Talk Stephen King

Riding The NEWS Bullet

2012-01-27T14:34:00.000-08:00

This pictures has nothing to do with this article
except it is what I NEED
my wife should take out a loan and buy this for me

Hey, there is a lot of really cool news out there right now. Let me offer some bullet points to several interesting stories out right now:

* I really enjoyed the article at Lilja's Library titled "Did You Catch Stephen King?" (HERE). He recounts Kings various on screen appearances, from small roles to large -- country bumpkin to loveable trucker. He even notes one non Stephen King project in which you can spot King's voice! It's a very nice summery.

* Hollywood Reporter has a Sundance Film Review of Room 237. (HERE) The bottom line, " A wacky, sometimes hilariously esoteric deconstruction of the subliminal messages and hidden meanings in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining."

* Matt at Stephen King Fancast has posted an interview with Christopher Birk, director of Willa. (HERE) Also catch my interview with Matt (HERE). And the nice things Matt said about me, even though I picked on him and Bryant, are (HERE).

* Playbill.com has a article titled: PHOTO ARCHIVE: Carrie Musical, Original Photos and Playbill. (HERE) "As the infamous musical Carrie — based on the Stephen King novel — prepares for its first-ever New York revival at MCC Theater, we look back at the original UK and NYC productions and offer a glance through the pages of the Broadway Playbill."

* The original final chapter of 11/22/63 has been posted on stephenking.com (HERE). Though posted at stephenking.com, I first saw it at Lilja's.

* DVD File has posted the final specs for the Bag Of Bones DVD's. (HERE) I might be the only constant reader who enjoyed this mini-series a lot!

* Summer Dawn Hortillosa at The Jersey Journal has a story titled, "Lincoln, Holland tunnels subject of exhibit at Hoboken Historical Museum." (HERE) She discusses Angus Gillespie, who served as a consultant for the exhibit's design. Gillespie has written a book, “Crossing Under the Hudson: The Story of The Holland and Lincoln Tunnels" in which she notes various media references to the tunnels, including Stephen King's novel The Stand. Worth noting, since I think the trip through the Lincoln Tunnel is one of the most memorable -- if not one of the scariest -- scenes in any Stephen King book. Rank it right up there with those two women hacking each other to death in the middle of the street in Needful Things, eh!

* Finally, Matt at Stephen King Fancast introduced me to the Discordia 19 website. Very well done! You can find it (HERE) Check out the post, "Mark Geyer Remarqued King Illustrations" (HERE).

Bev Vincent and the Doctor in IT

2012-01-27T13:47:00.000-08:00

A new copy of Cemetery Dance came the other day. While the issue itself is not very devoted to King, Bev Vincent's article's are always stuffed full of note worthy King items.

Bev discusses Full Dark No Stars, offering a summery of the book. Most interesting to me, Bev shares that his doctor was mentioned in the King book IT. As it turns out, the doctor had been King's physician in the 1970's. "There he is, giving a baby Mike Hanlon a tetanus shot."

I also enjoyed Bev's review of the movie Dolan's Cadillac. No spoilers here, except to say that he does say it is better than the Children of the Corn remake. Hummmm. . .

Vincents notes on King are always interesting and alone make it worth picking up a copy of Cemetery Dance.

You can purchase Cemetery Dance #65 HERE

11.22.63 Journal #7: Obdurate

2012-01-26T17:26:00.000-08:00

Obdurate & Stephen King: The Use of the Word “Obdurate” in 11/22/63
with notes from reader 19

Dictionary.com : unmoved by persuasion, pity, or tender feelings; stubborn; unyielding. stubbornly resistant to moral influence; persistently impenitent: an obdurate sinner.

"Because the past didn’t like to be changed. It was obdurate." -- 11/22/63 (p. 159).

Obdurate–a fascinating word. Not one we hear in everyday conversation.

King plows new ground in 11.22.63 with the concept of time itself being obdurate.

What if time wasn't a thing, like a block of wood or even a machine -- what if it was alive? What if time was insulted when people tried to change it? And, the biggie -- what if it could fight back? What if the time line itself was able to protect itself against time-travelers.

Examine this quote, and notice how the past is indeed alive:

"Because the past is sly as well as obdurate. It fights back. And yes, maybe there was an element of greed involved, too."

King also writes,

"The past is obdurate for the same reason a turtle’s shell is obdurate: because the living flesh inside is tender and defenseless." (p. 827) Time protects the people within its shell.

Sadie picks up on the theme and tries to relate to it but she uses the wrong word–malelevolent--instead of obdurate. She hasn't experienced the obdurates of the past the way Jake has! It has beat him to a pulp!

The addition of time having will is something I suspect future writers will pick up on. Watch out, Captain Kirk, next time you go back in time, it might not just be the Klingon's on your tail!

And then there is the Yellow Card man. . .

Interview With Matt Jacobs of SK Fancast

2012-01-25T13:05:00.000-08:00

Glad to present an interview with the man behind the Stephen King Fancast. If you haven't listened to the most recent Fancast, I encourage you to -- as well as his movie reviews. My favorite section actually is the movies!

The interview is below, but first the links. . .

Matt is like Sponge Bob. . . he's everywhere!

Okay, now the interview!

Talk Stephen King: Hi! I know you are very serious about the world of Stephen King. Tell me about yourself.

Matt Jacobs: I started as a fan of Stephen King because of his Movies. My wife has always been a big fan of King's novels and I started "reading" them at her recommendation. By reading I clearly mean listening to.

Seeing as how I am a huge proponent of the podcast scene, I started a podcast based on King fandom, unknowing that the Kingcast already existed. So I guess I owe Bob an apology for treading all over his territory.

Non-King stuff about me. I am married to my high-school sweetheart. We have been together for almost half of my life and I love her more than anything else. I also love heavy metal music, pop divas, dubstep, Twitter, my beard, anything to do with Nerdist and British TV. My iPhone too. I have no children and have no intent on having any, a choice that my mom and grandma remind me is a bad idea on a daily basis. LOL!

TSK: Is your family enthusiastic about this obsession?

Matt Jacobs: Only my wife. She is wonderfully supportive! I know she will read this even though she doesn't have to. Love you sugarfoot! #Petnames My family barely knows the internet exists. They think it's that wonderful thing that streams them movies and holds their Facebook pages and that's it.

TSK: Do you own a dog named Cujo? A child named Carrie? A pet buried in the Pet Sematary? How messed up over this King stuff are you?

Matt Jacobs: My wife wouldn't allow me to name the dog Cujo or Pennywise, although I tried both.

TSK: Well, I guess if it's between a dog named Cujo and a wife, I would choose the same.

Matt Jacobs: I guess my obsession goes to the extent of my blog, podcasts and the fact that I own 5 or 6 King related t-shirts. If you were to math out the amount of time I spend writing, recording and editing audio or video, it's nearly a full-time job. Now if I could convince my readers, listeners and viewers to pay me to do it, I would be a happy camper. Then again, I doubt that I have the audience that Bob has podcast wise, and you and Honk have me beat on readers and hits, I'm sure. My site is growing though, so I am hopeful.

TSK: I enjoy Stephen King Fancast. It is a unique site in the mix of many Stephen King websites. What makes the Fancast different?

Matt Jacobs: I think my site stands out because, in my opinion, its very media heavy. Whether you want to read about King, hear about King, or watch videos having to do with King, you can get any of that.

I know that you, Honk and Lilja have been at this for a while, so if I am going to try to leave my mark, I will have to make sure that virtually any King fan can find something they are interested in.

I am also trying to appeal to the nerd crowd. It's my opinion that King fans are already pretty nerdy, so it's not much of a jump to get nerds into King, or I would like to think.

TSK: What is your favorite Fancast episode?

Matt Jacobs: My favorite episode... wow. I had a BLAST with Stephen Lindsay, Jeff Lane, Bob and Bryant! Bryant stands out the most, but it's also the most recent. I am huge fan of everything all of them do, as well.

I think my episode with Luanne was my favorite though. I have been friends with her since we attended community college together 10 years ago. We lost track of each other for a few years, due to our own university agendas and various other things. That episode of the fancast was a great friendship being re-kindled after years of dormancy. All those nostalgic nights of RPG's (the super nerdy old school kind that require books!) and endless hours in the smoking section at the school comparing notes on Psych classes. I know that we both looked back on those times with great fondness. Now we have an excuse to do that again, just with King instead of psych or RPG's. That's pretty biased, but I also believe those dudes would understand. Still waiting for you to get Skype and join me on an episode... #UnderPressure Then again, I made your blog's FB page, so I should know how resistant you are to tech. Which is a little hilarious, considering you're a blogger. LOL!

TSK: I know you have big plans for the website. . . tell us more.

Matt Jacobs: Well, I wanted my Constant Listeners (which is what I call my podcast listeners), blog readers and Movie Club viewers to be able to guide the hand of what is to come with my website and fund it if they are interested.

What they don't know, is that I have every intention on re-building and re-branding the website and creating a mobile app whether I get funded or not.

I am really excited about the mobile app, mainly because then people can read blog posts, listen to the Fancast or watch the movie club from their smartphones, for only 99 cents. I am going to charge a tiny amount for the app simply to cover the cost of the app and future time invested for updates and such that I will have to make.

TSK: Okay, now the gloves come off. Star Wars or Star Trek?
Matt Jacobs: Star Trek, if I must pick one.
TSK: Is that a typo? I'm sending a star destroyer your way, and there is nothing captain Kirk can do about it.
Matt Jacobs: But I would give up both of those for Doctor Who, Torchwood and Sherlock.

TSK: More seriously – like, on the level of things that actually matter in life. . . what is your favorite Stephen King book?
Matt Jacobs: Either Cell or Black House. I really like Black House because I tend to identify with the character of Beezer St. Pierre.

TSK: What is your reaction to King adding stories to an already complete series with Wind Through The Keyhole?
Matt Jacobs: All things serve the beam... including King.

TSK: Oh, and while on the topic. . . what did you think of the revision of Gunslinger?
Matt Jacobs: I never got into the series until the newer version of Gunslinger was released. I haven't gotten around to reading the old version yet.
TSK: Wasn’t the end of the Dark Tower a lot like the reboot of Star Trek? Just restart the timeline. . .
Matt Jacobs: Sure. I always thought it would be cool if the DT movies were made from the perspective of being that reboot. DT 2.0, if you will.
TSK: That would be cool! And keep people from saying "it wasn't like the book."

TSK: This is important: Do you think we’ve seen the last of Richard Bachman, or are there more trunks full of forgotten manuscripts out there? We all know you know, so tell us, okay.
Matt Jacobs: We haven't seen the end of Bachman...

TSK: Do you have other favorite writers? . . . Are you secretly a Laura Ingalls Wilder fan?
Matt Jacobs: LOL! The only Wilder I enjoy is Gene.
TSK: What do you think of Joe Hill’s work?
Matt Jacobs: I am a big fan of Joe Hill. I also am a big fan of Jeff Lane, Stephen Lindsay, Aldous Huxley, the Classic Greeks, Doyle, and Rowling.

TSK: WOW! I loved your review of the Langoliers! Laughing very hard. Only, you punished us by showing us the ending sequence twice. I’ve got to be honest, I don’t know that I ever made it all the way to the end of that movie. I’m glad you’re not afraid to tell the truth about some of these movies, because the Stephen King universe has certainly produced its fair share of stinkers! Any other movies stand out as just absolutely bad in the Stephen King movie bucket?
Matt Jacobs: Where to start... First off, my favorite King movie, is "Storm of the Century," so I really like your logo.
TSK: I put it there just for you, Matt.
Matt Jacobs: Sleepwalkers and Lawnmower Man stand out as being horrible. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy watching them however.

TSK: You mentioned in the review that it reminds you to the Twilight Zone episode, The Odssey of Flight 33. Are you a Twilight Zone fan? Any outstanding episodes come to mind?
Matt Jacobs: Yes! I love the Twilight Zone! I grew up watching those holiday marathons that they have.
TSK: Me too! It wouldn't be the fourth of July without the Twilight Zone. The founding fathers were watching a TZ marathon while they waited for John Hancock to sign his name.
Matt Jacobs: I still watch them to be honest. I also have a 10 disc boxset. "Time Enough at Last" is my absolute favorite. "Real Steele" is good as well, I'm not sure if the upcoming Hugh Jackman movie is a take off of that or not, but I intend to find out.

TSK: What did you think of the recent Bag Of Bones?
Matt Jacobs: It was pretty bad... They completely lost the feel of the story, to me. That feeling was desperation. A man at the end of his rope to the point where he was ready to accept his own madness rather than fight against his fears. I didn't get that from the mini-series at all.

But I'll buy it when it comes out... Sometimes I feel like I know how Star Wars nerds feel. George Lucas has their undying love and affection, so he can put out a real piece of garbage and all they do is complain and buy it anyway. Not that different... LOL!

King's books are awesome, mostly, but the movies are rarely good or live up to my expectation.

TSK: You noted recently that your favorite method of book consumption is audio. YES! So, for those who say that isn’t really reading (I’m not saying who would say such a thing, but their initials are Bryant Burnette), do you have any response?
Matt Jacobs: HAHAHAHA! Oh snap! He got you honk... I would say to them, let's sit down over Skype and see who has a better grasp on the story. "Reading" or not, understanding is what you should take away from a story, not the fact that your eyes were able to gobble up more words than anyone else's. That is not aimed at anyone, but I have had my fair share of naysayers on the topic... yet none of them have joined me for a Skype session either. #WINNING Did I really just use that hashtag... so over. Sorry to anyone that feels awkward after seeing me use such an outdated hashtag.
TSK: I think reading the books is dangerous. . . you might smudge that nice first edition.
Matt Jacobs: In my house there is always the fear that my wife will spill something on it. She's kind of clutsy. Sorry Lovebutt! #MorePetnames
TSK: HAHAHA! My wife READ my first edition Dark Tower 7 and smudged it. She said she had to, as she had to finish the series and could not wait for a paperback. I complained, and she bought me an atist edition.

TSK: The web is a tangled place for Stephen King fans. There are some really great websites. What are some of your favorite haunts?
Matt Jacobs: TSK, Kingcast, Honk, Club Stephen King (a must if you have Twitter), Tower Junky and this new one I found called Discordia19... It's pretty good. He also runs a podcast, but not King dedicated.

TSK: I liked your interview with the Honk Mafah. He always shoots straight! I’m just so happy you both love bacon so much – But seriously, how can you talk to someone who won the contest at Lilja’s? And he knows more about the Stephen King Universe than I do. That makes me mad.
Matt Jacobs: Honk is my guy! He's a big fan of my beard... check the iTunes reviews of Stephen King Movie Club if you don't believe me. LOL! He is more dedicated to the King universe than anyone I know. It kinda makes me feel guilty...
TSK: And by the way, I'm one of "THOSE PEOPLE" you and Bryant refer to -- who like the books more than the movies. So what are you and Bryant going to do about it. . . HUH?
Matt Jacobs: Not a damn thing good sir. :) I refer to "THOSE PEOPLE" in a lot of different ways on my blog. I'm sure I have encompassed every person by now... including myself. HAHAHA!

TSK: Do you collect the books? If so, any treasured pieces?
Matt Jacobs: My wife and I have a pretty big collection. We are pretty proud of a first edition of "The Shining" that we have. I have a couple of variant cover DT comics that I show off now and again.

TSK: Thanks for taking time to do this. We are all expecting great things from the fancast as you take over the internet one byte at a time.
Matt Jacobs: That is my plan exactly. Look out Lilja! There's a n00b in the building! (I was shooting for funny there...) Thanx so much for having me! It was a real pleasure to be interviewed by someone as prolific as you! :)

LIKE on facebook

2012-01-24T16:23:00.000-08:00

HEY, you can now LIKE Talk Stephen King on Facebook (HERE)

Giant thanks to Matt at Stephen King Fancast for his help. "Help" meaning. . . he made it happen!

Wind Through The Keyhole excerpt

2012-01-24T16:09:00.000-08:00

Simon and Schuster has released a new excerpt of Wind Through The Keyhole HERE.

Most interesting to me was the forward. King explains that the new book "should be shelved between Wizard and Glass and Wolves of the Calla . . . which makes it, I suppose, Dark Tower 4.5."

King also shares his delight at re-encountering his old friends, and finding they had "a little more to say." He says, "It was a great gift to find them again, years after I thought their stories were told."

11.22.63 Journal #6: Suspicions

2012-01-23T16:34:00.000-08:00

Reading a good book is like eating a good meal -- don't rush! I'm enjoying 11.22.63 quite a bit. I'm in the final days, headed quickly toward the BIG day. So, of course, all the answers are near by, I hope!

Remember the guy who used to hang around Ed Wood named Criswell ? He was famous for saying, "I PREDICT!" And he would say crazy things. Well, I have a few to offer. and if you don't know who I mean, google Criswell. No, I don't mean the pastor of 1st Baptist Church of Dallas!

It is worth writing down some suspicions I have at this point, before I know the outcome. So. . . here are some not so educated guesses! Those of you who have read the whole thing, don't correct me!

So. . .

1. I suspect this will turn out to be a dry run. That is, our friend is going to reset history again once he sees the outcome of his efforts.

2. I suspect Sadie will help George carry out his mission.

3. I suspect on his second trip, George will protect Sadie better. the best face lift would be a reset in the timeline.

4. And if he does do this all again, I think he should do a LOT more study before heading into the past. George jumped too quick! He needed to spend some time with his friend google and wiki.

5. I suspect saving Kennedy will do nothing to save MLK.

6. And for the changes that would happen if Kennedy did live:

--Without LBJ, I suspect the civil rights movement might take more time.
--I do think Vietnam would be avoided all together if Kennedy lived.
--With no Vietnam, I am left wondering about other wars. Gulf Wars and various police actions. No idea on those! I hope King deals with them.

7. I know the yellow-card man will be back. He is always lurking near by. But what kind of wrench he will throw in the mission, I don't know.

So there you go. Notes from a guy who actually knows nothing!

Reader 19: A Short Review Of 11.22.63

2012-01-23T01:31:00.000-08:00

Dallas in the 1960s

Reader 19 offers this short review of 11.22.63.
What if you could go back in time and change history? That is the basic premise of 11/22/63. Stephen King’s latest novel has hit a home run, however, about three quarters of the way through we are left wondering where the novel is going. There is a backstory of the “life of “ George Amberson and the changing of the Kennedy assassination and you are often wondering if the two stories will intertwine. But not to worry because of course they did.

Even when it felt like the story was beginning to wander, I was compelled to finish the book–I HAD to know what happened. The main characters had so much depth and emotion. King skillfully draws the reader into the story. He also has the ability to blast us right into the late 50s and early 60s with Jake Epping. It’s a ride worth taking! As a woman in her thirties, I never lived in that era and it was surprising all the things that were so different in society even though it was not all that long ago.

In this book you feel like you know these characters personally and you don’t want the story to end. Even though the reader knows time travel can’t really happen, you are still right there with the characters. As such I often wondered throughout the book why Jake aka “George” does some of the things he does . . . but the end justifies the means once again. Even if he does something I might not have, I read on.

It amazes me how Stephen King can grasp the depth of emotion of the characters in his book–especially with women. He really seems to know a woman’s soul, and how a woman talks and thinks, as seen in this story with Sadie Dunhill.

I found it interesting that King did not feel the need at the beginning of the story to spend pages on time travel and how it is possible and why it works the way it does. He explains enough for us the reader to know and does not explain the why of it at the beginning because he knows that we want to get to the story.

By the way, Dark Tower fans–there is a Dark Tower link in the book but I won’t say where–read it and find it for yourself. It was unexpected and sort of a “ ah ha, of course moment.”

I will not give away any spoilers but suffice it to say there were several surprise twists at the end–and I was not left disappointed. The wandering was actually worth it since it all tied itself up nicely in the end. However, if I had been writing it, I think I would not have ended it in the way King did. King’s alternate version of modern history, is very surprising and well, creative.

King has successfully broken out of the horror genre with this book.

Gerard Lough's THE BOOGEYMAN

2012-01-20T20:14:00.000-08:00

I had the opportunity to watch Gerard Lough's dollar baby, The Boogeyman. The movie stars Simon Fogarty and Michael Parle.

