Upcoming Stephen King Projects

[Pacino86845]

The first half of "It" is probably the best made for TV Stephen King based movie. How come that guy isn't getting more Stephen King projects handed to him?

[so sorry]

The first half of "It" is probably the best made for TV Stephen King based movie. How come that guy isn't getting more Stephen King projects handed to him?

Maybe because of the second half of "It"?

[TheBaxter]

The first half of "It" is probably the best made for TV Stephen King based movie. How come that guy isn't getting more Stephen King projects handed to him?

Maybe because of the second half of "It"?

that earns an

[Fievel]

It starts with 'don't fear the reaper', how bad can it be?

the thing I remember the most are the opening credits, how good can it be?

That's the best part of the whole mini series. I bought the DVD in '03 or '04 and was all pumped up to watch it.
A bunch of friends and I made an event out of watching it when it aired back in '94. Remembering only that I loved the intro and hated the ending I was astonished at how shitty the series as a whole was.
The opening is still pretty cool, though.

Garris' version of The Shining and Desperation were all equally as shitty. Sure the scripts are weak, the acting is weak, and Garris was obviously spankin' it rewatching his previous works on a personal DVD player as he filmed instead of watching what was happening in front of him. But the worst thing about his King films is that the all LOOK the same. A 12 year old with a VHS camcorder could film something that looked more professional. I just don't understand how the networks, producers, etc. etc. all let him get away with this crap. Run the shit through Windows Movie Maker and it would probably look better. Put a piece of Saran Wrap over the lens... something... anything!!

This just sucks though because Bag of Bones is a decent story. It's essentially a ghost story if you haven't read it.

[TheButcher]

Heat Vision Exclusive:
Stephen King's 'The Stand' Heading to the Big Screen

Stephen King's grand opus The Stand is finally getting the big-screen treatment.

Warner Bros. and CBS Films are teaming to adapt the novel, which in many ways set the bar for a generation of post-apocalyptic stories and influenced works ranging from TV's Lost to music group Anthrax.

Mosaic and Roy Lee are producing.

The companies will co-develop and co-produce the feature film, with CBS having the option to participate in co-financing. Warners will handle worldwide marketing and distribution.

The studios and producers will sit down with writers and directors in the coming weeks in an attempt to find the right take on the material. One thing to be determined is whether to attempt the adaptation in one or multiple movies. King will be involved in some capacity.

CBS has held the rights for many years but recently realized the best way to undertake the project was with a partner. Warners beat out Fox and Sony in a tight bidding war for the gig, getting its hands on one of the biggest-selling books of all time.

CBS, meanwhile, gets a chance to be involved in an ambitious big-budget tentpole with little downside. The company just released its fourth movie, The Mechanic, which performed better than expected this weekend with an opening of $11.4 million.

The Stand is a story of good vs. evil after a virus wipes out most of the American population. While it features dozens of characters (such as the Trashcan Man and Mother Abigail) and overlapping story lines running over many years, the struggle boils down to a group of survivors fighting the Antichrist-like Randall Flagg.

The novel was originally published in 1978, but by the time it was rereleased in 1990 with King adding and revising portions of the story, it had achieved cult-like status.

George Romero and Warners separately tried in vain to launch a movie adaptation in the 1980s, and a tone-downed version was produced as a six-hour miniseries by ABC in 1994. In recent years, Marvel Comics has been adapting the story to great acclaim.

King's stories made for popular Hollywood adaptations in the 1980s and '90s, but that love seemed to lose steam in the past decade. But with Universal mounting an ambitious take on The Dark Tower, and now The Stand, King may be getting ready to return to the throne as the novelist the town loves the most.

[Nice Marmot]

I'd consider, sight unseen, The Stand adapted into just one film a complete failure.

[TheButcher]

From The Playlist:
‘Pet Sematary’ Remake Moves Forward As ‘1408’ Writer Matthew Greenberg Set To Turn In Script

[so sorry]

I'd consider, sight unseen, The Stand adapted into just one film a complete failure.

