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Stephen King Adaptations

Luckylyn

By Luckylyn
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millennium

millennium

(edited)

For some reason I really like Dolores Claiborne.   The plot is overly contrived but something about the style of the film, or maybe the combination of Kathy Bates and Jennifer Jason Leigh, hooks me every time I see it.   The movie was a hundred times better than the book.

 

I thought The Dead Zone deserved better than either the Cronenberg film or the TV treatment (although I think Anthony Michael Hall made a more sympathetic Johnny Smith than Christopher Walken).   The character of Johnny had a lot of heart and sentimentality, but Walken played him like a visitor from another planet.   It might have been interesting if Rob Reiner had taken that project rather than Cronenberg.   Certainly The Dead Zone is a better candidate for a reboot than Cujo.   

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Jediknight
Jediknight

That slide machine part, that's perfectly fine I didn't need to sleep ever again.

Spartan Girl
Spartan Girl

I. Hate. Clowns.

FozzyBear
FozzyBear

I watched Carrie (the OG 1970s one) again last night as part of my Halloween viewing schedule. I'm always struck by what a warm open hearted movie that is. No! I'm seriouse! Stay with me! Sue and Tomm

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paramitch

paramitch

(edited)

To me, the best King adaptations include "Carrie" (original), "Shawshank," "Green Mile," "Dead Zone," "Misery," and (while an original work) "Storm of the Century." I don't like Kubrick's "Shining" (Nicholson's character runs the gamut from A to B), although I have a soft spot for the TV "Langoliers" adaptation. I mean, it's not good, but some of its good moments echo the good moments from the story, if that makes sense.

 

One thing nobody has addressed is that if anyone makes a new adaptation of THE STAND, I wish like hell they'd use the original version as released, and not the bloated piece of crap reissue that "restored" 300+ pages, irrevocably trashed Frannie (an already badly flawed character) and ruined both the beginning and ending of the book. To this day, I can't forgive King for not only releasing that POS, but for inflicting it on us in perpetuity as the ONLY version you can now buy (it's also the only "Stand" available for Kindle, blech).

 

I remember watching the miniseries/tv movie of Salem's Lot when I was younger and it scared the bejeebus out of me.  I still get the willies remembering that boy scratching at the window, asking to be let in.  Yikes.

I love the original adaptation of "Salem's Lot," and especially love the terrifying dreamlike quality it has. I also love the ending (and Susan's fate) far more -- it was much more original and moving than the book, which was just a rehash out of Dracula. Instead,

those final dreamlike moments of Susan showing up and sort of terribly, sweetly talking about how tired she is still haunt me.

 

I've always wanted to see "The Talisman" (co-authored w/Peter Straub) on the screen...miniseries would probably be a better than trying to cram it into a movie though

I adore The Talisman, even if I think some of the writing is wildly uneven in it. It's one of those stories that really could end up being a film classic -- or a total camp bad-CGI misfire.

 

I always liked the film adaptation of 'The Dead Zone'.  I'm not sure why, because although I like Christopher Walken okay, he isn't my favorite actor and I haven't seen most of what he's done.  I think I liked the atmosphere and the visuals of having so many scenes take place in the snow.  Something about that stark look and the sound of the crunching through the snow was every effective.  And, the music was good, too. 

 

I love the Dead Zone adaptation and it's easily one of the best film versions of King's books. Nobody looked like what I pictured, but Walken plays Johnny as a sweet, fairly normal guy, and the atmosphere is really disturbing yet unshakable.

 

On the topic of King adaptations, I have to mention Storm of the Century. I watched it waaaaay back and liked almost everything of it, except the anticlimactic ending (but this seems to be a constant with all works of King)

I love Storm of the Century to this day, and honestly think it was perfect in every way (forgiving a few effects blips). The ending was superb and suspenseful and earned. I also loved Colm Feore's performance as Linoge, and thought Tim Daly was so good he anchored the entire film and should've been nominated for an Emmy. I still think it.

 

At least once a year I pull out all my Stephen King movies and have a marathon. Rose Red is among the first. Great casting, interesting story but the ending is a bit of a letdown, an unfortunate theme with SK movies.

 

I have both versions of Salem's Lot and both work for me. The Tobe Hooper version has one of scariest scenes I ever saw on tv, when Danny Glick is trying to get Mark Petrie to invite him into Mark's room. That scene scarred me for years.

 

I also really enjoyed the remake with Rob Lowe. RL did a great job with the character of Ben, I liked the consequences shown for the priest and the realtor, and I appreciated the addition of the framing story.

I liked the "Salem's Lot" newest adaptation (and it was well-acted) ntil the final hour, when I was just constantly going WTF with the character assassinations. I hated what they did with pretty much everyone there.

 

Any Stu that is older than early 30s would be really icky when pairing up with a young adult Franny. I did love Gary Sinise as Stu--he was the best thing about the miniseries, along with Ray Walston's Glen Bateman and Miguel Ferrer as Lloyd. Oh, and the cameos by Ed Harris and Kathy Bates were also terrific.

