NEWS -

Promoting Shining in the Dark In Bulgaria

Posted: January 14, 2018, 19:31
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I’m back home from the trip to Sofia, Bulgaria where I promoted my book Shining in the Dark. I was there for almost three days and let me tell you, I had a blast! I arrived late Friday in Sofia, Bulgaria and was greeted by Vesela and Dimo from the publisher (Pleiad). They drove me to the hotel and being the darker time of the year, it was already dark out and it was hard to see what Sofia looked like. But I would get my chance during the coming days.


Saturday was the big day. A sunny Sofia greeted me and I arrived at Helikon just before 10 and after being introduced to a lot of nice people it was time to do a TV interview with Svetoslav Ivanov for bTV’s 120 minutes. It was done all in English so it was not that different to other interviews I have done. Svetoslav was very nice and easy to talk to so it went smooth.



Then it was time for the main event. The crowd was there, I was there, the moderator Asya Angelova was there and the interpreter Boya Delibaltova was there. I was introduced and that was when I really understood that this was going a lot different from what I’m used to. Not in a bad way but different. I realized that I didn’t understand a word of Asya’s introduction. The Bulgarian language is very different from both Swedish and English and I have to confess that I don’t understand one word. But Boya did a great job and translated for me. I then told the crowd about Lilja’s Library and the book; Shining in the Dark. This was followed by a Q&A session and a book signing and I really enjoyed talking to all everyone who had come there to check out my book.


This was then followed by interviews for Chetat li dvama and AzCheta.com, both in English.





After lunch, it was time for a radio interview with Georgi Mitov-Gemi for the show Knigi Zavinagi (Books Forever). My interview starts about 5 minutes into the show. This interview was also done with an interpreter and you actually hear more of her than me in the interview. This was also the only time during my visit that I tried to speak Bulgarian. Georgi asked me to say, “Hi this is Hans-Ake Lilja and your listening to Knigi Zavinagi”. After three tries Georgi was happy. I’m not sure if or where they used this clip though. Maybe it just ended up in the trash because to be honest I didn’t go a good job...

On Sunday, I meet with a bunch of Bulgarian bloggers for interviews. We drank coffee and had a great time. Talked about Stephen King, Shining in the Dark and the pros and cons of the movie versions of The Shining and the new version of IT. Sunday afternoon was spent sightseeing in Sofia. The nice weather continued and it was a nice afternoon.


On Monday before I left and traveled back to Sweden I was interviewed by Olya Stoyanova for the show Hristo Botev. This interview was on live radio so I was a bit nervous but I think I did a pretty good job. After that, my Bulgarian adventure was over and the only thing left was a 10-hour trip back to Sweden where I arrived late on Monday evening. Tired but extremely happy with my trip to Bulgaria. And for that I want to thank everyone who arranged the trip, the interview and the meeting with the readers of my book. You all know who you are and what you did and I’m not naming anyone and setting myself up to forget someone. And I also want to send a special thanks to Pleiad who started it all. Thanks!

Additional links:
Plosht Adslaveikov
Interview with VIBES
PodMosta Interview
AzCheta Article
Kafene Interview




King To Get PEN America Award

Posted: January 14, 2018, 15:20
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PEN America will honor legendary suspense writer Stephen King with the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award at its annual Literary Gala on May 22 at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. PEN America confers the Literary Service Award each year to a critically-acclaimed writer whose body of work helps us understand and interpret the human condition, engendering empathy and imagination in even the darkest hours.

For more info: PEN America.

Thanks to Lou Sytsma

Casting For Mr Mercedes Season 2

Posted: January 12, 2018, 08:31
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Next week production on the second season of Mr. Mercedes will commence in February in Charleston, South Carolina. In the new 10 hour long episodes season we’ll see two new castmembers: Boardwalk Empire‘s Jack Huston and Sicario‘s Maximillian Hernandez.

Huston has been cast as Brady’s doctor, Dr. Felix Babineau and Hernandez will take the role of Assistant DA Antonio Montez.

Season 2 premieres on DIRECTV sometime this summer.


Source: EW

Thanks to Lou Sytsma.

Shining in the Dark x 4

Posted: January 3, 2018, 21:45
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Shining in the Dark: Celebrating Twenty Years of Lilja’s Library is now confirmed for four editions and here is all the info you need.

