Tall Grass,' 'Pet Sematary,' and 'Doctor Sleep.'
Beck and Woods are fresh off the success of writing the screenplay of 'A Quiet Place' alongside John Krasinski. Made on a relatively paltry budget of $17 million, the horror-thriller went on to gross $328 million worldwide and received critical acclaim from critics who called it a 'smart, wickedly frightening good time.' King had expressed his admiration for the film himself, tweeting that it was 'an extraordinary piece of work.'
One will hope that they translate that success into the script for 'Boogeyman' as well, with the pair also set to serve as executive producers for the film alongside Madhouse Entertainment's Robyn Meisinger. Beck and Woods also separately wrote and directed 'Haunt,' which is currently in post-production and will be working on a sequel for 'A Quiet Place' with Paramount.
Robyn Meisinger, Adam Kolbrenner, and Ryan Cunningham. JR Young will oversee for the studio.