Edge Productions received King's permission to film "The Last Rung on the Ladder" from the "Night Shift" collection.
So what did a fledgling film company do to earn an opportunity?
They asked.
According to Lucas Knight, who has been the director on previous Edge productions, Frank Welch, Edge's producer, had the idea of contacting the master of horror in hopes of securing film rights.
"we wrote him, told him what we wanted to do, and he agreed to it," Knight said. "Within a month, we'd gotten the rights."
So why did King grant the rights? Through a representative at his Bangor office, King said it was because "it's a public broadcasting affiliated production. Also, they seemed like an upscale company."
While not common, King previously has granted film rights to other small companies.
Kinight, who works at Maine Public Broadcasting's Bangor office in engineering and production, said he hopes to shoot "The Last Rung on the Ladder" on 16mm film using an old Maine Public Broadcasting camera. He said negitiations to show the film on Maine Public Television will begin again after the first of next year.
"They've been really supportive with this, helping me out a lot." Knight said.
Edge Production is located in a wooden, two-story structure on Route 2 in Mattawamkeag. Golden Eagle Plaza was formerly a grocery-video store, but Knight has higher hopes for it now.
The front of the building hints at the filmmaker who lives within. A sign, a fixture in Edge's public access soap opera "Dark Currents" reads "Welcome to Hawks Landing." Reels, with film connecting them, are nailed up over the doorway. Seats from an old Mattawamkeag movie theater sit on the porch.
Knight, who lives upstairs, is in the early stages converting the building into a production studio-public-access TV station.
The 30-year-old Knight ran Keag Video for eight years, but closed it to chase his dream.
"I want to do more filmmaking," he said. "I'd like to make enough money to live on"
Knight first became hooked on films when saw "Star Wars" in 1977.
"I realized that movies were made by people at that point," he said. "I started getting books on how movies were made."
He also soon discovered that horror is his genre.
"I have a really morbid sense of humor, so I've leaned toward horror," he said. "I like other genres, but I don't think I could write those kind of films."
Edge's first production was "Dark Currents", a bizarre soap opera which aired for two years on Mattawamkeag Cablevision. The series also aired on at least 20 other cable stations across the nation and has been seen as far away as California.
Currently, "Dark Currents" is being run in serial form on Edge's Web page (www.edge-pictures.com), with around 10 hits a day, Knight said. Eventually, Knight would like to make more episodes, maybe even syndicating the series.
"We had 250,000 potential viewers for our confirmed airings," he said. "Of all the stuff I've done, that's been seen the most. I'm fired to do more."
Next came "Frostbite", a 20-minute psychological thriller about friendship strained by adversity.
"After the Beep" was 75 percent done, the lead actress left the project, setting things back.
"She quit halfway through, and she's in two thirds of the scenes," Knight said. "We need to recast, then reshoot all the scenes she's in. It's frustating, but what I am going to do?"
Knight is gearing up to start a nonprofit, public-access channel on Mattawamkeag Cablevision. Its lineup would consist of public-service programs, such as governmental meetings, and Edge-produced series, such as new "Dark Currents" episodes.
While wrapping up "After the Beep." Knight and Welch are in the early stages of readying "The Last Rung on the Ladder."
"Frank's writing the script. Then I'll go over it with him," Knight said. "He's good at dialogue, while I'm more of an idea man."
Knight would be looking to cast three actors for the film. The story is about a man looking back, with regret, at the ramifications of a childhood incident involving him and his sister.
The King film offers Knight a chance to work in a different manner.
"Usually, it's whenever I can get people together," he said, "If I do this, I'm going to do it right straight through. I picture this as a two-week shoot."
Knight has a dream budget of $60,000 for "The Last Rung on the Ladder," if it can be raised.
"That way, everybody can get paid, and we'd have a really good-looking film, tchnically,"he said. "We'll wait until we have everything in place before we film it."
Knight is looking for people ready to share the adventure.
"I need people who love to do this," he said. "You're not going to get rich off this. Frank and I take this seriously, but this fun for us also."
To contact Edge Productions, write to P.O. Box 101, Winn, ME 04495, or e-mail Knight at lucasnite@hotmail.com
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