Click for a larger image

The Bulgarian edition:
Release date: November 20, 2017
Edition: Paperback
Pre-Order: Pleiad Books
Official site

The US edition:
Release date: January 2018
Edition: Hardback (signed by the editor and the cover artist)
Pre-Order: Cemetery Dance and Amazon
Official site

The Italian edition:
Release date: March 2018
Edition: Paperback
Pre-Order: Independent Legions Publishing
Official site

The German edition:
Release date: July 2018
Edition: Hardcover (numbered and signed by the editor)
Pre-Order: Festa

Shining in the Dark; German Edition

Posted: January 3, 2018, 17:22
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The German edition of Shining in the Dark will be available in hardback in late July in a limited (1,250) signed (by me) and numbered edition. You can order your edition here.

Title: Shining in the Dark
Format: Leather-structure Hardcover with dustjacket, bookmark and stapmping
Edition: Signed (by the editor) and numbered
Price: € 49,99

Ep. 82: A Keene Shining In the Dark

Posted: December 29, 2017, 23:01
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Welcome to the Stephen King Podcast Constant and New Listeners!

Join your hosts - longtime Constant Readers - Hans Lilja of Lilja's Library and writer/podcaster - Lou W. Sytsma.

Welcome to Episode 82 of The Stephen King Podcast!

Our final podcast for 2017.

Just a little bit of news but a lot of reviews and a big interview!

We review Joe Hill's - Strange Weather. Note: there will be spoilers for this segment.

Then Hans squirms waiting to hear Lou's thoughts on Hans's horror anthology - Shining In The Dark - celebrating 20 years of Lilja's Library as a website. The anthology contains the rarely seen Stephen King short story - The Blue Air Compressor.

Other stories come from Jack Ketchum, Richard Chizmar, Bev Vincent, Brian Freeman, Brian Keene, and more.

And the cherry on the top of our last podcast for 2017 is our interview with Brian Keene! Brian talks about his contribution to the anthology, his writing process, his podcast, and a variety of other subjects.

Brian Keene website - http://www.briankeene.com/

The Horror Show with Brian Keene - http://www.briankeene.com/podcast/

Scares That Care - http://scaresthatcare.org/

Plus our recap of the latest Stephen King news.

We hope you enjoy this episode and, as usual, we want to hear from you.
Good or bad, we want it all!
You can leave us comments, questions, topic suggestions at:
1) FaceBook - Lilja's Library
2) Audio Message - Speak Pipe widget on the right hand of the podcast page (send voicemail)

In this podcast:
1) 00:00 - Intro
2) 00:30 - Podcast Setup
3) 02:25 - News From The Death Room
4) Reviews from the Night Shift:
a) 09:12 - Joe Hill's - Strange Weather - SPOILERS
b) 34:25 - Lou's Review of Shining In The Dark - no spoilers
5) 43:36 - Brian Keene Interview
6) 1:19:28 - Podcast Signoff
7) 1:22:15 - Outro



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Intro Music - Don't Fear The Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult
Outro & Incidental Music - Music from Dragonheart Movie

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What Is Your Best Memory From 2017

Posted: December 29, 2017, 09:21
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2017 is coming to an end but before 2018 takes over I would love to hear what your favorite memory/experience/item/happening connected to King (from 2017) is.

Mine is from September when I went to New York to hear Stephen and Owen read from Sleeping Beauties and talk about a lot of other things. Before the event I got to go backstage and say “Hi” to both Stephen and Owen and also (I had no idea he was going to be there) say “Hi” to Peter Straub. You can read more about it .

Please let me know what you’ll remember most when you think back to 2017 and Stephen King.

King’s Fans & Their Books; Add Your Photo!

Posted: December 29, 2017, 01:15
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Come on fans of the King. Show yourself with you beautiful King books. I know you have the books and I know you have the camera (or phone). And I want to see it!

Send in photos of you and King’s books so that I can add them to the Fan Photo Page. Here are my photos.

Looking at all these I'm thinking I might need the next photo without the beard?

Also, if you send in a photo of you and something connected to Lilja’s Library you get a chance to get a free copy of my upcoming book Shining in the Dark: Celebrating Twenty Years. Read more here

CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW TO FIND OUT HOW TO SUBMIT PHOTOS

Here are the links with the number of photos submitted:
Mr Mercedes (327)
Revival (176)
Finders Keepers (127)
The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (107)
End of Watch (102)
Charlie the Choo Choo (17)
Gwendy's Button Box (13)
Sleeping Beauties (14)
Lilja’s Library (125)

And remember, anyone, anywhere can enter! / Lilja

IT, IT Or IT?

