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Back in 2019, word broke that actor Thomas Jane and Courtney Lauren Penn were forming the production company Renegade Entertainment and that their first project would be an adaptation of Stephen King‘s From a Buick 8. Since then, however, we haven’t heard much about the project. While appearing on the Stephen King-themed podcast The Kingcast, Jane offered up some new info on the project. Specifically, he revealed that Cold in July and In the Shadow of the Moon director Jim Mickle had been tapped to helm the movie.
The latest episode of The Kingcast podcast, which is available to listeners through their Patreon, features Mr. Tom Jane, an actor who has three Stephen King adaptations to his name: Dreamcatcher, The Mist and 1922. He’s also working on a fourth, From a Buick 8, but the fate of that film remains a bit up in the air. But here’s one thing we now know: Jim Mickle is going to direct. Mickle’s credits include Stake Land, We Are What We Are, Cold in July, and the recent Netflix film In the Shadow of the Moon. He’s a good director – Cold in July is particularly strong, throwing off serious John Carpenter vibes.
King adaptations are in vogue again, which means everyone and their mother is trying to adapt the leftover titles that have yet to find their way to the screen. From a Buick 8 is a later-period King novel, and honestly, it’s not that great. It’s about a car that spits alien monsters out of its trunk. But it’s also about legacy, and family, and all that stuff King does so well. Here’s the full synopsis:
Since 1979, the state police of Troop D in rural Pennsylvania have kept a secret in the shed out behind the barracks. Ennis Rafferty and Curtis Wilcox had answered a strange call just down the road and came back with an abandoned 1953 Buick Roadmaster. Curt Wilcox knew old cars, and this one was…just wrong. As it turned out, the Buick 8 was worse than dangerous—and the members of Troop D decided that it would be better if the public never found out about it. Now, more than twenty years later, Curt’s son Ned starts hanging around the barracks and is allowed into the Troop D family. And one day he discovers the family secret—a mystery that begins to stir once more, not only in the minds and hearts of these veteran troopers, but out in the shed as well, for there’s more power under the hood than anyone can handle.
Speaking with the Kingcast, Jane said:
“Do you guys know Jim Mickle? He’s pretty fucking good. We’ve signed Jim Mickle on. It is [exciting], and we’ve got a couple of fantastic writers that Jim has worked with in the past, and here”s the funny part. Everybody was so excited and we had meetings all around town, but if you’ll recall, From a Buick 8 is essentially about a platoon of state troopers in Pennsylvania, right. When the pandemic hit and then the craziness with the riots and all that and the anti-police stuff hit, we were like, ‘Okay, maybe it’s not the best time to pitch a story about a platoon of Pennsylvania state troopers.'”
Jane sure makes it sound like the project is on hold for the moment, but we’ll have to wait and see how things shake out. In the meantime, you can support The Kingcast, who are breaking lots of cool Stephen King stories lately, via their Patreon.
