“I used Grammarly to grammar check this post, because I have a tendency to over-edit my work, and Grammarly takes a step out of the equation. Thank you Grammarly.com!
If you are here reading about my latest adventures, you are sure to know that in the past couple of years I’ve been involved in getting two of my novels filmed as NBC/Chiller original films. The number one question I am being asked right now is, “How did you do it?” Well, in a nutshell, I pretty much tell everyone, “I got lucky”. And there’s a lot of truth to that. But to be honest, I also like to think that I told the right story, and hooked up with the right producer, at the right time. Yes, there was a bit of luck, but there were many other factors at play that lent to this success.
It all started with an email from Synthetic Cinema’s Executive Producer, Andrew Gernhard. It was a basic ‘hello’ letter asking me if my novel Deep in the Darkness was available for option. At the time, Deep in the Darkness had been optioned three times, and was in the middle of a 1-year agreement with independent filmmaker Jeven Dovey. Some of you may know that Mr. Dovey had filmed my short story 1-800-Suicide, and was looking to film a feature. He’d read and loved Deep in the Darkness, and gave it a stab.
Since I could not give Mr. Gernhard the rights to that, I’d asked him if he’d be interested in The Demonologist, or Dead Souls. I’d also asked him how he came about my work, and he told me that someone in his crew recommended me (thank you Jason!). Andrew optioned three of my books, and pitched them to Chiller, who at the time was just getting into original films. Then, I waited. And waited. Almost a year passed when I heard back. Chiller decided to go with Steve Niles’ Remains. I had been the runner up with Dead Souls. It was a great honor to have been in the running, but I was equally disappointed.
But…Chiller still liked the story in Dead Souls and the option was renewed. A year later, I discovered (months after Chiller gave Dead Souls the green light), that it would become a Chiller original film. As a matter of fact, mere weeks after being told the good news, I was on set filming my cameo. In the meantime, the option lapsed on Deep in the Darkness, and I went to Synthetic Cinema to see if there was still interest. Apparently there was, because while on the Dead Souls set, I was told that DITD was in the running. That was a GREAT week!
Fast forward to the night of the Dead Souls premiere—I had about 30 close friends and family at my home, all geared up to watch the movie. A text came in from Andrew Gernhard telling me that DITD had been green lit. Another spectacular night!
So now, it’s a few months after the filming of DITD, and I await all the post-production goodies, like the film’s poster, the trailer, etc. It will be a fun ride leading up to DITD’s premiere, this time in theaters. Many of you have asked…will there be more? The answer to that is MAYBE. There are some irons in the fire, but nothing set in stone yet. You’ll be the first to know if it happens.
In the meantime, pick up a copy of DEAD SOULS on DVD, or read DEEP IN THE DARKNESS while you wait for the film’s release.
Thank you for your support!
Michael