ETA: I have to mention the opening credits of the first part--"Don't Fear the Reaper" played over the lab scenes post-outbreak is just about the creepiest thing I have seen on tv, period.

I thought "The Stand" miniseries was actually pretty good, barring a few wrong turns. I hate that King insists on cameos (he's just not a good enough actor and the only one that ever worked for me was the one in "Storm") and here he's just even worse than usual. I like Laura San Giacomo but she was badly miscast here. The ones who did work for me beautifully here were Sinise, Ferrer, Walston, and Rob Lowe as Nick as well as Jamey Sheridan (who I thought was a terrific Flagg, despite some truly horrendous makeup). I didn't hate Ringwald -- I actually think she could have been better but the makeup and costuming let her down. It doesn't help that I cannot stand Frannie and think she's one of King's worst and most stereotypical female characters. In the book, all she does is cry her way through pretty much every single one of her scenes. (Seriously. 90%.)

 

I watched Carrie (the OG 1970s one) again last night as part of my Halloween viewing schedule. I'm always struck by what a warm open hearted movie that is. No! I'm seriouse! Stay with me! Sue and Tommy are actual nice kids! Sure they act like asshole teenagers in the beginning, but once they are clued into how isolated and lonely Carrie is they act like nice kids. Sue never has a moment of jealousy over Tommy and Carrie even though she sees them kiss on stage and Tommy, once he gets to know Carrie, seams actually smitten with her. In fact most of the kids are pretty decent to Carrie at prom and really try to make amends for being such assholes to her. If I forget where all this is going Carrie and Tommy at prom actually fulfills all my nerdy high school dreams about THAT BOY finally realizing what a catch I am. It makes it all the more horrifying and tragic when it goes so very bad. You're so close to a happy ending and then the bucket of pig's blood and all the death. That's one of the things I love about King's writing, his sympathy for the characters he creates and his understanding of how 1 or 2 bad apples(fuck you Chris!) can really bring about tragedy. King really was the OG anti-bulling message and how even one bully can cause a telekinetic girl to burn down an entire town so be decent to everybody. Or at least that's what I get from it.

It's interesting though. Now King vocally hates Carrie and has for years compared her to the Columbine shooters. I always wonder if a part of it is guilt (he wrote an eerily similar scenario in his novella "Rage" which was published as part of the Bachman Books).

 

A LOT of King's stories have an undercurrent of child molestation or too-early sexual development (when it's not spelled out right on the page, as in this novel). Enough that I've often wondered if he's working out issues of real-world abuse in his past.

 

I don't really agree. I think he did a superb job of exploring the link between child abuse and adult abuse in IT (in Beverly, who is really beautifully written, unlike FRANNIE, ugh). He then goes on to explore it in a series of novels that seemed to be a specific and almost feminist cycle of linked heroines -- Dolores Claiborne, Gerald's Game, etc.

 

For some reason I really like Dolores Claiborne.   The plot is overly contrived but something about the style of the film, or maybe the combination of Kathy Bates and Jennifer Jason Leigh, hooks me every time I see it.   The movie was a hundred times better than the book.

 

I thought The Dead Zone deserved better than either the Cronenberg film or the TV treatment (although I think Anthony Michael Hall made a more sympathetic Johnny Smith than Christopher Walken).   The character of Johnny had a lot of heart and sentimentality, but Walken played him like a visitor from another planet.   It might have been interesting if Rob Reiner had taken that project rather than Cronenberg.   Certainly The Dead Zone is a better candidate for a reboot than Cujo.   

 

I agree with you on Dolores Claiborne, which is a movie whose atmosphere kind of wraps around itself like a fog. The actors are all just superb and it stays with you. I also liked the Dead Zone film, although I would agree that Walken was missing the everyman, sunny quality Johnny Smith has in the books. I also managed to like the movie despite disliking most of the other casting choices too -- it was haunting and weirdly resonant.

 

Last but not least: As far as IT, and the controversial scene of Beverly and the kids in the tunnel -- it worked for me as a reader, although I never ever want to see it on film. In the novel,

Beverly's abusive father (possessed by Pennywise) has nearly raped her, they're failing after the battle and are too disoriented to find their way back (the magic is dissipating), so what Beverly does is an act of love that helps her to both rediscover some small sense of herself as well as linking herself to each of the boys as their sweetheart. It's a very touchy scene, granted, and I totally get why some don't like it, but I just can't agree that it's a "celebratory gang-bang." It's meant to be twisted and tragic, yet King manages to give the scene this sense that Beverly isn't relinquishing power there, but gaining it (and they all almost immediately forget that it happens until decades later). Just my 2 cents. 

Edited by paramitch
topanga

topanga

(edited)

I don't know if any of you listen to podcasts, but one of my favorites is Now Playing, a movie review podcast. The hosts are smart and funny, and they periodically review SK adaptations (they've committed themselves to reviewing every adaptation, and there are several more to go). 

 

Here's a link to a review of The Stand miniseries: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/venganza-media/now-playing-podcast/e/the-stand-38316159

Edited by topanga
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methodwriter85

methodwriter85

(edited)

So they made it 1960 instead of 1958. Honestly, the five year thing did seem a bit extreme.