No doubt. But I also can't wrap my head around where they would split it into a couple of films. There are no big climactic "chapters" that I can see being an end to one film leading into the next one.

As a big fan of the book, I think this news stinks. I like the TV series a little bit, but it suffered from some poor acting choices (Flagg for one) and some dodgy made-for-TV production. I'd rater CBS take a crack at redoing this as a miniseries (4-6 installments maybe?).

[Fievel]

I'd rater CBS take a crack at redoing this as a miniseries (4-6 installments maybe?).

Network television is not the answer. If Ron Howard's Dark Tower series is on network television it's going to be a complete failure. Every Stephen King movie or mini series on network television has been neutered has been ineffective at best. "It" was cheesy, the recent Desperation was horrible, I never watched the TV version of The Shining, 'Salem's Lot - no. And that leaves The Stand. The Stand would only work effetively on TV if it was on HBO, AMC, or FX. The only part of Mick "Holy Shit I'm A Hack!" Garris's take on The Stand that worked well was the opening scene - and that could be done much better, too.

I can't think of a logical stop point for a theatrical version, but if done well it could work.

[so sorry]

I'd rater CBS take a crack at redoing this as a miniseries (4-6 installments maybe?).

Network television is not the answer.

Eh, I repectfully disagree. There isn't too much "R rated" stuff in the book (besides the overall subject matter). Some gruesome dead people and alot of implied nasty sex between what's her name and what's his name, but nothing that couldn't be done on the network (giving it a later time slot obviously). This is all pie in the sky talk anyway since we both know it won't happen, but I betcha a kickass adaptation of the Stand for CBS would put them on par with an HBO or Showtime.

[TheBaxter]

From The Playlist:
‘Pet Sematary’ Remake Moves Forward As ‘1408’ Writer Matthew Greenberg Set To Turn In Script

i just recently saw mary lambert's (the director of the original film) newest film.... Mega Python vs. Gatoroid, featuring tiffany and debbie gibson, on the syfy channyl. i'm not sure which of these two things is a greater embarrassment for her.

pet sematary is one of my favorite stephen king books. i only just reread it a few months ago, and it's very tense, well-paced (not a lot of the extraneous padding that so many king books have) and very, very dark. this is one movie i don't mind seeing remade, because, even though i did like the original film, and it was very faithful to the book, it was pretty terribly acted. maybe even worse acting than in mega python vs. gatoroid. the only actor who really did a decent job was fred herman munster gwynn. if they keep the dark tone, don't give it a happy upbeat hollywood ending, and get decent actors this time around for all the main parts, though, this could be very good.

[TheBaxter]

I'd rater CBS take a crack at redoing this as a miniseries (4-6 installments maybe?).

Network television is not the answer. If Ron Howard's Dark Tower series is on network television it's going to be a complete failure. Every Stephen King movie or mini series on network television has been neutered has been ineffective at best. "It" was cheesy, the recent Desperation was horrible, I never watched the TV version of The Shining, 'Salem's Lot - no. And that leaves The Stand. The Stand would only work effetively on TV if it was on HBO, AMC, or FX. The only part of Mick "Holy Shit I'm A Hack!" Garris's take on The Stand that worked well was the opening scene - and that could be done much better, too.

I can't think of a logical stop point for a theatrical version, but if done well it could work.

i disagree regarding salem's lot. still one of my favorite vampire movies ever. being on network tv didn't hurt it one bit.
of course i'm referring to the original 70s version, not the rob lowe remake.

[TonyWilson]

Jennifer Carpenter for Mother Abigail

[Fievel]

i disagree regarding salem's lot. still one of my favorite vampire movies ever. being on network tv didn't hurt it one bit.
of course i'm referring to the original 70s version, not the rob lowe remake.

