todd stone

Question about Stephen King movies brought to the silverscreen

Most of his movies are generally considered flops.

My question is, if Stephen King is supposed to be this fantastic writer etc, why would a big name director ie. spielburg, lucas etc not want to direct his adaptations?

Lo, there do I see my mother, and my sisters, and my brothers, Lo, there do I see the line of my people, back to the beginning, Lo, they do call to me, they bid me take my place among them, In the halls of Valhalla,where the brave may live...

Kevin Grey

Todd, quite a few big name directors have done Stephen King adaptations- Rob Reiner, Brian DePalma, Bryan Singer, Frank Darabont, Lawerence Kasdan, David Cronenberg, George Romero, and Stanley Kubrick. Of course, not all of these directors made good movies when they adapted King's work.

Spielberg has owned the rights to The Talisman for years and has strongly considered directing it himself several times before turning it over to acclaimed "House of Sand and Fog" director Vadim Perelman.

Jim Williams

Another factor to consider is that most of Steven King's novels are long with extensive character development. Once it is translated to the screen, so much is lost that the film itself ends up being weak. The best Steven King movies came from short stories like Stand By Me and The Green Mile. although The Green Mile was eventually published as a novel, it was originally was published as a series of short stories that made up a "serial novel".

Steven King felt that The Stand would not hold up as a 2 or 3 hour movie so he did it as a TV mini-series so most of the feel of the original novel could be conveyed to the screen.

\"I reckon I\'d like some of them french fried pertaters. Mm-hmm.\"
Karl Childers

jonathanR

I agree with you Jim. It also seems like alot of the recent King adaptions to Film, within the last 10 years, have had terrible endings. Or endings that just don't hold up to conclude the movie.

jr..

Ricardo C

Man, an hour wasted on this sig! Thanks, Toshiba! :p

dpippel

Do you really think The Dead Zone is dreadful? I've always loved it and thought Cronenberg did a masterful job with the film. It's a very haunting movie, and I think that it's the *only* King screen adaptation that faithfully captures the creepiness of the novel. Christopher Walken, Tom Skerrit, Brooke Adams, Herbert Lom - they're all great in their roles. My only gripe with casting is Martin Sheen as Greg Stillson. I thought he played the character over the top, and it almost derailled the movie. But in the end The Dead Zone remains my favorite King story on film. I'm just curious as to why you find it so bad.

Careful man! There's a beverage here!

Robert Anthony

you didn't like Dead Zone? Really? I thought that was one of Cronenberg's better films.

The best show you've never heard

Vince Maskeeper

Like the others have said, King's stories don't really hold up all that well as high concept ("Get this, the car is possessed and make people evil!")-- rather 90% of the keys to his novels are the characters. He creates really believable and likeable people, AND THEN puts them through hell.

When you have 2 hours on screen to tell the story, it often falls flat because his "plots" aren't necessarily as strong without the connections with the characters, connections we arrive at via internal dialogs and a more omniscient point of view: something that you simply can't simulate easily on screen.

Most great books make pretty mediocre movies in comparison... it takes a very special writer/director hand to know how to translate the material- and some material is simply destined to never translate well... no matter how masterful the director or screenwriter.

Need an introduction to home theater? Check out our FAQ and Primer!!

