Demme exits King adaptation.
Jonathan Demme (‘Rachel Getting Married,’ ‘The Silence of the Lambs’) has revealed that he is no longer attached to direct the ambitious film adaptation of Stephen King’s bestselling book ‘11/22/63.’
Released in 2011, King’s 900-page book follows Jacob “Jake” Epping, a 35-year-old high school English teacher who travels back in time to try and prevent President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963.
While attending the Marrakech Film Festival this week, Demme told Jessica Kiang of ThePlaylist, “That’s off the table. This is a big book, with lots in it. And I loved certain parts of the book for the film more than Stephen did. We’re friends, and I had a lot of fun working on the script, but we were too apart on what we felt should be in and what should be out of the script. I had an option and I let it go. But I hope it’s moving forward, I really want to see that movie.”
Demme is expected move on to the family dramedy ‘Old Fires,’ written by Heather McGowan, while ‘11/22/63’ will now begin the search for a new director.