Sorry, I should have been more specific. I 100% meant the new version. I tend to forget that the David Soul version was actually a TV movie. The kid's nails on the window pane freaked me out as a youngin' as did Barlow, who was obviously designed after Nosferatu.

Eh, I repectfully disagree. There isn't too much "R rated" stuff in the book (besides the overall subject matter). Some gruesome dead people and alot of implied nasty sex between what's her name and what's his name, but nothing that couldn't be done on the network (giving it a later time slot obviously). This is all pie in the sky talk anyway since we both know it won't happen, but I betcha a kickass adaptation of the Stand for CBS would put them on par with an HBO or Showtime.

You sir, are (respectfully) high. David Caruso for Flagg? Charlie Sheen as Stu? Jon Cryer as Tom? (M-o-o-n... that spells Duckie) The studly kid from Two and a Half Men as Harold? Gary Sinese as Trashcan Man? (note the irony) There is no way that CBS (or ABC/NBC) would produce something on par to the quality of HBO or Showtime. Hasn't happened yet, no need to assume it would.

You're right about the lack of overall offensive content. As much as I enjoyed the opening scene of the '94 The Stand, I'd love to see it done even better, which would cause network censors' butt cheeks to clench. The overall feel of the '94 version was like 30 minutes of the end of the world followed by hours of a utopia devoid of human life (and very few dead bodies). The visible body count, especially in NYC, should be a lot higher. If they keep the scene where The Kid anally rapes Trashcan Man with his gun, that might not make the network cut. Okay, that's not really necessary scene, just one of the more graphic I could immediately think of.

[TheBaxter]

i disagree regarding salem's lot. still one of my favorite vampire movies ever. being on network tv didn't hurt it one bit.
of course i'm referring to the original 70s version, not the rob lowe remake.

Sorry, I should have been more specific. I 100% meant the new version. I tend to forget that the David Soul version was actually a TV movie. The kid's nails on the window pane freaked me out as a youngin' as did Barlow, who was obviously designed after Nosferatu.

that's how good it is. it doesn't even seem like a tv-movie. i had seen it a few times before i learned it was originally a 2-part miniseries on tv.

[TonyWilson]

I think you need a HBO budget to do The Stand correctly, it's a genuine fucking epic, even ignoring everything from the extended version. And the ending of Las Vegas could do with a bit of a re-write, everything before and after that is wonderful though and I'd love to see it done justice.

[so sorry]

new The Stand news

[Nice Marmot]

Thank GOD, they said "multi-movie." Music to my ears . . .

If they thrill fans and non-fans alike, the Dark Tower might come sooner than we thought. . .

[Fievel]

Please, please, PLEASE change the ending!!!!!!!!

[TheBaxter]

Thank GOD, they said "multi-movie." Music to my ears . . .

If they thrill fans and non-fans alike, the Dark Tower might come sooner than we thought. . .

see, THIS is how you do it. i have much higher hopes for this project than i ever did for dark tower. but if this does well and is a good version of the story, and leads to the same team making the DT series, that would be a bonus. they could even drop in a few very subtle hints in these movies to the DT stuff.

[Nice Marmot]

Please, please, PLEASE change the ending!!!!!!!!

A gigantic squid beats out an explosion every time . . .

[Fievel]

Demme to shoot Stephen King's JFK novel

"The Silence of the Lambs" helmer Jonathan Demme has optioned feature film rights to Stephen King's upcoming novel "11/22/63" and is set to write, direct and produce the adaptation through his Clinica Estetico banner.

Ilona Herzberg ("Rachel Getting Married") will produce the sci-fi project, while King will exec produce.

Whether it's a sign of the quality of the book or Demme's trust in King, this is cool news.

[Nice Marmot]

Umm, Mr. Demme, he wrote this other book called 'IT' . . . .

[Fievel]

Son of a bitch!

Showtime Moves Under the Dome


I could have sworn that when this was originally announced that it was supposed to be at HBO.

[Nice Marmot]

What's your beef w/ Showtime? Production quality? Don't want to subscribe . . . ?

