The one who wrote Coraline, and co-wrote the book of Good Omens and made the TV show, also the Sandman comics writer and co-creator who made the Sandman TV show. Quite nice really.
Last year I was asked if I’d like to adapt Neil Gaiman’s short stories for a potential anthology mini-series. Of course, I jumped at the chance. I read through all of Neil’s short story collections and selected four stories I thought were suited and thematically linked. After several months spent drafting and redrafting the scripts the four-part TV adaptation of Neil’s short stories began production under the direction of Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard (20,000 Days on Earth) and featuring British acting talent led by Tom Hughes, Johnny Vegas, George MacKay, Rita Tushingham and Kenneth Cranham. The four films are also scored by Jarvis Cocker.
The three adaptations I am responsible for writing are Foreign Parts, a story of identity, and the ghostly tales of Feeders & Eaters and Closing Time. The series is being produced by Sid Gentle Films for Sky Arts and should screen later in the year. I can’t wait to see how it’s turned out. I ended up doing thirty-six drafts and took some liberties with the actual text but I think, all-in-all, we’ve been fairly faithful with Neil’s fantastic and fantastical stories.
Likely Stories is going to be a four-episode anthology series,
with the episodes being based on “Foreign Parts” (a story that, I swear
to you, Barnes and Noble’s blog once described
as “You know those days you wake up and you’re not sure your penis
belongs to you anymore? I hate those days.”), “Feeders & Eaters,”
“Closing Time,” and “Looking For The Girl.” Kevin Lehane is adapting the
first three, and the pair who will direct the series, Iain Forsyth and
Jane Pollard, are writing the last. Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker will do
the score, because why not.
A thing that is happening! I’ve always loved Neil’s short fiction just a tiny bit more than his longform stuff, so I am so ready for this. It helps that two of the stories being adapted are some of my all time favorites, of course.
Also weird Neil cameos. Also Jarvis fucking Cocker. How is this even real?
