If you love The Blob and you've read Stephen King's short story collection Night Shift, then there's a good chance you're a fan of "Gray Matter," one of the collection's most memorable and dread-inducing tales. That short story by King will come to life in an episode of Shudder's upcoming Creepshow anthology series, and it's been announced that Adrienne Barbeau, Tobin Bell, and Giancarlo Esposito will co-star in the Greg Nicotero-directed episode, with a chilling new image of The Creep also being revealed.
Press Release: April 3, 2019 — Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural, today announced initial casting for its upcoming horror anthology series, Creepshow, based on the iconic 1982 film written by Stephen King and directed by George A. Romero. Adrienne Barbeau (The Fog), Giancarlo Esposito (Better Call Saul), and Tobin Bell (Saw) will star in the Stephen King story “Gray Matter,” adapted by Byron Willinger and Philip de Blasi (The Commuter) and directed by series showrunner Greg Nicotero (The Walking Dead).
“I feel I’m in great company getting the opportunity to direct a story written by Steve,” said Nicotero. “Between Salem’s Lot, Pet Sematary and The Stand, I’ve always found his stories rich in relatable characters forced into supernatural situations beyond their control—the everyday person’s primal fears. To visualize ‘Gray Matter’ for Creepshow with the help of Adrienne, Giancarlo and Tobin was about as good as it gets for a horror fan from Pittsburgh!”
In “Gray Matter,” Doc and Chief, two old-timers in a small, dying town, brave a storm to check on Richie, an alcoholic single father, after encountering his terrified son at the local convenience store. The story, first published in 1973, is part of King’s best-selling 1978 collection, Night Shift.
For Barbeau, “Gray Matter” represents a return to theCreepshow franchise more than 25 years after her unforgettable portrayal of “Billie” in the 1982 segment, “The Crate.” Barbeau also serves as the host of the Shudder Original podcast, She Kills.
“I was thrilled when Greg asked me to join theCreepshow world once again,” said Barbeau. “And then working with Tobin and Giancarlo, with Greg as our director, well, that was the icing on the cake — no, not that cake. Oh, you know what I mean.”
The DNA of the original movie is firmly embedded in the new series: in addition to Barbeau and King’s return to the franchise, fans will recall that writer Joe Hill (who has also contributed a story this season) played comic-book-loving “Billy” in the film’s wrap-around segments. John Harrison, who was 1st Assistant Director on 1982’s Creepshow and composed its iconic theme, is back to direct several segments of the series. And executive producer Greg Nicotero visited the first film’s set as a teenager, and contributed make-up effects to its 1987 follow-up, Creepshow 2.
With “Gray Matter,” Shudder has confirmed eight of the twelve segments that will make upCreepshow’ssix-episode season. Previously announced segments include “By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain” by Joe Hill, “House of the Head” by Josh Malerman (Bird Box), “The Companion” by Joe Lansdale, Kasey Lansdale, & Keith Lansdale, “The Man in the Suitcase” by Christopher Buehlman, “All Hallows Eve” by Bruce Jones, “Night of the Paw” by John Esposito, and “Bad Wolf Down” by Rob Schrab. Additional titles and casting will be announced soon. The series is scheduled to wrap production later this week in Atlanta, GA.
Shudder’s Creepshow is produced by the Cartel with Monster Agency Productions, Taurus Entertainment, and Striker Entertainment: Stan Spry, Jeff Holland, and Eric Woods are executive producers for the Cartel; Greg Nicotero and Brian Witten are executive producers for Monster Agency Productions; Robert Dudelson, James Dudelson and Jordan Kizwani are executive producers for Taurus Entertainment; Russell Binder is executive producer and Marc Mostman co-executive producer for Striker Entertainment. Creepshow
will premiere on Shudder later this year.###
ABOUT SHUDDER
AMC Networks’ SHUDDER is a premium streaming video service, super-serving fans of all degrees with the best selection in genre entertainment, covering horror, thrillers and the supernatural. SHUDDER’s expanding library of film, TV series, and originals is available in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, and Germany on most streaming devices for 4.99/month or 49.99/year. To experience SHUDDER commitment-free for 7 days, visit www.shudder.com.
ABOUT THE CARTEL
Founded in 2011 and run by partners Stan Spry, Jeff Holland, Evan Corday, Geoff Silverman, and Eric Woods, the Cartel is a feature film and television production, management, and financing company representing top-tier showrunners, show creators, writers, directors, producers and production companies in film, TV and new media. The Cartel has also been involved in more than 50 movie and television productions since inception, including the upcoming animated series “Twelve Forever” for Netflix, the upcoming unscripted series “Hunting Abroad” for A&E’s FYI, and previously production for the series “Ties That Bind” for Up TV, and “A Place in the Sun” for Discovery as well as several recent feature films, including “Switched for Christmas,” “Jeepers Creepers 3,” “Christmas Connection,” “Love at the Shore,” “Sun Sand and Romance,” “Love at First Glance,” and “Wrong Nanny,” to name a few. The Cartel recently signed a co-production deal with Reel One Entertainment to produce and co-finance 40 films over the next three years. In 2013, the Cartel purchased and renovated Tamarind Lithography Studios, which is their Los Angeles headquarters, as well as a full-service production and post-production complex. The Cartel also has offices in London, England and New York, NY. www.CartelHQ.com
ABOUT MONSTER AGENCY PRODUCTIONS
Monster Agency Productions is Greg Nicotero’s production company run by Brian Witten.
Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.
When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.
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