Stephen King's Bag of Bones heads for the Silver Screen

March 4, 10:12 AMPop Culture News ExaminerAndy Williamson

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BAG OF BONES - ORIGINAL HARDCOVER ART

Stephen King’s 1998 novel Bag of Bones is finally headed for the big screen.  Rumors of this have flown for a decade now, ever since Bruce Willis bought the film rights not long after its publication, but none ever came to fruition.  However, it now looks like this is getting nailed down.

Unfamiliar with the book?  Which many (including me) consider one of his best.  Here’s the jacket copy:

Stephen King's most gripping and unforgettable novel, Bag of Bones, is a story of grief and a lost love's enduring bonds, of a new love haunted by the secrets of the past, of an innocent child caught in a terrible crossfire. 

Set in the Maine territory King has made mythic, Bag of Bones recounts the plight of forty-year-old bestselling novelist Mike Noonan, who is unable to stop grieving even four years after the sudden death of his wife, Jo, and who can no longer bear to face the blank screen of his word processor. 

Now his nights are plagued by vivid nightmares of the house by the lake. Despite these dreams, or perhaps because of them, Mike finally returns to Sara Laughs, the Noonans' isolated summer home. 

He finds his beloved Yankee town familiar on its surface, but much changed underneath -- held in the grip of a powerful millionaire, Max Devore, who twists the very fabric of the community to his purpose: to take his three-year-old granddaughter away from her widowed young mother. As Mike is drawn into their struggle, as he falls in love with both of them, he is also drawn into the mystery of Sara Laughs, now the site of ghostly visitations, ever-escalating nightmares, and the sudden recovery of his writing ability. What are the forces that have been unleashed here -- and what do they want of Mike Noonan? 

As vivid and enthralling as King's most enduring works, Bag of Bones resonates with what Amy Tan calls "the witty and obsessive voice of King's powerful imagination." It's no secret that King is our most mesmerizing storyteller. In Bag of Bones -- described by Gloria Naylor as "a love story about the dark places within us all" -- he proves to be one of our most moving.

Director Mick Garris, who has helmed a number of Stephen King adaptations, ranging from excellent (The Stand, The Shining), to pretty good (Desperation) to really bad (Riding the Bullet) will direct.  He and producer Mark Sennet are currently scouting locations in King’s home state of Maine.  They are also scheduled to meet Maine Governor John Baldacci along with other state officials to explore the film’s financial incentives.

The $20 million production is slated to begin shooting this summer.  It has yet to be cast.

If you’ve never read this haunted love story of a book, seek it out.