Stephen King Grants Screen Adaptation Rights To Students for $1
If you're an aspiring horror film maker, getting to adapt a Stephen King short story for the screen would be a pretty kick-ass way to begin, right?
Stephen King gets that - and isn't looking to make a profit off of it. With his Dollar Babies program, he sells rights to a list of his short stories for only $1. On his website, he says,
These stories are not under contract for movies, which means they are available for film students who want to try their hands at a Stephen King story. If you want to be one of my dollar babies, send us your info.
Students at Blaenau Gwent Film Academy in Wales, UK are among those who have taken advantage of the Dollar Baby Program. They recently obtained rights to King's short story, "Stationary Bike".
They're in good company, according to Mashable. King's been granting students Dollar Baby rights since the '70s, and some previous adaptations have been the starting point of some very impressive film careers. Notably, Director Frank Darabont's adaptation of "The Woman in the Room" in 1983 eventually lead to his classic film, The Shawshank Redemption.