Gross! For those who complained that Haven was boring them, I hope they saw episode 4. Not only was it interesting, it was flat out gross! Candy apples turn rotten, as do veggies at a fair. But not just kinda rotten, we're talking black goopy rotten. The kind of stuff that you don't clean out of your fridge if you find it there, you get rid of the entire fridge! Even the cows have been affected. The plague reminds me of some scenes from the book of Exodus.
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I had to watch this twice because my DVR guide threw me off. It gave the following summery: "Audrey follows up on clues to the infamous Colorado Kid crime scene." I watched the whole thin, anxiously awaiting new clues from the Colorado Kid crime scene. Nothing that I saw! This must be a generic description they're using.
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No spoilers. I thought this was the strongest episode since the pilot. The character development was great. Audrey's attempts to acclimate from city girl to small town are nice. She is experiencing a lot of culture shock.
King Concludes Writing For American Vampire
Mark Langshaw at digital spy notes that Stephen King has concluded his writing for American Vampire with issue #5. That leaves Scott Snyder to carry the full writing load and the beginning of a second arc. Langshaw writes, "From issue #6 onwards, the story will begin to introduce new characters but continue to focus on protagonists Skinner and Pearl." We can look forward to American Vampire #6 in August.
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http://www.digitalspy.com/comics/news/a252190/snyder-going-solo-on-american-vampire.html
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http://www.digitalspy.com/comics/news/a252190/snyder-going-solo-on-american-vampire.html
OCTOBER: THE STAND: HARDCASES #4
image:.
Comics.ign.com has this summery on the upcoming edition of The Stand comic.
.THE STAND: HARDCASES #4 (of 5)
Written by ROBERTO AGUIRRE-SACASA
Penciled by MIKE PERKINS
Cover by TOMM COKER
.In a house in the newly established Boulder Free Zone, behind closed doors, seven soul survivors are holding a clandestine meeting. Their agenda: Saving a disease-decimated country and protecting themselves against the threat of the dark man. But what are they missing? Harold Lauder, who is biding his time and plotting his revenge... And Mother Abagail, who is having a crisis of faith and coming face-to-face with her personal demons... Hold your breath and say your prayers, True Believers, as we head towards the final conflict!
.Pennywise Tshirt
Cemetery Dance, publishers of the first edition of Blockade Billy and other limited edition King books, is now offering Pennywise T-shirts. That's right! They write, "we're pleased to announce that we're teaming up with Glenn Chadbourne (the artist behind The Secretary of Dreams by Stephen King) to produce a brand new t-shirt featuring his classic Pennywise drawing!"
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Did you ever want a picture of that evil clown on your shirt? When you walk in the mall, do you want people to give you a wide birth? When you go to your kids school, do you want little kids to flee? Do you want to make yourself jump when you look in the mirror? Well, this is a pretty low cost means of accomplishing all of that. Of course, Cemetery Dance points out that it is a great edition to a collection. Ah, I hadn't thought of that. I guess that means you need two; one to save for the collection, and one to scare people with.
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Do You Own A Posessed Car?
Yorkshire Evening Post has a fun article in which we are asked, "REMEMBER that Stephen King book Christine? It was about a possessed car that wanted to take over its owner's soul." This excited me since I am in the depths of that novel, watching Christine take control of Arnie's life.
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The article is a personal story of a car from hell. Haven't we all owned one of those?
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For me it was my first car, a 1978 Chrysler Lebaron. 1978 was Chryslers experiment year. Nothing was standard. That made getting it repaired painful. No parts were standard on that thing. And, I don't think it was a year of good ideas. To hit the brights, you had to find just the right spot on the floor -- between the gas and breaks. It leaked oil and didn't always like to start. There were tricks to getting it to start, even on a cold morning.
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Over time, a car seems to get a life of its own. Even if you don't name your car, you might talk to it from time to tame. Worse, some cars just want to go fast! But have you ever owned an all out evil car? that's a real question!
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http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/features/The-Bloke.6441913.jp
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The article is a personal story of a car from hell. Haven't we all owned one of those?
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For me it was my first car, a 1978 Chrysler Lebaron. 1978 was Chryslers experiment year. Nothing was standard. That made getting it repaired painful. No parts were standard on that thing. And, I don't think it was a year of good ideas. To hit the brights, you had to find just the right spot on the floor -- between the gas and breaks. It leaked oil and didn't always like to start. There were tricks to getting it to start, even on a cold morning.
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Over time, a car seems to get a life of its own. Even if you don't name your car, you might talk to it from time to tame. Worse, some cars just want to go fast! But have you ever owned an all out evil car? that's a real question!
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http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/features/The-Bloke.6441913.jp
Stephen King and The Simpsons Part 1
I'm reposting a short write from January, 2010. It's about the Simpsons and Under The Dome. Why? Becuase I can't believe there's still web chatter about this.
This annoys because it calls into question Kings integrity. Plagiarism is a bad word. What is right under the surface of this kind of argument is the notion that King is out of ideas; he is now turning to the Simpsons for material. So both the Simpsons and Under The Dome had a Dome -- might I point out that Old Yeller and Cujo both have a rabid dog?
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If King is looking to the Simpsons to steal stuff, then wouldn't he be ripping from the Halloween episodes? Truth is, the Simpsons have often spoofed King's ideas.
