Stephen King Novel ‘Rose Madder’ Set For The Screen
One of theStephen Kingnovels to elude the forces of film adaptation has beenRose Madder, which combines phantasmagoric fantasy and spousal abuse in a way that is very characteristically King, and seemingly rather difficult to put on the screen.
That is changing now, as the 1995 novel is part of a trio of film projects announced at the American Film Market by Palomar Pictures (Brothers,Killer Elite) and Gosvenor Park. The companies will team to remake French heist movieJoseph and the Girl, Norwegian filmElling, and to bringRose Madderto the screen.
Varietysays thatNaomi Sheridan(co-writer ofIn Americaand daughter of director Jim Sheridan) has scriptedRose Madderand that the film is targeted to shoot within the next year and half.Rose Madderfollows a woman who leaves her evilly abusive husband after years of being beaten. She sets up a new life with the help of a women’s shelter. The fantasy aspect comes via a painting she falls for, and into which she is able to travel. Seeing as Palomar is continuing a relationship with the Sheridan family after Brothers, this is the point where I’ll wonder if Jim Sheridan might end up directing. This is what Publisher’s Weekly had to say about the novel:
Variety also notes thatKiller ElitedirectorGary McKendrywill direct and co-write (withMatt Sherring) the remake ofJoseph and the Girl, which will shoot in March. Expect some casting for that soon. The original is about " a man getting out of jail where robberies got him locked up for 20 years. He goes to live in the house of his ex-cellmate who died in prison and left behind his daughter, who’s a swindler."
AndElling, “based onIngvar Ambjornsen’s novel “Blood Brothers” about a man in his 40s and his struggle to function normally in society,” will be remade asElliotwith a script byJay Roach,Larry StuckeyandTom McCarthy.
