Cell Gets Better Reception as a Miniseries
July 13th, 2009
For a while it looked like the movie adaptation of Stephen King's Cell had gone to development hell to die, but today brings word that the project has been given a new lease on life ... as a television miniseries.
Evil Andy just checked in from Fantasia and he tells us that while Eli Roth is no longer involved, Cell (review) will ring to life under the pen of writer John Harrison (Book of Blood):
"Some cool news just came out during the Q&A following the North American premiere of John Harrison's adaptation of Clive Barker's Book of Blood. According to Harrison he has just signed up to adapt Stephen King's technology spawned zombie story Cell. Following the demise of the Eli Roth adaptation, Harrison was approached to do a TV mini-series version.
Look for our review tomorrow, but if Cell is adapted as faithfully as Book of Blood, fans are likely to be pretty
satisfied. Keep it here or follow us on Twitter at @dreadfantasia for more as it happens at Fantasia."
Good news, and expect more updates in the days to come.
- MattFini
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The last few King miniseries adaptations have not been high quality, safe for The Shining, so I've got doubts about this one.
Then again, no Eli Roth.
Submitted by Chainsaw on Mon, 07/20/2009 - 10:49pm.
This could be interesting. Though I REALLY hate it when people call Cell a zombie novel.
Submitted by thedarkestshadow on Tue, 07/14/2009 - 3:00pm.
But if the Weinsteins are behind this project, I wouldn't expect much.
Submitted by BoggyCreekBeast on Tue, 07/14/2009 - 10:16am.
This is residing firmly in the "wait and see" file.
Submitted by The Butcher on Mon, 07/13/2009 - 8:40pm.
I'm a little let down that Eli Roth is no longer a part of this.
Submitted by Daniel on Mon, 07/13/2009 - 8:28pm.
I'd rather see something else entirely as a miniseries. As a longtime King fan, I don't think Cell that great, and I'll never read it again.
In that case, maybe the miniseries will improve upon the story for me?
Submitted by The Unknown Murderer on Mon, 07/13/2009 - 8:08pm.
I think Stephen King makes better television that theatrical films. While I love Kubrick's THE SHINING and Rob Reiner's MISERY, King's material really doesn't translate into a two-hour film. CHRISTINE is a good example; the book had such a rich relationship between Dennis and Arnie, and King spent so much time capturing the essence of high school life so perfectly, it just didn't come through on the screen in the span of a 30 minute first act.
Submitted by Raider Redux on Mon, 07/13/2009 - 7:54pm.
Is this the same John Harrison who adapted Dune for Sci-Fi (I'm not fucking calling it by its new dumbass title)? If so, this could be cool, but only if it's done on HBO or Showtime. I know Book of Blood is supposed to suck, but I thought Dune was a pretty faithful and enjoyable mini-series.
Submitted by MagusMaleficus on Mon, 07/13/2009 - 7:50pm.