Posted: December 28, 2017, 10:40
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The home release of IT is getting closer and you’ll have a lot of versions to pick from. Besides the regular release Best Buy, Target and Wallmart all have their own versions of the release. However, it looks like the only real difference between the editions is the cover.

What is your thought on this. Are they giving you extra value for your money or are they just trying to get us all to buy an extra copy of the movie?


Thanks to Herbert West

My Interview With Mike Flanagan

Posted: December 27, 2017, 11:43
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Mike Flanagan is the filmmaker who took the ”un-filmable” Gerald’s Game and turned it into 2017 best (in my opinion) King adaptation. I got a chance to talk to him about the movie. How he did it and how it felt when King liked it.

I think he [Henry Thomas] said at one point that we were going to ruin E.T. and Sam Cooke in one fell swoop, and he was right. But man, what a wonderful (and horrible) performance.

Outsider, Elevation & One More Book In 2018?

Posted: December 23, 2017, 02:14
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In this interview with EW King talks about all the things that happened in 2017 and what’s coming in 2018:

The Outsider: Out in May according to King (Scribner has it listed for June)

Another book that doesn’t have a title yet that’s done.

Elevation: A novella that’s longer than Gwendy’s Button Box and also about Castle Rock, in some ways, it’s almost like a sequel to Gwendy’s Button Box that will come out in some form.

Looks like there will be a great 2108!

Thanks to Cody Williams

Directors Cut Of IT In 2018

Posted: December 20, 2017, 14:38
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Bloody Disgusting reports about a Director's Cut of IT coming next year.

We reached out to Muschietti on Instagram earlier today, asking him if that planned Director’s Cut was still on the menu. “Yes, but in a few months,” he replied.

From what we gather, the Director’s Cut of IT will have all of those deleted/extended scenes put back into it, and we can’t help but wonder if that already infamous “Pennywise eats a baby” scene, absent from next month’s discs, will also be included in the extended version. We’re thinking that scene, and perhaps others, are being held back for the Director’s Cut release in the coming months, as added double dip incentives.

King Story Squad D To Be Released By CD

Posted: December 15, 2017, 14:03
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Cemetert Dance will release King's unpublished story Squad D in the anthology Shivers VIII next year. This is an interesting story that you don't want to miss. Other authors in the anthology is Bev Vincent, Jack Ketchum, Brian James Freeman and more.

Pet Sematary Remake Out In 2019

Posted: December 8, 2017, 09:29
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Deadline reports that the remake of Pet Sematary is set to premier April 19, 2019.

Paramount has sets dates for a reboot of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary due out on April 19, 2019 and Sean Anders’ Instant Family starring Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne for Feb. 15, 2019.

Pet Sematary will be directed by Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer. Jeff Buhler will adapt from the King novel. Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Mark Vahradian, and Steven Schneider are producing. Pic’s release date is during Easter weekend, and it will be up against Open Road’s Playmobil. Paramount released an R-rated version of the 1983 King novel in 1989 which ultimately grossed $57.5M at the time

Thanks to Lou Sytsma

Ep. 81: Sleeping Beauties' Third Voice

Posted: December 4, 2017, 20:41
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Welcome to the Stephen King Podcast Constant and New Listeners!

Join your hosts - longtime Constant Readers - Hans Lilja of Lilja's Library and writer/podcaster - Lou W. Sytsma.

Welcome to Episode 81 of The Stephen King Podcast!

Lots of news and a review of Sleeping Beauties written by Stephen King and his son, Owen. They have talked about collaborating to find a third voice to tell the story. Find out what we think of this third voice.

Plus our recap of the latest Stephen King news.

We hope you enjoy this episode and, as usual, we want to hear from you.
Good or bad, we want it all!
You can leave us comments, questions, topic suggestions at:
1) FaceBook - Lilja's Library
2) Audio Message - Speak Pipe widget on the right hand of the podcast page (send voicemail)

In this podcast:
1) 00:00 - Intro
2) 00:30 - Podcast Setup
3) 01:49 - News From The Death Room
4) 30:20 - Reviews from the Night Shift: Sleeping Beauties
5) 53:32 - Podcast Signoff
6) 55:26 - Outro


-------------------------------------------------------------------
Intro Music - Don't Fear The Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult
Outro & Incidental Music - Music from Dragonheart Movie

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RSS Feed - RSS.
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Direct Download Link - The Stephen King Podcast - Episode 81
(Click to play, right click and Chose 'Save Link As' to save the file)
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You can find the podcast on the Internet at the following locations:

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Support The Show - Thank You!

