NEWS - DESPERATION

Interview with Garris

Posted: October 6, 2004, 23:44

An article about Desperation as well as an interview with Mick Garris is now online. In the interview he talks about Riding the Bullet and Desperation.

The article state that shooting will begin in November.

Thanks to Bev Vincent and David Sjödin.

Desperation shooting in Arizona

Posted: August 3, 2004, 23:43

Mick Garris told me that Desperation should start shooting in Arizona in mid-to-late September. No casting yet though.

Desperation starts filming in September

Posted: June 28, 2004, 23:42

I spoke to Mick Garris today and he told me that he will start shooting Desperation, which has gotten its official green light, for ABC in September. He continued by saying that the casting director starts working today, so there is no cast yet. The script however is written by King and finished and it will all result in a three-hour movie for ABC, not a miniseries.

Mick Garris moving ahead with Desperation

Posted: April 9, 2004, 23:39

Creature Corner reports that Mick Garris is moving ahead with Desperation.

Garris told Creature Corner "We're working from King's feature script. "Though I'm putting it into the television 'acts' format. But very little is being changed."

Thanks to Mike Cahill.

Desperation will be a 3 hour movie for ABC

Posted: December 15, 2003, 23:38

ABC has picked up a three-hour adaptation of King's Desperation.

Here is the entire article from Variety:

King fling for Alphabet
Garris to helm horror scribe's 'Desperation'
By MICHAEL SCHNEIDER

ABC has given in to "Desperation," picking up a three-hour adaptation of the apocalyptic Stephen King novel. Mark Sennet ("K Street") is on board to exec produce, while Mick Garris ("The Stand") will direct.

King, who is currently recovering from a serious case of pneumonia, has already written the screenplay. "Desperation" is the latest in a string of King projects at the Alphabet, including the upcoming midseason series "Kingdom Hospital."

Based on King's 1996 book, "Desperation" follows the plight of a man who winds up in a bizarre mining town in Nevada (named Desperation, natch) after being pulled over by the strange local sheriff.

The man eventually discovers that a mysterious force has killed the town's residents -- and that he must either kill this thing or escape.

Sennet said "Desperation" boasted "a whole different, early Stephen King feel to it."

"It's one of those core, scarier-than-hell Stephen King novels," he said. "It's the antithesis of 'The Shawshank Redemption' or 'The Green Mile.' It's bizarre, scary humor and has great characters in it."

Project has been in development for some time, having originally been optioned as a feature by New Line.

Sennet said he hopes to begin production in March or April. Garris must first complete his helming duties on the adaptation of another King project, a feature take on the novelist's ebook "Riding the Bullet."

A principal in Sennet-Gernstein Entertainment, Sennet most recently created and exec produced HBO's "K Street," which he oversaw along with Section 8's Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney.

Sennet has two other longforms in development at the Alphabet net: "The Go-Gos" (which he said may also be redeveloped as a low-budget feature) and "Touch the Top of the World: The Erik Weihenmayer Story." Other credits include ABC's "Inside the Osmonds" and CBS' "Martin & Lewis" (along with Storyline Entertainment).

Garris, meanwhile, has partnered with King on several projects, including the TV adaptations of "The Shining" and "The Stand."

King is working on the script for Desperation

Posted: April 23, 2003, 23:36

E! Online now has an article about Kingdom Hospital. In the article it also says that King is currently working on the script for the miniseries version of Desperation. You can read it here.

Thanks to Bev Vincent.

Desperation on ABC in 2004?

Posted: January 1, 2003, 23:30

In an interview with Lilja's Library Mick Garris says that he hopes Desperation will air on ABC in 2004. Yes, that is correct. Desperation will be a 3-hour movie for TV. It will air on ABC.

Garris on Desperation

Posted: December 22, 2002, 23:29

Mick Garris next movie is Riding the Bullet but after that it's Desperation's time. Here is a quote from Creature Corner:

After that project, Garris is said to be moving on to something I've wanted him to direct for a long time now, 'Desperation'. The King novel, in case you're unfamiliar, concerns a group of people that get stuck in a small Nevada town called Desperation and have to ban together to fight a manifestation of pure evil known as Tak. It's a great story, and the script was originally written by Stephen King himself (read my review of it here).

'Desperation' has been sitting over at New Line for countless years, but I guess it's been moved somewhere else since the movie that Garris will direct is set to be a 4-6 hour miniseries (on ABC, I'm sure). That also means the script I read many moons ago will probably not be used, but here's hoping we get something of the same quality.

Desperation as a miniseries on CBS?

Posted: May 4, 2001, 23:28

Smilin Jack Ruby talked about Desperation with Mick Garris. Here is his report (from Dark Horizons):

The Talisman: 'Smilin Jack Ruby' talked with Mick Garris about his upcoming adaptation of Stephen King's "The Talisman" that he'll be doing once he returns from a trip to Cuba with his wife. The four-hour mini-series will begin production on a date depending upon the length of the upcoming strikes, and after he plans to turn King's "Riding the Bullet" (which Garris has already adapted into a screenplay) into a theatrical feature. "The Sun Dog" IMAX project is on hold, whilst "Desperation" may become a miniseries as CBS has approached him about it (but he usually works with ABC so will give them 'first dibs' as they say).