Sounds Like We’re Getting A Rod Serling Biopic From DONNIE DARKO’s Richard Kelly

So, here's an intriguing bit of as-yet-unconfirmed gossip: according to a listing in the August 15th edition of Production Weekly (and as pointed out by The Playlist, via ComicBook.com), Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly is putting together his first directorial effort in a decade, and it's an exciting one: a biopic covering the life of Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling. According to all involved, Kelly will both write and direct the film.

If you know Serling only from his intros on the original Twilight Zone series, lemme tell ya: this dude had one helluva life. He enlisted in the army immediately out of high school, became a paratrooper, fought in the Battle of Leyte (his combat experience, which didn't end there, led to crippling flashbacks and nightmares that would last his entire life), came home, went to college, got into radio, began writing for radio while managing a station, went into television, became a prolific writer of television screenplays, and battled censorship within that industry all before creating The Twilight Zone for CBS in 1959.

That series became his legacy, but that's not where Serling's career stopped: he created a number of other shows, as well, including Night Gallery. Dude also hosted a game show at one point. Rod Serling was a very, very busy dude.

Anyway, Serling's life is long overdue a biopic treatment, and Kelly's an excellent choice to bring this story to the screen. Say what you will about 2009's The Box (which, by the way, was based on an episode of the 1980's Twilight Zone), but we've been dying to see this guy get back in the game for some time. Here's hoping there's some validity to all this.

Stay tuned for further updates as they roll in.