Michael Stafford, a filmmaker from Fredericton, is known for his unsettling scripts, and his latest challenge is right up his alley: Stephen King.
Stafford has been fortunate to be one of the last recipients of a grant from the famous author from Maine. The King's Dollar Baby program allows emerging filmmakers to obtain the rights to adapt one of his short stories for a dollar.
However, the program will end in December after more than 40 years.
I always wanted to do it and thought, 'why not?',Stafford said. "It's Stephen King, you have to do it.
The film will tell the story of Larry and Kristina, a brother and sister going through different stages of grief.
The roles of young Katrina and her adult version will be played by Raegan MacNeil, 10, from Fredericton, and Erica Whitman from Brown’s Flat, near Oromocto, respectively.
This will be Whitman's second film experience. She collaborated on Michael Stafford's latest short film project, which earned her the Best Performance award at the Silver Wave Film Festival.
It's Stephen King, so you know it’s going to be as eclectic and weird as it can be," the actress noted. To help bring his dark vision of Stephen King's universe to the screen, Stafford enlisted Marc Deveault, a special effects artist.
Deveault, a Nova Scotian, has previously worked on adaptations of King's works "Big Driver and "The Mist" and is enthusiastic about the project. However, a small budget of $3,000, raised through crowdfunding, requires some creative magic.
He is currently working on creating a monster that will be revealed to the production team during filming. "My pay will be seeing their faces when the creature makes its entrance," he said with a laugh. The film will be shot over a brief period of three days in mid-June and will be presented to the public in September.
Based on a report by Hannah Rudderham of CBC.
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