Director Gerard Lough told The Irish Independent reporter, Anita Guidera, "I am not a big horror fan but I wanted to make a film that had people on the edge of their seats and not just show blood and guts. . . I was so lucky with the cast and crew that I worked with and I think we have produced a really good film."

I enjoyed the movie quite a bit. Here's why:

1. It's not a Hollywood big budget monster movie. I like those! But I also enjoy simple stories. What is awkward is when a simple, straightforward story tries to be something it is not. The Boogeyman makes no attempt. The film is comfortable in its own skin. . . unlike the Boogeyman himself!

2. The story shines. Like King's short story, the movie keeps its focus on the father who claims to have murdered his children. There are not a lot of speaking roles, as the narrator carries us from scene to scene. This works, for a short movie!

3. I actually found the film scary. I didn't expect to! The story moves with a dreamy, nightmarish feel that is unnerving. Like the short story, the viewer finds themselves asking, "Where is this going?"

4. The story is true to King's original work. It flows naturally, and logically, from scene to scene. It does not attempt to build side characters or introduce subplots to extend the story.

I look forward to seeing more from Gerard Lough.

NEWS and Links: Remakes Progress

2012-01-18T22:02:00.000-08:00

photo credit slasherfilm.com

Vulture reports that Ben Affleck has hired David Kajganich to rewrite the remake of The Stand. The article is HERE.

Claude Brodesser-Akner reports:

Ben Affleck is making progress on his own viral blockbuster: Stephen King’s The Stand, about survivors of a chemically weaponized super-flu. We hear that Affleck has hired screenwriter David Kajganich to pen the script after Kajganich wowed Warner Bros. with another recent King adaptation of the 1986 horror classic It – which, like The Stand, is being produced by Roy Lee and Doug Davison.

Slashfilm.com gives this background:

Warner Bros. has spent a lot of time developing big-budget adaptations of two classic Stephen King tomes, It and The Stand. The latter has seen a lot more activity of late, with Harry Potter team David Yates and Steve Kloves briefly attached to make the film before they decided one or two feature films wouldn’t do justice to the material. Ben Affleck stepped in as director, and now that he’s done shooting the true-life thriller Argo, he seems to be moving forward with The Stand.

Mention in Stephen King book has Westboro abuzz

2012-01-18T21:33:00.000-08:00

By Donna Boynton TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

WESTBORO — Tim Dodd’s mother gives him a Stephen King book every year for Christmas, and this past year was no exception.

An avid science fiction fan and loyal reader of Mr. King’s works, Mr. Dodd wasted no time diving into Mr. King’s latest book, “ 11/22/63 ,” about traveling through time and potentially altering the past.

FULL ARTICLE HERE
Copyright Worcester Telegram & Gazette

CARRIE MUSICAL Behind The Scenes Peek

2012-01-17T21:19:00.000-08:00

Broadwayworld.com has posted a new video of the upcoming Carrie musical.

Dolores Claiborne Opera

2012-01-17T19:01:00.000-08:00

I spotted this first at Liljas Library.

The Mercury News is reporting that Dolores Claiborne is being made into an opera.

And projecting further still into the next new season, mezzo-soprano Zajick, Gockley said, is tailor-made for "Dolores Claiborne," the role that earned Kathy Bates an Oscar nomination for the 1995 film made from the Stephen King thriller.

"It's a movie of heavy passions and tragedy and survival, and we thought it had operatic qualities," Gockley said "And doing it for the indomitable Dolora Zajick made sense."

The opera, composed by Tobias Picker and well-known librettist J.D. McClatchy, will open Sept. 15, 2013.

I have thought for years that if any King movie was due a remake, it was this one and Needful Things. But opera?

Who Was Marv ?

2012-01-17T15:47:00.000-08:00

For years Marv has faithfully held his post at Lilja's Library. Recently Marv opened Marv's Museum. We all have a good idea of what Marv is up to these days . . . but who was he before?

Get out your quill, invite George Stark over and start writing! Lilja has an awesome creative writing contest, asking readers to write and tell us who Marvin S was before he became The Library Policeman. The two best stories get an awesome reward! Check it out at Lilja's Library.

Lilja posts the rules as follows:

1) You should base your story on the original illustration Glenn Chadbourne has done (see below).
2) The story should be between 1,500 and 2,000 words.
3) You need to send me the story at the latest on Sunday February 19th, 12 PM Midnight Swedish times (that is 6PM New York time).
4) You can submit as many stories as you like.
5) The story has to be written in English.
6) You should send the story to me by mail at info[a]liljas-library.com

So get those word processors smoking! Of course, many of us need to go give Library Policeman a deeper read. I skipped and dipped through it years ago, but now I need to dig in!

Did LA Times Writer David Ulin Read 11/22/63 ?

2012-01-16T14:32:00.000-08:00

Hold on to the word "Review" because it is important.

The LA times has posted a "review" of 11/22/63 by David Ulin.
It is titled, "Book Review: Stephen King's 11/22/63."

So we're clear, right? It is a review. Got it?

But, there is very little review of 11/22/63 taking place here! It's mostly a discussion of King's character development, genre and how King is under-rated.

The 703 word "review" discusses a new years conversation about Stephen King, Kings novella "A Good Marriage", the novel "The Shining", "Desperation", "The Body", "Misery", quotes from Desperation, discussion of why Desperaton is Ulin's favorite novel, and Ulin even takes a breath to remind us of his own interview with King. . . and on and on. The "review" feels like a golf ball hit full swing in a tile bathroom. It's everywhere except on target!

The strange thing is, there is no real review of 11.22.63 ! Here's the review (are you ready?) --

For the record, I didn't think much of "11/22/63"; I found it meandering and unfocused—not to mention far too long.

So it was "unfocused" "meandering" and too long. Interesting, since that is my opinion of Ulin's "review." The review portion of the review was 21 words -- while the article was 703 words. But, according to Ulin, King's book was unfocused!

It seems he didn't like the book, but someone must have assigned him to write a review. Instead of reviewing the book, he spends his time discussing King's strengths. Since he didn't like the book, he makes up for it by telling us King has gotten a "bad rap." Yes! The bad rap comes from Ulin's "review."

Ulin offers no real, substantive discussion of the book, its characters, its themes. Mr. Ulin wrote and unfocused review of King's work, criticizing King for being "meandering and unfocused."

In fact, there is so little discussion of the novel in the review, I am left wondering if he read the book! If he was giving this as a book report in class, I'd have to ask, "Excuse me, did you read the book?" Expect him to say, "I've read a lot of Stephen King." YES! But did you read THIS book?

This review begs the question: Who let this go to print? Did they read it before they printed the "review"? Did the hole for the book review slot demand to be filled, no matter what Ulin wrote?

Read the review for yourself (HERE). I think he was really reviewing THE SHINING !

Documentary: Room 237

2012-01-14T01:40:00.000-08:00

Room 237 is the room number that Danny Torrance is told not to enter in Kubrick's movie version of "The Shining." It is also the title Rodney Ascher's not documentary about obsessive fans of The Shining.

Wait! Are there obsessive fans of The Shining? Well, I didn't know it until last week. I was doing some research for another article, and ran into a series of websites that blew my mind. People had counted frames and done all sorts of cray stuff. I mean, it's a level of crazy I'm familiar with -- but in my line of work it's usually people who have gone a little nuts with the last book of the Bible.

Entertainment Weekly cites one fan who believes Kubrick directed the Apollo moon landings while shooting 2001 and hid clues in The Shining. Jason Bailey notes that this makes The Shining "a giant coded message to tell the world about the ruse." So The Shining is not about Jack losing his mind in a haunted Hotel. . . it's an allegory of the moon landing. Of course!

Bailey cites Sundance programmer Trevor Groth saying, "“These obsessive people dissect The Shining, and they’ve watched it thousands of times, all finding their own coded meaning and language in it.” Like how the architecture of the Overlook Hotel doesn’t make any sense, with hallways leading to places that should technically be outside, and windows that show sunlight streaming in even though they are enclosed in the middle of the building… ?"

One blogger has found the hedge animals from the novel in the movie. Yep -- they're there! Check it out HERE. This blogger also discusses color changes in the movie, time codes and durations, and VW's. I kid you not. So if you want to count frames and find meaning in that, go for it.

And I thought Trekkies (Trekkers?) were obsessed.

Bailey's article (the Atlantic) is HERE.
The EW article is HERE.
An obsessive fan blog (Stanley Kubrick's Masterpiece) is HERE.
The Secret Sun blog which has an interesting article, HERE.

Neurotic Friday The 13th

2012-01-13T14:28:00.000-08:00

I enjoyed this 1984 article in the New York Times by Stephen King, titled, "A Bad Year if You Fear Friday the 13th." HERE.

I had to check this, since there is that other Stephen King who posts economic news. But I'm pretty sure this is our writer friend, since it's hard to imagine the economist being that concerned about Friday the 13th.

King wrote:

I always take the last two steps on my back stairs as one, making 13 into 12 (there were, after all, 13 steps on the English gallows - up until 1900 or so - and executions were traditionally carried out on Fridays). When I am reading, I will not stop on page 94, page 193, page 382, et al. - the digits of these numbers add up to 13. Such behavior is, of course, neurotic, but I sometimes think it is neurosis and not love that reallymakes the world go round - think of all those basketball players who cross themselves before taking foul shots, not to mention stockbrokers who carry lucky coins and carpenters who wouldn't think of completing a house without first nailing a branch to the rooftree.

King gives special attention to years with a triple Friday the 13th. For instance, " In 1956 Bela Lugosi died and was buried in his Dracula cloak."

Finally, the 1984 Stephen King informs us that the year he's reallydreading is 1998. "In that triple- whammy year I'll be 49. Can you add 4 and 9?" So what did happen in 1998? He gave us Bag Of Bones. Not so bad! However, 1999 would be the year that wasn't so friendly.

Cujo Goes To Iran

2012-01-13T14:01:00.000-08:00

Iran Book News Agency has a post announcing "Cujo" has been translated into Persian and is headed for Iran. The translation was done by Maryam Malakouti and will be released by Ofogh Publications.

The article reminds us that the 1981 novel was one King has said he really doesn't remember writing! It also gives some background on the name Cujo, which is based on "the nom de guerre of Willie Wolfe, one of the men responsible for orchestrating Patty Hearst's kidnapping and indoctrination into the Symbionese Liberation Army."

Other King novels already published in Persian include "Blaze", "Dreamcatcher", "The Green Mile", and "Cell." that's interesting, because those works are all less religious than other works by King. I wonder if that has any impact on deciding which books to translate and publish in Iran.

The article is HERE

thanks to Bryant Burnette

DVD FILE: The Green Mile

2012-01-12T01:10:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I have to read a review to find out what I don't like about movies I really like. I didn't ko there was a problem with the novel Christine until I read all the reviews. Just reading the book, I was entrhalled. But now mye yes have been opened; I should not have enjoyed the book with such gitty pleasure!

Now, I thought the Green Mile was awesome! I mean, absolutely wonderful. I didn't know there was a stone to be thrown at the Green Mile. But, turns out, there is! DVD File has a very good review of the Green Mile. You can read it HERE. It is generally all positive -- except for the parts that aren't so positive.

So what could be wrong with the Green Mile, asked myself. Only, I asked too late! I had already read the review. It caught me off guard. The words had to settle in.

. . . Too long? the movie was too long? That's the complaint?! It might be long because it was faithful to the book. But, that aside, I must say that as a fan, I didn't know it was too long. It didn't feel too long! But dog gone it, next time I watch that movie, I'll be sure to note with disgust how long it is. I'll fold my arms and huff and how much time I'm spending enjoying this wonderful movie. After all, movies should all fit inside the 2 hour time frame. That was abd of the Green MIle to give ust hat extra hour of pleasure!

DVD file explains:

At over three hours, The Green Mile is not a quick watch, and admittedly the pacing does occasionally lapse into the laborious."

Now see, I'd-a never known that without them telling me! My senses didn't pick up on it. I just sat there and enjoyed the whole thing, like a big fool. But now I've been schooled.

Wait, there's more:

Scenes are often drawn out near the breaking point, and the consistent sameness in tone often stunts the film's drama and suspense.

Huh? The suspense was stunted? I could have been pulled even further off the edge of my seat than I was? May I suggest that if scenes are drawn out to the "breaking point" it might be because you are in so much suspense waiting for what's going to happen next.

More here:

Even some of the more horrific execution scenes and the late-night escape sequence are not quite as exciting as one would expect.

I see! I didn't know that, either. Seemed pretty freaky to me. I mean, fire was coming from the dude's head and all. But maybe that's not scary. . . . but if "horrific execution scenes" are not "exciting", what is? Non-Horrific execution scenes?

Another gem:

While the film does have its humorous moments, it is also often too solemn for its own good, unlike Shawshank, which better balanced the oppressive prison setting with humor, pathos, and suspense.

And now we've been told! Only, I hadn't thought to sit there and compare the two. I just enjoyed what humor ther was as it was sprung on me. Dumb me! I needed to be keeping my notes at hand.

Next time I find myself really enjoying a good movie, I'll be sure to ask a reviewer why it stinks ahead of time. I will not so foolishly enjoy myself.

Original Carrie Musical Review

2012-01-11T01:20:00.000-08:00

This one isn't pretty, folks! "The music is aweful. . ." I won't spoil it all, but this review is wonderful. I love it. Only thing, don't confuse this Carrie with the new musical!

CARRIE Cast Reveals Why They're Excited About the Show!

2012-01-11T01:14:00.000-08:00

This is from Broadwayworld.com.

MCC THEATER yesterday announced The Carrie Anticipation Contest: Why Are You Excited About Carrie?. Theater fans all around the world are encouraged to submit a video explaining why they are excited for what is shaping up to be the most anticipated theatrical event of the season: MCC's upcoming production of Carrie. From all the submitted videos, one winner will win a pair of VIP tickets to MCC Theater's Opening Night performance and after-party on March 1, 2012. To enter the contest, to view other entries (including one by stage and screen star Jonathan Groff), visit http://www.mcctheater.org. In the video below, members of the cast and creative team reveal why they're excited about the revival.

Bag Of Bones An Excellent Thriller!

2012-01-09T15:28:00.000-08:00

Bag Of Bones, Sweden

Debbie Walker has posted a list of 5 books to read in 2012. #5 on her list is Bag of Bones. Her explanation for why she loves this books makes one fantastic short review. Very insightful! The full list is HERE. And this is what she said about Bag Of Bones:
Bag of Bones is another important entry in King’s take on writers and writing. Mike’s inability to write following the death of his wife, Jo, is palpably frustrating. One of King’s greatest strengths is putting into plain words the struggles of writing novels; here, writer’s block is as real and painful as Paul Sheldon’s physical pain in Misery, or Eddie Dean’s withdrawal hell in The Drawing of the Three. One doesn’t need to be a writer to understand Mike’s torment, or sympathize with it. Beyond King’s understanding of the writing (or not-writing) process is a rare glimpse into the world of publishing. Mike putting away manuscripts to be published at a later date is a fascinating, idiosyncratic detail that is also necessary to the plot. Now that the Mini Series has aired re-read or read for the first time Bag of Bones: an excellent book and a thriller in the best of Stephen King.

Flagg's City

2012-01-09T00:28:00.000-08:00

In The Stand, Las Vegas is the designated capitol city for Randall Flagg. It's his Washington D.C., the polar opposite of the New Jerusalem. And is Las Vegas ever a wonderful choice! It is a nasty place, ain't it?

Stephen Mejias at stereophile us truly passionate in his hatred of Las Vegas. (HERE)

He writes, "It's no surprise that Stephen King chose Las Vegas as the headquarters of evil when he wrote The Stand." YES!

Mejias explains:

My hatred for Las Vegas is juvenile and irrational and represents what is probably the last strand of my nearly resigned defiance for all things bourgeois, fascist, bogus, and generally lame. I’ve softened up a lot over the last 10 years, but Vegas hardens me anew. I hate Las Vegas. The place is soulless, hollow, utterly putrid, infested with sickness, vice, and abandon, driven by all that is dirty and unholy (I kinda like that part, actually), and, above all, fake. So incredibly fake, in fact, that one just has to marvel at its surface shine, its cardboard towers and phony waterfalls, its ridiculously realistic gondolas and Parisian skies.

. . . In Las Vegas, you have to wait years before you can safely cross the quietest of streets. Who built this city, anyway? Oh, yes: Criminals.

That's wonderful! And leads to a quick question: Do any other cities qualify to be the headquarters of pure evil? Of course, in the Bible, Babylon takes first prize, followed by Rome -- called the "Beast" and the "Harlot." That's pretty nasty!

So, nominate away: What other cities qualify for Randy Flaggs base of operations?

Field Trip to Marv's Museum

2012-01-08T14:26:00.000-08:00

Marv the Library Policeman
source: Lilja's Library

My favorite King site, Lilja's Library, has opened a whole new section called "Marv's Museum." Check it out HERE

First, you have to meet Marv. Lilja shared with me that Marv was created by Glenn Chadbourne in 2006 as a mascot for Lilja’s Library. For the past few years Marv has bee keeping watch atop Lilja's Library website. He also appears on the cover and inside the book version of Lilja's Library.

So what is "Marv's Museum"? Well, Lilja explained on his website that, "Marv’s Museum is a museum where I will show you interesting items that I have collected over the years. Initially there will be props from King movies but as time goes on I hope to add other things, things that I think you will find interesting."

The Museum is already a bustling place. You find. . .

Pictures of items from Dolan's Cadiallac,
The original drawings for the president (King) and the first lady Zombies used in the Dollar Baby Home Delivery
The helmet that used in the Nightmares & Dreamscapes episode Battleground
This boxing robe used by the actor Ken Pogue in season two of The Dead Zone
This is the Can Tah that was used during the filming of Desperation

From Marv's Musuem
Lilja writes: "These newspapers where used in the movie version of The Mist from 2007 and if you look very close you’ll see some very interesting articles in it. They were donated by Frank Darabont himself."

And there's more! My favorite is newspapers that were used in The Mist (pictured. . . but there's a lot more). The headlines/articles are great!

Okay, that''s enough talk. . . time for the field trip. Head on over to Marv's Museum.

Quigley: Collection Time for Stephen King

2012-01-07T12:34:00.000-08:00

Kevin Quigley has posted a great article at FEARnet.com. Quigley is author of several books about Stephen King and proprietor of Charnel House.

Quigley's article, titled "Collection Time for Stephen King: An Observation" is like an alarm clock reminding the constant reader that the time must be near for another collection of short stories. In Collection Time, Quigley gives us an examination of several of King's short stories that have not yet been included in a book.

Of course, some of King's most memorable works have come from the books of short stories. The Mist was one of my favorites. Of course, sometimes the short stories are deeply connected to King's novels. Jerusalem's Lot lay the ground work for Salem's Lot and Night Surf was groundwork for The Stand. One of my favorites is Survivor Type -- which is a different kind of take on cannibalism.

Quigley spots things I would easily miss. (Maybe because I don't focus enough on the short stories, as I'm just trying to stay afloat reading all those novels!) I like this observation about Morality:

"Morality" forms a loose trilogy with "Mute" (from Just After Sunset) and Full Dark, No Stars' "Fair Extension" as stories that explore the concept of sin and how it affects regular people.

Quigley also considers what story should serve as the "opening act." I'll stop giving spoilers, because you should really read this article and chew on his conclusions. I like it all!

The full article is HERE.

Blog Critics Review Of Salem's Lot

2012-01-06T10:32:00.000-08:00

New Salem's Lot Cover
photo credit: Lilja's Library

I really enjoyed Elizabeth Periale's review of Salem's Lot, posted at Blog Critic's. (HERE)

She calls Salem's lot a "a wonderful old-school vampire story, where the vampires aren't sparkly, or romantic, or James Dean cool — they are rampant, foul-smelling, and very, very evil." YES! That's what vampires are supposed to be! Wow, I'm getting hungry to read this novel again!

Pariale quotes King as saying about the book, "In a way it is my favorite story, mostly because of what it says about small towns. They are kind of a dying organism ... I have a special cold spot in my heart for it!"

And, of course, what about those characters? Any King novel is really driven by the people who inhabit the book -- or in this case, Salem's Lot. Pariale gives King credit for doing a "wonderful job" developing memorable characters. Salem's Lot has several!