[Bayouwolf]

What's your beef w/ Showtime? Production quality? Don't want to subscribe . . . ?

I'm thinking it's the last thing you said...

As much as I love Dexter, there isn't much else on Showtime I'd be a fan of watching to justify the extra $20 a month for the service...

[Fievel]

What's your beef w/ Showtime? Production quality? Don't want to subscribe . . . ?

Lack of subscription/Diehard HBO fan

[minstrel]

I have both, but I recognize that HBO is the best TV out there. They almost always produce very high-quality stuff. I'm not saying Showtime is incapable of doing a good job, but I trust HBO more.

[TheBaxter]

Son of a bitch!

Showtime Moves Under the Dome


I could have sworn that when this was originally announced that it was supposed to be at HBO.

just keep King away from the screenwriters. if the dialogue in this movie is anywhere near as bad as the book, it will be unwatchable.

[TheBaxter]

this is the first i've heard of this -- Bag of Bones miniseries coming to A&E in december



it was written and directed by mick garris.... so set your expectations accordingly.

[Fievel]

Loved the book.
Can't stand Mick Garris. He's so shitty he makes Paul W. S. Anderson's work look like Paul Thomas Anderson.

[Nice Marmot]

http://www.deadline.com/2011/10/ben-aff ... the-stand/

Warners wants Affleck to direct The Stand . . .

[minstrel]

http://www.deadline.com/2011/10/ben-affleck-warner-bros-choice-to-make-the-stand/

Warners wants Affleck to direct The Stand . . .

Is this a bad thing? I tried reading The Stand once, got 300 pages in (unabridged edition) and was very, very bored. I've never seen a movie Affleck directed, but I don't think he could be more dull than King. That would take major dullness talent.

[Spandau Belly]

The only Affleck-directed (Afflecked?) film I have seen was THE TOWN, which was constructed 100% from clichés and pretty typical silly Hollywood stuff, but Affleck's camera work was solid. It was a great looking movie, the sequences all flowed well and the performances were fine. Based on THE TOWN, I'd be willing to guess Affleck is a good director and if you gave him a good script he'd make a great movie.

I never read this book of The Stand. I just went to Wikipedia and read the summary. Two tribes in a post apocylptic USA. Good versus evil. Yadda yadda yadda. Doesn't sound like anything that couldn't be covered with reasonable depth within 2.5 hours running time.

[Nice Marmot]

http://www.deadline.com/2011/10/ben-affleck-warner-bros-choice-to-make-the-stand/

Warners wants Affleck to direct The Stand . . .

Is this a bad thing? I tried reading The Stand once, got 300 pages in (unabridged edition) and was very, very bored. I've never seen a movie Affleck directed, but I don't think he could be more dull than King. That would take major dullness talent.

I think he's a good enough choice. Why not?

Funny to read so many posts about the long, bloated unabridged version. I started reading everything by King by age 12. I never once thought the unabridged Stand was too long. But that's about the only reaction I see these days in message boards and what-not. I always wanted to reread it, but there's too much new stuff to take on . . .

[TheButcher]

/film April 11th, 2013:
Glen Mazzara To Write ‘Shining’ Prequel Called ‘The Overlook Hotel’

Schmoes Know:
HOT SCOOP! Will Alfonso Cuarón Book A Room At The ‘OVERLOOK HOTEL’???

Bleeding Cool:
John Cusack Wants To Star In A Movie Version Of Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep

What If?:
Wes Anderson's ‘The Overlook Hotel’

[TheButcher]

Matthew McConaughaghey to play Randall Flagg THE STAND?

I was just thinking tonight who they might cast as ol' RF since I've started reading The Stand: Bigger, Longer & Uncut and this is a really good choice. Not like it'll actually happen, but it would be nice.

