As big fans of filmmaker Mike Flanagan (Oculus, Hush, Absentia) and, of course, Stephen King, we’ve anxiously been waiting for news of Flanagan’s film of King’s gripping novel Gerald’s Game, and now we’ve heard that it’s finally underway!
It’s been announced that Carla Gugino (Watchmen, Wayward Pines, San Andreas) has been cast in the lead role of Jessie, while Bruce Greenwood (Star Trek, The People Vs OJ Simpson, I, Robot) will play her husband Gerald. Flanagan wrote the script with his regular collaborator Jeff Howard, and Intrepid Pictures’ Trevor Macy will mark his fifth collaboration with the duo on the project as producer. Filming kicked off today in Alabama, which is being produced and will be financed by Netflix.
The cast also includes genre veteran and Flanagan’s Ouija: Origin Of Evil star Henry Thomas, Hush‘s excellent Kate Siegel, Carel Struycken (Twin Peaks, The Addams Family) and Chiara Aurelia (Agent Carter).
For those unfamiliar with King’s novel, it “follows Gerald and Jessie Burlingame, who have gone to their summer home on a warm weekday in October for a romantic interlude. After being handcuffed to her bedposts, Jessie tires of her husband’s games, until things take an unexpectedly tragic turn. Still handcuffed, she is trapped and alone. Painful memories from her childhood bedevil her. Her only company is a hungry stray dog and the voices that populate her mind. As night comes, she is unsure whether it is her imagination or if she has another companion: someone watching her from the corner of her dark bedroom.”
The story has been described as unfilmable given that it’s essentially one character and her fears for the bulk of the story, but Flanagan has consistently proved himself to be one of horror’s most exciting talents, and we’re really excited to see what he and Howard have done with the story.
The press release also came with this statement from the director: “Gerald’s Game has been my dream project for nearly twenty years. As a lifelong fan of Stephen King, it is a true honor to be trusted with this amazing material. I am deeply grateful to my long-time partner, Trevor Macy, and to my new partners at Netflix, for making this dream project a reality. This is one of the reasons I wanted to make movies in the first place.”
We can’t wait.
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