Finally, I really think this quote is right on! --

'Salem's Lot is a time capsule of sorts. So many of the main characters are working in the dark from one another. King could never have written the novel in the age of cell phones. Clearly a product of the '70s, it is no less a scary read today. 'Salem's Lot packs the same punch, the same apprehension, whether read late at night or in the clear light of day. As scary as it is, there is also something incredibly sad about the novel. King pulls 'Salem's Lot apart piece by piece. We watch the town disappear. The horror the reader experiences, the inevitability of the story and the characters' fates, is in exact correlation to Ben and his friends' dread at their eventual confrontation with Kurt Barlow.

The full review is HERE.

If We Could Choose

2012-01-05T22:33:00.000-08:00

I'm really excited that a new anthology film is being made. If I could choose 4 stories to see hit the screen as part of an anthology movie, I'd choose:

Full Dark, No Stars. All four stories in one movie. I think it would make an awesome movie. If kept short (like the book), it could be a powerful movie.

If not Full Dark, here are 4 stories I think would be cool to see on screen:

The Sun Dog
Mile 81
Blockade Billy
Morality

So, what 4 stories would you like to see put into an anthology movie? Go ahead, give us your version of Creepshow!

Stephen King Experiencing A "Creative Renaissance"

2012-01-05T22:24:00.000-08:00

Curt Holman at Atlanta's Creative Loafing site has posted his most anticipated books of 2012. #4 on his list is Wind Through The Keyhole.

The Wind Through the Keyhole (Scribner, April 24) The same month that Stephen King co-authors a world premiere musical at the Alliance Theatre, he publishes a new volume in his mammoth, genre-busting series of books, The Dark Tower. An untold story of Roland, the series protagonist, this 320-page book (slim by King standards) finds the last gunslinger befriending a young boy while attempting to stop a shape-shifting fiend. Following the acclaimed Under the Dome and 11/22/63, King has been enjoying a creative renaissance lately, so it'll be interesting to see where Wind fits in.

So have things picked up for King since Under The Dome? I think the comment has merit. While King is very passionate about Lisey's Story -- I must admit frustrating trying to read it. Duma Key was fantastic, but UTD picked things up to a new level for King. 11.22.63 is powerful. There has also been Blockade Billy, and the very scary Full Dark, No Stars.

Stephen King Returns To Horror Movies!

2012-01-05T22:04:00.000-08:00

As I posted earlier, a new Stephen King anthology is in the works. Very exciting! For what it's worth, on my end, I loved Night Flier! Very creepy tone. So news that Mark Pavia is headed back to Stephen King country is exciting news to me.

Britgeek at Ain't It Cool News has this great post. I am posting this with permission from Britgeek!

Britgeek here.

Stephen King is quite possibly the greatest writer of our time and it's amazing just how many novels, short stories and screenplays he manages to produce each and every year. What's also incredible is how, for an author best known for his contribution to horror, King is such a diverse wordsmith, tackling drama, science fiction and fantasy on numerous occasions throughout his long and wildly successful career. One example would be his latest novel, 11.22.63, which is proving to be his most successful work in years and yet isn't a horror yarn. My favourite King book? IT. My favourite King film adaptation? THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION. Many aren't even aware that he penned the short story of which long-time collaborator Frank Darabont (THE GREEN MILE, THE MIST) adapted for the screen.

One of the my favourite King movie adaptations that does fall under horror, however (and one of the most overlooked), is THE NIGHT FLIER from 1997, directed by Mark Pavia and starring the great Miguel Ferrer as a journalist for a trashy magazine who is hot on the tail of a vampire that gets around not by morphing into a bat, but by taking to the skies in a plane. It's excellent and not nearly enough people talk about it these days. Pavia and King co-wrote the screenplay for a sequel, THE NIGHT FLIER: FEAR OF FLYING (a script I'm dying to read), but it's been kept under lock and key for years by producer Richard Rubenstein at New Line. I really hope to see the project get the green light one day. But until then, we have another Pavia/King collaboration in the works in the form of an anthology film. Yes, the man who made the legendary CREEPSHOW with George A. Romero is currently developing a yet-to-be-titled horror anthology with Pavia that will consist of four tales of terror. Pavia is currently writing the script, which consists of four tales of terror of which are from the mind of King.

While there have been rumblings for months about big-budget Hollywood adaptations of THE STAND and the utterly epic THE DARK TOWER series, news that King is returning to horror movies in a writing capacity and possibly more is music to my ears. I can't wait to find out what these two have up their sleeves.

What are your favourite Stephen King stories and movies?

TTFN.
Britgeek

POSTED FROM: Ain't It Cool News

New Anthology Film In The Works

2012-01-05T21:51:00.000-08:00

Dark Horizon's Garth Franklin has posted that Mark Pavia is writing a script for an new anthology film featuring the work of Stephen King. Franklin notes that this is something we haven't seen since Creepshow and Cat's Eye.

Franklin writes:

Pavia tells Icons of Fright that "Steve chose two of the stories and I chose two — the selection a perfect mixture of classic and contemporary King, a little bit of something for his oldest and newest fans alike. It will be a true representation of his different personas, his varied styles and voices throughout the years. Everything from the horror showman at his pulpiest to his most introverted and introspective character pieces, which can also be his most frightening."

Pavia previously directed the 1997 adaptation of King's "The Night Flier" about a journalist that tracks a vampire pilot. (HERE)

Carrie: She's Baaack!

2012-01-04T15:27:00.000-08:00

Picture Credit: collider.com

I spotted this first at Lilja's Library. Carrie is set to be remade. . . again! Mike Fleming at Deadline posted that MGM has chosen Kimberly Peirce to direct the newest remake of Carrie.

Before King fans roll their eyes, note this quote from the Deadline article:

Aguirre-Sacasa set out to write a version of Carrie that is more faithful to the King book, and more grounded than the Brian De Palma-directed film. That kind of grounded material is something Peirce does well.

Adam Chitwood at collider.com writes:

The director’s experience with off-kilter coming-of-age stories should bode well for her work on Carrie, and I’m intrigued to see what her take entails. (HERE)

A more faithful edition of Carrie. Can't complain about that!

Characters Count

2012-01-04T09:42:00.000-08:00

In a listing of favorite books for 2011, an interesting nod was given to Stephen King. While the writer of the article did not include any of King's work on her list, she discussed his writing in her review of the Isle of Blood, by Rick Yancey.
This is the horror of Stephen King, including the deep examination of people and their psyches, a look into what makes people love — or people kill. It is told in the rich language of days past, as if polysyllabic words and classical language makes blood and violence easier to read about and to think about. To think – yes, horror demands you to think, not just about “what is that sound outside my window” but the deeper philosophical questions, such as – what is a monster? What is a man? What is the difference? (schoollibraryjournal.com)
I agree. The strength of King's writing is in the characters. I even cared about Christine!

INTERVIEWS: Last Rung Of The Ladder

2012-01-03T01:45:00.000-08:00

Okay, this is cool. Really cool. Wow, I am pumped! . . . sorry, I'm calming down now. I feel like Richie Tozier.

I had the opportunity to interview two of the key movers and shakers in the recent dollar baby, "The Last Rung of the Ladder." This project was filmed by New England School Of Communications. It was directed by Lucas Stewart and produced by Mike Magilnick. Both of them agreed to an interview. We discussed a lot -- how the film was made, the timeline and how they went about getting permission for a dollar baby. Their passion for this project and New England School of Communication shines through.

Talks Stephen King: Hello! I am so excited to get to do this interview. Give me a little background about you guys.

Mike Magilnick: I'm from the southern part of Connecticut and growing up Stephen King was a very house hold name. My mother is a long time fan of his longer works and I started to read some of the shorter ones when I was old enough. I watched the Film adaptation of Stephen King's "IT" when I was young and have been in love with the genre since.

I really decided that I wanted to make films at that point. I was so scared of the sewer and clowns after that but I wanted to know why. Now knowing how it was made, how the effects are created, how the sound design and cinematography amplified the writing, I can look back and better understand what that did to my viewing of the piece.

Talks Stephen King: What lead you to New England School Of Communications?

Mike Magilnick: I was mostly drawn to the school because of the student teacher relation. When I first went for a tour I was shown a camera, which you don't get in most facilities until the upper classes or after an extensive amount of training. All around it seemed like a great place to learn. And time and time again it has proven to be not just a place that you get an education, but your really afforded the opportunity to soak up as much as you can handle and get so many opportunities and experiences.

The Last Rung on the Ladder was the first of hopefully many Pieces of this caliber to be produced from the students at NESCom.

Lucas Stewart: I was born and raised in Durham, ME, which you probably already know is the same town that Stephen King grew up in. Of course that made him a bit of a local celebrity, so his name was something I recognized from a young age.

As far as being a fan is concerned, I'll admit I don't own any of his novels, but from what I have read and seen in film adaptations has lead me to say that I am a fan. Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of The Shining is one of my top favorite films.

While attending Brunswick High School I started messing around with cameras and in my senior year took an intro to film class. By week two I had made my decision and started looking into film schools. I knew right off the bat that NESCom wasn't a film school, but figured I could start there and work my way into a film program if it was still what I wanted to do. In my freshman year I met Mike and Cory and, as they say, the rest is history.

Talks Stephen King: Why did you choose The Last Rung On The Ladder?

Mike Magilnick: One of the teachers at NESCom, Frank Welch, had actually initiated the Dollar Baby contract when he was himself in school. After gathering some dust he revived the idea of making it into a screenplay when Cory Landroche, Lucas Stewart, and myself came to the school end expressed an interest in exploring the world of digital film making. He approached us about possibly doing this and we immediately jumped onto it.

Lucas Stewart: Mike has pretty much said it all, but there was one other factor. The Last Rung On the Ladder was also attractive to us because it could be told simply, and by that I mean we wouldn't need to create fake monsters or use a large amount of special effects.

Our education in film making is more focused on proper story telling, camera work, and lighting, than things like special effects and fake elements.

Talks Stephen King: That's awesome, because King has always said his stories are driven more by characters than monsters or plot. I certainly think that is true of The Last Rung On The Ladder. What did you look for when casting the film?

Mike Magilnick: I wasn't involved with the casting process of the film so Lucas may be a better answer for this.

Lucas Stewart: Well, we certainly wanted to find actors an actresses who fit the parts, but we were limited to the group of 60 or so people who showed up to our casting call.

I would have to say the most time was put into finding the right kids for the parts. Lillian Ashby (Kitty) was one of our first to audition and she blew us away with her ability to take direction and mold her presence on camera to what the character called for.

Dawson Tucker (Larry) came to us through one of the instructors at NESCom. He had acted in a few commercials and we tracked him down to see if he was interested. The minute I saw him paired up with Lillian, I knew we had the perfect fit.

Talks Stephen King: Sometimes shorter projects are actually more difficult! Was this a difficult movie to translate to film? What are some hurdles you’ve had to clear to make this happen?

Mike Magilnick: I feel as though the most difficult aspect to this was while writing up the screenplay and then editing the film we wanted to try to stay as true to the original work as possible. Once we had made the decision of what we were using, adding, and changing we had the hurdle of making it happen.

This was our first attempt at something this large and getting all the pieces in order to film proved to be a bit more difficult than the smaller films we have been involved with.

Lucas Stewart: Honestly we had never worked on anything with location scouts, hired actors, an actual sound team, etc.. We jumped in feet first and I would say that our biggest hurdle was keeping tensions and emotions out of the production. None of us had worked in these position before on this scale, so when it came time to make big decisions we had to make them quick and try to put the benefit of the film before everything else.

Talks Stephen King: Michael, give us an idea what the role of a producer is.

Mike Magilnick: The role of a producer is quite simple while being immensely complicated.

The producer is responsible for assembling the crew to make the picture. Lining up the auditions for the roles in the cast. Determining the schedule for what and where we will be shooting. Everything from the budget, permits, locations, actors, crew, transportation, etc... You name it and it was the producers responsibility at some point throughout the production.

Talks Stephen King: Now, did you each fill the roles in this project you hope to carry on in the future? Is directing in the cards for you, Lucas?

Lucas Stewart: I loved directing but I hated it just as much. I would say that its a job I would take if offered, but I'm not striving to be the next Kubrick or Spielberg.

Talks Stephen King: And Michael, do you hope to continue producing?

Mike Magilnick: I really enjoyed producing the film and the experience has definitely been influential into what I think of my future. This was my first experience producing something of this scale, whereas I had edited and Gaffed things of this nature previously, so I had really stepped out of my comfort zone and I am so glad I did. As far as what roles I'll carry in the future though only time can tell.

Talks Stephen King: I know King really likes his work to be filmed in Maine. Somehow Canada keeps getting the role of Maine! You shot on location in Maine, is that correct? What locations did you use?

Mike Magilnick: We filmed the entire thing on Location, nothing on a sound stage. Our primary location is Larry's hotel room. We filmed that at Hollywood Slots Hotel and Raceway in Bangor, ME. The other location we used several times in the film were various parts of a private property that we were lucky enough to be able to film at in Monmouth ME.

We had one scene that was filmed in East Hartford CT and the rest of the film was all shot in and around Bangor ME with the support of several local businesses.

Talks Stephen King: Has Stephen King seen the film? Any feedback?

Mike Magilnick: We have heard a rumor that he has. We are actually in the process of contacting him to validate that and to hopefully get some of his opinions of the final outcome of our adaptation. If rumorsare true though he did indeed enjoy it and some of our touches to the story as well.

Lucas Stewart: We had an unexpected connection to King, and were able to get the film in front of him to watch at his leisure. His review wasn't an official one, so I don't think we able to talk specifics, but he did seem to enjoy it and was impressed with our work.

Talks Stephen King: Give us an idea of how the process worked.

Mike Magilnick: I would love to answer this but for some reason I can't. There are so so many aspects of the filming that I could touch on. And I didn't have enough involvement in the other things to really give information on them.

Lucas Stewart: Well, I'll try to give you a timeline of the project. In the spring of 2010 Frank Welch approached us with the idea, but it was just a hint at the project. He had previously owned the rights to an adaptation and would just need to contact King's lawyers to make sure it was still valid. This was a Dollar Baby, so it wasn't a difficult process. When we returned to school the next fall he gave us the green light and we started preproducing the film.

The first step was getting the story to our screen play writer, Godfrey Taylor. After a few months and a few revisions we had a script and started casting.

In January of 2011 we held our open casting call at the Gracie Theater on Husson University Campus and by the end of January we had narrowed down our cast. After a month of location scouting an story boarding we had our first shoot at HollyWood Slots in March of 2011.

By April we had come to a close on our primary schooting schedule and would resume shooting in the fall for a few pick up shots. Over that summer Mike sat down with the film and began editing. He sent Cory, Joe Giordano, Frank Welch and I multiple versions and we would write back with revisions and comments. By late September of 2011 we were down to our last few edits and sent it off to be cut for sound.

On November 17th and 18th we had our first previews to an audience of roughly 150 local viewers.

Talks Stephen King: Lucas, what part of the movie are you most excited about? Any particular scene really pop for you?

Lucas Stewart: I would have to say that the rooftop scene towards the end of the film is some of our best work. Everything about that shoot was perfect, the location, the day, the crew and of course our wonderful cast, it just all went so smoothly, and when you see the film I think you'll agree.

Talks Stephen King: Of course, everyone has to be asked: What is your favorite Stephen King novel Oh, wait! You guys are making movies. What’s your favorite Stephen King movie? And when discussing Stephen King movies, it’s always fair to also ask: What do you think is the worst King movie out there? (My vote on that always goes to Sleepwalkers! Followed closely by The Langoliers miniseries)

Mike Magilnick: I would have to say that my favorite Stephen King Movie would have to be "IT". As I mentioned it was so influential to me and still love to watch it.

Lucas Stewart: The Shining, all the way. Kubrick is a genius and his adaptation in my opinion was perfect. And i'm going to have to agree that the Langoliers miniseries was, well, "terrifying". Not in a good way.

Talks Stephen King: Lucas, any advice for prospective directors?

Lucas Stewart: Yeah, run. Haha, in all seriousness though, I would have to say that it pays to know your script. And I mean know it, know every word of every line in every scene. When you know it that well it makes it easier to have the movie in your head, and when you have the movie already in your head, you can easily work with your director of photography to make the movie how you see it. And with that said, make sure you and your DOP are on the same brainwave. I was extremely happy to have Cory Landroche as my DOP, he's brilliant behind a camera and he and I saw the story extremely similarly.

Talks Stephen King: Now that you’ve had a shot at filming a short story, are there any King novel’s you’d take on if given a giant budget?

Mike Magilnick: I know that It's very recent and I haven't had a chance to read it though all the way yet, 11/22/63 seems to be a story I would love to take on. The images in my head as I read it are so clear I want to see them on a screen.

Lucas Stewart: I could see a remake of the Shining being a possibility, haha. If given the right budget I would gladly take on any story by Stephen King. I greatly admire his attention to character development, and would enjoy making any one of his stories.

Talks Stephen King: How can King fans get a chance to see The land Rung On The Ladder?

Mike Magilnick: This is actually something we are trying to figure outcurrently. We can not post the film online so as of right now it will be viewable at film festivals. We are compiling a list of film festivals that we would like to submit it to in 2012 for 2012 and 2013 viewings.

Lucas Stewart: If I could afford it I would send out a copy to every single person who wanted one, but frankly I don"t have that many blank DVD's. Like Mike said, we're working on figuring that out, but I'm sure we could work out sending a copy or two your way.

Talks Stephen King: Thank you both so much!

A big thanks to Cory Landroche for making this possible.

Bag Of Bones DVD This March

2012-01-02T18:07:00.000-08:00

Dreadcentral has posted that Bag Of Bones will be out on DVD March 18. It will retail for $26.99.

They list the following special features:

Voicemail from Sid featurette
I Miss You Jo featurette

Cemetery Dance: Stephen King's Battleground Limited Edition

2012-01-02T15:10:00.000-08:00

There is more to look forward to in 2012. This is from Cemetery Dance (HERE)

Editor: Richard Christian Matheson

Page Count: 300 pages with an 8-page section of color photos from the TNT archives
Pub. Date: Summer 2012
Status: Forthcoming

A definitive collection centered around Stephen King's classic short story, which was adapted for television by Richard Christian Matheson. This deluxe edition includes King's short story and R.C. Matheson's script for the opening episode of "Nightmares and Dreamscapes," which starred William Hurt and was directed by Brian Henson, plus hundreds of pages of bonus features you won't find anywhere else. Special features include unique "behind the scenes" material like the storyboards used for the episode, which won two Emmy awards. The book also contains 8 pages of color photos from TNT's archives, which have never been released to the public.

Those contributing include:
* Director Brian Henson
* Executive Producer Bill Haber
* Jeff Beal, who won an Emmy for his score for Battleground
* Actor William Hurt
* Michael Wright, Executive Vice President and Director of Programming for TNT
* Visual Effects director Sam Nicholson
* Producer Jeff Hayes
* Lee Romaire, Special Makeup and Effects Designer

The Unsigned Limited Edition Hardcover is $75

My Interview With Bob LeDrew

2012-01-01T01:06:00.000-08:00

Photo Credit: Dan Roy

Bob LeDrew is the host of a wonderful website titled the Kingcast. A lot of King sites require a lot of reading. . . which is fine, since most of us read Stephen King! However, Kingcast also offers loads of audio interviews and is a very unique experience. Bob, as he shares below, is also a music lover and also a fan of Ray Bradbury.

Talk Stephen King: Hi Bob! Tell me a little about yourself.

Bob LeDrew: Well... I have the heart of a small boy... on my desk. Wait, I just stole that from SK. More accurately, I'm a 45-year-old guy who lives in Ottawa, Ontario, which is Canada's capital city. I work for myself, on a variety of things, from working on launching a concert series in 2012 to doing promotions for musicians to starting to teach for a local community college in public relations and social media. I live in a great neighbourhood with a lovely woman who tolerates my eccentricities with the help of our two cats.

My other great passion is music, mostly of the folky-rootsy variety, but I am also a huge fan of bands like The Who and The Kinks.

Talk Stephen King: I really like The Stephen King Cast – it is very unique. I’m sure it’s a lot of work, because each episode requires you to hit the pavement and get the interviews. What was your motivation in starting this site?

