Ukrainian student Valentyn Lavreniuk has signed a contract with U.S. horror writer Stephen King to adapt one of his short stories, “Stationary Bike,” for the screen.
Lavreniuk will produce the short film, while his friend, Oleksiy Ovcharenko, is set to direct.
The 19-year-old bought the adaptation rights through King’s Dollar Babies program, which gives filmmaking students the chance to adapt one of his short stories. They tell the author about their motivations to make the film and their vision for it. If it captures King’s attention, the students can buy the adaptation rights for $1.
King is an award-winning author who has written novels and short stories in the fantasy, horror and supernatural fiction genres. Some of the screen adaptations of his works became classics in the world of filmmaking. The most famous ones include “The Shining,” directed by Stanley Kubrick; “The Shawshank Redemption,” “The Green Mile” and the most recent hit, “It.”
In an interview with the Suspilne media outlet, Lavreniuk said that both he and Ovcharenko are fans of King, so when they found out about the program, they decided to give it a try. The short film will be both Lavreniuk’s producing and Ovcharenko’s directorial debut.
The story they will be adapting follows American Richard Sefkitz, who tries to lower his cholesterol level by riding a stationary bike in the basement of his apartment building. To ease the boredom he feels while training, Sefkitz imagines a route across the country that he drives along. However, as he gets closer to his imaginary destination, he starts thinking that he is being followed.
In the interview with Suspilne, Lavreniuk says he wants to alter the story, giving it a Ukrainian touch.
U.S. horror writer Stephen King attends the 2018 PEN Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History on May 22, 2018, in New York City. (AFP)
According to the contract that the Dollar Babies program offers, the short film has to be produced by the end of 2020. It has to be non-commercial, meaning it can only be screened at non-profit festival competitions.
The Ukrainian duo plans to finish the script by the end of March and start shooting in summer. Lavreniuk said that they hope to receive financing from funds that support beginning filmmakers.
He also said that, for post-production, they will cooperate with Solar Media Entertainment, a Ukrainian filmmaking company run by his father, producer Serhiy Lavreniuk.
