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Universal to adapt Gramma

edited October 2012 in General news
Universal to adapt Stephen King short story

Studio teams with Blumhouse on 'Mercy,' which Peter Cornwell will direct




Universal Pictures is teaming with Jason Blum's red-hot Blumhouse Prods. banner on "Mercy," a fantasy-horror movie based on Stephen King's short story "Gramma," published as part of his 1985 collection "Skeleton Crew."

Peter Cornwell ("The Haunting in Connecticut") will direct from a script by Matt Greenberg ("1408"), and Frances O'Connor ("A.I.") is set to star.



Story follows two young boys who go with their single mother (O'Connor) to take care of their elderly, senile grandmother named Mercy, only to discover that she's a witch who made a pact with a dark force many years before.



Blum, who had two horror pics among the top 10 at the box office last weekend in "Paranormal Activity 4" and "Sinister," will produce the movie with McG and Mary Viola of Wonderland Sound and Vision.



In June 2011 Blum and his company signed a three-year, first-look deal with Universal to bring low-budget genre pics to the studio.



King's story was previously adapted as an episode of "The New Twilight Zone" in 1986, with Harlan Ellison writing the script and "Carrie" star Piper Laurie providing some of the voiceover for the character of Gramma/Mercy.



Cornwell's 2009 horror pic "Haunting in Connecticut" grossed $77 million worldwide and launched a Gold Circle Films franchise that also includes "The Haunting in Georgia" and planned sequel "The Haunting in New York." He's repped by ICM Partners, Gotham Group and Felker Toczek Gellman Suddleson.



Greenberg, who wrote "Halloween H20," the King adaptation "1408" and Paramount's upcoming "Pet Sematary" remake, is repped by UTA, Magnolia Entertainment and attorney Jason Sloane.



O'Connor, who starred in Steven Spielberg's "A.I." and ABC's "Cashmere Mafia," was recently seen opposite Willem Dafoe in "The Hunter." She'll soon be seen in Billy Bob Thornton's pic "Jayne Mansfield's Car" and Francesca Gregorini's indie drama "Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes." She's repped by the Gersh Agency and manager Rob Marsala of Wishlab.



>>> Variety

Comments

  • Chandler Riggs, the child star of AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” and Super 8‘s Joel Courtney are joining the Stephen King adaptation of Mercy, writes THR.



    Blumhouse and Wonderland Sound and Vision are behind the movie, which will be released by Universal.



    The Haunting in Connecticut‘s Peter Cornwell is directing the horror thriller, which revolves around two brothers (Riggs, Courtney) who go with their mother to take care of their grandma. Unbeknownst to them, the grandmother is a witch, who made an evil deal using black magic years earlier. Matt Greenberg wrote the script.



    Frances O’Connor is already on board to play the mother.



    Mercy is based on King’s short story “Gramma,” which was first published in Weirdbook magazine in 1984.
  • Dylan McDermott is currently speaking with the press about his return to American Horror Story and during the discussion he revealed he is joining the cast of Mercy.



    Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft, Mercy is based on the the short story "Gramma," which was written by Stephen King for his 1985 short story anthology "Skeleton Crew."



    Peter Cornwell (The Haunting in Connecticut) directs for Blumhouse Productions (Sinister, Insidious, the Paranormal Activity series). Frances O'Connor, Chandler Riggs and Joel Courtney are starring.



    >>> Source
  • The Facebook page Blumhouse Productions has released two behind the scenes photos for the new project, Mercy, based on the Stephen King story Gramma.



    >>> http://www.411mania.com/movies/news/270129/[Movies]-New-Set-Photos-From-Mercy.htm#0JZlo8zlhcCypyzH.99
  • Blumhouse Productions has brought Mark Duplass (Zero Dark Thirty) aboard to appear in Mercy, the Stephen King adaptation which is based on the tale "Gramma."



    Dylan McDermott, Frances O’Connor, Chandler Riggs, Joel Courtney, Shirley Knight and Chris Browning round out the cast of the film which is being directed by The Haunting in Connecticut's Peter Corwell.
  • Synopsis

    Based on a short story by Stephen King, Mercy tells the tale of two young boys (“The Walking Dead”'s Chandler Riggs and Super 8's Joel Courtney) who move with their mother to take care of their dying grandmother at her decrepit farmhouse. When they suspect that the elderly woman they love has encountered a dark spirit, they fear she might not be the only one who won’t make it through the summer alive. Once George (Riggs) and Buddy McCoy (Courtney) arrive at their Gramma Mercy’s (Shirley Knight), what they find inside her 150-year-old home is nothing short of terrifying. As the brothers experience deeply disturbing phenomena they believe to be the work of an ancient witch, they must fight for their lives and overcome the evil forces threatening their family.
  • The Hollywood Reporter just issued an odd little article which adds some insight into the films produced by Jason Blum and his Blumhouse Productions. In it were updates on two projects that are currently sitting on the shelf: Mercy and Mockingbird.

    According to THR, the Stephen King adaptation Mercy, directed by Haunting in Connecticut's Peter Cornwell and starring Dylan McDermott, Frances O'Connor, Chandler Riggs, Joel Courtney, Shirley Knight, and Chris Browning, finished shooting a year ago and is among the Blumhouse films sitting on Universal’s shelf.

    Studio chairman Donna Langley says the studio still is not counting it out. What does that mean exactly? Probably that they will just dump it on home video and move along.

    Synopsis
    Based on a short story by Stephen King, Mercy tells the tale of two young boys ("The Walking Dead’s" Chandler Riggs and Super 8’s Joel Courtney) who move with their mother to take care of their dying grandmother at her decrepit farmhouse. When they suspect that the elderly woman they love has encountered a dark spirit, they fear she might not be the only one who won’t make it through the summer alive.

    Once George (Riggs) and Buddy McCoy (Courtney) arrive at their Gramma Mercy’s (Shirley Knight), what they find inside her 150-year-old home is nothing short of terrifying. As the brothers experience deeply disturbing phenomena they believe to be the work of an ancient witch, they must fight for their lives and overcome the evil forces threatening their family.

    Read more: http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/74283/updates-blumhouses-stephen-king-adaptation-mercy-and-bryan-bertinos-mockingbird#ixzz2ua0dihdX
  • What do you do when a ton of your movies don’t get a theatrical release? Create a digital label, of course!

    In Deadline‘s article announcing BH Tilt, a new label dedicated to generating movies from Blumhouse Productions and other filmmakers for multi-platform release, there were release details for quite a few of Blumhouse’s genre titles.

    The new label begins with The Creep Trilogy (pictured above) by The Duplass Brothers, which will be released by RADiUS-TWC. The first Creep (review) premiered at SXSW. It stars mumblecore legend Mark Duplass as a deranged lunatic. He collects tapes, which is presumably what the other two films are about.

    The films Mockingbird, Mercy, Not Safe for Work and Stretch are getting dumped to digital through Universal Studios Home Entertainment this October.

    Mark Duplass also stars in Mercy, based on a Stephen King story, “Gramma,” from his “Skeleton Crew” collection. In the story two boys visit their grandmother only to discover that she’s a witch. The Haunting in Connecticut‘s Peter Cornwell directs Frances O’Connor, Chandler Riggs, Joel Courtney, Dylan McDermott, Shirley Knight and Chris Browning.

    >>> Source
  • Now available for purchase on US iTunes, and for rent in two weeks.

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