Scott Weinberg

Movies

Carrie (1976) from the 1974 novel
The Shining (1980) from the 1977 novel
Cujo (1983) from the 1981 novel
The Dead Zone (1983) from the 1979 novel
Christine (1983) from the 1983 novel
Children of the Corn (1984) from the 1978 Night Shift short story
Firestarter (1984) from the 1980 novel
Cat's Eye (1985) (partially) from the 1978 Night Shift short stories Quitters, Inc. and The Ledge
Silver Bullet (1985) from the 1984 Cycle of the Werewolf novella
Maximum Overdrive (1986) from the 1978 Night Shift short story Trucks
Stand By Me (1986) from the 1982 Different Seasons novella The Body
Creepshow 2 (1987) (partially) from the 1985 Skeleton Crew short story The Raft
The Running Man (1987) from the 1982 Richard Bachman novella
A Return to Salem's Lot (1987) from the 1975 novel Salem's Lot
Pet Sematary (1989) from the 1983 novel
Graveyard Shift (1990) from the 1978 Night Shift short story
Misery (1990) from the 1987 novel
Sometimes They Come Back (1991) from the 1978 Night Shift short story
The Lawnmower Man (1992) from the 1978 Night Shift short story (barely)
Children of the Corn 2: The Final Sacrifice (1993) from the 1978 Night Shift short story Children of the Corn
The Dark Half (1993) from the 1989 novel
Needful Things (1993) from the 1991 novel
The Shawshank Redemption (1994) from the 1982 Different Seasons novella Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption
The Mangler (1995) from the 1978 Night Shift short story
Dolores Claiborne (1995) from the 1992 novel
Children of the Corn 3 (1995) from the 1978 Night Shift short story Children of the Corn
Sometimes They Come Back...Again (1996) from the 1978 Night Shift short story Sometimes They Come Back
Children of the Corn 4 (1996) from the 1978 Night Shift short story Children of the Corn
Thinner (1996) from the 1984 Richard Bachman novel
Quicksilver Highway (1997) (partially) from the 1993Nightmares & Dreamscapes short story Chattery Teeth
The Night Flier (1997) from the 1993 Nightmares & Dreamscapes short story
Children of the Corn 5 (1998) from the 1978 Night Shift short story Children of the Corn
Apt Pupil (1998) from the 1982 Different Seasons novella
The Rage: Carrie 2 from the 1974 novel Carrie
Sometimes They Come Back...for More (1999) from the 1978 Night Shift short story Sometimes They Come Back
Children of the Corn 6 (1999) from the 1978 Night Shift short story Children of the Corn
The Green Mile (1999) from the 1996 serial novel
Hearts in Atlantis (2001) from the 1999 novel
Children of the Corn 7 (2001) from the 1978 Night Shift short story Children of the Corn
The Mangler 2 (2001) from the 1978 Night Shift short story The Mangler
Firestarter 2 (2002) from the 1980 novel Firestarter
Dreamcatcher (2003) from the 2001 novel
Secret Window (2004) from the 1990 Four Past Midnight novella Secret Window, Secret Garden
Riding the Bullet (2004) from the 2002 Everything's Eventual short story
The Talisman (2005) from the 1984 novel
Bag of Bones (2005) from the 1998 novel

TV Movies and Mini-Series

Salem's Lot (1979) from the 1975 novel
It (1990) from the 1986 novel
The Golden Years (1991) original screenplay
The Tommyknockers (1993) from the 1987 novel
The Stand (1994) from the 1978 novel
The Langoliers (1995) from the 1990 Four Past Midnight novella
The Shining (1997) from the 1977 novel
Trucks (1997) from the 1978 Night Shift short story
Storm of the Century (1999) original screenplay
Rose Red (2002) original screenplay
Carrie (2002) from the 1974 novel
The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer (2003) from the 2002 Rose Red mini-series
Kingdom Hospital (2004) original screenplay
Salem's Lot (2004) from the 1975 novel
Desperation (2005) from the 1996 novel

Original Story / Screenplay Credit

Creepshow (1982)
Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990)
Sleepwalkers (1992)
Michael Jackson's Ghosts (1997)

TV Episodes

Tales from the Darkside (1984) from the 1985 Skeleton Crew short story Word Processor of the Gods
Tales from the Darkside (1984) from the 1985 Skeleton Crew short story Sorry, Right Number
The Twilight Zone (1985) from the 1985 Skeleton Crew short story Gramma
Monsters (1988) from the 1993 Nightmares & Dreamscapes short story The Moving Finger
The X-Files (1993) original screenplay: Chinga
The Outer Limits (1995) original screenplay: The Revelations of 'Becka Paulson

Short Films

The Boogeyman (1982) from the 1978 Night Shift short story
The Woman in the Room (1983) from the 1978 Night Shift short story
Disciples of the Crow (1983) from the 1978 Night Shift short story Children of the Corn
Cain Rose Up (1999) from the 1985 Skeleton Crew short story
Paranoid (2000) from the 1985 Skeleton Crew poem Paranoid: A Chant
Strawberry Spring (2001) from the 1978 Night Shift short story
Night Surf (2002) from the 1978 Night Shift short story
Rainy Season (2002) from the 1993 Nightmares & Dreamscapes short story
Autopsy Room 4 (2003) from the 2002 Everything's Eventual short story

---

OK, I did all that just to get organized. Feel free to correct any errors I may have made. (This is one of my favorite movie topics, in case you couldn't tell.)