Bob LeDrew: I don't do interviews EVERY episode. From time to time I blather on solo. But lately, there have been a lot of interviews. I guess there were a couple of motivations in starting the Kingcast. I've always had a finger or two in the radio / audio pie, so the freedom that podcasting provides to "make your own radio" is very appealing. I've been a huge King fan for decades, and I like to think I understand a bit about his work. So rather than bore my friends with it, I thought I'd spread the boredom over a much larger potential listenership.

Photo Credit: Dan Roy

Funny, the easiest part of the interview shows has been actually getting the interviews. I've only been turned down flat once, by the psychologist in New Zealand who said Stephen King books were causing mental illness in her patients. She refused the request because I am a "fan" of King. Shame, really. I spend more time once I've gotten the interview booked trying to prepare myself. I want to make sure that if someone like Shawn Piller or Annabeth Gish is giving me a half-hour of their time -- that's a lot -- I want to give them good questions that engage them -- and the listeners too.

The other thing that motivated me to do the podcast is that I went online to find Stephen King podcasts, and those that were there had suffered "podfade." That's a phenomenon when people start out a podcast going gangbusters and rapidly lose their motivation. So I thought there was a niche there, and I suspected there was an audience.

Talk Stephen King: What are some unique things you’ve learned doing this? (Any new insights into Stephen King, the fans or the world of Stephen King?)

Bob LeDrew: I think I appreciate more the breadth of what King has done and is doing. He's continuing to challenge himself artistically, which I admire for someone of his age and experience. I thought Full Dark No Stars was amazing. I don't know that this is unique to me, but I am more convinced than ever that King will be seen as the Dickens of our part of history - a socially minded, immensely popular, sometimes soft-hearted, sometimes maudlin writer who believes in the power of "the little people."

Another thing that has struck me over the time I've been doing this is the passion and protectiveness that King fans have towards his writing. The most obvious example of this is the movies. Writers or directors who change things from the book really open themselves up to some vicious criticism from fans. I try to be open to those changes and judge them on whether they help make the movie or TV property usable (with a certain degree of success), but man, there are some people who will tolerate no change from the book.

Talk Stephen King: I really enjoyed your interview with Ms. Mod and her discussion about the work at the Haven foundation. You’ve interviewed some pretty interesting people from the King-realm. Any favorites stand out?

Bob LeDrew: Oh man. I feel that if I point out one someone else might feel left out. Matt Frewer was a superbly nice guy. But so were Mick Garris and Annabeth Gish. But I also really enjoyed talking to Brad Ricca about violence and moral panics. The best part of interviews to me is that you get to talk to people who know more than you do and learn from them.

Talk Stephen King: How long have you been reading Stephen King? What’s the draw for you? (And what do your friends and family think of your interest in the Stephen King universe?)

Bob LeDrew: I don't know how long. A LOOOOONG time. Probably around my early teens, which would make it more than 30 years. I think the draw has changed over the years. I suspect my younger self enjoyed the visceral thrills that King provided. I was also a huge HP Lovecraft reader back in the day. But as I've aged, and kept reading him -- and trust me, I read stuff repeatedly -- I feel like I've come to appreciate what King has been able to teach himself and the reader about human nature and the human character. Lovecraft has not aged anywhere near as well as King has for me.

Most of my "real-life" friends have very little appreciation for King. In fact, my partner has grudgingly read a few things, and she watched Bag of Bones, but nothing much beyond that. I think (hope!) they appreciate my passion for King, and accept that I'm just a little offbase -- which is no surprise to most people who know me.

Talk Stephen King: Bag Of Bones recently aired on A&E – with very mixed reviews. What did you think of it? Do you have a favorite King movie?

Bob LeDrew: I have mixed feelings about the miniseries. On one side, I think Garris gets a very rough ride from fans. And I think there are some set pieces in Bag of Bones that are genuinely affecting and chilling. Mike's grief, at times, is painful to watch. The end of Sara Tidwell was done much better than I expected. I wasn't sure how they would deal with that, and I thought they did a great job. The strong erotic current that runs through the book like a through-line from Sara to Jo to Mattie was well executed.

On the other hand, there were weaknesses. I think the ability of a malign presence to influence the entire TR (or Dark Score, as they call it in the series) was diluted in the script. And the climax didn't work for me. And the last scene really bothered me. Overall, I think it was a solid effort, but not the best adaptation.

I think my favorite King adaptation is Misery. The film kinda reminds me of Hitchcock as a self-imposed challenge to the director: "Okay, two characters, one room. Make it work." So tense. I also am a fan of Dolores Claiborne, mostly because I think Kathy Bates is just a superb actor. She is so wonderful as both Annie and Dolores.

Talk Stephen King: Okay, let’s turn the tables on Bob. . . "suppose the house is burning down, what Stephen King piece from your collection would you save?"

Bob LeDrew: You know, I don't have a lot of King memorabilia or things of particular material value. I have most of his books, but none signed, none first editions, and most are well-thumbed over. If I had to pick one King piece, it would be the paperback of Salem's Lot with the totally beaten-up cover and pages falling out. But I'd leave all the King and grab my note from Ray Bradbury, to be honest. That could likely never be replaced.

(Talk Stephen King: A note from Ray Bradbury! That is totally rockin' out there cool! He is awesome!)

Talk Stephen King: Do you do any writing? If so, what kinds of things have you written?

Bob LeDrew: I do a LOT of writing. I've been a journalist and a PR / social media guy for nearly 30 years, so I've written a lot of stuff. News releases, communication plans, newsletters, magazine articles, radio scripts, speeches.
I have dabbled in fiction as well, but never published anything. I have a couple of quarter-to-half-finished novels in the virtual desk drawer, but I have no idea if I will ever finish them, or for that matter if they deserve it.

Talk Stephen King: You seem pretty familiar with the Stephen King online presence. What are some of your favorite Stephen King haunts on the web?

Bob LeDrew: I spend WAY too much time on the Stephen King Message Board. Quite a lovely community there, and that garden of King fans is very well tended by Ms. Mod. Lilja's Library is one that needs to be regularly visited. I was pretty excited to see the folks behind Dark Score Stories put a little shoutout to his site in their site.

Your site, of course. And Bryant Burnette's Ramblings of a Honk Mahfah is a great site. His self-interview / review of Bag of Bones is HILARIOUS. He really disliked the miniseries, but he expresses his dislike VERY wittily.

Matt Jacobs is generating huge piles of stuff on his various SK Fancast sites and podcasts.

Beyond that, I have some Google alerts set up that I try to keep on top of to get the latest SK news.

Talk Stephen King: Thank you for taking time to do this. I really enjoy your site, keep up the good work. Happy New Year!

Bob LeDrew: Thanks! Happy New Year.

Trailer For: You Can't Kill Stephen King

2011-12-29T14:38:00.000-08:00

This looks. . .

New Years Shining

2011-12-29T10:50:00.000-08:00

Jack Torrence at the 1921 July 4th ball

Ken Hanke writes in the Mountain Express, "Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (1980) is one of the few horror pictures that has anything to do with New Year’s Eve, hence the Thursday Horror Picture Show choosing it for this time of year." (Full article HERE)

So The Shining is linked to New Years Eve ? I did not know that!

Actually, I can't think of many ways The Shining is a New Years film. Anyone. . . Anyone. . .?

I would speculate that the picture, above, is of a New Years Eve party, not the 4th of July! That photo, that is shown at the end of the film, has stirred a lot of questions and debate. (More HERE)

USA TODAY: 11.22.63 Is Full Of Suspense And Heart

2011-12-28T23:23:00.000-08:00

USA Today has an article titled "10 Books We Loved In 2011." USA TODAY’s book critics Deirdre Donahue, Jocelyn McClurg, Carol Memmott, Bob Minzesheimer and Craig Wilson reveal the 10 books they most loved reading in 2011.

About 11/22/63 they write, "Take one of the most iconic events of the 20th century — the assassination of JFK — and mix it with the imagination of Stephen King, and the result is a blockbuster novel filled with suspense and heart."

The other one on the USA Today list that caught my eye was Tom Perrotta's book "The Leftovers."

Thanks to BRYANT BURNETTE

Win Salem's Lot At Lilja's Library

2011-12-28T23:05:00.000-08:00

Picture: Lilja's Library

This just goes to show that the best just keeps getting better! Lilja's Library, the best Stephen King website on the web, has a great contest that gives King fans the chance to win a copy of Salem's Lot. Not just any Salem's Lot, though -- this is the Random House paperback reissue of King's second novel.

Rules and guidelines are HERE.

Most Irritating Stephen King Characters

2011-12-28T01:12:00.000-08:00

What character drives you nuts? It's all about the characters, right? So which of the cast really gets on your nerves?

These are characters that may not hold the lead as the "bad guy", but they are still annoying! As powerful as sweet characters might be, annoying ones leap off the page. These are the people who run nails across the chalkboard as you read. The reach from the page and drive you nuts. You want to hit them because they are just that icky.

When these characters died -- if they died -- you might have cheered.

That he is able to annoy us with characters, sometimes so real they make your blood boil, displays a strength in King's writing.

Here's my list of irritating Stephen King characters:

1. Craig Toomy in the Langoliers. On edge, easily set off -- King makes him completely unlikeable.
2. The Tick Tock man. (My wife's nomination.)
3. Blane the Mono. Did you ever want to punch a train?
4. Carrie's mama. Religious weirdo #1.
5. Mother Carmody. Religious weirdo #2.
6. Revered Rose. Religious weirdo #3 + Bigot.
7. Herold Lauder. Idiot.
8. Vera Donevan. Rich snob.
9. Joe St. George. Wife beater, general idiot.
10. The Trashcan Man. Though lovable, he is also annoying.
11. Rita Blakemoor, from The Stand. Old, washed out druggie.
12. Julie Lawry. The girl from The Stand who Nick met in the drugstore.
13. Will Darnell. Jerk from Christine who owned the auto body shop.
14. Wilfred James, 1922's narrator who killed his wife. Though I'm not including a lot of main characters, this guy was an idiot from start to finish.
15. Cap in Firestarter.
16. Reverend Coggins. Religious weirdo #4
17. The Beaver. Not always annoying. . . but really, man -- toothpicks!

So what characters do you find irritating?

11.22.63 Journal #5: What are you thinking ?

2011-12-28T00:43:00.000-08:00

I am well immersed in 11/22/63. It is great. I find myself yelling at Jake quite a lot lately. "What are you thinking?" is usually what Mr. Epping is getting from me these days.

Okay, rules of time travel say you should not do anything in the past that might change the future. We are told over and over that the future is fragile. So, if that is the case, why in the world is Jake building a relationship with a woman? What if she is supposed to have children with someone else, and he is messing that up? Why is he tracking Oswald? He knows what the sucker is going to do, so just knock him off and get moving. Doesn't moving in right next door, and bugging his house no less, seem a little -- dangerous?

Didn't Al's notes instruct him not to fall in love? If the past is so fragile, shouldn't he be executing this plan with a lot more precision?

Wait, because there is more. By directing school plays, students are telling him he "changed my life." If he is changing peoples lives. . . he is changing the future.

I haven't read the end of this book -- it's just a humble journal entry. But I am wondering what's up with my friend Jake. I like him very much, but cannot for the life of my understand why he does what he does! If he's going to lead Sadie on, he might as well level with her. She's in for a big surprise the night he kills Oswald, right? Isn't he inflicting great emotional harm to her by killing someone and then disappearing out of their life? And if he brakes her emotionally, might that mess up other relationships she was destined for?

That's the wonderings of someone who thoroughly enjoys this book, but is also yelling at the main character.

Link: Interview With Mick Garris

2011-12-25T13:03:00.000-08:00

Stephenking.pl has posted an interview with Mick Garris (HERE).

I think Grzesiek Tupikowski did a masterful job asking some great questions.

In the interview, Garris does explain why he chose to kill Mike's wife in a different manner than the novel. They also discuss why Sarah Tidwell was moved out a generation, and other differences between the mini-series and the book.

I liked this portion:
Q: This winks for King's fans and references to him and his works are probably your work, are they?
Garris: Well, a little bit, but really, most of them were Matt's ideas. I actually didn't want to do too many of those and distract from the story. But it's always fun to provide a nod to the master...

There are a couple of "huh?!" moments. Garris says, "King doesn't really write about teenagers, not since CARRIE, anyway, and Hollywood now seems to feel that all horror films have to be about kids. But we'll see." What about Christine, From a Buick 8 . . . and that's all I can think of! IT and Pet Sematary were about children, not teens.

I hope you enjoy the interview as much as I did!

THE STAND: Waiting For The World To End

2011-12-25T01:52:00.000-08:00

Roy Ford at the Scotsman has an article about another year going by, and the end of the world always seeming close at hand. (HERE) Of course, Herold Camping is mentioned -- but the world did not end when he said it would. Oopsie.

Any article about the end of the world really should include the Stand. Why? Because plague was such a unique way to end it all! Interest in the end of the world always draws a crowd, and Hollywood isn't ready to let the Stand fade away -- or the potential dollars.

Ford writes:

Warner Brothers – looking for a new franchise to replace Harry Potter – is currently in talks with Ben Affleck to direct a series of films based on Stephen King’s journal of the plague years/world-goes-to-Hell-in-a-handcart epic The Stand.

And. . .

King states that “much of the compulsion I felt while writing The Stand obviously came from envisioning an entire entrenched societal process destroyed at a stroke”, and likens the desire to Alexander lifting his sword above the Gordian Knot and growling: “I’ve got a better way.” Just as every creation myth needs a Devil, so every apocalyptic scenario needs some survivors – otherwise, where’s the story? The appeal of “THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT” both to storytellers and audiences is clear. It’s a chance to start again, set humanity free from the rules and see what happens, and just how good – or bad – we really are.

I'm glad this Christmas to be looking forward to the next coming. Religious freak? -- Sure! I think He really is our only hope of peace on earth, goodwill to men.

Three Tears For Stephen King

2011-12-24T00:29:00.000-08:00

Wayne C. Rogers has a very nice review of 11.22.63 titled, “Stephen King’s, 11.22.63., his best in a decade.” (HERE)

Rogers opens by saying that “Until I finished Stephen King’s newest novel, “11/22/63,” I’d only cried at the end of three of his books.” He recounts the tears flowing during The Stand, The Dead Zone and The Green Mile.

Rogers suggests that the real strength in King’s writing is the characters. I totally agree! 11.22.63 is not an action novel – nor is it really an alternate history novel – nor is it science fiction (sci-fi for those of you who remember how to abbreviate that correctly) – the novel is completely character driven! And that, my friends, is the real joy of a Stephen King novel. It breaks all genre, because he doesn’t write to genre, he write about people!

Even if you spent a lot of the novel yelling at Jake, “you’re an idiot!”, you still care about him. Often characters in a novel can come across very cardboard. I like John Gresham novels, but can’t say I ever really cared deeply about anyone in the novel! Those puppies are totally plot driven, and the ride is awesome. But in the end, I don’t feel a deep connection to the people I met in the book.

With Stephen King, I feel like I’ve met these people. What’s more, characters in his book remind me of people I know (good and bad). Anyone met Mother Abigail? I have! How about Lloyd? Or how about Herold? We have all met someone who might remind us of Jack in The Shining. Worse when we discover a bit of Jack in us! If you ever have to deal with small government and the men who like being big fish in a small pond, then you’ve met Big Jim! What made Carrie so powerful was that we all knew a Carrie in High School. For some of us, we had moments when we felt just like Carrie! Other moments we look back with regret on because we behaved like those who made life miserable for Carrie. Sure, rocks didn’t fall from the sky, and the high school did not burn on prom night! A plague did not sweep America, a Dome did not lock my city in – but it’s the characters identify with. The crazy become believable when you add people you know.

Meditating on what Rogers said, I am quite curious. Do any of you actually cry when you read Stephen King? I like these characters a lot, but I’ve never ever cried reading a book. Never. And I think I’m a pretty compassionate guy. But I don’t cry for people I know aren’t real! I’ve shouted “YES!” before. I got pretty excited when the finger of God reached down from heaven and nuked the bad guys. That was sweet stuff! When Christine took out revenge on the bad boys, that was well worth the price of admission. And 11.22.63 has some definite yes moments. But tears? Am I the only one keeping the pages of my Stephen King novels nice and dry? Really? REALLY!

I did not cry when. . .
The kid in Cujo died
The kid in Pet Sematary died
The kid in The Gunslinger died
The kid in IT died
. . . wow, it’s bad to be a kid in this guys novels!
I did not cry in the Green Mile, The Shining, The Dead Zone, or IT.

Now, two questions:

1. What scenes has King gotten you to cry during? Come on, surely he’s squeezed some tears out of some of you!

2. What characters do you feel like you’ve met?

The Nation: King Is Underrated

2011-12-22T11:10:00.000-08:00

I really enjoyed Charles Taylor article in The Nation (HERE) titled: "You Can't Always Get What You Want: On Stephen King." In it he discusses the difficulty in catagorizing King, and the struggle mainstream media has had in understandng the wrtier. He calls King "underrated" and quotes critic Leslie Fiedler as saying “When all of us are forgotten, people will still be remembering Stephen King.”

Taylor writes,

"In a way, the National Book Foundation’s recognition was confirmation that King had become A Writer Who’s Better Than You Expect Him to Be. Just a year earlier, a great deal of public affection greeted the release of From a Buick 8, the first King novel to appear since the accident that had nearly killed him three years before (he was struck by a pickup while walking on the side of the road). Reviewers understood the story of a mysterious Buick Roadmaster that comes out of nowhere and brings violence and terror in its wake to be a metaphor for King’s brush with death. They weren’t wrong, but they also underestimated the book."

He spends quite a bit of time discussing From A Buick 8 and 9/11. Very interesting!

There's a lot more to the article, and all worth your time.

STAGE TUBE: Director Stafford Arima Talks CARRIE!

2011-12-21T12:49:00.000-08:00

From: broadwayworld.com

This is a great interview with Stafford Armia as he discusses Carrie. "At the core of Carrie is the story of being different."

The Stand On Audio!

2011-12-21T09:54:00.000-08:00

Here's some awesome news: stephenking.com just released word that The Stand will be coming out in audio format. Here's what King's website says:

Random House Audio will be releasing the long-awaited unedited audiobook edition of The Stand which will be read by Grover Gardner. The exact date of publication has not yet been determined, but is tentatively scheduled to be on February 14, 2012. The recording will be released for purchase digitally by Audible.com and iTunes and available in the library market on CD.

Grover Gardener also did the reading for the original, edited version. I listened to that version this summer and loved it. Gardener's voice takes a bit of getting used to, because at first he seems very dry. After listening for a while, I found that he doesn't get in the way of the story!

This is AWESOME news! Now. . . about The Mist . . .

Interview With THE HONK MAHFAH, part 2

2011-12-20T13:53:00.000-08:00

This is the second part of my interview with Bryant Burnette of the Ramblings Of A Honk Mahfah blog.

Talk Stephen King: Do you have a some favorite spots on the web that are King related?

Bryant Burnette: Duh. Talk Stephen King and Lilja's Library, of course!

Talk Stephen King: Strong in the force, this one is.

Bryant Burnette: I also enjoy the message boards at StephenKing.com from time to time, although message boards are really not my thing. I also enjoy The King Cast and the Stephen King Fancast sites, as well as Joe Hill's blog (if you want to count that, which I sorta do).

Talk Stephen King: Let’s have some fun with the Honk Mahfah: You are now required to list these Stephen King films in best to worst order (meaning 1 is the best.) Only problem is. . . they’re all terrible! However, if anyone can do it, the mighty Honk Mahfah can!

The Langoliers. Sleepwalkers. Dreamcatcher. Thinner.
Needful Things. Graveyard Shift.
Children of the Corn. Maximum Overdrive. . . .

Is this terview beginning to feel like work? Well, put some sweat into it!

Bryant Burnette: Ironically, one of the next big posts I was planning was a film-centric version of my Worst To Best post, wherein I rank ALL the movies -- even the various sequels which don't even really count.

Talk Stephen King: Not that ironic. We read your thoughts before you think them. But please, carry on.

Bryant Burnette: I compiled an initial ranking just the other day, so I'm prepared for ya on this one!
Talk Stephen King: You read the questions ahead of time, didn't you?

Bryant Burnette: Let's see now...

