Universal Cable Productions (UCP) today announced an overall development deal withJohn Carpenter, the celebrated director of horror films includingHalloween,The ThingandEscape from New York. Under the new deal, Carpenter will executive produce scripted programming with UCP for the NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment portfolio, as well as for external networks and streaming services, along with his producing partner, Sandy King, under their Storm King Productions banner. The announcement was made today by Dawn Olmstead, Executive Vice President, Development at UCP, who had this to say in a statement.
“John Carpenter is an incredible creator whose dark imagination has left an indelible mark in film and in our dreams. We are thrilled to have a master of thehorror genrejoin UCP.”
Universal Cable Productionsand Carpenter are already in development on “Tales for a Halloween Night” for SYFY. Based on Carpenter’s award-winning graphic novel anthology of stories where he brings together storytellers from the worlds of movies, novels, and comics for a collection ofhorror storiesfeaturing graveyards, sunken ships, creepy crawlers and ghosts that will haunt your dreams long after you’ve finished reading. A search for a writer is underway. Here’s what John Carpenter had to say in a statement.
“I’m excited to partner with Universal Cable Productions on this venture into television. On one hand it’s a return home to Universal where I have fond memories, and on the other it’s a step into the future with great new creative partners in programming.”
Additionally, UCP and Carpenter are developingNightside, based on the literary series by New York Times bestselling author Simon R. Green, with Jill Blotevogel (Scream: The TV Series) attached to write the script.Nightsideis the secret heart of London beating to its own rhythm, pumping lifeblood through the veins of its streets and alleys, hidden in eternal darkness where creatures of the night congregate and where the sun is afraid to shine. It’s the place to go if you’re looking to indulge the darker side of your nature-and to hell with the consequences.
Tales for a Halloween Night andNightsideare the latest addition to UCP’s impressive genre development slate. The award-winning studio is in various stages of production and script development on a range of series including:Happy!for SYFY;The Sinner,Damnation, andUnsolved: The Murders of Tupac and The Notorious B.I.Gfor USA Network;The Purgefor USA Network and SYFY;All That Glittersfor Bravo; andImpulsefor YouTube Red.
A native of Carthage, NY, Carpenter attended Western Kentucky University and the USC School of Cinema, where he began working onDark Star. His breakthrough film,Halloween, spawned several sequels. He further cemented his reputation as a master of the genre with hits includingEscape From New York,The Thing,They LiveandBig Trouble in Little China. On the small screen, Carpenter directed the mini-seriesElvis, and Showtime’s horror trilogyJohn Carpenter Presents Body Bagsas well as two episodes of STARZMasters of Horror. On Halloween 2014, Carpenter introduced the world to the next phase of his career with “Vortex,” the first single from Lost Themes, his first album of non-soundtrack material which achieved numerous international milestones and affirmed Carpenter’s lasting influence on genre score work. Lost Themes II was released with much fanfare, April of 2016, kicking off a twenty-nine city international tour around the world.
Sandy King has produced major theatrical hits includingThey LiveandJohn Carpenter’s Vampires. For television she producedJohn Carpenter’s Body Bags. She continues to expand her comic book universe by both creating and writing the award-winningAsylumseries. King also created, edited and writes stories forTales for a Halloween Nightalong with Carpenter. Carpenter and King are represented by APA and Stankevich Law, Inc. Jill Blotevogel is represented by APA and McKuin Frankel Whitehead LLP. Simon Green is represented by APA and JABberwocky Literary Agency.
