Photo: jim Smeal/BEIMAGES.As far as our favorite childhood authors go, R.L. Stine is right up there with Ann M. Martin, Judy Blume, and Beverly Cleary. His Goosebumps thrillers were our gateway drug to more gruesome tales by Christopher Pike, and it's nice to know that his spooky stories are still keeping kids up at night.
Here's even better news: Stine will be an actual character in the upcoming Goosebumps film, which is slated for a March 23, 2016 (yes, 2016) release. Though he looks more like the love child of Fred Armisen and Larry King in real life, the writer will be played by Jack Black. Okay, fine.
The script, co-written by School of Rock writer/actor Mike White and also starring Ron Donald Ken Marino, has a young teen named Zach discovering that his dream girl's father is R.L. Stine. (Apparently, that's a bad thing.) Long story short, Zach and the Stines are pitted against the monsters that haunt the author's imagination. What, were you expecting a biopic like Becoming Jane? No chance.
So, yeah, you've got just under two years to line up a babysitting gig for opening night. Or not. Bed-wetting and bad dreams can be ever so pesky. (Coming Soon)