8 -- Thinner (absolutely awful in every way)
7 -- The Langoliers (also absolutely awful, but it at least has David Morse and Dean Stockwell in it)
6 -- Sleepwalkers (also absolutely awful, but it has Alice Krige in it, and that counts for A LOT)
5 -- Graveyard Shift (terrible, but also enjoyable in some curious way, at least for me)
4 -- Children of the Corn (see above comment)
3 -- Dreamcatcher (I'm tempted to say this is worse than all the rest put together, simply because it had a lot of talent both in front of and behind the camera, and therefore ought to be judged more harshly; but without grading on a curve, I can't honestly rank it lower than this -- it's pretty damned awful, though)
2 -- Maximum Overdrive (it's a terrible movie, but I love it fiercely; falls into the so-bad-it's-fun category; I'll take that over merely bad ANY day of the week, and I'll take it over mediocre three days out of the week)
1 -- Needful Things (we part ways here a bit in that I think this is at least a competently-made film; not great by any means, but competent; if you ever have a chance to see the three-hour version, do so -- it's quite a bit better!)

Talk Stephen King: The really sad thing is that I agree with your comments on all of these!
Bryant Burnette: Easy-peasy, David! You're gonna have to work harder than that to rattle the Mahfah!

Talk Stephen King: I was really bummed when the Dark Tower hit the most recent speed bump. Do you think the project is dead, or just going to get a giant budget cut?

Bryant Burnette: I think if it were totally dead, we'd know it. As soon as Universal pulled the plug, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer would have thrown in the towel and just moved on to the next project. Instead, they pop up every few months and talk very passionately about how much they still want to get the project going ... somewhere ... ANYwhere.

I'd dearly love to see Roland and his merry band of flint-eyed badasses marching across the silver screen, but I've felt all along that doing The Dark Tower as a series of movies is deeply problematic. Then again, so is doing them as a television series: given Jake's age, it's hard to imagine a scenario in which the character wouldn't have to be aged upward to be 15 or so, since he'd end up that old by the time the series was over anyways. I could live with changing Jake's age, I guess, but it would certainly take a lot of bite out of certain events in The Gunslinger.

The ideal solution, I think, is going to be to wait a decade or so, until the motion-capture technology used in movies like The Adventures of Tintin has become inexpensive enough that it can be routinely employed on a television series. Then, HBO -- or perhaps (by then) Netflix, or Facebook, or Google -- needs to commit to making a series which will last roughly ten seasons. That's going to be the only way it can truly capture the novels, and THEN only if someone massively talented is running the show.

To answer your question, though...? I think it will end up getting made in some form by Ron Howard. He's a big deal in Hollywood, and when someone that notable digs his heels in and decides he's going to get a project made, it typically gets made eventually. It will end up being a very compromised version of the story that will have King purists screaming bloody murder, but it will be big, and it will be fun, and it will be a hit, and if one can set the novels aside it will be good on its own terms.

That's my prediction, at least.

Talk Stephen King: Do you have a favorite format for King material? (Movies, reading it, listening to it, comics)

Bryant Burnette: Reading. No question about it. I love the movies, and I love the comics, and I love the audiobooks, but when I think of Stephen King, I'm thinking of reading. A book, too; not a Kindle or some other such e-reader. Maybe I'll change my mind about that when I inevitably get one, but for now, I'm a paper man.

And you already know my stance on audiobooks: that's listening, NOT reading. That is not to say that one experience is more valuable than the other; I just feel that they are very different experiences, even when the person performing the audiobook is the author himself.

Talk Stephen King: What did you think of the Cemetery Dance edition of IT? Personally, I’m still having to work out and build up some muscle just to lift the thing.

Bryant Burnette: I only got mine in the mail today, and somehow, the day has conspired against me a bit: it's managed to slide right on by without me making the time to sit down and really examine the thing. I skimmed it a bit, though, and my impressions are twofold.

On the one hand, I love -- LOVE -- the look of the pages, with the red and black borders. Gorgeous.

On the other hand, I'd be a liar if I didn't admit to being extremely unimpressed by what I've seen of the artwork so far. I started feeling a little uneasy about it back when the samples were released several months ago, and so far, I've seen nothing in the book to make me feel much better about it. The artwork was the major reason I bought the book, and if I'm being honest, I don't feel like it's good enough for me to have spent $125 on. $50, maybe; $125, not a chance. Being an assistant movie theatre manager is fun, but it doesn't pay much, and if I'm being honest with myself, I look at the nearly $150 I spent on a book I already had and I think, that's more than I spend on groceries some months; that's something I probably shouldn't have bought at all, especially if I was going to end up disappointed by the artwork.

I'm happy to have the book, though, for the new afterword if for nothing else. (Still haven't read it; waiting to do so after thumbing all the way through the book, as a reward in case I end up being disappointed by ALL of the art!)

Talk Stephen King: You lean left, I lean right – neither of us live for politics! So, that said: When King includes politics in his novels, do you usually find yourself agreeing with him? Do you think it’s effective when King introduces politics?

Bryant Burnette: That's a great question!

The only time I've found myself responding negatively to King's politics was in Under the Dome, where I felt the characters of Big Jim and Andy were maybe just a bit too much. It's a very leftish novel, of course, and while I personally agree with way more of it than I disagree with, it felt a bit too one-sided.

All things considered, I don't like fiction -- be it books, movies, or television -- that gets too specific with its politics. I kinda prefer that the politics be -- on the surface, at least -- neutral, so that I can make up my own mind. I think the reason for that is that since pop culture is our common language in some ways, that makes it something that can unite us. Get a bunch of Star Wars fans in a room together, and we might end up arguing ... but it's going to probably be about the prequels, not about politics. Conversely, I suspect that if you put two people in a room who are diametrically opposed to one another politically, and then somehow convince them to ONLY talk about movies, they'll eventually find some real common ground. I don't know if that counts for much in the grand scheme of things ... but I think it potentially can count for at least something. When the entertainment goes too far to one side, though (as in Under the Dome), I think it begins to lose some of that universality. That's not to say that I think ALL fiction ought to be politically neutral, though; clearly, sometimes taking a specific stance is necessary.

Mostly, I find myself agreeing with King's politics, both in his books and outside of them. I have occasionally found myself wondering how I would feel about it if he were a conservative, and the answer I've come up with is this: if he were a more conservative person (or, for that matter, more liberal than he already is), I don't think he'd be the same writer that we think of, and so therefore maybe I wouldn't have found myself drawn to his work in the same way at all.

Then again, Ray Bradbury is a noted conservative, and I enjoy his books a lot. Not to the extent I enjoy King's, granted, but his politics don't seem to have biased me against him.
Talk Stephen King: I didn't know that about Bradbury.

Bryant Burnette: Just don't expect to see me starting a new blog devoted to the fiction of one G. Beck anytime soon...

Talk Stephen King: I enjoy books about Stephen King as much as books by Stephen King. I know one of my favorite books about King is Lilja’s Library. Do you have some favorites?

Bryant Burnette: That's easy: The Art of Darkness by Douglas E. Winter.

Talk Stephen King: Oh! That is a good book!

Bryant Burnette: Remember earlier, when I talked about scavenging The Book Rack for all the Stephen King books I could find? Well, one of the books I bought was Winter's awesome study of King's work up to that point in time. I read it with utter fascination, and (I kid you not) as a result my critical abilities took a leap forward greater than any that had been prompted by any class I'd taken in school. For the first time, I was coming to an understanding that books I actually liked could be About Something. Because of that, I was able to start thinking about books I was assigned in school -- To Kill a Mockingbird, or Fahrenheit 451, or A Separate Peace -- in a different way.

I think that may have a lot to do with why I eventually ended up getting an English degree, so I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that Winter's book had as big an effect on me as any of King's books themselves did.

And frankly, while there are plenty of books about King, I find them most of them to be fairly shallow in comparison. There are others I love, though, including The Stephen King Companion by George Beahm (his The Stephen King Story is also good), Creepshows (a fine book about the movies) by Stephen Jones, and Rocky Wood's awesome, encyclopedic books about King's uncollected works and his nonfiction. There are also several biggies which I either haven't bought yet (including, to my shame, the Lilja's Library book!) or have a copy of but haven't yet read (Bev Vincent's The Road to the Dark Tower and Robin Furth's Dark Tower concordances being probably the two most notable).

But when I think of nonfiction about King, The Art of Darkness is always the first thing to come to mind. It's deeply insightful, and yet also so thoroughly readable that it manages to be accessible for "common" readers, rather than being dry analytical stuff aimed squarely at dusty old intellectual types alone.

At this point, I may as well level with you, one Constant Reader to another: the whole -- the ONLY -- idea behind my blog is for me to teach myself to write something along the lines of The Art of Darkness. There doesn't seem to be an updated edition forthcoming from, so I'll just have to fill that void myself. That's an arrogant goal, of course, and I'm aware of it; I'm also aware that I'm nowhere within shouting distance of Winter's skill level, not yet ... but, maybe, someday. And even if I never get there, I'm intently focused on trying. I'd love nothing more than to be able to write a multi-volume series of books exploring the entire breadth and depth of King's work, and do so in such a way as to be able to appeal to some kid somewhere who's in a used bookstore, pawing through musty old paperbacks looking for another book to fall in love with. If I can't get that kid, then I'll have considered my attempts to be failures.

If I get to where I want to go, though, King won't be the only topic I take on. Steven Spielberg, Alfred Hitchcock, James Bond, Walt Disney (especially Walt Disney World), Larry McMurtry, Quentin Tarantino, the Dune novels, Star Trek, Bob Dylan, Alan Moore ... those are just a few of the topics my brain screams at me to write about. Who knows; maybe someday...

And if so, I'll have The Art of Darkness to thank for it.

Talk Stephen King: Okay, we're now on question #13, a good number for any horror blog! Here's the most important question I have for you: How did you win the Lilja's Library contest and I didn't? HUH?!

Bryant Burnette: Beats me, dude! I've never won nothin' like that before, and I don't have a clue how I managed it this time!

Talk Stephen King: I don't win anything, either. Maybe I should have entered the contest.

Braynt Burnette: The audiobook sure does like nice on my shelf, by the way... :)

Talk Stephen King: Now you're rubbing it in!

Bryant Burnette: Well, I could go on answering questions like that all day, but only at the risk of annihilating my welcome.

Talk Stephen King: Hey, thanks for the great answers. One constant reader to another -- keep up the good work.

Bryant Burnette: Thanks for the opportunity!

Talk Stephen King: Okay, Merry Christmas mister Honk Mafah extraordinaire.

Interview With THE HONK MAHFAH, part 1

2011-12-20T11:33:00.000-08:00

My friend, Bryant Burnette, is the face behind the Ramblings Of A Honk Mahfah blog site. The blog is dedicated to articles and reviews about Stephen King. I really liked his review of Bag Of Bones, where Honk interviewed Mahfah. Well worth your time, friends!

One of the things I appreciate about Bryant is that he shoots straight. That’s important when seeking a gunslinger. This interview is simply one Constant reader to another -- two dudes who dig America's Boogieman.

Ramblngs Of A Honk Mahfah is HERE.

Talk Stephen King: Hi Bryant. Tell me about yourself.

Bryant Burnette: I am an assistant manager at a movie theatre. I've been doing that off and on -- mostly on -- since 1997. I took a break from it at one point because I'd decided I wanted to get a second degree and use it to become a high-school English teacher. That was a mistake; John Smith and Jake Epping I am decidedly not. I spent four months substitute teaching and decided I'd rather do just about anything than teach.

My specific job duty at work is that I'm in charge of my theatre's projection booth. That used to be a lot cooler than it is now. We're all digital now, but back when we ran traditional 35mm film, I would go to work and spend all day walking around threading film through the projectors, pressing start, and patrolling for problems. It was great. I'd take my MP3 player with me and listen to podcasts, or audiobooks, or whatever else was quiet enough that I could still hear the machines without any trouble.

With us being digital now, though, there's no need to spend all day in the booth, so I also work downstairs doing what all the other managers do: managing. It's not the dream job it used to be, but it's still pretty fun. For example, I'll end my shift tonight by watching a double-feature of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Adventures of Tintin all by myself, with the sound cranked up, the lights all the way off, and some tasty popcorn for crunchings and munchings. I'll get to program the show so I can watch whatever previews I want to watch, and there won't be any distractions.
Gotta love that, right?

Talk Stephen King: How long have you been reading Stephen King?

Bryant Burnette: On purpose...? Since the summer of 1990. (More on that momentarily.)

However, I first read King semi-accidentally. It was 1987, and the movie version of The Running Man had come out. I was a big Arnold Schwarzenegger fan, thanks to the television edit of Conan the Barbarian, so I really wanted to see The Running Man. My mother -- rightly, I might add -- wouldn't let my father take me to see it, since it was rated R. So, Dad did the same thing he'd done earlier in the year when he couldn't take me to see Predator: he bought me the book. In the case of Predator, it was a novelization -- one that introduced me, at the age of 13, to numerous charming profanities which I still use to this day -- but in the case of The Running Man, it was (obviously) the Stephen King novel. I read it, and enjoyed it, but I didn't care who had written it; I only cared about it as a way of experiencing a movie I couldn't otherwise see.

Fast-forward to 1990. Dad had read a review of the uncut version of The Stand, and was talking about wanting to read it because it sounded interesting. However, when he was telling me about it, he goofed, and said it was a novel by Steven Spielberg...!

Here's a fact: I am a huge Spielberg fan, and have been since I was old enough to understand that movies were made by actual people. So when I heard that my favorite moviemaker had written a novel about good and evil battling it out after the end of the world, how do you suppose I reacted?

You got it. I went to try and find a copy. I bought most of my books at a used bookstore called The Book Rack, so that was the first place I looked, and the nice old lady who ran the place directed me to a copy of the original edition of The Stand, written by ... Stephen King.

Stephen King?!? What the...? I thought it was written by Spielberg!

Was I disappointed? Yes. Oh, yes, I certainly was. BUT ... I remembered having read -- and liked -- The Running Man, so I decided to give the book a whirl.

Never has a fish been caught so firmly. Unlike most fish, though, I felt no pain at being hooked: I was happy to be dangling on that line.

I couldn't afford new books, so instead, over the course of the next few months, I bought every used Stephen King book The Book Rack had. Then I reread them all. Then I bought things that looked similar: books by people like Peter Straub, and Robert R. McCammon, and Dean Koontz, and Clive Barker. About a year later, I started -- I had a job by this time! -- buying the books new in hardback.

Twenty years later, I'm just as hooked as I ever was.

Talk Stephen King: Okay, what is your favorite book? If you say "the Stand" you have to list a second favorite, because almost everyone says The Stand! If you don't say "The Stand" you will be rushed to Kingdom hospital for a deep exam.

Bryant Burnette: My favorite book is NOT, in fact, The Stand. It's It. So, yay me; I get to avoid checking in to Kingdom Hospital!

Talk Stephen King: No. We're still sending you. . . we just have to find a new reason. Let the ~~interrogation~~ --I mean interview -- continue. . .

Talk Stephen King: The Honk Mahfah is now required to list the 10 best Stephen King books. If he does not, he will be forced to watch play fetch with Cujo. Get to it, my friend. . .

Bryant Burnette: One of the blog posts that was the most fun for me to write was a post wherein I ranked ALL of King's books, "worst" to best. It was also one of the most difficult I have written; it took a week! So, I suppose I could cheat and just post a link to that article, but what fun would that be? None.

Instead, I'll go off the dome and give you a Top 10, and then later the motivated can go check my blog and see if I was able to replicate the order!

10 -- Carrie
9 -- The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands
8 -- Skeleton Crew
7 -- The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass
6 -- On Writing
5 -- The Green Mile
4 -- The Dead Zone
3 -- The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger
2 -- Different Seasons
1 -- It

So, for those of you keeping score at home, yes, it IS true: I don't even have The Stand in my Top 10! (Incidentally, here's a link to that post, and it turns out I got fairly close to replicating the order: HERE)

Talk Stephen King: What! That Stand isn't on your top 10 list! I'm calling the Library Police.

Talk Stephen King: I know you also enjoy collecting King items when they don’t cost a billion dollars! Do you have a most treasured possessions?

Bryant Burnette: I'm going to answer that question in two ways.

First of all, I'm going to say that my single most treasured King book is a book about King: the massive limited edition Knowing Darkness: Artists Inspired by Stephen King. A few words about that: it's not a perfect book, not by any means. The text is frequently fascinating, but just as frequently sloppy: riddled with typos, poor grammar, and all-around bad writing. I know, I know: an amateur writer taking a pro to task for sloppy writing is laughable. If that's your reaction, you're not wrong. NOW, that said, I stand by my statements, and insist that for $250 (which is what that book cost, though I was able to get it for $150) a customer ought to be able to expect a book to be impeccably edited. It is also so heavy a book that -- and I kid you not about this -- the second I pulled it out of the box, it tore out the bottom of the slipcase and plummeted to the floor. I had to tape the slipcase back together; it looks like crap and makes the book highly un-resellable. Luckily, I don't have any intention of reselling it, because despite those complaints, I ADORE that book. The art is gorgeous beyond belief, and THAT'S the reason I bought the book.

Secondly, though, I have a pair of hardbacks that are REAL rarities. They are both extremely limited editions.

One is a hardback of The Plant, which was made by the local company that serves as the bindery for the city library. That's right; I printed out all six parts of The Plant (front and back of the pages, no less!) and had them bound as a hardback. I love being able to put that on my shelf.
Talk Stephen King: Woe! THAT IS COOL!

Bryant Burnette: As for the second, it is also a hardback bound by the local library bindery. This one, though, is a true one-of-a-kind. I'm sure other people printed out The Plant and had it bound; there probably aren't a ton of those floating around in the world, but I'm not daft enough to think I'm the only King nut who had that particular idea. However, I've got a copy of a book called The Unfound Door, which consists of rare, uncollected Stephen King short stories like "Weeds" and "The Crate" and "Man with a Belly," interviews, screenplays, articles about King, etc. I edited this collection myself, meticulously retyping it all so that the book would have a uniform -- if amateurish -- look and feel. There have probably been a few peole who've done this, as well, but since I edited mine -- even including vain little commentary pieces! -- personally, there is no other edition of this particular book.

I spent the better part of a year on that project! So, really, I probably ought to count THAT as my most treasured King item!

Hopefully, by the way, that doesn't make me sound too creepy and obsessed.
Talk Stephen King: Creepy, no way! Obsessed. . . we all are a little.

Bryant Burnette: It was a lot of hard work, but I remember listening to a LOT of great music while I did it, so it was definitely not time wasted. Plus: now, if I want to read "Before the Play" or "Slade" in the middle of the night, I've got a collection that can solve that problem!

. . . . . .

Okay, that's going to wrap it up for this part. But check back, because the second part will be published faster than Blane The Mono can give a riddle.

The Last Rung On The Ladder

2011-12-19T22:17:00.000-08:00

I got word today that The Last Rung On The Ladder has completed filming. Here's their trailer.

I'm Just A Lowly Reader

2011-12-19T16:53:00.000-08:00

I admit, I am just a lowly reader.

Have you other lowly readers ever notice. . . Some publishers act like we're doing something bad by wanting to buy a book. A book they're selling!. . . a book they will make money on.

In fact, some publishers seem flat out angry at the readers! These publishers behave as if they are doing you a big favor by allowing you to buy from them. Some publishers really wish no one wanted their books. . . then they could have them all to themselves!
Here are some favorite lines from the Donald M. Grant website:

Please do not call or email us asking for more information than is posted here. (that's in red. I wonder why they have a phone.)
The Signed Numbered Deluxe Edition can be ordered only by those who have a S/N THE LITTLE SISTERS OF ELURIA below # 801 (DOH! Imagine being the poor reader who owns #801. They're reading this, going, "You've got to be kidding me!" Merry Christmas, and if you are #801 and above, then there is no room in the inn. . .)