As far as the directors go, let's look at the 'bigger' King adaptations (leaving out the endless Corn sequels)...

Carrie (1976) Dir: Brian De Palma (Dressed to Kill)
Salem's Lot (1979) Dir: Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre)
The Shining (1980) Dir: Stanley Kubrick (A Clockwork Orange)
Cujo (1983) Dir: Lewis Teague (Alligator)
The Dead Zone (1983) Dir: David Cronenberg (The Fly)
Christine (1983) Dir: John Carpenter (Halloween)
Children of the Corn (1984) Dir: Fritz Kiersch (Um...Tuff Turf)
Firestarter (1984) Dir: Mark L. Lester (Commando)
Cat's Eye (1985) Dir: Lewis Teague, again
Silver Bullet (1985) Dir: Daniel Attias, went on to do a LOT of television directing
Maximum Overdrive (1986) Dir: Stephen King
Stand By Me (1986) Dir: Rob Reiner (The Princess Bride)
Creepshow 2 (1987) Dir: Michael Gornick, another guy who went on to TV work
The Running Man Dir: Paul Michael Glaser (The Cutting Edge)
A Return to Salem's Lot Dir: Larry Cohen (It's Alive and many others)
Pet Sematary (1989) Dir: Mary Lambert (The In Crowd)
It (1990) Dir: Tommy Lee Wallace (Halloween 3)
Graveyard Shift (1990) Dir: Ralph Singleton, has moved on to producing
Misery (1990) Dir: Rob Reiner, again
Sometimes They Come Back (1991) Dir: Tom McLaughlin (Friday the 13th Part 6)
The Lawnmower Man (1992) Dir: Brett Leonard (Virtuosity)
The Dark Half (1993) Dir: George Romero (Dawn of the Dead)
Needful Things (1993) Dir: Fraser Heston (Alaska)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994) Dir: Frank Darabont (The Majestic)
The Stand (1994) Dir: Mick Garris (Critters 2)
The Mangler (1995) Dir: Tobe Hooper, again
The Langoliers (1995) Dir: Tom Holland (Child's Play)
Dolores Claiborne (1995) Dir: Taylor Hackford (An Officer and a Gentleman)
Thinner (1996) Dir: Tom Holland, again
Quicksilver Highway (1997) Dir: Mick Garris, again
The Night Flier (1997) Dir: Mark Pavia, mia
The Shining (1997) Dir: Mick Garris, again
Apt Pupil (1998) Dir: Bryan Singer (X-Men)
The Green Mile (1999) Dir: Frank Darabont, again
Storm of the Century (1999) Dir: Craig Baxley (I Come in Peace)
Hearts in Atlantis (2001) Dir: Scott Hicks (Snow Falling On Cedars)
Rose Red (2002) Dir: Craig Baxley, again
Carrie (2002) Dir: David Carson (Star Trek: Generations)
Dreamcatcher (2003) Dir: Lawrence Kasdan (The Big Chill)
The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer (2003) Dir: Craig Baxley, again
Secret Window (2004) Dir: David Koepp (Stir of Echoes)
Kingdom Hospital (2004) Dir: Craig Baxley, again
Riding the Bullet (2004) Dir: Mick Garris, again
Salem's Lot (2004) Dir: Mikael Salomon (Hard Rain)
The Talisman (2005) Dir: Vadim Perelman (House of Sand and Fog)
Bag of Bones (2005) Dir: Peter Care (The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys)
Desperation (2005) Dir: Mick Garris, again

--So just scanning over this list I see Stanley Kubrick, Brian De Palma, Rob Reiner (twice), John Carpenter, Taylor Hackford, Tobe Hooper (twice), David Cronenberg, Frank Darabont (twice), Bryan Singer, Scott Hicks, Lawrence Kasdan, George Romero, David Koepp, Vadim Perelman...

I see genre favorites like Lewis Teague (twice), Tom Holland, Mick Garris, Tom McLaughlin, Brett Leonard, Tommy Lee Wallace and the great Larry Cohen...

Plus I also see a lot of filmmakers coming back to adapt King's work on more than one occasion. For the most part I'd say Mr. King has had fine directors...for the most part.

She never really became a bigtime 'player' but I'm still blown away by the job Mary Lambert did on the original Pet Sematary.

And I'm with those who adore The Dead Zone. Great, great movie.

Kevin Grey

Totally agreed. Another thing about King's