From Teen Stars World:
Chandler Riggs and Joel Courtney is set to star in Stephen King adaptation of Mercy.
the horror thriller flick, 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.
Peter Cornwell is directing the movie while Jason Blum and McG and Mary Viola are producing.
From The Film Stage:
After being announced earlier this fall, casting is coming together for yet another horror film fromParanormal Activity producer Jason Blum. According to THR, Chandler Riggs, who lends his talents to AMC’s The Walking Dead, as well as Super 8 star Joel Courtney will be joining the adaptation of Stephen King‘s Mercy.
Peter Cornwell (The Haunting in Connecticut) will be directing the horror thriller, which centers on two brothers (Riggs and 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. Frances O’Connor has already signed on to play the boy’s mother.
The story is based on King‘s 1984 short story Gramma, which was a part of his Skeleton Crew collection and the feature script come from Matt Greenberg. The screenwriter is no stranger to the horror genre, as his past works include Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, anotherKing adaptation (1408), as well as the upcoming Pet Sematary remake.
As for the newly added stars of the project, Riggs plays Carl Grimes onDead, which has served as his break-out role at the young age of 13. Thanks to his acting debut in Super 8, Courtney has been able to book several other projects since them. The young star just wrapped the indie drama Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn, where he plays former character.
From Cinema Blend:
Stephen King’s short story Gramma was published in Weirdbook magazine back in 1984. And while countless King stories have made their way to the silver screen over the years (decades, really), Gramma has long been overlooked. Not any more. Peter Cornwell is stepping up to direct the horror thriller, using the title Mercy, and casting officially is underway.
THR says that Super 8 standout Joel Courtney and The Walking Dead co-star Chandler Riggs have been tapped to play young brothers who go with their mother to help with their grandmother. What they don’t know is that their “Gramma” is a witch who struck an evil deal via black magic a long time ago.
Cornwell helmed The Haunting in Connecticut back in 2009, and reportedly has hired Frances O’Connor (A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, Jayne Mansfield’s Car) to play the kids’ mother. Now they need to hire a horrible grannie. Shouldn’t be too hard to find a hundred interested parties, right?
King, meanwhile, is having a bit of a renaissance. Years ago, Hollywood routinely looked to the author’s canon for ideas. Then, they stopped. But recently, John Cusack has revealed plans to adapt Cell, based on the novelist’s recent book; Justin Long is doing Ten O’Clock People, based onanother short story; Chloe Moretz, of course, is starring in a Carrie remake; and Warner Bros. wants Ben Affleck to direct an update of The Stand.
Busy, busy times on the Stephen King front, though our most anticipated title, The Dark Tower, seems to have hit too many roadblocks. But if enough people start coming back to theaters for King adaptations maybe that massive project can get back on track soon enough.
From MovieHole:
Chandler Riggs and Joel Courtney will star in “Mercy”, the Peter Cornwell-directed film adaptation of the Stephen King short story “Gramma”, says THR.
The horror pic, set up at Universal, “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”.
Australia’s Frances O’Connor is set to play the mother.
Via Hollywood Reporter:
Chandler Riggs, the child star of AMC’s The Walking Dead, and Super 8 star Joel Courtney are joining the Stephen King adaptation of Mercy.
Blumhouse and Wonderland Sound and Vision are behind the movie, which will be released by Universal.
Peter Cornwell is directing the horror thriller, which centers on 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.
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 Weirdbookmagazine in 1984.
Jason Blum and Wonderland's McG and Mary Viola are producing. Matt Greenbergwrote the script.
On zombie drama Walking Dead, Riggs plays Carl Grimes, the son of sheriff Rick Grimes. The character this season has become an integral part of the storyline, which has allowed Riggs to show off his chops (both literally and figuratively). He is repped by the Burstein Co.
Courtney made his acting debut starring in J.J. Abrams’ Super 8, coincidentally also playing the son of a sheriff. He recently wrapped a turn in in the indie drama Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn, portraying Sawyer. He is repped by CAA Principato-Young Entertainment, and Felker Toczek.
Check out the video interview over at Entertainment Weekly for "Ashtown Burials #2: The Drowned Vault."
Today is the first day that N.D. Wilson's "Ashtown Burials: The Drowned Vault" went on sale! I got to go to a book signing tonight. This is Book #2 of this new epic series.
If you haven't seen it, check out the trailer that I did for the book series.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3PTZrqX1FY