You must still own it when we ship THE WIND THROUGH THE KEYHOLE or your order will be cancelled (ooohhhh!, is someone angry? They tell us what we msut own in order to buy the book. Not just that we previously purchased from them, but we still have to own it. I wonder what they would do if the book got torn in half and is now owned by two people) and any deposit/payment refunded and the Deluxe Edition sold to the new owner. (Aren't they assuming the "new owner" would want to buy the new book? They also left an "i" out of "deposit." Not worth pointing out. . . except that they publish books and stuff like that!)
We will then do a lottery drawing approximately six weeks after the Deluxe Editions are shipped for remaining available copies but as we expect there to be very few copies available the lottery will be restricted to owners of Numbered THE LITTLE SISTERS OF ELURIA between 801 and 1,250. (We bow in humility before the mighty publisher. Gosh, ma, we wouldn't want these books falling in the wrong hands!)
Send us a POSTCARD -- NOT an email or letter -- which reads. . . (Wow, there is a lot of tension in these rules. we should feel ashamed for even wanting to buy the book! Didn't they already say not to email them? It is tempting to drop them an email just to cause the writer of these rules to explode in rage. And I am also wondering: Who is it that has the postcard collection over there? Do I get a better chance if I send a postcard of the Stanley Hotel?)
And my favorite: REMEMBER, only send in ONE post card per copy of The Little Sisters of Eluria that you have. If we receive more than one request from anyone we will throw them ALL away. (Yep, there is some seriously unresolved anger in the rules department over there! I like that, "we will throw them all away. . ." lousy readers! Sheesh. Imagine, wanting to buy our precious books!)

You will want to note the sign on the door as you enter: "No shoes, no shirt, no copy of Little Sisters, no service."

What made them so angry? What did readers do that caused this rage? Is there someone out there who needs to say "sorry"? If you have mistreated this publisher -- please, please, please tell them sorry!

Now, the publisher would defend all this by saying they are seeking only to give first cancel to those who have previously bought signed numbered books. I understand that. I don't understand the negative -- even hostile -- tone toward the readers.
What if Walmart did this when you purchased Aquafresh? . . .

Cashier: "You know, you can only buy this toothpaste if you have purchased this brand before."

Me: "Oh yes, I have."

Cashier: "But your previous purchase has to have a serial number below 8,000. Your previous Aquafresh purchase was 8,123.12, which is clearly not within our guidelines."

Me: "But I still want to buy it."

Cashier: "Well, send us a postcard and maybe we'll consider letting you smell the breath of someone who actually bought it."

Me: "But you have piles of it, right here! Maybe I can call my order in."

Cashier: "No! No! No! You may not call! Calling is not allowed. And definitely, never ever ever ever email! We hate the Internet, we hate the phone. But you may send us a postcard."

Me: "Does the postcard have to be from anywhere specific?"

Cashier: "No. But it must have a stamp with a year before 1982 and a bar code not containing the number 6."

Me: "I see. All perfectly reasonable. I'm sorry I wanted to buy your product."

Cashier: "You are forgiven. But you will be charged for taking so much of my time."

Me: "I am so ashamed of myself."

Know why Walmart doesn't do that? Because they actually want to sell stuff! And, to make the sale, they have to be nice. Sadly, no matter how arrogant the publisher is, readers will accept the nonsense in order to get the book.

Other publishers treat readers with what I can only call glad enthusiasm. Personally, I'm sticking with Cemetery Dance for special editions. The signed stuff sells out quick at Cemetery Dance, but they're not angry about it! In fact, they seem flat out thrilled to be selling King items, and really seem to like the readers.

Lilja's Library: Grant Takes Orders For WIND THROUGH THE KEYHOLE

2011-12-19T15:58:00.000-08:00

This is from my favorite website, Lilja's Library -- which is by far the best Stephen King website out there!

Here is what we have been waiting for. The Donald M Grant cover for The Wind Through The Keyhole.

Grant is also starting to take orders for this one today so head over to their site for more info if you’re interested in getting a copy.

The King Cast: A horrorday gift guide for Kinglovers

2011-12-17T01:10:00.000-08:00

Check out the most recent episode of The King Cast, titled "Episode 22: A horrorday gift guide for Kinglovers."

Bob LeDrew landed some great interviews for this episode (trust me). Included were Ms. Mod (Marsha DeFilippo), Matt Jacobs and Luanne Johnson (SK Fancast), and myself.

Okay, having never ever been interviewed before (about Stephen King) I totally messed a question up! Bob asked what I would save if the house was burning -- of the King collection. I was at a loss. Looking at my shelf of King books kinda helps on this one! I would now have to say that I would reach for some audio tapes. Yep! Audio tapes! The audio edition of The Stand and Frank Muller's reading of The Mist, since both of these are out of print.

King raises $240k to help low income heating

2011-12-16T15:15:00.000-08:00

This is a great Christmas story running on MSN's homepage.

Associated Press has an article titled, "Stephen King raises $240,000 to pay Mainers' oil bills." (HERE) That exceeds what King expected to raise when he promised to match $70,000 in donations. However, a California donor offered another $50,000 if King would match it. Of course, he did.

Hundreds show up for King signing in Alpharetta

2011-12-16T15:02:00.000-08:00

HERE is an article titled "Rare King appearance draws hundreds of fans to Alpharetta."

Katie VanBrackle writes:

More than 600 loyal fans of author Stephen King filled the Alpharetta Walmart Supercenter on Ga. 9 in Midway Wednesday night, Dec. 14.

Hundreds spent the previous night sleeping in tents outside the south Forsyth County store to ensure their place in line.

The constant readers who spent the night on the sidewalk jokingly called themselves "Occupy Walmart." I like it!

She notes that King was also in Alpharetta to promote the musical "Ghost Brothers of Darkland County."

thanks to Bryant Burnette

Shearer: "The Shining still shines."

2011-12-16T05:02:00.000-08:00

THIS IS COOL. . .

I really enjoyed Andrew Shearer article The Shining still shines, which is posted HERE. It is reposted with permission -- thank you. I totally agree with his statement that watching it on the old worn out film can add to the sense of . . . ah, just read the article. . .

True movie nerds don’t mind taking a road trip when they really want to see a film, but there’s a certain amount of risk involved. I ventured out twice within the past week, beginning this past Sunday to the Mall of Georgia for “Sideways” director Alexander Payne’s latest, “The Descendants” (starring George Clooney). The movie ended up being well worth the trek, but I haven’t always been so lucky. But then there are special occasions when a revival screening takes place, and it feels like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity you can’t pass up. I was devastated when I missed “The Shining” when it played the Classic Center last year, so it was imperative I drive to Atlanta’s Plaza Theatre to catch what would be one of the very last times this film would be shown on the big screen.

That doesn’t mean fans never will get to see “The Shining” with an appreciative audience again, but the next time they do, they’ll probably be watching a digital version. According to the managers at the Plaza, Warner Brothers is closing its film vaults next year and no longer will be sending out any 35mm prints from their catalog. Computerized archiving is a great way to preserve movies for future generations to enjoy, and to ensure these films will be available on whatever formats our kids, grandkids and great grandkids decide to watch them. Film stock deteriorates over time and can be damaged whenever it is handled or run through a projector, so it does make sense to try to keep the originals intact before they’re extinct. But anyone who was there for Tuesday’s sold-out screening can attest that some movies are even creepier on a worn-out film print than they ever will be on a clean, sharp digitally projected image.

Released in 1980 and based on the best-selling novel by Stephen King, “The Shining” was went largely underappreciated in its day. Back then, the “Friday the 13th” era was just breaking, and no one seemed to really understand the slow burn of madness that master filmmaker Stanley Kubrick had pulled off so well. Now famous for star Jack Nicholson’s high-energy performance as possessed dad Jack Torrance and Shelley Duvall’s baseball-bat swinging, drowned cat-like wail, the film also is a technical marvel. Boasting some of the very first uses of the now-commonplace Steadicam system, “The Shining” features several dizzying sequences in which the camera flies smoothly around the beautifully-constructed Overlook Hotel set, chasing the cast through its corridors and out into the snow-covered maze where the film’s unforgettable climax takes place. It’s easy to feel like you’re going insane right along with good ol’ Jack, a testament to the enduring power this movie has.

There’s a reason why The New York Times recently published an article about a new cult phenomenon for horror on VHS tape, and why it’s hip to digitally add scratches, dirt and distress to high-definition video footage. Does format matter when it comes to watching a film? Most people would say no, and are perfectly content watching a movie on a Kindle or the back of the headrest on a long airline flight. For my money, how you watch a film makes a huge difference, and “The Shining” has never been as frighteningly unsettling as it was at the Plaza on Tuesday. Besides, I liked knowing I was getting the same theatrical experience that people got when the movie first came out.

“The Shining” will be screening one last time at Atlanta’s historic Plaza Theater at 9:30 p.m. Saturday. Visit plazaatlanta.com for details.

Friday: Bag Of Bones Complete

2011-12-16T02:54:00.000-08:00

Tonight A&E is running both episodes of Bag of Bones back to back. So if you missed it the first time, here's your chance to see the whole thing. Then, if you miss that -- they're running it again. That's 8 hours of Bag of Bones!

11.22.63 Journal #4: Seriously?

2011-12-15T23:50:00.000-08:00

Usually the thing about King's writing that most deeply connects with me are his characters. They think, speak and tend to make decisions the way normal people would when in similar situations. Sometimes a characters logic baffles me.

So, I want to lodge a small complaint. . . but it's probably not what you are expecting.

The biggest (certainly most publicized) complaint I have seen about 11/22/63 has to do with the sex. It has been said that the sex scenes are awkward or poorly written. I must disagree! The sex scene complained about was awkward. . . because it was someones first time! Those leveling the complaint should read the whole book, not just use Kindle to search down the hottie scenes.

My complaint has nothing to do with sex scenes. It has to do with secrets and our ability to keep them. In one scene George suddenly realizes that maybe he should let his secret out of the bag and tell his lover the truth. Now, everything in the reader is shouting at him, "Don't do it, you idiot!" But something else was worming through the back of my mind. It went like this, "Seriously, dude? This is the first time you've been even slightly tempted to tell someone the truth?"

Most of us would be tempted to show off a little. To take our knowledge for a little spin. Of course, falling in love when on mission is stupid to begin with. And telling the truth in this instance is not a good idea! But the temptation should have been chewing him up.

Review Of The Afterword In IT

2011-12-15T23:05:00.000-08:00

A short review of the new afterword in Cemtery Dance’s edition of IT.

As usual, King delivers a chatty afterword that leaves the reader feeling like they’ve just sat next to the author and had a nice few moments him. King has been interviewed so many times that he is an expert and anticipating the readers questions – and he always answers candidly.

King says that the actual writing of IT took around nine months, and that he started the work in longhand in a series of blue books. However, as the blue books piled up, he eventually moved to the typewriter.

I really like some of the insights King had to the writing process, and in particular to character development. IT forced the writer to deal with his characters on multiple levels; adult and child. I think King handles this brilliantly in the novel.

King obviously considers Bill himself, but the primary character in IT is the monster. Since Pennywise is a shape shifter, IT is able to take on many forms. This gave King great freedom in exploring monster myths as it gave him a platform to present all the monsters his imagination could conjure up!

Famous Authors Featured on the Simpsons

2011-12-15T10:06:00.000-08:00

I spotted this link first at Lilja's Library. HERE is a list of authors who have appeared on the Simpsons. #2 on the list is Stephen King. #9 is J.K. Rowling. Stephenie Meyer isn't on the list. Doesn't TWILIGHT seem like Simpson material? Oh well, here's what the article said about King:

Stephen King is one of the most prolific and popular authors today, publishing numerous best-selling novels during his long career, so it only makes sense that'd he show up in an episode of The Simpsons. King appears comes into an episode when the family decides to take in a book festival, repayment to Lisa for the destruction of her room in a VCR repair gone wrong. When they meet the iconic author, Marge tells him to, "Call me when you start writing horror again," a jab at the author for getting away from his core audience, perhaps. King dutifully notes her request, however, with no hard feelings.

Appearing more often than King himself is his work. Under The Dome was mentioned by Mr. Burns. King was also mocked in The Shinning.

More Pictures: Cemetery Dance IT

2011-12-14T16:22:00.000-08:00

Brian James Freeman has posted several photos of Cemetery Dance's IT. Here's one. I like this picture because Freeman shows the CD edition next to the original American and British editions. Check out all of them HERE.

Bag Of Bones Boosts Ratings For A&E

2011-12-13T17:08:00.000-08:00

Philiana Ng at The Hollywood Reporter has posted the ratings for Bag of Bones. Not bad! The first night drew 3.4 million viewers, which makes it the top cable telecast for the night. Ng writes, "on the following evening, Bag of Bones retained a strong 88 percent of its premiere audience, delivering 3 million viewers."

The article is HERE.

The Girl Who Loves Horror: Review Of Bag Of Bones

2011-12-13T16:45:00.000-08:00

A while back The Girl Who Loves Horror told us that Bag Of Bones was her favorite book. I've been looking forward to her review of the mini-series -- be it good, bad, or something in between. This is reposted from her blog, which I highly recommend! (http://thegirlwholoveshorror.blogspot.com/)

Resposted with permission.

Review Of Bag Of Bones Miniseries

by Michele (TheGirlWhoLovesHorror)

Oh-kay. How to talk about "Bag of Bones"? It's always hard for me to review an adaptation of a book I love so much and have such a strong connection to, and Bag of Bones is definitely one of those books. Most people would probably say that you have to look at the book and adaptation as two separate entities. To a point, I agree. Movies and books are different mediums and therefore must be dealt with in different ways. But when a movie has such strong source material, how can one not judge the movie based on its ability to effectively recreate what was presented in the book? Let's see how Mick Garris and crew did with my favorite Stephen King book.

Part One Review: Honestly, not much has happened so far. Jo Noonan died, Mike Noonan grieved, Mike went to Sara Laughs (even though it was never mentioned in the miniseries that Sara Laughs was the name of his lake house but whatever), Mike found out that Sara Laughs is haunted by Jo and Sara Tidwell, Mike met Mattie and Kyra, Mike got involved with Kyra's crazy grandfather Max Devore. There's still much to be covered and since they didn't get very far in the first two hours, a lot of story and action is going to have be crammed into the last two hours. Good or bad? We'll see.

I must say that the first part felt a little slow, and not necessarily suspenseful. Mike's dreams and his ghostly encounters felt like the filmmakers were just recycling the same old horror movie cliches, when in the book the mood was creepy but much more subtle. I loved the inclusion of the refrigerator magnets and Bunter's bell as how the ghosts communicate, though. Pierce Brosnan's crazed laughing about these incidents was a little weird, but Mike expresses in the book about how he is both terrified by the ghosts and a little excited at what he is experiencing as well, so I guess that fits.

I'm still not sold on Brosnan as Mike. He's a bit older looking - though that doesn't matter much - and he doesn't have Mike's sarcastic sense of humor or overall way with words (he's a writer, remember). The actors playing Max Devore and his yet-unnamed "assistant" Rogette are also quite good so far, though they haven't had much to do. Max has just the right amount of cunning and evil behind his eyes, just how I pictured him from the book and Rogette is perhaps even creepier looking than I pictured.

The big change I ~~got pissed off about~~ noticed was how Jo died. In the book, she has a brain aneurysm in a parking lot and Mike wasn't there. In the show, she gets hit by a fucking bus. I understand the need for making things a little more dramatical or whatever but this is going a bit far. And to have Mike running out and holding his bleeding and dying wife? I don't know that they should have gone for that big of a change for the sake of drama. It was too gruesome for me, but I admit that it did manage to hurry the story up a bit and get Mike to Sara Laughs, so I'm letting it slide for the moment.

A couple things I did like: Really liked the dream sequence where Mike kisses Sara, Jo, and Mattie. It set up for the audience who the important players were in this piece and was quite beautifully shot. Also really liked the actress playing Sara Tidwell. She's absolutely gorgeous, and if that was really her singing in that one scene, then she's pretty freaking talented, too. Though Part One is starting out a bit dull, I'm excited to see how the dramatic events of the conclusion play out. Time for Part Two!

Part Two Review: NO! No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Part One may have taken a few liberties with the story and changed things around a bit, but Part Two done messed the whole thing up. What I'm complaining about though, is not just that they changed stuff (although, yes, I was very annoyed at some of the changes). The real problem with this was the way everything was handled. All the action went down too quickly and they seemed to treat the audience like they were stupid.

What I mean by this is that at several parts, they had characters literally spell out what was happening instead of revealing it in a better way and letting the audience figure it out for themselves. The worst part was in the scene of what happened to Sara Tidwell. They actually had a bloody Sara say to the men, "I curse you! You will kill your daughters! Your sons will kill their daughters! And so on and so forth!" before she died. Ri-donk-ulous. What, is she a witch now or something? Mattie had to actually say to Mike, "That's why Jo didn't tell you she was pregnant! She knew about the curse!" What about the fact that all the children's names that the men killed started with a "K" like Sara's daughter Keisha (in the book, it was a son and his name was Kito)? All those little facts just make the mystery seem more involved and bigger and more powerful than the miniseries made it out to be.

I did love that they included one of my favorite parts from the book, which was when Mike met Rogette and Max on The Street and Rogette starts throwing rocks at Mike in the lake. It was a much longer scene in the book and always felt a little ludicrous to me, but also very funny and showed how crazy those two were. I actually had an actress in my mind for Rogette while reading the book - Marian Seldes.

I'm telling you, when that chick gets angry, she is the scariest-looking person on the planet. The other lady is great in the role, though, and she has a great look with that black hair and costuming.

I admit that Bag of Bones was probably a hard novel to adapt. Much of it centered on Mike alone and his inner monologue which is not only difficult to translate to film but it also would have been very boring to watch Pierce Brosnan get scared at ghosts for a couple hours. Some scenes were great, like the dream sequence of Mike and Kyra at the fair but other important scenes were either watered down for TV or hyped up too much to make them more exciting.

A couple random comments: Rogette kissing Max in the bathtub before she killed him? Ew! She's supposed to be his daughter! They don't say that in the show but for people who've read the book and know that fact, this was a very weird little scene. Also liked the reference to Lisey's Story when Mike mentions "Booya Moon." Liked Mattie's death scene - that bullet wound in her cheek was horrendous. Did not like the scene where Mattie Devore appears to her daughter formed out of water. Too silly for my tastes.

On the whole, though, "Bag of Bones" was a complete failure. There was too much information that they tried to cram into the last two hours and the result was something very sloppy. This book is really so much better than the miniseries made it out to be. I know that must be annoying to hear, but I have mad love for this novel - it is probably my favorite book, period - and I think the story is so beautiful and heartbreaking and this adaptation does it no justice. Mick Garris, you are hereby banned from adapting anymore of King's work. Leave it to Frank Darabont, because believe me, he does a helluva better job than you.

EW: Bag Of Bones The Movie v. The Book

2011-12-13T00:28:00.000-08:00

Stephen Lee has an article at Entertainment Weekly's Pop Watch discussing Bag of Bones he mini-series and Bag of Bones the book. The kind of stuff the only really excites Constant Readers.

Lee objects to the "tone" of the movie, suggesting it has a different feel from the book. His only major noted derailment from the book itself had to do with the circumstances of Jo Noonan's death. But Lee hastens to say that this was probably a necessary change.

Lee admits that "The creepiness of the book - translated well to television. . ."

The full article is HERE.

CIO: Security Threat Stephen King Warned Us About

2011-12-13T00:07:00.000-08:00

CIO has an article HERE titled "The Security Threat Stephen King Warned Us About?" No, it's not about Cell.

Taylor Amerding opens his article with this hook:

"Most people know that their computers and smart phones are under the constant threat of attack from hackers. But your car? Your house? Your TV and other consumer electronics?

It seems like a take on Stephen King's short story "Trucks" -- where machines come to life and go on a murderous rampage (the movie version was "Maximum Overdrive"). In this case, hackers find security flaws in the computers running our vehicles, appliances and medical devices and wreak havoc.

Amerding also directs us to an article titled, "McAfee report reminds me of 'Maximum Overdrive." (HERE)

Garris Gives Us A HOME-RUN

2011-12-12T23:20:00.000-08:00

Custody has its responsibility. Giving Mick Garris custody of Bag Of Bones made a few people nervous. . . people who have never quite gotten over Sleepwalkers! Well, my opinion only here, but I thought Bag Of Bones was a home run!

Now I must admit to a few nervous moments in the first half. I liked it, but found myself asking, "Where's this going?" But the second half -- of my! Everything comes together. The story works as a cohesive whole. My only complaint is that it had to be broken into two parts, since it relies so heavily on the second part to move things forward.

