EPIC

I'm watching -- again -- Turner Classic Movie's documentary "Epic." It's great! Movies that were larger than life, huge casts and massive budgets. To some degree, the Epic is a disappearing thing in the American theater (James Cameron might come close with Avatar.)

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King doesn't translate well to film is because Hollywood has lost its passion for the Epic.

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Three things Epic's need:

1. A big story. You don't have an hour and a half epic.

2. A big budget.

3. Lots of characters.

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Of course, because King's stories are often big they get dropped into the mini-series format. But, honestly, the mini-series can lose a lot of energy. For one thing, they aren't big budget productions. They are often good hearted, but the viewer has to give some grace when it comes to the werewolf in IT. The mini-series is also plagued by the fact that it's on TV, thus must be tamed down. Not to mention, comericals alone can cause anything to lose some serious traction. There's nothing like sitting on the edge of your seat as Annie Wilkes prepares to break Paul's legs, only to be interrupted by a commercial for erectile dysfunction followed by drugs that make you pee less and topped off by a woman heralding the latest design for her maxi. Great.

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I think one reason everyone is so hesitant int heir excitement about the Dark Tower isn't hat it has to be an epic. It's huge, and already popular -- so the fans won't allow screw ups on this one.

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By the way -- this is random -- I wonder if Stephen King will play himself in the Dark Tower movies.

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Constant Readers love the Epic nature of King's writing. While the world might groan when King announces he has a new gigantic book, the Constant reader begins to drool. Hey, why rush a good story! Here's a list of books I think are Epics:

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The Dark Tower

The Stand

The Talisman (Thanks for pointing that out, Tim!)

Tommyknockers

IT

Under The Dome

Cell

Needful Things

(Did I msis any?)