Actor Thomas Jane has been a part of multiple big screen adaptations of Stephen King’s novels. Jane has starred in 1922, Dreamcatcher and, most famously, The Mist. The man loves him some King and can you blame him?
He loves America’s greatest author so much in fact that he is creating a new production company and the first project coming from it is a — you guessed it — King adaptation. Deadline is repotting that Thomas Jane is co-founding Renegade Entertainment with writer and former chess champion (!!!) Courtney Lauren Penn. Renegade’s first film will be From A Buick 8, based on the 2002 King novel about a car that serves as a door to an alternate dimension. No word on if Jane will star in the picture but you have to guess that it’s likely given his track record.
From A Buick 8 is one of the few King novels that isn’t currently being adapted, though multiple filmmakers have been attached to it over the years including George Romero. It’s considered one of King’s mid-tier novels, not one of his worst but definitely not on the same level as The Shining or It. Just reading the plot line you can tell that it is one of King’s more out-there books but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. There was a while when he was churning out these odd little novels like From A Buick 8 and Cell. He took pretty silly concepts and turned them into something fun and pulpy. Buick 8 is one of those novels.
I am excited to see Jane and Penn start their production company, especially if they are attracted to projects like this. Weird movies that are totally comfortable carving out a niche market for horror and thriller fans. Jane is an eccentric dude and an engaging performer. I have always been attracted to his work and I get the feeling that his sensibilities line up pretty well with us here at Trouble City. So the idea of him producing films sounds very promising indeed. Let’s just hope he acts in some of the films Renegade produces because that guy can turn in quite the performance (see picture below).