The acting was great! The plot was a gift from Stephen King. The mini-series gave us both story and gore, action and drama. I was surprised at the amount of gore and violence, especially toward the end, that A&E allowed to hit the air waves. Cable s a good venue for the Stephen King mini-series.

Bag Of Bones was a full embrace of the Stephen King universe. This was especially true in the first part and in their promotion. A lot of the publicity was obviously aimed at us constant readers! (Any #1 fans out there?!)

Though I am sure someone will say the movie was too slow, dragged and could have used more editing -- I think it was very well paced. You do have to give the movie time to unfold, but that's the way a Stephen King story works! King is not an action writer, he gives us drama and horror, and to do that takes a little time. If you just want cut-em ups from beginning to end, they have those, but King doesn't write them. King gives us thoughtful drama/horror that is deeply character driven.

I thought Brosnan and the entire cast was great. Brosnan did a good job showing us the inner struggles of a grieving man. There are moments he is overcome by waves of emotional pain, but he doesn't allow it to crush him.

For King on the small screen, I would put this up there with The Stand -- among the very best. Garris has shown himself to be a worthy steward of the King property on screen. He is faithful to the flow of the story, the characters behavior and the tone of the book itself. Quite simply, I look forward to seeing more Garris / King collaborations. . . . so time to get to work on Cell!

Always interested in your opinion.

Does Bag Of Bones Hint At A Bachman Return?

2011-12-12T00:50:00.000-08:00

Speculation has been buzzing for a while now that Richard Bachman might have left more manuscripts behind.

We all know that Bachman made an appearance in the Bag Of Bones photo releases. Just check out those book shelves.

Tonight, in episode 1 of Bag Of Bones, Mike Noonan is told, "There's even talk of a newly discovered Bachman book."

Kevin Quigley at Charnel House said back in November, "For those of you who thought Bachman's posthumous novels had dried up with Blaze, worry not! It looks like the old dairy farmer still has some afterlife in him yet."

Quigley quoted King as saying: "I would like to write a Bachman novel that had some of that Charles Willeford feel. The dark side of American life ... I would like to start a book about a crazy private eye, a guy who is really on the dark side. I see the scene: this guy sitting in his office in an unnamed American city, the sky grey, the rain grey and hitting the window. That is it ... But I know the rest of it would follow pretty nicely with that hard-boiled voice like Raymond Chandler. Think of Philip Marlowe, only a total fucking degenerate.” (Charnel House)

I also liked Jo Noonan's comment, "have fun with Annie Wilkes" when the guy announced he was his number one fan.

Tell Us What You Thought Of Bag Of Bones

2011-12-11T19:50:00.000-08:00

Tonight was the first part of Bag Of Bones. I thought it was great! Did it light y'all up, or let you down?

News: You can't kill stephen king

2011-12-11T18:50:00.000-08:00

Monroe Mann posted today:

On Wednesday, December 14th, at 12 noon eastern we are releasing the trailer to the new campy horror film, "You Can't Kill Stephen King". I co-directed with Ronnie Khalil and Jorge Valdes-Iga and also co-starred.

Exactly what is "You Can't Kill Stephen King" ? Campy -- horror.

HERE is their facebook page.

LA TIMES: Stephen King On TV

2011-12-11T14:23:00.000-08:00

Elizabeth Hand at the LA Times has an interesting article on Stephen King's TV mini-series. (HERE) The list is pretty long. I don't agree with every conclusion (there is no way Tommyknockers is the worst of the batch), but I enjoyed the article quite a lot. Brimming with clips and insight, the article is well done.

The article is generally favorable to Mick Garris and gives him (and King) credit for not just pumping out blood and guts, but some serious drama.

Here is Hand's take on the 2002 television version of Carrie that I thought was a home run:

And then there’s the 2002 pilot for a projected series of “Carrie” in which Carrie survives to become a psychic investigator in Florida, something even Patricia Clarkson as Carrie White’s grim-faced mother couldn’t save. “You ever see something you can’t explain?” asks one prom-night survivor. “I’m not talking about a strange light in the sky, or Jesus’ face on a tortilla. I’m talking about something that’s not supposed to happen. Like, in reality.”

Bag Of Bones Explodes All Over The Web

2011-12-11T14:02:00.000-08:00

WOW! Bag of Bones is all over the place! Here are some links that discuss tonight's A&E miniseries, "Bag Of Bones."

Los Angeles Times : TV this Week: Dec. 11 - 17
WKBT : Pierce Brosnan returns to TV in 'Bag of Bones'
Cleveland.com : Stephen King's new 'Bag of Bones'
Boston Herald : Watch This
Belleville News Democrat : Around the remote: Television picks for the week of Dec. 11-17
Star Tribune : TV critic's picks: Dec. 11-15
The Winnipeg Free Press : The odd scare, but you won't care
The Globe and Mail : Weekend TV: A little Santa, a little Stephen King...

T.J. Tranchell: "2012 The Year Of Stephen King"

2011-12-09T14:51:00.000-08:00

I really liked T.J. Tranchell's article "2012, The Year Of Stephen King." It is reposted from yakimaherald.com with permission. Thanks T.J. !

TJ is currently doing a something he's calls the Constant Reading Project. He told me, "I'm going to read every Stephen King book, in publication order. I just finished Carrie and the goal is to have them all read by Dec 31, 2012." WOW! It's going to be an awesome 2012 for him! You can follow along at his blog: www.warning-signs.net

Okay, here's the article:

2012, the year of the King
By T.J. Tranchell
For ON Magazine

In the mid-1980s, Stephen King wrote about his fear of Friday the 13th. He mentioned that the year 2012 (oh, that doomed year) would have three Fridays fall on the 13th of the month: January, April and July. But King's paraskevidekatriaphobia -- the fear of Friday the 13th -- won't stop him from having a potentially banner year in 2012.

He's even getting a head start.

King's most recent novel, "11/22/63," is an 849-page take on how one man could change the world by stopping John F. Kennedy's assassination. The book has been out for about a month and has reached King's familiar territory atop the New York Times Bestseller List. The book also ventured into new territory for King when the Times included it as one of 2011's Top 10 books.

As of this writing, I still have about 300 pages left to read, so I can't spoil the ending for you. What I can tell you is that this book is at once a classic King read with familiar settings and characters and something wholly different. The book screams to have someone else's name on it, just to see if it would still be popular. (Of course, this trick didn't work for King when he used a pseudonym, so it's doubtful it would work now.)

As "11/22/63" fights to stay on the bestseller list, an adaptation of the book that many point to as King's first foray into the truly literary will air on cable TV.

"Bag of Bones," starring Pierce Brosnan and directed by frequent King adapter Mick Garris, will air as a two-part miniseries Dec. 11-12. Garris directed the 1994 epic miniseries "The Stand," which stands as his best work. He also directed King's original screenplay "Sleepwalkers," which is no one's best work.

From the trailers, "Bag of Bones" appears to be an atmospheric ghost story, with some of the same historical leanings evident in "11/22/63." It is entirely appropriate that the two should reach audiences at about the same time. The works reveal a truth one often forgets: A good writer can write anything, with no genre limitations.

Which leads us to 2012.

As King takes steps to reach new audiences, he never forgets who put him at the top. On April 24, King is scheduled to release "The Wind Through the Keyhole," a Dark Tower novel. The Dark Tower series is King's true magnum opus, a seven-part fantasy Western that ties many of his other works together. It was a project he had to finish before he died. Apparently, he left part of the story out between the fourth and fifth books.

Then, in August (tentatively), King will release "Dr. Sleep," a sequel of sorts to "The Shining." The tale revolves around the now middle-aged Danny Torrance. Remember him? Little kid, spoke to his finger, REDRUM! REDRUM! and all that? Well, he grew up and is going to battle a horde of vicious, nomadic vampires.

Or something like that.

King has said that some of his critics believe he's getting away from horror. His answer is "Dr. Sleep."
So 2012, a year with three Friday the 13ths, could mark the triumphant return -- not that he ever went away -- of the master of horror. Until then, there's the new book and a new miniseries to tide us over.

* "11/22/63" is available now.
* "Bag of Bones" will air on cable network A&E at 9 p.m. Sunday and Monday.

* T.J. Tranchell is a Selah-based freelance journalist and founder of the horror website www.warning-signs.net. Email him at tj@warning-signs.net.

Pierce Brosnan on The Ellen DeGeneres Show

2011-12-09T00:33:00.000-08:00

Ellen calls Bag Of Bones a "scary scary thing."

Pierce Brosnan, who plays Mike Noonan in Bag of Bones, was Ellen's first guest on Thrusday. They discuss Brosnan's family; wife, kids and house. My favorite part was when his phone rang on live TV.

The clip they showed from Bag Of Bones was great! Brosnan takes a moment to explain the movie theme, saying, "There's something for everyone." Ellen adds, "It's not a feel good movie." !

Asked if he likes scary movies, Brosnan said he does, and then said, "I love Stephen King. He is a dude! He such an amazing story teller."

11.22.63 Journal #3: Stephen King Slapped My Face

2011-12-08T11:13:00.000-08:00

Stephen King slapped my face a few days ago. It hurt a lot.

There I was, happily bopping through the late 1950's with Mr. King narrating away at about 80 miles an hour. I'm loving 11.22.63, and the blast from the past is a joy. Root beer, short hair, ties -- we'd all want to go back, right? Even the cars are something to long for. And about the time King has you totally off guard, thinking sentimentally about a by-gone era. . . WHAM! King gives a big, open handed slap to the face. Not a girly slap; a hard, "WAKE UP, FOOL!" slap.

I grew up in the 80's -- in California. I was a white in a mostly black high school. Race relations could be tense at times. My senior year was the Rodney King riots, and it seemed like everything erupted in the Los Angeles area. But my best friend was black, and somehow we navigated through some rough waters. There was bad stuff going on around us, but for the most part we came out untouched. My mom has said she was glad for my friend, because it protected me from bitterness.

Any tension in 1980's California cannot compare to what was happening in 1959.

As we bop happily along through the novel, King describes a stop at a gas station. There's a men's and women's restroom, and then a sign for blacks with an arrow. Follow the arrow around the corner, and you'll discover there are no indoor restrooms for blacks. I'll not share the exact nature of the indignity, King does it better than I can -- but it made me angry. Partly because it's not the world I come from. And partly because it IS the world I come from! Our entire nation has been touched by generations of racism. When King describes the bathroom situation at the gas station, it evokes a righteous rage. "That is SO WRONG!"

We exist in boxes; our eyes covered. Racism is a thing of the past, it doesn't affect us -- right? But when I felt that sudden anger at someone being forced to go to the bathroom outside, some things started to make sense. The anger in the students around me as I grew up. It didn't make sense at the time. Why were they angry -- things were better for them than they had been for the last generation, right? But the arm of injustice has a long reach.

Injustice, racism, hate can't be cut off in just one generation. We live with the scars.

Out culture and teachers have tried to slap us, but usually it didn't sting as bad as it needed to. Movies like "Driving Miss. Daisy" are painful, but sweet. King doesn't give any sweet to his open handed smack. I remember reading Native Son in high school about a black man who accidentally killed a white girl, burned her body, and went to the electric chair. That novel provoked the desired uncomfortable discussions in English class, but it did not deliver the sudden, unexpected, slap that 11/22/63 gave me. Even movies that drive the point home, like The Help, don't really slap you. Because you see it coming! But King doesn't announce he's gong to slap your face. Of course, everyone should know at some point he's going to edge up on racism -- but when he catches you off guard and causes emotions to rush, it's both painful and a joy.

Baptist:

King sometimes shows us things from our own culture we don't like so much. The angry, cussing, racist Baptist landlord we encounter in Dallas disgusted me. That's outside my experience with Baptist (for the most part. Anyone who has done ministry for long has encountered some pretty angry people). I go to a racially mixed church (whites, blacks, Hispanics Asians). Baptist would be quick to point out that Dr. King was a Baptist, as were many civil rights leaders. Billy Graham, who publicly took a stand against racism by personally removing the ropes that separated whites and blacks in his meetings was a Baptist. But that's not the whole story, is it?

I don't like the cussing, angry, nasty racist landlord being a Baptist. I would rather focus on the positives! The MLK's, the Graham's and so on. For a moment I found myself frustrated with King's writing. It seems he often chooses the Baptist to be the racist (Reverend Rose in Needful things is an example -- only he hated Catholics). And at least with rose, the character is not well developed. He just hates. But in 11.22.63, things feel a little more real. These feel like people you might actually meet somewhere. Not just a caricature -- but a true step back in history. And if I could go back in time, I'd like to take a swing at that landlord!

Thank You

So I'd thank King for the slap in the face. Thank him for making it hurt. For stirring emotions I've actually never felt; not very deeply. Because I don't live in a culture where racism is so openly practiced, but we do live with the scars. But people respond to one another based on their scars, and we don't always understand why they act the way they do.

Time Travel At Its Best

2011-12-08T01:15:00.000-08:00

I'm really enjoying 11.22.63 ! This is one fantastic book. As with all good time travel stories, King doesn't spend long on the how; it's about the story.

So, here are my top 5 favorite time travel movies:

1. Back to the Future. The second one got a little wearisome when they almost endangered their original mission. King fixes these kinds of issues with the "reset" concept.

2. The Final Countdown. Have you seen this one? A modern (1980's) aircraft carrier goes through a storm and comes out in 1941, days before Pearl Harbor. Do they dare use modern technology to alter history? I don't think this was big in theaters, but I think it's great.

3. The Time Machine. Based on H.G. Wells novel, the original Time Machine is very well done. The story is great. Also enjoyed the episode of Big Bang Theory when the guys bought the original Time Machine prop. Good stuff.

4. Star Trek 4, The Voyage Home. Sling shot around the sun, and you create a time warp that wills end you to the exact date you want. Sound stupid? It is -- but so is a Delorean time machine and a closet of a diner! Anyway, of all Star Trek's time warping, this is just about the best there is. A probe arrives at earth, wanting to talk to extinct humpback whales. The Enterprise shoots back in time to save the whales.

5. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. This is serious history here! We meet Abe Lincoln -- and a cast of mostly forgettable characters as Bill and Ted travel through time in a phone booth to get a passing grade in history class. Beats out Terminator on my list! And does Superman count? he did fly real fast around earth to bring Lois back to life. . . was that time travel?

Okay, your turn!

Horrortalk: Review Of The Horrors Of Stephen King

2011-12-07T00:03:00.000-08:00

Steve Pattee at horrortalk has an outstanding review of the TCM documentary "The Horrors Of Stephen King." (here) He gives it 4 1/2 stars out of 5. Can't ask for more, can you? Well, maybe half a star more.

Pattee covers each section of the documentary quite nicely. I especially liked the section on Stephen King and the movies, which Pattee also enjoyed most. Here's what he said about that block of the program:

“King at the Movies” is my favorite of the chapters. Here King goes into the movies that were made from his books. In addition to reminiscing the first time he saw Carrie in the theater (which is a fantastic story), he talks about who he thinks gave the best performance in a film based on his novel (you’d be surprised) and he goes into a little detail on his problems with Kubrick’s version of The Shining. As he rarely talks about this, it was a pleasant surprise to see the topic brought up at all and my only wish is he got into it more (although his final description on Kubrick’s film are spot on). King also spends time talking about working with George Romero on Creepshow, his thoughts on The Dead Zone, and the various cameos he has done.

He concludes with this: "This isn’t just for Stephen King fans because while it is his experiences and thoughts that drive this documentary, there’s enough information and discussion that should satisfy any horror fan."

Jam: "Bag Of Bones Holds Attention"

2011-12-07T00:00:00.000-08:00

Photo Credit HERE

HERE is a positive review of Bag of Bones. Bill Harris notes how "aggressive" it is for A&E to put this out while most channels are packing in the Christmas programming.

He says Bag of Bones is "well done" and that "apparently this isn't an era for trashy-slashy horror, but rather a time for lush, quality horror."

As anyone who has read the book will say, Harris urges viewers to read the book! He says,

"With any story of this nature, a rather robust "suspension of disbelief" is required by the viewer. And while this is of no consequence to anyone who hasn't read the book, if you have read it you'll notice some little leaps of logic that aren't explained at all in the TV mini-series but were fully fleshed out in the novel."

More On: Carrie The Musical

2011-12-06T22:11:00.000-08:00

Carrie The Musical is set to open March 1, 2012. broadwayworld.com has this info:

MCC Theater presents the newly reworked and fully re-imagined production of Carrie, the musical, which features music by Michael Gore, lyrics by Dean Pitchford (Academy Award winning composer and lyricist for the original film Fame) and a book by Lawrence D. Cohen (who also adapted the 1974 novel by Stephen King for the 1976 Brian DePalma film). Directed by Stafford Arima, performances for Carrie begin January 31, 2012, at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street, NYC). The official opening night is set for March 1, 2012.

Full article is HERE.

Fangoria: Garris Discusses King's Bag Of Bones Involvement

2011-12-06T21:37:00.000-08:00

Abbie Berstein at Fangoria has a great article/interview about Bag of Bones with director Mick Garris. (HERE)

There article is rittled with interesting things. For instance, this is the first project that King and Garris have done together that neither have written the script for. In fact, Garris says that King's involvement was completely unofficial.

About King's relationship to the mini-series, Garris said,

“[King is] not a producer on this. He’s not officially involved, but because of our relationship, I would run all these things by him. He didn’t really give script notes, but I sent him first the feature screenplay and then the teleplay after that happened, and he obviously did have director approval and two or three of the leading actor approvals. Other than that, he wasn’t really involved, except as a friend.”

Garris also shares:

The project went from being a feature to a TV miniseries.
Brosnan also starred in NOMADS and THE LAWNMOWER MAN. (I didn't know that. I guess I should try watching Lawnmower Man again.)
Garris calls the movie more than horror, he calls it "a very passionate ghost story."

The article also reveals how they came upon Brosnan, and what he thinks of the Fangoria readership. All worth checking out!

Bag Of Bones Tie-In Book

2011-12-06T14:36:00.000-08:00

Simon and Schuster has released the movie tie-in for Bag of Bones. Buy it HERE (for under $10).

A friend of mine decided to buy all movie tie in books. Created great concern when he realized some books have multiple movies! Like Different Seasons.

Cemetery Dance 2012 Limited Edition Calendar

2011-12-06T09:17:00.000-08:00

Cemetery Dance will have a 2012 Calendar with paintings by Glenn Chadbourne.

Cemetery Dance says: "All of the paintings are FULL-COLOR and have never been published anywhere in the world before. We will not print more than 1,000 copies of the calendar at the very most, and we're offering these for the one-time low price of just $14.99 each, so don't wait to place your order!"

Cemetery Dance link is HERE.
Pictures are here.

The Shining, The Happy Version

2011-12-03T23:02:00.000-08:00

y'all have a nice day now.

Sorry

2011-12-03T10:49:00.000-08:00

Someone posted this quote from Stephen King's first published novel, Carrie at King's fan facebook page. I like it a lot:

"Sorry is the Kool-Aid of human emotions. It's what you say when you spill a cup of coffee or throw a gutterball when you're bowling with the girls in the leage. True sorrow is as rare as true love."

Right on!

I have a friend who says "sorry is the state of a used car." We teach our kids to avoid the word sorry,except when spilling milk. The right state of heart is, "Will you forgive me?" Takes a lot more guts to say that.

Dorsey: Bag Of Bones Is No Twilight

2011-12-02T21:55:00.000-08:00

Patrick Dorsey at xfinity has a great article titled "A look inside Stephen King's Bag Of Bones." (here) It seems important to Dorsey to remind us that Bag of Bones is no Twilight. By that, I assume he means a lame romance instead of a good solid ghost story!

Dorsey notes that this was Garris' first time working with James Bond himself, Mr. Brosnan. Garris said about Brosnan, “I’d never seen him do this kind of a role where it’s so raw and emotional, where he really breaks down. And he was terrific. And he’s also such a gentleman. We got along great.” Garris says that Brosnan was "a little reserved" about some of the supernatural scenes, but eventually he dived right in.

Like Haven, Bag of Bones was filmed in Nova Scotia. Behind the camera the article says Garris has "Cosmas Paul Bolger (“Moulin Rouge”) and Jeffrey Okun (“The Day the Earth Stood Still”) assisting, along with makeup director Adrien Morot (“300”)." He confirms that King is not in the film.

