Keith Thomas, who is helming the remake of FIRESTARTER, is opening up a bit about the film and says that Stephen King has given his seal of approval to the script.
Thomas was promoting the upcoming movie THE VIGIL and he revealed that it is one of his favorite Stephen King books and the acclaimed author also had read the script by Scott Teems and is directly involved:
"It's a new adaptation of the book. When Jason Blum pitched it to me it was exciting, as that's one of my favorite Stephen King novels, and whilst I really like the 1980's film, I felt we could do something new. The screenplay is by Scott Teems who wrote the upcoming Halloween Kills, it's an amazing script. It has everything you would want, people's heads catching fire and their faces melting off, and a dad and daughter on the run trying to survive being chased in this heightened tense experience. We are hoping to film this year, it will be a lot of fun."
Originally published in 1980, FIRESTARTER centers on the Department of Scientific Intelligence. Two participants in their mysterious research program end up getting married and have a child. Charlie McGee ends up inheriting pyrokinetic powers from her parents, who were given a low-grade hallucinogen called "Lot Six" during their college years Soon the government is trying to capture the young child and harness her powerful skills as a weapon. The book was adapted into a film in 1984 starring Drew Barrymore and David Keith which garnered mixed reviews at the time of its release. Even King's reaction to the remake script is any indication, it's possible we may have a better film on our hands than the original:
"He watched The Vigil, approved me as director and he read the script from the early stages, and he's very happy with it. He's excited for it, he's there the whole way."
After the major success of IT at the box office, studios began developing Stephen King projects at a rapid pace. Along with FIRESTARTER, SALEM'S LOT, THE TALISMAN, THE GIRL WHO LOVED TOM GORDON, and many more are in various stages of development. FIRESTARTER doesn't have a release date as of yet but it looks like they hope to start shooting it at some point this year.
Do YOU think the FIRESTARTER remake will surpass the original?