Richard Bachman was the pseudonym that the great Stephen King used for five novels up to 1985, and two more afterwards. To protect his own identity back then as the secret author of those books, King had to put flesh onto Bachman’s imaginary bones, and create a persuasive but nonetheless fictional narrative around him.
“By creating Richard Bachman, Stephen King started…a game where he sent out one of his characters into the real world instead of confining them to the page,” producer Ashley J. Smith of Swedish outfit Sisyfos Film tells BDE of Max Eriksson’s eponymously-titled film.
King made Bachman a chicken farmer by day and a writer by night. He was married to Claudia in New Hampshire, and was the father of a boy who tragically died aged six after falling into a well. What’s more, Bachman’s facial disfigurement made him (somewhat conveniently) publicity shy.
But for eagle-eyed bookstore worker Steven Brown, things didn’t stack up, and he figured out the connection between King and Bachman, in the process blowing the great man’s cover. So Bachman had to be killed off.
“[But] just like in so many of Stephen King’s stories, what is dead doesn’t always stay buried,” Smith explains to BDE. In 1996, King published yet another book as Bachman, this time claiming that Bachman’s widow found the manuscript in her basement.
“Other people played along with him: his publisher, his agent, a few close friends, the man who poses as Bachman on the photo. Even after everyone knew that King had written the Bachman books, he kept the game going.”
“And now we’re playing that game, too, by taking the story of King’s character further. In a blend of fact and fiction, we [are making] a documentary film as if Richard Bachman was real.”
In one layer of the film, the filmmakers will tell the life story of Bachman as a living entity, Smith says, while in another, they will tell the story of King’s use of his pseudonym and how it was uncovered. And in the process they will attempt find the answers to some fundamental questions.
“Why did King need Bachman? And why does he keep revisiting him? We believe there is a deeper reason than the usual excuses that circulate, such as King wanted to publish more books, or King wanted to see if it was his talent or his famous name that was selling books,” says Smith. “We see King’s relationship to Bachman as an exciting entryway to explore the power of storytelling. And the only way to probe Bachman’s significance as a fictional character is with the very tools of fictional storytelling King used to create him.”
Director Max Eriksson’s feature doc debut, The Scars of Ali Boulala, told of the rise and fall of one of the world’s greatest skateboarders through private archival footage. “For Bachman, Max dives into the archive once again, but this time to create the story of a life that never really existed. Newly shot material is a combination of digital and Super-8 in order to create a captivating visual style that seamlessly transitions between the past and present. With Bachman, Max continues to explore filmmaking with a playful approach and an even bolder and more provocative form of storytelling.”
The project is already a co-production with SVT’s K-Special cultural strand, and the Sisyfos team is looking to drum up further interest in Malmö from broadcasters in the Nordic countries and across Europe. “Since we have some key creative positions open, we’re interested in finding strong co-producing partners who are kindred spirits and just as passionate about this wild project as we are,” says Smith. “We’re also hoping to catch the eye of potential sales agents so we can find a great partner early on who can help us amplify our own voices and get this story out into the world.”
In his director statement, Max Eriksson notes: “The project is utterly unique in that it takes the character of King’s pseudonym seriously and then goes beyond the fragments, clues, myths, rumours, and hearsay that exist and builds a compelling visual story.”
Producer Smith tells that the project “currently has a great momentum,” and is hoping to go into production in Spring of 2025 ahead of an anticipated Autumn premiere in 2026. “We see what we need to do laid out in front of us, so now it’s just a matter of finding partners who share our vision and securing necessary funding,” she signs off.