And here's my favorite quote from Garris: "I was really, really surprised that when we did my cut, they had no broadcast standards issues at all with it."

Now. . . for my question: Why does the A&E Banner include the line at the bottom "Real Life. Drama." Bag of Bones is real life? It's Drama? Did not one tell the advertising department that this is a horror film?

THANKS TO BRYANT BURNETTE

Picture: Cemetery Dance IT

2011-12-02T14:57:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of pictures of the Cemetery Dance edition of IT. You can buy it HERE. The deadline for preordering is December 5 and the book is set to ship the next week. That means: IT will be home for Christmas.

Pictures are from HERE.

Stephen King Movie Club: Carrie

2011-12-01T14:22:00.000-08:00

Stephen King Fancast is doing something new: A Stephen King Movie Club. I'm hyped! This blog (fancast) has been cool from the get-go because it utilizes multiple mediums.

Matt told me, "It's a YouTube show I host that's dedicated to discussing SK movies. My podcast tends to stick to just the books, but I wanted a place to talk about SK movies without adding a bunch of time to the podcast episodes." Right on!

Link: Bev Vincent's Interview With Mick Garris Part 3

2011-12-01T14:08:00.000-08:00

The third part of Bev Vincent's interview with Mick Garris is now posted at fearnet. It is HERE.

The Interview: Part 1
The Interview: Part 2
The Interview: Part 3

thanks to Bev Vincent.

2012 SK Desk Calendar

2011-12-01T11:04:00.000-08:00

The Stephen King Desk Calendar is now on sale (here). It is a 128 spiral hardcover calendar from Mooseluck Associates, Inc. The theme this year is the Dark Tower, and the cover looks awesome.

According to fearnet's Brian James, contributors include Matt Bergin, Peter Brett, Justin Brooks, Myke Cole, Matthew DeVirgiliis, Samantha Etkin, Jay Franco, Brian James Freeman, Robin Furth, Stephen Jewell, Daniel M. Kimmel, Fotini Marcopulos, Jon Oden, Micol Ostow, Tricia Pasternak, Rome Quezada, Jeff Somers, and Bev Vincent.

The book clubs website reads: "If you’re a fan of Stephen King, chances are you avoid pet cemeteries, you have a healthy fear of clowns and when you think of the Man in Black, it isn’t Johnny Cash who comes to mind. But there’s so much more to the Master of Horror, and in our Club exclusive Stephen King Library Desk Calendar 2012, you get to spend a year inside his sinister universe. Packed with essays, juicy details and fascinating trivia, this year’s calendar is also full of excerpts from all the Dark Tower books, articles from professionals he has influenced and more. Plus, it features quizzes—like Mid-World Word Trivia, which tests your knowledge of High Speech—and notes on the future of the series. This calendar is packed with so much, it’s scary!"

4 Reasons The Constant Reader Should Smile Big This December

2011-12-01T02:56:00.000-08:00

This is going to be a great December!

Reason 1: The recent release of 11.22.63 gives us something to read. And it's good stuff! I mean, really good stuff. Also, the novel is long, giving the reader lots of time to sit in front of the fire, drink hot coco and take a tour of the late 1950's early 60's.

Reason 2: The Bag Of Bones Mini-Series. I'm really looking forward to this miniseries. It's set to run December 11. I loved this book, and really think Mick Garris is going to hit a home run on this one. The mini-series format is perfect for Stephen King as it allows subplots and details to be followed through.

Reason 3: Cemetery Dance's release of IT. I love books published by Cemetery Dance! I was recently looking at just how awesome their version of Full Dark No Stars was compared to the basic Scribner edition. Even as beautiful as Under The Dome's cover turned out to be, it just can't beat a book by Cemetery Dance. Anyway, the 25th anniversary edition of IT is set to mail soon. I can't say when, but the promise is that the book will be out this December. (Buy it here)

If you collect King, you should get a copy of IT. Here's why (and no, they are not paying me to say this). . . because CD's books actually are collectibles! From their Blockade Billy's to the no impossible to find "From A Buick 8", they almost always increase in value. More than that, they are a cut above the typical mass published book. I say: Give up on hunting those first editions. Especially of the later editions. There's a billion copies out there of 11/22/63 ! Want something cool and unique? Get a Cemetery Dance book by Stephen King. And if you find a copy of From A Buick 8, send it to me for safe keeping! (also super cool is their Secretary Of Dreams books.)

IT will sport a new afterward by King (careful not to get fingerprints on that rare book as you read it!) and the publisher says "This is easily the biggest, most lavish production Cemetery Dance Publications has ever undertaken."

Special Features Include:• brand new afterword by Stephen King detailing why he wrote the book
• deluxe oversized design (7 inches X 10 inches) featuring two color interior printing
• epic wrap-around full color cover artwork by Glen Orbik
• nearly thirty pieces of color and black & white interior artwork by Alan M. Clark and Erin Wells
• interior color artwork will be printed on a high-quality glossy stock and tipped into the book
• high-quality embossed endpapers and fine bindings for all three editions
• full-color signature sheets with exclusive color artwork in the signed editions
• a page count so high it pushes the limits of our printer — easily our largest book ever!
• extremely collectible print run that is a tiny fraction of the MILLIONS of copies of this novel you've seen in bookstores over the last 25 years — and you will NOT find our edition in chain bookstores!

Reason 4: Lilja's Library, the book, is now a cool $30 if you follow his instructions, here. This book is huge, and well worth your investment. And. . . it's a Cemetery Dance book.

What could make December even better?

More signed copies of 11.22.63
A new issue of the Cemetery Dance magazine. (?)
The Stand unabridged on audio, read by Stephen King.

A Culture Of King

2011-12-01T02:03:00.000-08:00

With a sequel to The Shining set to appear almost 34 years after the original was released, it is worth asking if there is still an interest in the original book. Actually, if any King book has entered the American cultural psyche, it's The Shining!

Notice how often things are compared to The Shining. For instance, get this recent line from an article titled "Meal Delivery Brings Food, Company To Shut In"

The local Smart & Final with its aisles and aisles of food, shopping carts and shoppers holds for her the kind of terror offered up by the Overlook Hotel in Stephen King's "The Shining."

Now, what does an article about food to shut ins have to do with The Shining? It's not exactly the most natural connection! But the book is so deeply embedded in our thinking that the author could not help but use it as a hook for her story.

Of course, the books popularity is deeply linked to the Kubrick film. But there's more to it than just the film! America's love the story itself. That's why they still flock to special tours at the Stanley Hotel. (Check out this article, titled Ghost Hunt At The Stanley Hotel.) I mean, if they were just drawn to the movie, there would be no interest int he hotel, since the movie did not use it as a shooting location. The Stanley is connected to the book! The novel itself has become an American classic.

The Simpsons have famously spoofed King more than once. One my favorites was when they poked fun at The Shining in The Shinning.

Sometimes a book becomes more than a book. In fact, people who have never read the book are familiar with themes, characters or lines from the book. The story becomes a shared experience. what is it about The Shining that so deeply touches Americans?

Other King books that are part of our collective experience:
1. Carrie.
2. Cujo. Just the name has entered American vocabulary to mean "Crazy Mean Evil Demon Possessed Dog."
3. The Stand.
Another King book to enter the collective American culture is The Stand. Get his opener by Shane McGlaun about scientifically created bird flu:
If this sounds a bit like something out of a horror novel, it’s because this sounds a lot like what starts the evens of the horror classic from Stephen King called The Stand. Apparently, researchers working on bird flu have created a strain of the bird flu virus that is lethal and easily spread through the air. Some fear that the mutated strain might be used as a bio weapon. (article Here)

In Politics:
Speaking of cultural references, King is sometimes referenced simply because he is so well known. The Bangor Daily News recently published an opinion article by Carroll Conley, arguing against gambling expansion. (article here) She launches her article by discussing King's "Storm Of The Century" and how the town sold their souls.

Get this, after giving several paragraphs to this analogy, she then writes, "Now, I’ve not read a lot of King. . ." ! What? She's not read much King, but she's building this entire article based on Storm Of The Century. Why? Not because she's a Stephen King fan, but because King is a common point of reference. Even Conley, the executive director of the Christian Civic League of Maine, thinks King is safe common ground. So she uses a parable from King. . . because she can't think of any Biblical analogies where people sell out and lose their soul! Like, maybe, the entire system of anti-Christ! But if she said that, she would sound like a religious weirdo. So the better bet was to use the parable from the world of Stephen King. Or, put another way: You sound cray if you say "the devil is in this!" But not so crazy if you say, "this is a lot like a Stephen King story." But what's in the Stephen King story? The devil! (did you track with all that?)

Dark Score Puzzles

2011-12-01T01:14:00.000-08:00

Anyone puzzled by Darkscore Stories yet? Michael Anderson at Wired has an article titled "Dark Score Stories Provides Puzzles for Stephen King Fans."

Anderson calls the website is "deceptively simplistic." Having dug quite a bit through this website, I must agree. It is chalk full of fun stuff! The photo's make the world of Stephen King more real than most movies based on King's work.

He points out the obvious links, Book titles, hats and so on. But then there is stuff you have to dig a bit deeper for. Anderson writes, "Puzzles are integrated into the experience through messages hidden within each photo essay."

So, what cool stuff have you found at the website?

Goodwin's "Team Of Rivals" To Screen

2011-12-01T00:59:00.000-08:00

photo of Daniel Day-Lewis is by Michael Phillips
Source: yahoo.com

One of the people King spoke with when contemplating 11.22.63 was Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of the spectacular history "Team Of Rivals." According Wikipedia, "King used some of Goodwin's ideas in the novel on what a worst-case scenario would be like if history had changed." She would be a great source, since she is not only a historian, but was an assistant to President Johnson.

Team of Rivals is headed to the silver screen, to be directed by none other than the mighty Steven Spielberg. The film (titled Lincoln) will star British born Daniel Day-Lewis. Any irony there?

One of the things I really liked about Team Of Rivals is that it is a biography that skips the boring stuff! I often start biographies on page 100. I'm really not interested in a subjects potty training, preschool and second grade art work. Or, more to the point, truding through early years in biographies gets a little dry. Carl Sandburg went on and on and on about Lincoln, publishing and entire booked titled "The Prairie Years." Interesting, I'm sure 00 but sometimes I want to jump in closer to the action. Team of Rivals starts with Lincoln was president, back story dealt with later as needed.

The book really focuses on Lincoln's ability to bring together men of very different passions and views and direct them toward a single purpose. It's a great book on leadership!

More news about the movie here.

Scott Snyder: SK ‘One of the best writers of all time’?

2011-11-29T22:41:00.000-08:00

Cover art for “American Vampire” No. 22 (DC Comics)

The LA Times had an interesting interview in September with Scott Snyder of American Vampire. Snyder talks about working with Stephen King, calling him (as the article's title suggest) one of the best writers of all time.

Snyder says he first got hooked on King at camp when the counselor would read to them from Eyes of the Dragon. He says it was magic listening to the novel unfold.

How did Snyder end up working with King? Here's a bit of that story:

Working with him is a joy. How that came out was really weird. He read some of my stories and wrote a blurb for my short story collection after he had read them. I was just incredibly honored and thrilled. And then when I got “American Vampire” through at Vertigo and it was greenlit, they basically asked me if I would be willing to ask Steve King to do a blurb. After sending him the outline, he said, “Well, I’ll do you one better. I’d love to write an issue sometime, because I really love that character Skinner.” And I was like, “Well, if I tell them you want to write an issue they’re going to want you writing.” He was like, “Nah. They probably won’t because I never wrote a comic, and I don’t know if I’m any good. I don’t think they’ll really want me to do it.” I was like, “They’ll definitely want you to write that comic. I promise.” So, I called them on like a Friday and left a message: “I think Steve’s going to want to say he’s willing to write an issue.” Monday morning it was a call from the whole office: “Did you say Stephen King said he would be willing to write a whole issue of ‘American Vampire?’” . . . MORE HERE

Reading the interview makes me much more interested in American Vampire.

11.22.63 Journal #2: Derry Doesn't Welome You

2011-11-29T00:12:00.000-08:00

I don't know how many novel's Stephen King has written. Do you count Blockade Billy? Why is the Mist a novella, but The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon is a novel ? Whatever the number -- it's a lot. In fact, King has written a whole lot of novels. Every one of them have been entertaining. Each novel is also practice. Put another way, King's writing keeps getting better.

I weary of people who suggest that King's greatest novels were the first dozen. While I enjoy those novels a lot, I think it is naive to think that King's writing has not strengthened with time and experience.

King has said that he tried to write 11.22.63 years ago, but discovered he was not ready to take on such a monumental challenge. The novel is different from other King novels just by the amount of research and historical data required to build the story. What is not different is King's crisp, entertaining and often lively narration. While the book is long, King does not belabor scenes or commit the sin of boring the reader!

That sign from the IT mini-series ought to read "Derry Does Not Welcome You."

King skillfully weaves history and fiction. For instance, we all know Derry is really Bangor. But it's a messed up Bangor! A city where a monster roams and kills little kids. In 1/22/63 King lets us in on a side of Derry we missed in IT. He reveals what the city and it's adults are enduring as its children are killed. How do child murders darken a city? Makes me think of Atlanta.

Derry is a city where people are not just guarded, they are down right unfriendly -- suspicious.

In his wonderful book, "Stephen King Country", George Beahm writes

"In reading King, the sense you get is that his literary landscape -- a geographic jigsaw puzzle -- is an ongoing exploration, for not only was IT set in the mythical Derry, but so is Insomnia and, most recently, Bag of Bones." (Stephen King country, p.107)

Beahm also notes:

"Equipped with a street map of Bangor, you would be able to identify on a walking or driving through much of the geography found in IT. In addition, the references to Bangor and the greater Bangor area dot the novel's imaginative landscape." (p.104)

Beahm then takes us on a tour of real world / fictional world linkages. I have added notes at the end of Beahms comments to connections I spotted in 11/22/63. (Beahms list is on pages104, 106-107) Beahm's writing is in yellow and my notes are orange.

The Barrens:

There are several photo's of the Barrens HERE.

"[A] messy track of land about a mile and a half wide by three miles long. It was bounded by upper Kansas Street on one side and by old Cape on the other." (In the novel, this is where the sewer pipes lead underground to IT's lair.)

This is also mentioned in 11/22/63. Where half a dozen murdered kids were discovered. There is a grassy pic-nic area between a fence and the drop into the barrens where Jack encounters a couple of the children from IT. This meeting is a particularly magical scene for readers of IT.

Bassey Park:

In IT, this is the park that flanks the high school. Real-life Bangor has a Bass Park.

In 11/22/63, this is where the "so called" kissing bridge is. There are a lot of carvings on the bridge, including the words, "I will kill my mother soon" and someone else has carved, "not soon enough, she's full of diseeze."

Derry Library:

For two of the Losers -- Ben Hansomb and Mike Hanlon -- this library was especially significant: It was Ben's favorite place as a child; and as a adult, it was Hanlon' place of employment. (He also kept in its vault his manuscript, "Derry: An Unauthorized Two History." Real-life Bangor's Public Library is situated on Harlow Street.

In 11/22/63, Jack visits the library to try and find census records. Also at the Derry library, Jack researched the murders that took place between 1957 and 1958. In 2011 Jack used the Derry library system to do research online.

The Derry Mall:

In IT, Dave Gardener had one of his Shoeboat retail stores in this mall. Bangor has Bangor Mall, now the major shopping area of the city.

In 11/22/63 Jack uses the cover that he is scouting for a mall. Though he never quite says this, he just says he's there on business.

Mount Hope Cemetery:

photo credit HERE
The empty spot in the middle is where Stephen King presided over the funeral in the movie Pet Sematary

In IT, this is where George Denbrough was buried. (Readers of Pet Sematary will probably notice that this was where Gage Creed was buried.) In Bangor, the Mount Hope Cemetery is where, for the film version of Pet Sematary, Stephen King, as a minister, presided over Creed's funeral at this real life cemetery in Bangor.

In 11/22/63 the Cemetery is Longview -- where Frank Dunning visits his parents grave, and where some sweet justice is delivered.

The Standpipe:

A prominent landmark in Derry, a water tower that holds almost two million gallons. Real-life Bangor's Standpipe, on top of a hill, is one of its most prominent landmarks, towering over the city.

In 11/22/63 there are decorative pillows with the Standpipe embroidered in gold thread on them.

The Paul Bunyan statue

The statue is mentioned in 11/22/63 -- small replica's are sold in Benton's drug store.

The University of Maine:

Two of the losers -- Bill Denbrough and Mike hanlon -- graduated from here. . . Stephen and Tabitha King -- and Stephen's childhood friend Chris Chesley -- are graduates of this university.

In 11/22/63 the narrator, Jack Epping has a B.S. from the University of Maine. He also says that Carolyn Poulin went to the University of Maine as a Business major. Frank Dunning seems to have a sweet spot for the school. It was his school of choice, but he got a girl pregnant and life took other turns. Dunning also took his kids to the football game at the University of Maine.

Penobscot County & River

Fictinal Derry as well as real-life Bangor are located in this county. Penobscot River: The sewers in Derry empty into the Penobscot; running east-west, it bisects Bangor and Brewer.

St. Joseph Hospital:

After she broke her leg in a car crash, Cheryl Tarrent was taken here. In reality, located in Bangor.

West Broadway:

The street in Derry known for its mansions and Bangor's most famous street historically, where the lumber barons at the turn of the century made their homes. The King's home is on West Broadway.
Also:

Shawshank (fictional): A Maine prison where an Air Force colonel is sent after getting Cheryl Lamonica pregnant. (This is also where Andy Dufresne was incarcerated, in "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption.") In 11/22/63, Harry's dad was sent to Shawshank, and died of stomach poisoning. There are about 3 references to this prison in the novel.
The Viking Press: The publishing house in New York City where Bill Denbrough submitted his first novel, a horror story about ghosts. before King defected to Scribner, he was published in hardcover by Viking. There is no mention of the Viking Press in 11/22/63. What a surprise!
The Frati Brothers Pawnshop: In the novel, this store was replaced in 985 by a Trustworthy Hardware Store. In Bangor, not far from Betts Bookstore, you'll find the Frati Brothers Pawnshop. In 11/22/63 it is called "Chaz Frati's Mermaid Pawn & Loan." I was unable to locate this.

Other places in 11/22/63 that I don't think are actually in Bangor:

Machen Sporting Goods.
Derry Townhouse.
The Lamlighter (a bar and grill.)
The Center Street Market

George Beahms book "Stephen King Country" can be purchased HERE.

Stephen King’s Rules for Time Travel

2011-11-27T22:10:00.000-08:00

Here is a Wired interview with Stephen King about the mechanics of time travel. They cover: "the grandfather paradox, and the scariest thing about trying to change history." The grandfather paradox is the question: What if you went back in time and killed your own grandfather? They also discuss the "butterfly effect" which is dealt with in detail in the novel.

Here's a clip from their discussion of the "reset" idea:
King: The idea of the reset was one of the more interesting things about the book to me. You can get the idea from computers, where you can delete all this material and start over again and it never even leaves a mark. You just highlight everything, bop Delete, and it’s gone.

Wired: Well, on a computer you think it’s gone, but it’s actually not.

King: It’s like in the story. They think it’s a complete reset, but the guardian tells Jake that it really isn’t. It looked that way to you, but that stuff was still there.

Bev Vincent's Interview With Mick Garris

2011-11-27T21:45:00.000-08:00

Director Mick Garris with 89-year-old William Schallert, who plays Max Devore
from fearnet.com

Fearnet has posted a 2 part interview with Bev Vincent. I really like Vincent's books about King -- usually related to the Dark Tower.

Vincent and Garris discuss the original plan for Bag of Bones to be a feature film and how it progressed into a mini-series. Garris levels with us, saying, "the two-hour script really felt like we were missing stuff." I love his passion for staying faithful to the King source material. Garris also tells Vincent that there was no network censorship!

Also discussed are filming locations and special effects. In fact, Garris promises, "There are a lot of key visual effects. Sara and the tree sequences. There are hauntings. They're not all over the movie, but there are some pretty extensive things in it."

Is Stephen King in Bag of Bones? Check out the interview (the answer is in part 1) Garris also discusses what other actor was considered for the part of Noonan.

The Interview: Part 1
The Interview: Part 2
The Interview: Part 3