 

Edited to add: Frank Dunning is in 9 episodes? Huh? That doesn't make any sense. They must have beefed up his role.

 

It's been awhile since I read the book, but there's apparently a young guy listed as playing someone named Bill Turcotte, who's some kind of ally to Jake? Was he in the book? I really don't remember him. The online stuff is saying stuff about people being from Kentucky, which I don't remember in the book, either- Jake set himself up originally in Florida, right? Interesting stuff. It does seem like a fair amount is changed.

Edited by methodwriter85
vavera4ka

vavera4ka

So they made it 1960 instead of 1958. Honestly, the five year thing did seem a bit extreme.

 

Edited to add: Frank Dunning is in 9 episodes? Huh? That doesn't make any sense. They must have beefed up his role.

 

It's been awhile since I read the book, but there's apparently a young guy listed as playing someone named Bill Turcotte, who's some kind of ally to Jake? Was he in the book? I really don't remember him. The online stuff is saying stuff about people being from Kentucky, which I don't remember in the book, either- Jake set himself up originally in Florida, right? Interesting stuff. It does seem like a fair amount is changed.

Wasn't Turcotte a brother to Dunning's first wife?

I'm so excited for the series. I loved the book!

Athena

Athena

I wonder why there's been no promotion.  I've been waiting for a trailer for over a year.

 

When marketing has been non-existent or tepid, it's usually due to distribution issues. The film has UK distributor but not a big one. It's looking like it doesn't have anyone in the USA at the moment. If it does well at film festivals, they could get one.

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King of Birds

King of Birds

(edited)

Tirana: A low woman in the Dixie Pig. Partner of Andrew. She struck the skøllpadda from Callahan’s hands  (from path of the beam)

 

It feels like someone who doesn't know the story, leaked info. I bet this will be clarified when it's closer to shooting. She can't be Susan, right? That would be the major female blonde to cast.

 

The BIG concern is who will they get to be Jake? And then, how quickly can they shoot this huge story before some 10-yr old (?) turns 17?

 

What the fuck will Oy look like? Will they just make him a dog for simplicity? Or animated?

Edited by King of Birds
MarkHB

MarkHB

Abbey Lee in talks to play... who?

I admit, it's been a few years, but I don't remember a character called Tirana.

Deadline updated the story, and yes, it does sound like the same Tirana; she's being added to the first film in some capacity. I don't mind minor changes like that; the story sprawled across such a large stretch of King's life that even the revised Gunslinger couldn't really knit it all together in a way that makes sense for film.

Demented Daisy

Demented Daisy

Well, this explains Tirana:

But this first film will not adapt the plot of the first book, The Gunslinger, published in 1982.

 

“[The movie] starts in media res, in the middle of the story instead of at the beginning, which may upset some of the fans a little bit, but they’ll get behind it, because it is the story,” King says.

 

Arcel declined to specify which books his movie focus on, but he did offer this clue: “A lot of it takes place in our day, in the modern world.”

 

 

Hmm.  Not sure I'm happy about this, but I suppose it's not surprising, it its own way.  They need to capture the attention of non-readers and perhaps a man walking across a vast desert won't do it.  

King of Birds

King of Birds

(edited)

Wow, I wonder if these filmmakers are making too many left turns at Albuquerque right off the bat. 

 

“[The movie] starts in media res, in the middle of the story instead of at the beginning, which may upset some of the fans a little bit, but they’ll get behind it, because it is the story,” King says.

I had to re-edit my brain here, because all the talk about making DT movies over the last 10 years, I was hoping "the movie would at least stay true to the novels" 

 

BUT... I remember being not at all happy with Book 7. The long story short: I loved that the first 4 were written, spread out over time and allowed for the different iterations of Stephen King's story abilities to come through - but the last 3 were cranked out post-accident and adopted a "save Stephen King" theme that I detest in the books. And then the 're-editing' of Gunslinger "because SK was a young less experienced writer" just pissed me off too. GeorgeLucasitis is what it was.

 

So all these changes that don't feel right- maybe they're not gonna make the movies a literal translation, and maybe that's better.  I don't know. All this news makes me think I need to not pay attention to what they're doing and just watch the movie next year.

Edited by King of Birds
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MarkHB

MarkHB

The first book is hard to adapt in any version, since

it starts as a series of nested flashbacks, then there's a sex scene with a demon, then the protagonist lets a kid fall to his death so he can chase Walter and talk for a thousand year night. The hard part, then, becomes showing how awesome Roland is with the guns so it's impactful when he loses his fingers

. (Spoilers for some events in The Gunslinger and the beginning of The Drawing of the Three.)

Cobalt Stargazer

Cobalt Stargazer

"Spike is releasing The Mist as a TV series

 

Huh. Any casting info, 'cause I hadn't heard about this. Though I'm not sure it'll live up to the movie, if only because no one can ever top Marcia Gay Harden for being both obnoxious and frightening as Mrs. Carmody.

I spend most of the time the characters are trapped in the grocery store waiting for her to get double-tapped.

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