In an interview with Collider.com, David Yates discussed a myriad of topics with Steve Weintraub. One of the subjects at hand was his withdrawal from the movie adaptation of The Stand.
Yates told Weintraub that he has loved The Stand since he was a kid. So what happened? He says that his issues were "with the adaptation."
Yates explains:
“What I love about King’s work and what I love about The Stand is the fact that Stephen King really puts you into these people’s lives, and you see the world from a very intimate human level, which normally is something I love. But we felt this pressure to make these super tentpole movies with this material, and the things that you get in Potter—which are these extraordinary episodes of action—they didn’t exist in the material, and I was worried I wouldn’t be able to deliver the kind of movie that ultimately the studio was hoping to get from this material. I could see making a miniseries from it, a really interesting, intricate, layered, enjoyable long-burn of a miniseries, I could see that, but what was missing for me were the big movie moments in the material, the big set pieces.”
The full interview is HERE.
This is no big shock, I guess: it's obvious that "The Stand" lacks the kind of material to turn it into a series of summer-blockbuster movies.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I still think that it's a viable concept. You can add characters, and action scenes to go along with them, without having to fundamentally alter the intent of the story as King wrote it. It all depends on how you approach the material; you've got to remain true to the essence of the story, but feel free to deviate from the specifics of it.
If you want an example of how to do so correctly, look no further than the "Lord of the Rings" movies.
LOR was well done.
ReplyDeleteI think The Stand would be difficult to convert to a movie. Consider: It is character driven, not action driven. Scenes we remember best do not translate to film. How do you do the lincoln tunnel, in total darkness ?
Also, the flow of the story doesn't work for screen. Part one, everyone gets sick. Part two, everyone gathers up. Part three, spies go to take their stand.
But there's no real meaty action! UTD had a lot more action. The Stand is more like a Soap. Scary to realize, isn't it?! The booger never really completely climaxes. It lumbers on to a slow end, that isn't even really an end.
las vegas doesn't end this thing, there is still another 100 pages of travel. And to be honest, the story does not progress a lot in those 100 pages. But the characters do!
I think the Stand is GREAT novel. But in terms of movie, I don't think we're going to get anything better than what Garris and King already gave us. But then, I really like the mini-series.
david