The banned children’s book will see new life as a feature film.
Children love things that they shouldn’t be allowed to do. For a certain generation that was reading Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark. Deadline is reporting that André Øvredal, the Norwegian director of The Autopsy of Jane Doe and Trollhunter, will direct Scary Stories for CBS Films. Guerillmo del Toro was originally going to direct the picture but has since decided to step aside since he has so many projects on the horizon. The film will be based on the banned books by Alvin Schwartz, which included horrific illustrations by Stephen Gammell.
Apparently, the direction they are taking for the story is that “a group of young teens must solve the mystery surrounding sudden and macabre deaths in their small town.” Kevin Hageman and Dan Hageman (The Lego Movie) are responsible for the most recent draft. Production on the film will begin next summer. Even though del Toro is not available to direct he is still involved in the film as a producer and he remains passionate about the project. He tweeted out originally that he had originals of the artwork featured in the book from Gammell.
Why the material seems ripe for adaptation, there has to be some disappointment that del Toro is not able to direct the picture himself. While Øvredal will probably be a suitable replacement, there really is no replacing del Toro. He has a particular vision and if you look at how Pacific Rim: Uprising is turning out, you would understand that this should be considered a downgrade.
Related Topics: CBS Films, Guillermo del Toro, Horror, Scary Stories to tell in the dark
