Tag Archives: Tom Holland

Jay Baruchel Cast in Stephen King’s The Ten O’Clock People

Since the unfortunate exit of Justin Long in the Stephen King adaptation, The Ten O’Clock People, the studio has been looking for someone to play the lead role. Now, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Jay Baruchel has signed on to the project.

The Ten O’Clock People will be directed by Tom Holland. It is based on Stephen King’s short story publised in 1993 as part of his “Nightmares and Dreamscapes” collection, The Ten O’Clock People follows Brandon Pearson, who in trying to kick his smoking habit uncovers a frightening aspect of reality he plans to extinguish through extreme measures.

Baruchel recently starred in the apocalyptic comedy This is the End, and is the writer on the upcoming project Randoms Acts of Violence, which is based on the comic book of the same name.

The film is being shopped at the EFM in Berlin. Hopefully with Baruchel on board, this long-mooted project will now gain some traction.

Justin Long May Be Headed To The Ten O’Clock People

It has been reported that actor Justin Long is in negotiations for the lead role in the big-screen adaptation of Stephen King’s short story “The Ten O’Clock People.” Long is best known for his roles in the films Galaxy Quest, Jeepers Creepers, Dodgeball, Live Free or Die Hard, He’s Just Not That into You, and Drag Me to Hell, and his personification of a Mac in Apple’s “Get a Mac” advertising campaign. He also appeared in the hit tv series “New Girl.”

Long would play Brandon Pearson in the modernized adaptation. Pearson is a smoker who is trying desperately to quit for health reasons. He soon discovers, however, that there is a horrible aspect of reality that only those attempting to quit (like himself) can see. Many of the people living among us, even those in positions of power (like the VP of the United States) are actually inhuman monsters disguised as people.

The story, published in 1993, comes from King’s Nightmares and Dreamscapes collection. Unlike several of King’s stories which take place in fictional places and settings, “Ten O’Clock People” takes place in the distinctly recognizable Boston, Massachusetts.

Filming will begin Sept. 10 in New York.

Tom Holland (Fright Night, Child’s Play) will direct to feature. Currently there is no word on when the film is expected to hit theaters.

For more information, check out Optionated’s previous coverage of this project here.

Tom Holland To Adapt King’s Ten O’Clock People For The Big Screen

Director Tom Holland, known for his work on Fright Night and Child’s Play, has announced plans to adapt Stephen King’s Ten O’Clock People, for the big screen. This will be Holland’s third adaptation of King’s work, following The Langoliers and Thinner.

Holland, no stranger to the genre, took an extended hiatus from directing, and returned in 2007 as a featured director in the Masters of Horror series for Showtime. He also is currently writing and directing “Twisted Tales,” a series of shorts for FEARnet.

Ten O’Clock People is a short story published in 1993 as part of King’s “Nightmares and Dreamscapes” collection. Five stories from the collection were previously adapted by way of an anthology series presented by TNT called “Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King.” However, The Ten O’Clock People was not one of the stories chosen for the series.

It is set in Boston, Mass., rather than in King’s typical setting of Maine. The story also alludes to several of King’s other works including Low Men in Yellow Coats and The Dark Tower, which both feature the malevolent creatures called Can-Toi. These creatures strongly resemble the “batmen” of Ten O’Clock People.

ShockTillYouDrop described the short story as following “the story follows Brandon Pearson, who in trying to kick his smoking habit uncovers a frightening aspect of reality, he plans to extinguish through extreme measures.”

According to Holland, the tale was inspired by King’s own struggle with quitting smoking.

“[This story] was Stephen trying to deal with his cigarette jones and the fairly new no-smoking laws back in the 90’s,” Holland said. “This film will be a modernization of the original short story, a paranoid suspense piece.”

Producers Nathaniel Kramer and E.J. Meyers said next year will be busy for King.

“With Ron Howard’s The Dark Tower adaptation and remakes of Carrie and The Stand on the horizon, 2013 is shaping up to be the year of King,” they said. “We’re excited to be contributing to it.”

Ten O’Clock People will start filming this summer.