"Mad" publisher Gaines to get biopic treatment

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The life story of renowned publisher William M. Gaines, the man behind EC Comics' "Tales From the Crypt" and Mad magazine, is headed for the big screen.

Joel Eisenberg and his Iron Mountain Media have picked up the life rights to Gaines' story and aim to produce a biopic, "Ghoulishly Yours, William M. Gaines."

The film, which Eisenberg is writing, will center on an anti-establishment group of comic-book creators, led by a reluctant Gaines, as they produce their controversial yet hugely popular line of comic books. Among their creations was the popular "Crypt," which eventually brought Gaines to Senate subcommittee hearings over accusations that the material served to perpetuate juvenile delinquency.

Eisenberg wrote the indie thriller "Out of the Black" and wrote and produced the Goth thriller "Hollywood Vampyr."

Gaines died in 1992 at the age of 70.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter