stephen king Tagged Articles at Cinematical
A Sequel to 'The Shining' is Brewing Within Stephen King
Filed under: Horror », Fandom »
Gotta love the book tour Stephen King is currently on to promote Under the Dome. First he tells a crowd in Maryland that he has written a draft of the television screenplay for Cell, that HBO wants to do an Under the Dome miniseries, and that he is working on new Talisman and The Dark Tower novels. And now an even bigger bombshell comes: he's got a book plan for a sequel to The Shining brewing in the back of his always-working mind.But before getting to the news, I'd like to address the means by which it leaked out, which is equally interesting. While in Toronto, King followed up a 15-minute reading from Under the Dome with an hour long Q&A in a packed theater. The interviewer? David Cronenberg. Thinking about that taking place makes my heart hurt. My favorite director interviewing my favorite writer? What kind of cruel world hides such an event from me?
Fortunately the books portion of the Torontoist was there to cover the event and they've got all the details surrounding The Shining sequel Cronenberg and King talked about, tentatively titled Doctor Sleep. King explained that he had spent the last summer wondering what Danny Torrance would be like as a grown up and how the emotional scars carved into his psyche by the Overlook Hotel would have impacted the path of his otherwise happy life. The author charts the basic premise thusly:
Read the rest over at Horror Squad.
J.J. Abrams Not Adapting King's 'Dark Tower' Series
Filed under: Action », Drama », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », RumorMonger », Newsstand »
Bad news folks (or good depending on your personal King beliefs): Turns out J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof will not be adapting Stephen King's Dark Tower series for the big screen like originally planned. The film rights to the epic seven-book series were said to have been purchased by Abrams and Lindelof for $19 (a number that recurs throughout the novels). As recently as this summer, Lindelof claimed they were all too busy finishing up Lost to think about Dark Tower. "The last thing we want to think about is how to adapt a seven book series of, you know, basically the writer who we admire the most and look up to most and has inspired our work the most, and do anything with that," he said.
Now things have changed, and according to an interview with MTV, the Lost crew have decided to leave Dark Tower behind, despite how much they love and respect the series, as well as how much it's influenced their work over the years. "The Dark Tower thing is tricky," Abrams said. "The truth is that Damon and I are not looking at that right now." In an earlier interview with USA Today,
Honestly, if Abrams and his clan won't tackle it, I'm not sure who could. I think something this epic might be best on television, but I feel the lower budgets might hinder the overall outcome -- making it look somewhat cheap. What do you Dark Tower fans think? Is there someone out there who could adapt this behemoth? Should they make seven films? Would people go see them? Sound off below ...
The Next 'Lord of the Rings': J.J. Abrams and 'The Dark Tower'
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Deals », Fandom », Peter Jackson »
Stephen King's The Dark Tower series of novels are probably his most underrated, and that can mostly be attributed to the fact that it took him 22 years to finish the series. It's a sprawling epic story, starring The Gunslinger, Roland, and his companions as they are inexorably drawn towards the titular Dark Tower. Like The Lord of the Rings, it's a travel story, with all of the action happening during the journey itself.
If you haven't read the series, I can't recommend it highly enough. It's got gunslinging, swords and sorcery, time travel, interdimensional doorways, artificially intelligent monorails, and so much more. It also ties most of King's major novels together in bizarre ways, without getting boring. Either pick up the first book in the series and check it out, or listen to the audiobook during your commute. You won't be sorry.
Just do it before J.J. Abrams and his Lost crew begin making the movies. Wait, what's that? Abrams? Lost? The Dark Tower? Read on to see how all of these pieces will soon fit together to produce what some claim is destined to become the next Lord of the Rings.
