Chaz Thorne is turning the corner on his adaptation The Serial Killers Club, in part because of a boost this week from the Corus Made with Pay Fund.

The Halifax filmmaker is working to complete the final draft of his feature film script, and says he wants to stay true to the darkly comic novel from British author Jeff Povey — about a man who mistakenly kills a serial killer, steals his identity, and then joins up with a club for serial killers.

‘I loved [the novel]… I thought it was a really great subversive fresh concept,’ says Thorne, who hopes to secure partners on the film within the next six months.

Thorne notes that adapting novels is an arduous process, and says he’s ‘thankful’ for the third-round support of the project. Corus also funded the first two drafts.

‘There’s so much oversubscription for development funding for feature films, it’s becoming harder and harder to pull together development financing,’ he adds, he tells Playback Daily.

Strada Films and screenwriters Michael Dowse and Gordon Skilling also received Corus funding for the drama De Niro’s Game, based on the award-winning novel by Montreal’s Rawi Hage.

Strada president and producer Sandra Cunningham says the Toronto company will be looking for international coproduction partners when the script is completed, and hopes to shoot in 2010. The story, set in the 1980s, is about a young man yearning to escape war-torn Beirut during the Lebanese civil war.

The Ontario Media Development Corporation and The Harold Greenberg Fund have also chipped in. ‘The funders are recognizing what a strong story this is. So many people who come to Canada bring their stories with them, it’s important to take an interest in the stories behind some of these people,’ says Cunningham

Other recipients of the $1-million Corus Made for Pay Fund include Whizbang Films and writer John Krizanc for Pursuit, Markham Street Films and screenwriter Johanna Schneller for Sailor Girl, and Darius Films and writer Bonnie Fairweather for Telepathetic. In all, 18 projects received funding.

The next deadline for new applications for the fund is April 16.