We have some brief news on the adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s Haunted thanks to The Cult.
Financing has finally come through on the project!
Belgium filmmaker Koen Mortier (EX DRUMMER) was appointed back in 2008 to direct and write the screenplay. Yes, that’s how long this thing has just been sitting on a shelf somewhere. Just like other possible Palahniuk adaptations: SURVIVOR, LULLABY, and INVISIBLE MONSTERS. Brian Levy acquired the film to be the first project under his banner, New School Media.
When Mortier was originally hired, The Cult said this about his involvement:
“Koen is a filmmaker not saturated by Hollywood. An outsider. And with ‘Haunted’ being such a tough adaptation, it will be interesting to see someone that might have a very unique and fresh approach to the material.”
I certainly agree that HAUNTED will be a task, and that would go for anyone taking it on. The story of “Guts” specifically comes to mind. At the bottom of the article, I’ve included the trailer for EX DRUMMER for you guys to check out in case you were curious about Mortier’s directing.
Here’s the synopsis of the book:
Stuffing only what they need into one suitcase, seventeen people board a bus for what promises to be the most creative three months of their lives. Each character tells their story as they are instructed to write the next great American novel during the three month writing retreat. From Lady Baglady talking about pretending to be a homeless person just to get out of the boredom of interacting with her rich friends to Sister Vigilante who speaks of religion and carries around a bowling ball with which she may or may not have killed someone.
Haunted has an unconventional construction. Each chapter has three parts: a story about the retreat and a specific writer, a poem by an unknown author about each participant, and a story which the writer wrote.
This writers’ retreat seems like the perfect deal for a writer. A place where there is nothing to do but write, enough food and water to last, and electricity, bedrooms, bathrooms, and clothes. It’s the perfect environment for the next great novel to be written. That is until each writer gets the idea that they must upstage the next writer with what they do. Everyone is sure everyone else has an ulterior motive so food gets destroyed, water dumped out, electricity shut off, and self-inflicted amputation ensues. They all must survive unbearable conditions while trying to write.
Haunted is one of Palahniuk’s darkest funniest novels. It houses his most infamous story, Guts, which is known to make audience members at book readings pass out. This novel will make you think before sending yourself or a loved one away to a retreat. Will you come back fully intact?
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