You & Lilja’s Library: Photo Contest

Posted: December 2, 2017, 21:38
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As you know (and if you didn’t you do now) Lilja’s Library celebrated 20 years last year and I want to celebrate that as much as I can. And you also know that the site wouldn’t be worth anything if no one read it. So, in order to celebrate that I want to involve you.

I want to do something similar to the photos you send in with yourself and one of King’s books but this time I want you to send in a photo of yourself and Lilja’s Library. Lilja’s Library you might ask? Yes, take a photo of yourself and Lilja’s Library in some form. It could be you in front of the computer (where you can see Lilja’s Library), it could be a photo of you and my book, it could be a photo of you and your tattoo of Marv (if anyone has one), or any other form of Lilja’s Library. Draw Marv and pose with him, read the site on your phone and take a photo of you doing it…your imagination is the limit. The rule is that Lilja’s Library and you need to be in the photo (and not just a toe or a finger, your face at least). That’s it. Not to hard right?

And to make it even more fun, one of you that send in a photo will get a prize. I will draw the photo I like the best (what I like is for me to know and you to find out) as the winner. If you have already sent a photo and think: "darn I should have been more creative", then just send another one. The prize is a copy of my upcoming anthology Shining in the Dark: Celebrating Twenty Years of Lilja’s Library that's released later this year.


OK, so start sending in your photos, either by email to info[a]liljas-library.com or post them on facebook or twitter. I will then pull them from there and post them on the site.

Check out the entries here.

I hope to SEE you soon! / Lilja

Lilja Goes To Bulgaria

Posted: December 1, 2017, 14:28
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In early January I'll be in Bulgaria to promote Shining in the Dark. I hope to see you there!


Here is a translation of the text on the poster.

Come into Lilla's Library, the world's most popular collection dedicated to Stephen King.

20 years after The Library was created, the Chief Librarian Hans-Ake Lilja arrives in Sofia at the invitation of Pleiada Publishing House for the presentation of the anthology Shining In The Dark, edited by himself.

Come to Helikon-Vitosha on January 6, 2018 at 11:00 for the biggest rally of Stephen King's fans in Bulgaria.

Rob Reiner On Misery

Posted: December 1, 2017, 08:42
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Here is an article in which Misery director Rob Reiner recalls hammering out a deal with Stephen King. Here is also an exclusive clip from the new Blu-ray.



Thanks to Lou Sytsma and Douglas Dowie

Skarsgard Filming Castle Rock

Posted: November 23, 2017, 11:00
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Skarsgard filming Castle Rock

WORCESTER — On Tuesday, Pennywise the Dancing Clown made his way to Downtown Worcester when the Heart of the Commonwealth was momentarily transformed into Stephen King’s fictitious and creepy town of “Castle Rock.”

Bill Skarsgård, best known as the evil, sewer-dwelling child predator in the Hollywood blockbuster “It,” addressed four corporate suits around a boardroom table set up in the lobby of the Mercantile Building, 100 Front St., for a scene being filmed for the original Hulu series “Castle Rock,” due out next year.


Head over to Telegram for more info and photos.

Soudtrack Box

Posted: November 18, 2017, 12:14
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If you're into soundtrack. Check out this news from Bloody Discusting.

Varèse Sarabande Records announced today a new 8-CD box set celebrating the music of four classic Stephen King titles – Dreamcatcher, Firestarter, The Stand, and The Shining. The limited edition Stephen King Soundtrack Collection box set (1500 units) is designed to pay tribute to Stephen King paperbacks with a 24-page bound booklet.


Thanks to Lou Sytsma

IT Arrives On DVD And Blu-Ray January 9th

Posted: November 15, 2017, 11:27
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IT arrives on DVD and Blu-ray on January 9th.

Special Features and Technical Specs:

- Pennywise Lives! – Discover how Bill Skarsgård prepared to portray the primordial creature known as Pennywise the Dancing Clown

- The Losers' Club – Get up close and personal with the teenage stars of "IT" as they bond together during the production,

- Author of Fear – Stephen King reveals the roots of his best-selling novel, the nature of childhood fear and how he created his most famous monster, Pennywise

- Deleted Scenes – Eleven deleted or extended scenes from the film

Pre-order at Amazon.

Thanks to Douglas Dowie

Ep. 80: 1922 & Simon's First Printings

Posted: November 14, 2017, 13:44
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Welcome to the Stephen King Podcast Constant and New Listeners!

Join your hosts - longtime Constant Readers - Hans Lilja of Lilja's Library and writer/podcaster - Lou W. Sytsma.

Welcome to Episode 80 of The Stephen King Podcast!

