A Feller Named Art Bell

Now,

I ain’t one to put much stock in Hollywood doings, but it seems the silver screen moguls have set their sights on a tale fit for the twilight hours—none other than the life and times of our old bud, Art Bell, the late-night oracle of the weird and wondrous. A man who made his home in the fine metropolis of Pahrump, where the air is dry, the mysteries plentiful, and spent nights whispering ghostly truths and unearthly fiction into the ears of the American public.

Word has it from the folks at Deadline that a mighty bidding war is afoot, with Universal, Warner Bros., and Amazon all looking to stake their claim on Bell’s story. And who do they reckon to step into the role of the midnight storyteller? Paul Giamatti.

For them unfamiliar with Bell’s peculiar corner of the airwaves, he was a man who kept company with a most unusual breed of guest. He welcomed time travelers, Bigfoot slayers, witches with dark secrets, fellers predicting the end of days, and peculiar government types who’d whispered about flying saucers and men in black. Even the occasional high-class visitor, such as Regis Philbin or Leonard Nimoy, found their way to his microphone, though they may have been more terrestrial than his usual crowd.

The man’s departure from this mortal plane was as fitting as his life—a Friday the 13 exit, in 2018 at 72. It was an occasion marked with no small amount of eerie significance–as if the universe had decided to give him a sendoff in proper fashion.

From the humble airwaves of KNYE-FM 95.1 in Pahrump, Bell’s Coast to Coast AM reached some 500 stations across the country, cementing his legend as the great bard of the bizarre. His contributions did not go unnoticed—by 2006, the Nevada Broadcasters Association saw fit to honor him, and two years later, the National Radio Hall of Fame did the same.

Now, this cinematic undertaking falls into the hands of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, the duo known as Radio Silence, who’ve built themselves a reputation scaring the bejesus out of folks with films like Ready or Not, the recent Scream revivals, and last year’s Abigail. If ever there were men suited to tell the tale of a man who spent his life in the dark, speaking of things that go bump in the night, these may be the fellers for the job.

One can only hope the movie does the man justice—though I reckon if it doesn’t, he might find a way to haunt them.