Scott Derrickson, director of the recent horror hit Sinister, is already in talks to direct another chilling feature. This time, he’ll be working with one of the best contemporary storytellers in fiction, Stephen King.
Derrickson is reportedly in line to direct The Breathing Method, one of the four parts in Different Seasons, a novella originally published by King in 1982. The story revolves around a mysterious gentleman’s club in New York where men gather to tell stories as part of its membership. The tale most central to the plot involves the struggle of a single woman in the ’30s who consults a doctor on a breathing method to deliver her illegitimate child.
Scott Derrickson currently has two feature films to his name other than Sinister, specifically 2008’s The Day the Earth Stood Still and 2005’s The Exorcism of Emily Rose. He’ll team up with Scott Teems who’s set to pen the screenplay for the upcoming project. Teems is a fresh new face with only one feature film – 2009’s critically acclaimed That Evening Sun – to his name.
The Breathing Method will be the last part of Different Seasons to be adapted into film, joining the ranks of The Shawshank Redemption, Stand By Me and Apt Pupil. One only needs to look as far as their subtitles in the novella to see how they all link together. Shawshank‘s is “Hope Springs Eternal” where Apt Pupil‘s is “Summer of Corruption”. Stand By Me – called simply “The Body” in Different Seasons – is accordingly “Fall From Innocence” . The Breathing Method will complete the cycle in that it’s referred to “A Winter’s Tale”.
With all the buzz surrounding Scott Derrickson, as well as his tendency to helm projects outside the norm, it’s hard to find reasons to disapprove of his selection as director. After all, Sinister has been exciting critics and box offices alike (perhaps enough to forgive The Day the Earth Stood Still). With the right cast, The Breathing Method has the potential to be quite a successful and enjoyable film.