[TheBaxter]

9-hour adaption of 11/22/63 headed to Hulu

this is good news and bad news. this was one of King's better modern novels, and while it could probably be done in a normal 2-hour movie timespan, 9 hours is a nice allotment of time to tell the story. though if they try to "Under the Dome" this thing and make multiple seasons, it would become like an even more ridiculous Quantum Leap. or even worse, it would be almost as bad as "Under the Dome".

the bad news is this is on Hulu. Hulu is crap. i had it for a few months on a freebie deal. the picture quality is horrible, and you can't even skip the commercials. and every so often an episode would crash and the only way to resume the episode is to restart from the beginning and FF (except the commercials, you're not allowed to FF those) til you get back to where you were. i fucking hate Hulu.

i suppose eventually one day it will make its way to Blu Ray and then i'll be able to watch it though.

[so sorry]

9-hour adaption of 11/22/63 headed to Hulu

this is good news and bad news. this was one of King's better modern novels, and while it could probably be done in a normal 2-hour movie timespan, 9 hours is a nice allotment of time to tell the story. though if they try to "Under the Dome" this thing and make multiple seasons, it would become like an even more ridiculous Quantum Leap. or even worse, it would be almost as bad as "Under the Dome".

the bad news is this is on Hulu. Hulu is crap. i had it for a few months on a freebie deal. the picture quality is horrible, and you can't even skip the commercials. and every so often an episode would crash and the only way to resume the episode is to restart from the beginning and FF (except the commercials, you're not allowed to FF those) til you get back to where you were. i fucking hate Hulu.

i suppose eventually one day it will make its way to Blu Ray and then i'll be able to watch it though.

Hulu Plus is commercial free if I'm not mistaken.

[TheBaxter]

9-hour adaption of 11/22/63 headed to Hulu

this is good news and bad news. this was one of King's better modern novels, and while it could probably be done in a normal 2-hour movie timespan, 9 hours is a nice allotment of time to tell the story. though if they try to "Under the Dome" this thing and make multiple seasons, it would become like an even more ridiculous Quantum Leap. or even worse, it would be almost as bad as "Under the Dome".

the bad news is this is on Hulu. Hulu is crap. i had it for a few months on a freebie deal. the picture quality is horrible, and you can't even skip the commercials. and every so often an episode would crash and the only way to resume the episode is to restart from the beginning and FF (except the commercials, you're not allowed to FF those) til you get back to where you were. i fucking hate Hulu.

i suppose eventually one day it will make its way to Blu Ray and then i'll be able to watch it though.

Hulu Plus is commercial free if I'm not mistaken.

yes you are*. it is not**.




* mistaken
** commercial-free

[Bloo]

I pay for Hulu Plus mainly because I don't have cable but yeah, the would love you to believe that is commercial free but it's not.

That said, this could be really good as long as Mick Garris stays way the hell away from it and they cast it well.

[Fievel]

That said, this could be really good as long as Mick Garris stays way the hell away from it and they cast it well.

Yes.
So much yes.

[TheBaxter]

I pay for Hulu Plus mainly because I don't have cable but yeah, the would love you to believe that is commercial free but it's not.

That said, this could be really good as long as Mick Garris stays way the hell away from it and they cast it well.

careful. if you look in the mirror and say his name three times, he will appear behind you.... and fuck up another King novel.

[TheButcher]

‘The Stand’ Adaptation Now Planned as Four Movies

Warner Bros. has been trying to craft a new film adaptation of Stephen King‘s novel The Stand for several years. The studio has gone through a roster of writers and directors, but last year finally landed on The Fault in Our Stars director Josh Boone to write and direct.

Boone is a life-long fan of Stephen King, and has been pretty forthcoming with some comments about The Stand. Now, what was originally seen as a single-film adaptation has now expanded into something much bigger. Because WB likes the prospect of selling an event movie series rather than one single long dramatic horror movie, The Stand is now planned as a four-film series.

Josh Boone appeared on Kevin Smith’s Hollywood Babble-On podcast for a really great conversation (stream it below) and had quite a lot to say about The Stand. When he was first brought in to talk about it, he was given earlier script drafts to read.

