Julia Marchese

Actress
Producer
Director

Based on the short story by Stephen King, this is Julia Marchese's Dollar Baby adaptation. The story was originally published in Cosmopolitan magazine in 1976, and added to the Night Shift collection in 1978.

The film was crowdfunded and shot on location at the University of Maine, where the story is set, and takes place in 1976. It centers around Elizabeth, a popular college co-ed, and her strange relationship with Edward, an odd boy with dark secrets. It's a love story...but a Stephen King love story, so things aren't always what they seem.

Elizabeth doesn't know what she wants, but Edward knows what she needs.

Director Julia Marchese (Out of Print) has been a Stephen King fan since she was 11 and getting to put her vision of the story on screen - 70's after school special dissolving into terror - was a complete dream come true. The film is a faithful adaptation, with much of the dialogue taken word for word from the story - and lots of easter eggs for all of the Constant Readers watching!

You can find out more about the Dollar Baby program at: https://stephenking.com/dollar-baby/

Starring William Champion, Caroline Goldenberg, Giovanna Drummons and Colin Fin.

Find out more about the film on twitter @ikwynfilm & @juliacmarchese, and on instagram @iknowhatyouneedfilm & @juliacmarchese.

Play demo reel0:53

I Know What You Need Trailer

Julia Marchese is an actress, director, writer, producer and film programmer.

She attended a high school for performing arts and studied drama and film in college. She has written, performed in and also directed several plays.

She has appeared in several independent & horror films, including Full Moon's Delta Delta Die!, Deathcember, Golden Earrings, Joe Dante's Burying the Ex, King on Screen, Grind and Troma's The Power of Positive Murder, directed by Lloyd Kaufman.

Her documentary about the importance of revival cinema and 35mm to culture, Out of Print, was her first feature and won the Programmer's Award for best documentary at the Sidewalk Film Festival in 2014. The film played on 35mm around the world at film archives, art house cinemas and universities. The print now lives at The Academy Film Archives.

She also co-hosts several podcasts including Horror Movie Survival Guide, JodoWOWsky about Alejandro Jodorowsky, and The Loser's Club Podcast about Stephen King.

She acquired the rights to Stephen King's short story "I Know What You Need" in 2020 through his Dollar Baby program. It is her very favorite short story by her very favorite author. She wrote the screenplay, produced and directed the adaptation. The film was shot on location at the University of Maine, where the story is set. The film won several awards, played around the world in festivals including San Diego Comic Con 2024 and Kingcon. The film can be watch on Arrow's player service.