According to , Amblin Entertainment has set key talents for their coming adaptation of The House with a Clock in Its Walls. The outlet has confirmed that Jack Black will star, with Eli Roth directing the Eric Kripke-penned screenplay. The projects, which is based upon the book series by author John Bellairs and artist Edward Gorey, is currently expected to begin production later this year, ahead of a 2018 release. As for the plot…
Roth will direct the adaptation of the 1973 gothic horror novel, written by John Bellairs with illustrations by Edward Gorey, which tells of a recently orphaned boy who moves in with this uncle. The uncle, it turns out, is a mediocre witch, and soon the boy finds himself in a world of magic and danger, especially when he discovers a clock inside the walls of his house that is designed to bring about doomsday. Black will star as the uncle.
SOLD!
Jack Black is seeing a bit of resurgence these days. While the comedic actor has maintained a steady career since his initial rise to fame, his bigger efforts over the past few years have come in the form of his lead voice acting role in the Kung Fu Panda franchise. 2015’s Goosebumps adaptation seems to have placed him back on the map as a live action performer for the studios, with a key role in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle coming from the actor later this year. That his resurgence comes in the form of child-oriented horror films is a bit unexpected, but with Goosebumps: HorrorLand and now this on the way, Black appears to be embracing his newfound audience with open arms.
Eli Roth has generally always been surrounded by horror. From his early run of Cabin Fever and the first two Hostel films, to more recent output such like The Green Inferno and Knock, Knock, the blood-soaked filmmaker has never shied away from terror. His latest film, a Bruce Willis-starring remake of Death Wish, hits theaters this Thanksgiving. Roth already had another horror-tinged Amblin project on deck, the Jim Carrey-starring comic adaptation Aleister Arcane, but that appears to be taking a backseat to House for the time being. Hopefully it’s still on the way, as the concept for it .
As for Eric Kripke, TV genre fans should know his name well. In addition to being the creator of the still-running “Supernatural“, Kripke also helped craft the short-lived post-apocalyptic series “Revolution“, and the great new time travel adventure show “Timeless“. Long story short, the man knows genre entertainment. I’m not familiar with the source material in this case, but as a horror-loving father of two horror-loving, perhaps it’s time to give John Bellairs’ 12-book(!) series a look? The novels ran from 1973 to 2008. Bellairs passed away in 1991, so some of the posthumous release were penned by others from outlines and notes left behind by the late author. It appears that he had two additional series of Gothic horror fiction for children, one also spanning 12 books and the other 4.
No studio home has been yet for The House with a Clock in Its Walls yet. Given recent Amblin Entertainment productions, however, it stands a good chance of landing at either Fox or Universal. More as it comes.
