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Don Coscarelli Tells Story of Almost Directing ‘Silver Bullet’

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It’s always interesting to find out what could have been.

Stephen King’s novella Cycle of the Werewolf, released in 1983 and illustrated by the late Bernie Wrightson, was of course turned into the feature film Silver Bullet, released in 1985 and directed by Dan Attias. The film, which starred Corey Haim and Gary Busey, is one of the most beloved King adaptations – but did you know that it was almost directed by a true master of horror?

Speaking with Mick Garris on the latest episode of the podcast Post MortemPhantasm director Don Coscarelli revealed that he was at one point attached to direct Cycle of the Werewolf!

So what happened? Coscarelli explains:

I worked on a project that I didn’t ultimately direct. It was a Stephen King story… Cycle of the Werewolf. I had made this movie, The Beastmaster. And for some reason this Italian movie producer, Dino De Laurentiis, seized on it that I would be the heir to direct the Conan series. He wanted me to direct Conan part 2. Unfortunately, they gave me a screenplay that… I just didn’t get it at all. And I had just made The Beastmaster… I just couldn’t in good conscience see how I could go to Mexico for months and make another sword and sorcery film without a script that I felt good about. So I turned down Dino De Laurentiis, which… I think it had an affect on him. Cause within a month he came back and he said, ‘I’ve got this Stephen King book, I want you to read it.’ And I read it. The problem was, it wasn’t a book – it was actually a calendar at the time. [The story] was right up my alley.

So there was no screenplay. Stephen [King] was not available to write the screenplay. So I had to do an adaptation of the calendar and turn it into a screenplay. There were major adaptation problems that we were struggling with. One day Stephen came to New York. It was the one time I got to meet him. Such a nice guy. Funny, self effacing. Not what you’d expect. He sat there and listened to me just prattle on [about the issues]. He said, ‘I don’t have time to write it, but I’ll think about it.’ And so King went away. One day I got the word that Stephen had sent some notes. There were three, single spaced pages of notes. He answered every problem. Everything. So we go in to have a meeting with Dino De Laurentiis. He didn’t get it. Didn’t want it.

After that, I ended up leaving the project.

Perhaps some things just aren’t meant to be.

Writer in the horror community since 2008. Editor in Chief of Bloody Disgusting. Owns Eli Roth's prop corpse from Piranha 3D. Has four awesome cats. Still plays with toys.

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‘Final Destination: Bloodlines’ Adds “Chucky” Actor Teo Briones and More to Lead Cast

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Chucky Actor Teo Briones
Pictured: Teo Briones in "Chucky" Season Two

The Final Destination franchise is returning to life with Final Destination: Bloodlines. With filming now underway, THR reports that three actors have joined the lead cast, including “Chucky” actor Teo Briones.

Brec Bassinger (“Stargirl”) and Kaitlyn Santa Juana (The Friendship Game) join Teo Briones, who played Junior Wheeler in season two of “Chucky,” as the leads in the sixth installment of the horror franchise.

Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein (Freaks) are directing the fresh installment that also includes Richard Harmon (“The 100”, Grave Encounters 2), Anna Lore, Owen Patrick Joyner, Max Lloyd-Jones (The Book Of Boba Fett), Rya Kihlstedt (Obi Wan Kenobi), and Tinpo Lee (The Manor) among the cast.

Production is now underway in Vancouver.

What can we expect from the upcoming Final Destination 6? Speaking with Collider, franchise creator Jeffrey Reddick offered up an intriguing (and mysterious) tease last year.

“This film dives into the film in such a unique way that it attacks it from a different angle so you don’t feel like, ‘Oh, there’s an amazing setup and then there’s gonna be one wrinkle that can potentially save you all that you have to kind of make a moral choice about or do to solve it.’ There’s an expansion of the universe that – I’m being so careful,” Reddick teased.

Reddick continued, “It kind of unearths a whole deep layer to the story that kind of, yes, makes it really, really interesting.”

Final Destination: Bloodlines is written by Lori Evans Taylor (“Wicked Wicked Games”) and Guy Busick (Scream), with Jon Watts (Spider-Man: No Way Home) producing.

Producers on the new movie for New Line Cinema also include Dianne McGunigle (Cop Car) as well as Final Destination producers Craig Perry and Sheila Hanahan Taylor.

This will be the sixth installment in the hit franchise, and the first in over ten years. Each film centers on “Death” hunting down young friends who survive a mass casualty event.

The latest entry is expected in 2025, coinciding with the original film’s 25th anniversary.

 

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