Oscar nominee and Emmy and Golden Globe winner Alfre Woodard (Cross Creek, Miss Evers’ Boys, See) has joined New Line Cinema and filmmaker Gary Dauberman’s Salem’s Lot adaptation as Dr. Cody, according to Deadline. In Stephen King’s novel, Dr. Cody is a male character, Jimmy Cody, who assists Ben Mears in battling the vampires who have infested Jerusalem’s Lot.
Lewis Pullman (Bad Times at the El Royale) will play Ben Mears, with Emmy nominee Bill Camp (The Night Of) as Matthew Burke, Makenzie Leigh (The Assistant) as Susan Norton, and Spencer Treat Clark (Animal Kingdom) as Mike Ryerson. Production on the movie is scheduled to begin this month in Boston.
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In the 1975 horror novel, author Ben Mears returns to the town of Jerusalem’s Lot (‘Salem’s Lot for short) to write a book about a house that has haunted him since childhood only to find his isolated hometown infested with vampires. While the vampires claim more victims, Mears convinces a small group of believers to combat the undead.
Pick up your copy of the novel here!
Dauberman is directing and writing the screenplay for producer James Wan (Conjuring universe, Saw franchise). This will be the latest King project Dauberman has adapted after writing the screenplays for 2017’s IT and 2019’s IT Chapter Two, with both films directed by Andy Muschietti.
Wan will produce Salem’s Lot alongside his Atomic Monster partner Michael Clear, Vertigo’s Roy Lee, and Mark Wolper. Dauberman, who worked with Wan on 2014’s Annabelle and The Nun and made his directorial debut with the sequel Annabelle Comes Home, will executive produce. Executive producers also include Michael Bederman, Atomic Monster’s Judson Scott, and Vertigo’s Andrew Childs.
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Salem’s Lot was previously adapted into a miniseries in 1979, directed by Tobe Hooper, with David Soul playing the role of Ben Mears. The movie was followed up by the 1987 film A Return to Salem’s Lot from Larry Cohen. In 2004, the story was adapted into another TV miniseries starring Rob Lowe as Ben Mears. This adaptation was written by Peter Filardi, who currently serves as a co-creator, co-writer, and executive producer for Epix’s Stephen King series Chapelwaite, based on King’s short story Jerusalem’s Lot.