After developing nearly every Stephen King short story and novel, the movie industry has begun looking into new sources for creepy content, including Twitter. According to a report from Deadline, Buzzfeed and Lionsgate are set to produce Dear David, a thriller based on a ghost story that went viral on Twitter in 2018. Dear David was originally in development as a thriller with New Line Cinema, but now, it appears to have shifted over to Lionsgate with Buzzfeed producing.
Dear David is based on one of the first Twitter urban legends, which claimed to be a true story. The story follows Adam Ellis, a former BuzzFeed employee, and social media content creator. In it, Ellis is haunted by the ghost of a boy who has become possessed by a demonic entity. This story, which Ellis called “Dear David”, went viral on Twitter in 2018. Its popularity gained Ellis over a million followers.
The movie is set to be directed by John McPhail. McPhail made his directorial debut back in 2017 with the holiday-themed zombie movie, Anna and the Apocalypse. The screenplay was written by Mike Van Waes. According to the report, production is expected to begin soon.
BuzzFeed and Lionsgate’s Dear David thriller is being produced by Richard Alan Reid, who is the Head of Global Content & Head of BuzzFeed Studios. Joining Reid as producers are Jason Moring, Michael Philip, and Naysun Alae-Carew. Dear David is set to be the third film from the BuzzFeed and Lionsgate partnership but the first thriller. Previous films from this duo include 1UP, a comedy starring Ruby Rose, and My Fake Boyfriend, a romantic comedy with Keiynan Lonsdale, Sarah Hyland, and Dylan Sprouse.
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