Stephen King on Film

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therewillbeblus
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: Stephen King on Film

#126 Post by therewillbeblus » Wed May 12, 2021 12:38 am

Trailer for Lisey’s Story miniseries

Pablo Larrain’s involvement means I'm gonna see this, and the stellar cast doesn’t hurt, but I can’t say the trailer is very attractive. Warning: it seems to give away quite a lot, including what look to be key jump scares, so spoilers alert- maybe?

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therewillbeblus
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: Stephen King on Film

#127 Post by therewillbeblus » Fri Jul 16, 2021 11:13 am

Lisey's Story was another weak King adaptation. Although I've never read the source, the miniseries fails to involve us with Lisey or any of the central living characters (i.e. her sisters) on an emotional level, oddly choosing to empathize with Clive Owen's enigma far more to the point of deeply 'knowing' him and his family, and peeling back layers of judgment to discern the complexity in traumatic family dynamics. These flashbacks (with Michael Pitt, unrecognizable as the abusive father, by far the standout perf of the series) are powerfully stirring, and reminded me of a more deranged and twisted Frailtyesque upended family system. Perhaps that dissonance between the present-day protagonists and the mysterious information from the past works in the form of a novel, where Lisey can engage in detective work to find out information about her deceased husband's trauma history and secrets, and respond to the reader via internal cognitive-emotional reactions. However, in visual practice we aren't afforded a window into any of her processing, and not even a talent like Julianne Moore nonverbally-communicating her pain can elevate Lisey above empty characterization. Larrain and DP Darius Khondji do excellent work, but not enough to save the faults inherent in this work.

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JamesF
Joined: Thu Mar 04, 2010 1:36 pm

Re: Stephen King on Film

#128 Post by JamesF » Fri Jul 16, 2021 11:45 am

I haven't seen the adaptation yet but I remember that was exactly the main issue with the book when I read it upon publication 15 years or so ago - for a book that claims to be her story, Lisey is very ill-defined beyond her relationship with Scott and her investigation into his (and, to a lesser degree, their) past. There was, of course, the opportunity to transcend that in the adaptation and give her character more of an inner life of her own, if only King hadn't been the one to be writing the scripts.

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therewillbeblus
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: Stephen King on Film

#129 Post by therewillbeblus » Fri Jul 16, 2021 11:57 am

Yeah, also especially given Pablo Larrain's escalating ultra-empathetic interest in his female principals (for my money, the most elastically-minded director of women working today), it's a frustrating missed opportunity with him at the helm as he's unable to do much of anything outside of make things look pretty, which should be more deservedly accredited to Khondji anyways. What could have been an introspective auteurist spin on King winds up as merely a director-for-hire job.

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therewillbeblus
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: Stephen King on Film

#130 Post by therewillbeblus » Thu Dec 08, 2022 7:47 pm

Mike Flanagan to adapt The Dark Tower series into TV show - envisioned as five seasons and two films. Finally, someone has the right idea to give this breathing room

flyonthewall2983
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Re: Stephen King on Film

#131 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Fri Dec 16, 2022 3:57 am

Glad it’s Amazon and not HBO.

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therewillbeblus
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: Stephen King on Film

#132 Post by therewillbeblus » Fri Dec 16, 2022 9:36 am

It seems like it's not definitively on Amazon, but was adapted for their working partnership originally and other services will have a chance to bid for it- but maybe I read it wrong

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jazzo
Joined: Sun Nov 17, 2013 12:02 am

Re: Stephen King on Film

#133 Post by jazzo » Fri Dec 16, 2022 4:53 pm

therewillbeblus wrote:
Thu Dec 08, 2022 7:47 pm
Mike Flanagan to adapt The Dark Tower series into TV show - envisioned as five seasons and two films. Finally, someone has the right idea to give this breathing room
The final two films will just be monologues. And Roland ain't a gabber!

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