Hollywood’s “Black List” of new screenplays is out, and two Stephen King biopics are on it

stephen king corgi

The Hollywood Black List, a yearly list of the most well-liked unproduced original screenplays circulating among film executives, has just come out, and alongside searing romances, sweeping epics and plenty of science fiction head-scratchers, there are a number of biopics — including some about Bangor’s most famous son.

No, it’s not Charles Rocket: It’s Stephen King, of course, and there’s not just one but two scripts out there about King at various points in his life.

The first on the list is “The Kings of Maine,” written by Kathy Charles, who also wrote the books “Hollywood Ending” and “John Belushi is Dead.” The description reads, “Living with his wife and child in a trailer while working as a janitor, Stephen King struggles with alcoholism and his own dark history as he attempts to complete ‘Carrie.'” As King fans know, the author wrote “Carrie,” his first published novel, in the early 1970s, while also working as an English teacher at Hampden Academy. If this movie does get made, perhaps this will be one of the rare King-centric films that actually shoots in Maine?

Second on the list is “Maximum King!” written by young screenwriter Shay Hatten. The black list describes it as “An outlandish, surreal imagining of how in 1985 Stephen King wrote and directed his horror classic ‘Maximum Overdrive.'” King fans once again know the story behind the movie — King was at the height of his struggles with addiction at the time, and it was his first and only directorial effort, which was widely panned upon release, though has since become something of a cult classic. Sentient cars, trucks, lawnmowers, vending machines and other inanimate objects begin brutally killing the living? Sounds like ripe fodder for a behind the scenes movie.

The full list of screenplays on the black list can be found here. Would you be interested in seeing either of the above movies?

Emily Burnham

About Emily Burnham

Emily Burnham is a Maine native, UMaine graduate, proud Bangorian and a writer for the Bangor Daily News, where she's worked since 2004. She reports on everything from local bands to local food to all the cool things going on in the Greater Bangor area. In her quest for stories, she's seen countless concerts and plays, been lobster fishing, interviewed celebrities, hung out with water buffalo and played in a ukulele orchestra. She's interested in everything that happens in Maine.