Camelot locks up 'Box'
'Darko' scribe adapts screenplay from Matheson story
Roth and Richard Kelly ("Donnie Darko") adapted the screenplay from the Richard Matheson short story "Button, Button," which also served as the basis of a 1986 episode of "The Twilight Zone" that aired on CBS.
"The Box" revolves around an unhappy married couple who receive a small wooden box on their doorstep. At the push of a button, the box brings its bearer instant wealth -- and instantly kills someone the bearer doesn't know.
Kelly, who optioned the story last year, will also produce with his Darko Entertainment partner Sean McKittrick and Camelot's Gary Gilbert and Dan Halsted.
Matheson's previously adapted work also includes "I Am Legend" and "A Stir of Echoes." Camelot Pictures hopes to begin production this year.
The law firm of Epstein, Levinsohn, Bodine, Hurwitz and Weinstein brokered the deal on behalf of Camelot Pictures. Kelly and Roth are both repped by CAA. The Firm manages Kelly.
Roth is managed by 3 Arts Entertainment.
Directed by Zach Braff, "Garden State" was acquired at the Sundance Film Festival for $5 million in a joint deal between Miramax Films and Fox Searchlight.
