The news that Fox Searchlight has picked up Near Death, a script by Carter Blanchard, has to bring joy to the hearts of hard-core “Saved by the Bell” fans everywhere. Blanchard was a production assistant on the show but has since moved on to writing unproduced scripts. He reportedly has quite a few (he claims 17), including Near Death.
The plot of Near Death is said to be about, not surprisingly, near-death experiences. I think this subject was pretty much covered in full when Billy Crystal said that Carey Elwes was “only mostly dead” in The Princess Bride. This movie is billed as a psychological sci-fi thriller, which means that they won’t be playing it for laughs, which makes it a little less interesting. No word on start dates, stars, or a director, but at least now Blanchard has some rent money.