Stephen King's 'Cell' to Hit the Small Screen Instead
Filed under: Horror », Newsstand »
(Remember wayyy back when Eli Roth was attached to direct a film based on Stephen King's Cell? Yeah, well, that obviously didn't happen, and now word has it those Weinstein boys have decided to take the property to the small screen instead. Here's Peter Hall reporting for Horror Squad) Fangoria got out word today from the Fantasia Film Festival that Stephen King's Cell is no longer destined for the silver screen. Instead the novel will be reborn as a four hour TV mini-series to be scripted by John Harrison. Details are rather sparse at this stage, but Harrison tells Fango his take on the material will be closer to a classic creeper like Village of the Damned (I hope Harrison is referring to the original and not the languid John Carpenter remake) than an all out zombie movie.
If you recall Eli Roth was long attached to a film adaptation of King's novel about a cell phone pulse that scrambles the inner workings of any poor sap that hears it, converting them instantly into a murderous member of a new society.
Read the rest on Horror Squad
From Page to Screen: 'N.'
Filed under: Horror », From Page to Screen »
Admittedly, I experienced Stephen King's N. under utterly ideal conditions, which might explain why I consider it such a marvelous short story – one of King's best. I was driving to northern California for a weekend of camping and whitewater rafting (the Cal Salmon river – just an hour or so south of Oregon). It got dark just as I left the highway and hit the winding, narrow country backroads; no headlights, no cars. I happened to be listening to King's recent Just After Sunset short story compilation, where N. – one of the longer pieces in the set – appears in the middle, taking up discs 8 and 9 in their entirety. The story started just as I hit a series of switchbacks going up a mountain. The twisty roads, the oppressive darkness, the (seemingly) complete emptiness, and Stephen King in his Lovecraftian unknowable-cosmic-terror mode... I'm probably lucky to be alive and not in a ravine somewhere.
Actually, King denies that Lovecraft was the inspiration for N. Instead, he cites Arthur Machen's classic horror story The Great God Pan, which you can (and should) read in its entirety right here. Either way, N. is terrifying – a story of unspeakable horrors lurking just beyond the thin veneer we know as reality. Better yet, it's not – like some of Lovecraft's tales were – all concept. King's got a couple of great hooks: first, the story is told through letters, journal entries and newspaper clippings, somehow amplifying the atmosphere of impending doom. Second, King provides a clever alternative explanation for obsessive-compulsive disorder. It seems that all that counting, touching, and insisting that things be arranged just so isn't mental illness, but an attempt to save the world: to keep the evil out.
The Terror on the Toilet
Filed under: Horror », Fandom », Home Entertainment »
When's the last time a short story scared the crap out of you? Japanese author Kôji Suzuki (of the original Dark Water and The Ring) seems to be aiming for as much. According to Dread Central, he has written "Drop," a setting-suitable novella that comes printed on rolls of toilet paper. Each roll comes with multiple copies of the story, so no need for cries of anguish when the tee-pee runs out before the twist is revealed.But seriously, folks, before this metaphor gets too corny and starts to stink, what are some of your favorite short stories that were adapted successfully to the big screen? Can you name any that you think are ripe for a film version? I'm not sure if it's short enough to count, but I'm still waiting on Frank Darabont to give us
'It' Is Too Big to Stay on the Small Screen!
Filed under: Horror », Deals », Scripts », Remakes and Sequels »
Almost twenty years after it terrorized the boob tube, Stephen King's creepy clown is back.The Hollywood Reporter posts that It is slated to hit the big screen, courtesy of Lin Pictures and Vertigo Entertainment. Dave Kajganich, the pen behind the 2007 Invasion, has been tapped to adapt King's new work and bring it into the new millennium -- and out of 1958 and 1985. Kajganich is also becoming the new adapting man about town, taking on projects like Escape From New York and another King scare fest, Pet Sematary.
Back to It -- As you might remember, this is the story of a group of kids who take it upon themselves to bring this creepy, shape-shifting creature called Pennywise down, back in '58. They hurt it, flee, and then decide to bind themselves together in case they ever need to fight It again. In one of the most warped rationales ever, this involves not only blood, but the lone girl of the group having sex with all of her boy pre-teen friends. Years later, the thing, who often takes the shape of the classic creepy clown, starts killing again and the friends reunite for another baddie butt-kicking.
