Stephen King on Film

[therewillbeblus]

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?

[therewillbeblus]

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.

[JamesF]

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.

[therewillbeblus]

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.

[therewillbeblus]

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]

Glad it’s Amazon and not HBO.

[therewillbeblus]

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

[jazzo]

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!

[The Curious Sofa]

After the bad reviews, I thought the long-delayed Salem's Lot was better than expected. What hobbles it is the one hour that the studio reportedly cut to get it down to under two hours, leaving the result rushed and incoherent. The cast is good (Lewis Pullman makes a more believable author than David Soul or Rob Lowe), the cinematography reminded me of Gregory Crewdson's photographs and I appreciate that this is set in the decade in which the novel was written. Some of the set pieces also work quite well, there is a scene of two characters being stalked in a forest that is played out in silhouette, which is visually striking. I liked that this kept what worked in the Tobe Hooper miniseries, like turning Barlow into a feral Count Orlok-type monster, different from the erudite vampire of the novel. For the first half, this works really quite well, its in the latter part that it feels like a lot of stuff has been left on the cutting room floor.

As,is, the film plays more like an extended preview than a finished film, a little like David Lynch's Dune who was also forced to shave one-third off his film. The Stephen King novel, still one of his best, is a long read. It's not just about a group of people banding together to fight evil, it's the story of a small town and its inhabitants, Thornton Wilder's Americana slowly turning into Richard Matheson's "I Am Legend". When, in the final act, we see the vampires inhabiting the town, the imagery of them on rooftops or floating is unsettling but devoid of emotional resonance. The horror of the novel is that your neighbors, friends, and family turn into monsters, but in this version, we never got to know them as people. Ideally, this would be a 6 or 8 hour miniseries, even Tobe Hooper's 3 hour version struggled to do justice to the many supporting characters and subplots.

The irony is that after having been shelved for years, the film was ultimately dumped on Max, where a 3-hour running time wouldn't have been an issue. Hopefully, we'll see a director's cut at some point, as this has the potential of being the best adaptation of the novel. What is left of the film works quite well.

[jazzo]

Well said, and I pretty much agree with everything. A missed opportunity, for sure, but by no means a complete failure.

[domino harvey]

The Long Walk trailer - looks surprisingly straight forward as an adaptation. I read this one as a teen and it seems pretty aligned with what I recall. This is completely joyless material though, I can’t believe this is getting a mainstream release and being sold to Hunger Games fans, there’s no audience-pleasing heroics here unless this takes a massive detour from the source

[domino harvey]

Mike Flanagan returns to the well for Revival (only adapting the novel at the moment, with an option to direct)

Did this ever go anywhere? Someone was telling me the plot of this book and it sounded like one of the most insane things I’ve ever heard (even for King). If what I was told is correct, I can’t imagine there’s any possible way to actually depict a certain key component without audiences reflexively reacting with laughter even though it is fairly disturbing as a concept

[Never Cursed]

Mike Flanagan returns to the well for Revival (only adapting the novel at the moment, with an option to direct)

Did this ever go anywhere? Someone was telling me the plot of this book and it sounded like one of the most insane things I’ve ever heard (even for King). If what I was told is correct, I can’t imagine there’s any possible way to actually depict a certain key component without audiences reflexively reacting with laughter even though it is fairly disturbing as a concept

Wikipedia says that Flanagan wrote a draft script that King loved, but Warners thought it would have been way too expensive (and presumably also disliked it) and didn't greenlight it. Given that Life of Chuck is with Neon now (who themselves only bought it after it did so well at TIFF), I presume that Flanagan is only the latest in the series of pop-auteurs (Zack Snyder, Christopher Nolan) who'll never work with Warners again after production or marketing debacles

That said, having read the book's plot summary, I don't think what I assume you are referring to would go down so uncomfortably given the success of a very similar idea presented (albeit comically) in

Spoiler

The Good Place

[domino harvey]

Spoiler

I still need to watch the last season, so maybe that is revealed as the case (or I’ve forgotten it), but my understanding is that the novel presents an afterlife with no heaven or hell, just endless toil in the service of giant ants for all eternity. The idea that actually, no, you don’t want the answer to the question everyone asks about what comes next and how no one can escape it sounds awfully grim to me!

