October 23–30, 1997

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Tony DiGerolamo's Jersey Devil comic.

Development Hell

A screeching demon from hell, a terrified and helpless populace, slaughtered farm animals—the Jersey Devil legend seems perfect for adaptation into a major motion picture, right? You wouldn't be the first to think so.

Ten or 15 years ago, a self-described agent approached Jim McCloy and Ray Miller with the notion of pitching a screenplay—which they'd write, of course—to Hollywood producers. He seemed a little strange, Miller recalls, but they decided to humor him.

"Well, the guy actually got himself out to Hollywood," Miller says, "and saw Steven Spielberg! And Spielberg, from what I hear, didn't blow him off, but gave him 15 or 20 minutes of his time? He said Spielberg was very cordial."

But he never called.

Also in the '80s, the authors heard that Robert Redford was considering a JD project. They never found out if this was true, but given Redford's interest in the environment and the ongoing efforts to save the Pine Barrens from suburban sprawl, the rumor sounds plausible.

Miller, who has written other screenplays, hasn't ruled out the idea of banging out a Jersey Devil script with McCloy, but the two have no plans for such a project at the moment. Currently, they are proofing the final draft of a sequel to the surprisingly popular The Jersey Devil—which will remain in print, as it has since its release in 1976. Part two could hit bookstores anytime next year.

In the meantime, others are thinking movie as well. Tony DiGerolamo sees his Jersey Devil comic book series (from South Jersey Rebellion Productions, www.netcom.com/~thefix/sjrp.html) as a possible forerunner to a JD movie, à la Batman, The Crow and Spawn. (DiGerolamo, incidentally, became fascinated with the legend after selecting The Jersey Devil for a book report in high school because it was "the shortest book I could find.")

"There's been movies in [development] about the Jersey Devil for years," he says. "Even before I started the comic book [in the early 1990s; the first issue was released last year] people have been trying to put together these movies on the Jersey Devil and for one reason or another they never happen? It's very strange."

The creature himself might have something to do with this. According to Miller, the Jersey Devil is said to dislike images of himself, and illustrations have been known to "mysteriously vanish"—like the eerie painting that disappeared one night from a Tabernacle tavern.

"Or maybe it's just that [movie producers] hear the word 'Jersey' and it scares them off."

-F.L.