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Ryan Murphy and Blumhouse to Adapt Stephen King’s ‘Mr. Harrigan’s Phone’ for Netflix

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(May 21, 2018 – Source: Getty Images North America)

*Acclaimed producers Ryan Murphy and Jason Blum are teaming with Netflix for a feature adaptation of Stephen King’s short story “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone.”

The story comes from the New York Times best-selling collection “If It Bleeds” and, as reported by EW.com, it follows a young boy who befriends an older billionaire who lives in his small-town neighborhood, with the duo bonding over the man’s first iPhone. But when the man passes away, the boy discovers that not everything dead is gone, and finds himself able to communicate with his friend from the grave by leaving voicemails on the phone that was buried with him.

John Lee Hancock has been tapped to write and direct, with Carla Hacken producing along with Murphy and Blum. 

Blumhouse is also set to remake another popular King title, “Firestarter,” for Universal. 

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The original 1984 film starred Drew Barrymore as a child with pyro kinetic abilities. The actress will executive produce the Blumhouse Pictures update. 

King’s official site describes the story of the novel: “The Department of Scientific Intelligence (aka ‘The Shop’) never anticipated that two participants in their research program would marry and have a child. Charlie McGee inherited pyrokinetic powers from her parents, who had been given a low-grade hallucinogen called ‘Lot Six’ while at college. Now the government is trying to capture young Charlie and harness her powerful firestarting skills as a weapon.

The concept of the story might sound familiar to you if you watch it “Stranger Things,” which depicts a young girl with telekinetic powers who escapes from a sinister government organization. King’s novel was a heavy influence on the Netflix series.

“I like [Stranger Things] a lot, but it does owe something to It,” King said in an interview with Rolling Stone. “That’s another book about kids who are weak and helpless by themselves — but together can make something that is very strong.”

Additional King novels set for a big screen adaptation include, “Hearts In Atlantis,” “The Jaunt,” “The Long Walk,” “Revival,” The Stand,” “Sleeping Beauties,” “Tommyknockers,” “Salem’s Lot,” and Amazon is working on a TV adaptation of “Dark Tower,” according to denofgeek.com.

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