A man who used to write scary stories on Reddit saw one of his stories become the centre of a Hollywood bidding war, before reportedly being snapped up by Netflix.
Chris Hicks would regularly post on the short story horror fiction subreddit NoSleep - and one of his tales is now set to become a new scary movie titled I Am Not Alone with Jessica Chastain reportedly signed up to star.
The story centres on a mother who begins to have hallucinations about deadly creatures when she experiences migraines.
The movie will be directed by Misha Green, who previously created Lovecraft Country.
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Hicks built himself a solid fan base from his Reddit stories, and went on to branch out into longer-form writing with novels and screenplays.
Alongside his manager Peter Katz, Hicks said he spent three years perfecting the story, which turned out to be a valuable use of time as the final version is reportedly being picked up by Netflix in a six-figure deal.
According to a report in Deadline, five bidders spent more than 72 hours bidding on the 22-page story, with Warner Bros also keen to snap it up.
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In an interview with IndieWire, Hicks said Reddit had offered him an alternative route into Hollywood.
He explained: “It’s a different pathway. There are people who have had success there, obviously I’ve found some success there. It’s just one path.
"Especially recently, I know [producer Scott Glassgold] has had some success picking stories off Reddit and bringing them to the Hollywood front.
"I think there has been some attention on it for a while, and I think it’s been kind of a breeding ground for writers to cut their teeth on telling very engaging short stories in a quick manner.
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“It’s a competitive field, so the faster you can attract somebody’s attention and hook them in, the better off you’ll be. So it’s a viable path, but it’s definitely just one path.”
Simon Kinberg and Audrey Chon from Genre Films, are onboard to produce alongside Bread & Circuses Entertainment’s Craig Flores, Glassgold and Katz; Chastain is also working as a producer with Kelly Carmichael, and Misha Green.
Kinberg told Deadline: “I’m a massive fan of Misha’s work, and been friends with Craig for years, so when I got sent this story and heard they were involved, I absolutely flipped out.
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"Misha’s vision for it is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. And getting to work with Jessica again makes it even dreamer."
Topics: Horror, Netflix, Reddit, Film and TV
Claire Reid