Lots of reviews and a long chat for you this time:
1) We talk to Simon Mason - a Constant Listener and collector of Stephen King first printings - both US & UK editions. Plus other King related thoughts.
2) 1922 Netflix Movie Review

Plus our recap of the latest Stephen King news.

We hope you enjoy this episode and, as usual, we want to hear from you.
Good or bad, we want it all!
You can leave us comments, questions, topic suggestions at:
1) FaceBook - Lilja's Library
2) Audio Message - Speak Pipe widget on the right hand of the podcast page (send voicemail)

In this podcast:
1) 00:00 - Intro
2) 00:30 - Podcast Setup
3) 01:13 - News From The Death Room
4) 13:00 - Simon Mason Chat about his First Printing Collection
5) 01:13:12 - Reviews from the Night Shift:
1922 Netflix Movie Review
6) 01:28:59 - Podcast Signoff
7) 01:30:24 - Outro


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Intro Music - Don't Fear The Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult
Outro & Incidental Music - Music from Dragonheart Movie

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Direct Download Link - The Stephen King Podcast - Episode 80
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Support The Show - Thank You!

The Outsider Out In The UK June 5

Posted: November 14, 2017, 11:43
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Today Hodder & Stoughton announced that they will release King's next book The Outsider on June 5 2018.

Coming June 2018...

On 5 June 2018, Hodder will publish an exciting new novel from Stephen King. The Outsider is a compelling and chilling suspense novel which will delight readers of King’s bestselling Hodges trilogy.

Following the phenomenal success of his Bill Hodges series, Mr Mercedes, Finders Keepers and End of Watch, all Number 1 bestsellers, Stephen King has written an unputdownable crime thriller with a unique twist.

When an eleven-year-old boy is found murdered, forensic evidence and reliable eyewitnesses undeniably point to the town's popular Little League coach. But the jailed suspect, arrested in a public spectacle, has an alibi, and further research convinces Detective Ralph Anderson that the coach was indeed out of town. So how can he have been in two places at the same time?

‘King works his customary storytelling magic, unspooling the plot threads almost as quickly as readers can turn the pages’ – Daily Mail on End of Watch

Pre-Order your copy here.

Please note that the cover isn't the finished one.

Marilyn Manson In A King Movie?

Posted: November 13, 2017, 12:14
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Seems Marilyn Manson is involved in an upcoming King movie according to this interview with The Sun.

Marilyn Manson said next year will be busy for the acting front as a Stephen King project is lined up

No word on what movie though…

Thanks to Herbert West

Shining In The Dark x 3

Posted: November 9, 2017, 00:24
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Shining in the Dark: Celebrating Twenty Years of Lilja’s Library is now confirmed for three edition and here is all the info you need.


The Bulgarian edition:
Release date: November 20, 2017
Edition: Paperback
Pre-Order: Pleiad Books
Official site

The US edition:
Release date: Early 2018
Edition: Hardback (signed by the editor and the cover artist)
Pre-Order: Cemetery Dance and Amazon
Official site

The Italian edition:
Release date: March 2018
Edition: Paperback
Pre-Order: Independent Legions Publishing

Andy & Barbara Muschietti Talk IT

Posted: November 1, 2017, 00:42
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Hear Andy and Barbara Muschietti talk IT.

Only on the "CBS This Morning" podcast, a special Halloween double feature. CBS News contributor Jamie Wax speaks with the siblings behind the most successful horror movies this year: "IT". Director Andy Muschietti and producer Barbara Muschietti discuss how "IT" became the highest-grossing horror film of all time, what made Bill Skarsgård's Pennywise so scary and what to expect in the sequel.

Listen here.

Thanks to Lou Sytsma

Pet Sematary Coming Back To Life?

Posted: October 31, 2017, 08:43
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Deadline reports that Dennis Widmyer and Kevin Kolsch will bring Pet Sematary back to life.

Paramount Pictures has found the filmmakers who’ll bring back to life Pet Sematary, a new version of the Stephen King bestselling novel that was first brought to the screen in a creepy 1989 movie directed by Mary Lambert. Several filmmakers tried for the job, but Paramount is making a deal with Dennis Widmyer and Kevin Kolsch, the team that directed the 2014 thriller Starry Eyes. The duo wrote and directed that film, and they are taking the reins for the tragic saga of the Creed family.

Script is y Jeff Buhler and the film is being produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Mark Vahradian and Steven Schneider, with Alexandra Loewy exec producing.

Thanks to Lou Sytsma