Rod Serling

Richard Kelly is reportedly writing and directing a biopic of ‘The Twilight Zone’s creator Rod Serling.  The project is in development at Mandalay Pictures with Jason Michael Berman and Kevin Turen set to produce.

Kelly hasn’t written or directed a film since 2009’s supernatural thriller ‘The Box’, which starred Cameron Diaz, and James Marsden.  His most famous film is ‘Donnie Darko’, the dark 2001 fantasy which starred a then-unknown Jake Gyllenhaal.  The film was a failure at the box office, but upon being released on home video, became a cult favorite.  Kelly wrote, but didn’t direct the sequel ‘S. Darko’.  Kelly followed up ‘Donnie Darko’ with ‘Southland Tales’, which starred Sarah Michelle Gellar, Dwayne Johnson, and Seann William Scott, and featured an all-star cast that included Janeane Garofalo, Mandy Moore, Amy Poehler, Kevin Smith, Justin Timberlake, and more.

Serling was an accomplished author and playwright, but of course, his greatest claim to fame is ‘The Twilight Zone’, the classic suspense anthology series that aired on CBS for five seasons, from 1959 to 1964.  During his time working on ‘The Twilight Zone’, Serling earned the label as “The Angry Young Man” of Hollywood, after clashing repeatedly with the network executives over issues of censorship, racism, and war.  Not only did Serling write and produce ‘The Twilight Zone’, but he appeared on screen as the host and narrator.

‘The Twilight Zone’ has received a surge in prominence thanks to the recent revival produced and hosted by Jordan Peele on CBS All Access.  Prior to that, the series had been revived in 1985 and 2002.  The 1985 version lasted two seasons, but the 2002 version only lasted for one.  The CBS All Access reboot has been renewed for a second season.  An anthology film, ‘Twilight Zone: The Movie’ was released in 1983 and featured segments directed by John Landis, Stephen Spielberg, Joe Dante, and George Miller.

Check back for updates about Kelly’s film!

 

Source: Production Weekly