[Those drafts] were not so much where I thought they should be going with it. [They were] much more like a big summer blockbuster. When I thought about The Stand it’s so much about the vast network of characters, and all their problems. It’s kind of a morality play set in post-apocalyptic America. The battle between good and evil is the battle for these peoples’ souls. They make choices which dictate the fate of humanity.

The first stage of developing the film started out, despite Boone’s initial concerns, as a single film adaptation. Boone scripted that, and had some specific ideas about how to compress the sprawling novel into a solitary film (note that this middle of this quote has a Stand spoiler in it):

I really wanted to do an A-list actor, really grounded, credible version of the movie. I sold them on that and they hired me…I sold them on a single, three hour movie. I went and got [Stephen] King sold on it, everybody’s really excited…I told the story non-linear and that was the way I was able to compress that book and get everything into that script. You open with Mother Abigail dying and sending the guys off, and then you jump back in time… So what happened is the script gets finished, I write it in like five months, everybody loves it, King loves it, $87 million is what it was budgeted at, really expensive for a horror drama that doesn’t have set pieces.

As he says, that’s a pretty good budget range for a film planned as a hard-R horror adaptation. Boone would have probably had to really be smart about using that money, but if he gets the characters right, a lot of The Stand’s tension can come from waiting for things to explode. (Elsewhere, Boone talks about the idea that the horror of The Stand is Larry Underwood trapped in the Lincoln Tunnel, and that it’s subjective horror, akin to Roman Polanski’s work, rather than a setpiece sort of horror.)

But WB actually wanted a more expensive film, something with setpieces that would make The Stand easier to market overseas. Boone just wanted to get the tone and characters right. But then Warners had another offer.

They came back and said “would you do it as multiple films?” and I said “fuck yes!” I loved my script, and I was willing to drop it in an instant because you’re able to do an even truer version that way. So I think we are going to do like four movies. I can’t tell you anything about how we’re going to do them, or what’s going to be in which movie. I’ll just say we are going to do four movies, and we’re going to do THE STAND at the highest level you can do it at, with a cast that’s going to blow people’s minds. We’ve already been talking to lots of people, and have people on board in certain roles that people don’t know about. We’re looking to go into production next year, maybe in the spring.

Kevin Smith’s Hollywood Babble-On podcast

[so sorry]

Matthew McConaughaghey to play Randall Flagg THE STAND?

I was just thinking tonight who they might cast as ol' RF since I've started reading The Stand: Bigger, Longer & Uncut and this is a really good choice.

Amen to that.

[TheBaxter]

‘The Stand’ Adaptation Now Planned as Four Movies

see what you've done, Peter Jackson?!?!
SEE WHAT YOU'VE DONE!!!!????!!!!

[so sorry]

Such a slow burn book...no idea how he can come up with movie endings for the first 3. Its one thing when its a weekly TV show...you don't HAVE to end every eposide with a WOW moment. But on the big screen, lets say he puts these out once a year, he's going to have to have a real cliff hanger for each movie leading up to the last. This has disaster written all over it.

[TheBaxter]

Such a slow burn book...no idea how he can come up with movie endings for the first 3. Its one thing when its a weekly TV show...you don't HAVE to end every eposide with a WOW moment. But on the big screen, lets say he puts these out once a year, he's going to have to have a real cliff hanger for each movie leading up to the last. This has disaster written all over it.

maybe they'll flesh it out with stuff from the appendices. work in a few elf cameos.
if all else fails, put in a scene with some bare-ass dwarfs bathing in a fountain.

[TheBaxter]

i guess technically this is a stephen king "project":

Bruce Willis to make Broadway debut in production of Stephen King's Misery

[so sorry]

i guess technically this is a stephen king "project":

Bruce Willis to make Broadway debut in production of Stephen King's Misery

My God this just reminded me of his "singing career" back in the early 90s.... yikes.