Comic book publisher Bad Idea announced on Thursday that they are adapting their celebrated comic book series, “The Lot,” into a feature film. The publisher has tapped screenwriter Akela Cooper to script. Cooper’s resume boasts a list of critical and commercial hits, including James Wan’s “Malignant,” “The Nun II,” and “MEGAN.” Cooper also scripted the sequel “M3GAN 2.0,” which is set for release next summer.
“The Lot” is a horror story set on a Hollywood studio lot and follows Aviva Copeland, who has just landed the biggest job of her career, running a Hollywood studio — one of the few black women to do so. But this is no ordinary studio because its backlot harbors the since abandoned soundstage where decades ago, an authenticity-obsessed legendary filmmaker hired actual cult members to perform a real-life occult ritual for his latest horror masterpiece. Something evil awoke that day, and in the bloody aftermath, the production was permanently shut down, the footage suppressed, and the soundstage that bore witness shuttered…until now. Aviva is about to learn that though the lot may have been closed for a half-century, it’s far from empty.
“The Lot” from writer Marguerite Bennett (“Batwoman”) and artist Renato Guedes (“Wolverine”) was published in 2021 as part of Bad Idea’s first wave of comics. Bad Idea will be at New York Comic Con this weekend and will be discussing “The Lot” at their panel presentation on Saturday, Oct 19 at 3:00 pm, in Room 408, where they will also be giving away a limited New York Comic Con exclusive edition of “The Lot” #1 featuring a new cover by E.M. Carroll (“Through The Woods”). The NYCC edition also includes a new “Hank Howard, Pizza Detective” story by Robert Venditti (“Superman ’78”) & David Lapham (“Batman”).
The film will be produced by Dinesh Shamdasani and Benjamin Simpson for Bad Idea, alongside Akela Cooper. Development financing comes from Smartest Termite and producers Andrew Gallina & Shahin Chandrasoma.