I'm betting that the kids become teens so that the sex can become a sexy, marketable aspect of the film, but other than that, I'm curious to see how this gets updated. But how about you? Do you want more It?
Follow me if you want to live.*
*Yes, that's really obvious.
Stephen King Picks 'Dark Knight' as Best Film of 2008
Filed under: Fandom », Lists »
Last time we checked in on Stephen King's ten favorite films of the year, it was 2006 and we found titles like Waist Deep (?) and Snakes on a Plane. Okay, so maybe the legendary author didn't watch many films that year -- but here we are two years later, King once again dished out a top ten for Entertainment Weekly, and so maybe he's managed to see a bit more. Check out King's list below, with brief quotes from him for each -- then read the rest over at EW.1. The Dark Knight -- "The best superhero movie ever. This is to cape-and-tights movies what Godfather II was to the gangster movie: a genre-defining event."
2. Slumdog Millionaire -- "It's been years since the movies have produced such an affecting story about the power of friendship."
3. WALL-E -- "I don't think it deserves a Best Picture Academy Award, but it certainly deserves to be nominated."
4. Tropic Thunder -- "The funniest, most daring comedy of the year."
5. Funny Games -- "It works as a savage parody of the snuff-porn genre even as it transcends it."
6. The Bank Job -- "High-tension cerebral thrills."
7. Lakeview Terrace -- "Jackson's performance deserves an Academy Award nod, but won't get one. Too bad."
8. The Ruins -- "It could have been ludicrous. Instead, it's unrelenting."
9. Redbelt -- "... this is not your father's Karate Kid."
10. Death Race -- "Death Race is filled with laconic violence and blasting muscle cars, but just beneath the surface is a biting satire of reality TV."
So, is King nuts for suggesting that Samuel L. Jackson receive an Oscar nod for Lakeview Terrace? Do you agree with the horror guru, or does the man still need to see more movies?
Cinematical Seven: Terrific Turkeys of the Aughts
Filed under: Action », Drama », Horror », Thrillers », Mystery & Suspense », Sony », Sony Classics », Warner Brothers », 20th Century Fox », Cinematical Seven »
In honor of the Thanksgiving holiday that nears, it seemed only fitting that our minds turned to those films for which we are most unexpectedly grateful, those flops and duds, those bombs and turkeys rife with unintentional humor and renewed entertainment values. Now, we've pretty much stuck with the past decade or so with our picks; anything before that has either been done right by MST3K or is probably titled Showgirls.
With that said, please enjoy this Cinematical Seven responsibly, and do feel free to contribute your own personal favorite howlers of late in the comments below...
1. Twilight (2008)
Oh, dear God, I'm kidding. J/K!
From Page to Screen: 'The Mist'
Filed under: Horror », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », From Page to Screen »
This is a follow-up of sorts to my piece on Mikael Hafstrøm's adaptation of Stephen King's 1408. If you're interested, you should check that out. There, I half-marveled at and half-lamented the fact that the film managed to transform 1408 from a spectacularly scary, quasi-Lovecraftian horror tale into a personal, abstract meditation on grief and loss. In effect, the movie transplanted the story from the conceptual, hard-horror half of King's ouvre (think Cell and From a Buick 8) to the character-driven half (Lisey's Story, Bag of Bones). It was still a good film, but it needed someone who understood the existential terror that King is so good at evoking: a glimpse of something so alien, so divorced from the world we know, that it is simply beyond our comprehension. That's scary. Give me a movie like that.
At the time I wrote that post, such a film already existed. I suspected that this was the case, but I hadn't read the source material, and so couldn't validly make the comparison. Now I can: Frank Darabont's The Mist understands the sort of paralyzing, staring-into-the-abyss horror that King does so well. Even more impressive: not only does it brilliantly translate that aspect of the novella to the screen, it – like 1408 – fleshes out dimensions that the author barely implied. I knew I loved the film when I saw it, but only now do I understand how accomplished it really is.
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