Upstate author has book turned into movie

INMAN, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - What started as a hobby for Dr. John Reizer has been transformed into a feature film that will hit the screens for the first time this weekend.

Reizer is a chiropractor by day, but writing is one of his big passions.

“Since I’m 12 years old, I’ve been writing,” he said.

Reizer has written nearly 20 stories, including the novel “The Target List,” which was published in 2019. It’s a medical science-fiction thriller centered around a team of researchers creating a tool to cure cancer, but one that the pharmaceutical industry didn’t want.

When Reizer’s brother first read the book, that’s when they realized it could be more.

“(My brother) thought it had cinematic potential, and he reads a lot of action stories and he liked it. He told me it was the best thing that I’d ever written,” he said.

Having never written a movie, Reizer scoured the internet and found MJ Palo, who helped him write the screenplay.

“I read it and was just instantly like, oh this is really good, like I really like the premise here. It has a really great story beginning to end, and it’s totally doable without a massive Hollywood budget,” said Mad Wife Productions Owner Andrew Arguello.

Mad Wife Productions produced the movie Target List.

“This particular company, they were looking for me. Something like this, and I was looking for them, and from some sheer stream of luck, we met,” said Reizer.

While creating a proof-of-concept film in 2021, Reizer was hospitalized for 95 days with COVID-19. When released from the hospital, he was told the movie was ready to be made.

Earlier this year, the production process started.

“We get to make the movie that we want to make. We get to tell a story that we think is genuinely interesting,” said Arguello.

The characters and story born in Reizer’s head are now coming to life.

“I think that you can do what you put your mind to doing,” he said.

A VIP release of the film is scheduled for Dec. 16. and will be available for purchase on major streaming platforms in early 2023.

Copyright 2022 WHNS. All rights reserved.