Hostel Director wants writing duet with Stephen King

Eli Roth is hoping that bestselling author Stephen King will help him pen the screenplay for the horror master’s latest thriller, called Cell. Roth, who directed the horror film Hostel, knew immediately upon reading the book that he wanted to take on the project.

“I couldn’t put it down,” Roth said in an interview recently. “It was such a balls-out horror movie with a smart take on the zombie genre.” Roth is currently helming Hostel 2, after which he hopes to tackle Cell.

In Cell, a fatal pulse is sent through cell phones and turns unsuspecting users into zombie-like ‘phoners.’

While many of King’s books have been adapted to film, he rarely collaborates on the screenplays. Some films that credit King as a screenwriter include Pet Sematary, The Shining TV miniseries and Creepshow. He also penned the screenplay for Maximum Overdrive, which was inspired by his short story Trucks.