[Never Cursed]

Spoiler

I still need to watch the last season, so maybe that is revealed as the case (or I’ve forgotten it), but my understanding is that the novel presents an afterlife with no heaven or hell, just endless toil in the service of giant ants for all eternity. The idea that actually, no, you don’t want the answer to the question everyone asks about what comes next and how no one can escape it sounds awfully grim to me!

Spoiler

I was referring to a combination of the end-of-season 1 revelation/that Ted Danson is a fire squid and something that happens in the last season that I now won't get into, but you're right, the idea the show goes with is less nihilistic than the book. Not to get into it again, but I feel like if you're an atheist (referring back to a previous exchange we had), even that is better than what you assume comes next

[Big Ben]

I am under the distinct impression that Flanagan will eventually be working on his adaptation of The Dark Tower for Amazon (As a formal series) in the near future. Perhaps if that's a success someone will let him do Revival.

[JamesF]

It is a funny coincidence that both of the Richard Bachman “deadliest game” books are getting high-profile film adaptations in cinemas within a couple of months of each other.

Revival is probably King’s best horror novel of the 21st century, thanks in no small part to the bleak ending which extends beyond the spoiler Dom mentioned. I think the main obstacle for an adaptation in terms of costs is that it takes place over an extended time period so would require a hefty amount of de-aging (or old age make-up) for the main characters.

[colinr0380]

It is a funny coincidence that both of the Richard Bachman “deadliest game” books are getting high-profile film adaptations in cinemas within a couple of months of each other.

Although of course it is doubtful that anyone is ever going to adapt King's other Bachman book that contrasts the best with The Long Walk, the "we're not so different, you & I" school shooter tale Rage, given that King himself seems to have suppressed that work in recent decades. Which is a shame because despite being rather tone deaf/insensitively crass in relation to that subject, Rage is his Bachman-penned "Catcher in the Rye" equivalent novel that pairs up with Blaze's take on "Of Mice and Men". I much prefer Blaze, which could make for an excellent film in itself.

It is interesting that King seemed to channel a lot of his more masculine-focused 'rage against/revenge against society' instincts into his pseudonym's novels. Which of course makes the subsequent King novel The Dark Half (and Secret Window, Secret Garden for that matter) resonate all the more. Who needs crazed "No. 1 Fans" any more when the writer can do the hatchet job just as well on his own?

[beamish14]

It is a funny coincidence that both of the Richard Bachman “deadliest game” books are getting high-profile film adaptations in cinemas within a couple of months of each other.

Revival is probably King’s best horror novel of the 21st century, thanks in no small part to the bleak ending which extends beyond the spoiler Dom mentioned. I think the main obstacle for an adaptation in terms of costs is that it takes place over an extended time period so would require a hefty amount of de-aging (or old age make-up) for the main characters.

Roadwork is supposed to enter production soon as well

Still waiting on that animated Eyes of the Dragon feature that was going to be produced in France

[flyonthewall2983]

He is reportedly seeking to terminate WB’s copyright to The Shawshank Redemption

[domino harvey]

Lionsgate is hosting a screening of the Long Walk with viewers on treadmills who get kicked out of the movie if they fall below 3 MPH

[colinr0380]

Wasn't that a Black Mirror episode?

(I mean Lionsgate are the distributors behind the Saw series, so I could totally see them doing this)

[Mr Sausage]

Wasn't that a Black Mirror episode?

(I mean Lionsgate are the distributors behind the Saw series, so I could totally see them doing this)

Black Mirror + Squid Game, basically.

[therewillbeblus]

Sounds so dumb and also maybe the only semi-entertaining way to watch it

[thirtyframesasecond]

The Long Walk has a simple premise but was really quite effective film - helped that the main performances from Hoffman/Johnson were strong and that their characters were well fleshed out.