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Anyway, here's the orginal post:
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STEPHEN KING AND THE SIMPSONS, 1
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shhhh, quiet. I have to confess -- I like the Simpsons. Okay, so most Stephen King fans won't care if I like the Simpsons. But, from the conservative circles I move in, the Simpsons do not smack of family values.
.As a kid my father and I bonded over the Simpsons. That was before we got the memo they were bad. Now my wife makes me watch it when the kids are in bed.
.Mix Stephen King with the Siimpsons. . . I'm in heaven.
.Now, before I do the post I was thinking about -- connections between King and the Simpsons, let's deal with this stupid question: Didn't King Steal Under The Dome From The Simpsons?
.As for all the complaining that Under the Dome is a rip-off of the Simpsons Movie, that is just people who either didn't see the movie or didn't read the book; they are not the same!
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First of all, the dome on the Simpsons is visible. ha!
.Second, the Simpsons are able to dig under the dome. (Remember Maggie?)
.Third, Holmer is able to ride a bike on the wall of the dome. I don't see Big Jim trying that.
.Fourth, cities characters are different. Reverend Lovejoy is nothing like Lester Coggins. nor is Krusty anything like Pennywise. well, actually...
.So all of that is lame, I admit. Here's a better set of answers:
.1. King gave his word he did not steal the idea from the Simpsons. He's got a good track record of honestly telling us where his ideas come from. He said his idea for a dome came when he pictured a news conference where all looked normal until someone reached out and tapped on mid-air.
.2. King proved it when he released the Cannibals. The main ideas for inner conflict with people locked into a situation were already present in that draft, which came long before the Simpsons.
.conclusion: The Simpsons should be paying royalties to Stephen King. So there.
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Christine Journal 5: S.K. Is Messing With My Head!
A while back I posted "Stephen King will mess with your head." Reading Christine is no exception.
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The novel revolves very much around high school life. This is true of a lot of Stephen King's early work. Of course, King taught school for a while, so he experienced school at two levels. Most of us finished high school and didn't look back. On to college and then the "real" world. King writes as a man who's memories of high school are fresh.
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I dreamed last night about high school. Nothing truly terrible, just one of those tense dreams where I knew I was supposed to be somewhere but couldn't remember where my class was. But it's that memory of forced submission. It's like prison, a place paid for by the State teens are forced by law to attend. Worse, the other inmates! Actually, I had a great high school experience, but it was still filled with its own share of uneasiness.
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What made us uneasy in high school? Not just the jocks and the jerks -- the Carrie's and the Arnie's were part of the mess. Those of us who were pretty much "none of the above" were put in the awkward spot of being caught in the middle. Watching the harassment -- unsure if we should defend the Carrie's and Arnie's or ignore the torture they were enduring. These kinds of tensions were completely gone by college. There's not many people getting tortured in college (that I know of). Of course, there's still hazing, but somehow it's all on a different level.
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I have degrees on my office wall -- insurance that I will not have to go back to school. And high school is far behind me. Almost forgotten -- if not for the kindnesses of Stephen King. As we are taken into Arnie and Dennis' world, we are returned to the old state run prison of high school.
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Stephen King will mess with you head: http://talkstephenking.blogspot.com/2009/11/how-stephen-king-will-mess-with-your.html
Brownsville throws Stand By Me a happy 25th
Remember 1985? That was the year Brownsville Oregon became Castle Rock. Brownsville Oregon celebrated the 25th anniversary of Stand By Me. Hard to believe it was that long ago! It feels like a really long time ago since the 80's were to me what the 50's were to Stephen King and my parents generation.
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In an article titled, "Movie shot in Brownsville still 'Stands' 25 years later" Justin Much says, "The event also hosted an obligatory blueberry pie eating contests, consistent with one of the movie’s memorable scenes. Gordie Lachance played Lardass, the boy who consumed castor oil before gorging on blueberry pies and spewing revenge on those who had tortured and bullied him mercilessly over the years."
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For details of the celebration, and some pretty cool movie notes, check out: http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20100724/UPDATE/100724020
Christine Journal 4
Something you would never pick up on from the movie Christine is the correlation between Christine's restoration and Arnie's appearance. As Arnie makes Christine look better, he starts transforming physically. It's really a cool observation that Dennis makes. "My first thought was that Arnie's complexion had improved in tandem with Christine's." He goes, at the request of Arnie's father, to the garage to have a look at Christine.
.This leads to Dennis' second observation: Christine's improvements are taking place in a "strangely haphazard way." For instance, the antenna is replaced, and half of the front grill is replaced. Now this is interesting not only to Arnie, but to Darnell, who later says he doesn't even know where you could buy half a grill! I love the way King builds the mystery of this. King gives enough hints to keep the reader imagination running wild and hungry to turn that next page.
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The character of Will Darnell is deeper than presented in other media. Darnell is the owner of the do it yourself auto shop where Arnie stores Christine. Dennis' father gives him some of the back story to Darnell, and just the sheer description of the auto shops office draws a clear picture of Darnell.
Friends like when you were 12
I enjoyed this reflective article by Jim Topper. Moving from the movie Stand By Me, Topper thinks about his perfect Summer -- 1959. He writes, "At the end of the movie Stand By Me, from a short story by Stephen King, narrator Richard Dreyfuss says something like, You will never again have friends like the ones you had when you were 12."
.Carrie On Stage -- In drag!
This looks crazy! How about Carrie White in drag? Not really a fan of drag; but for Carrie White, it seems strangely right. I don't know, my head is spinning around like the Exorcist on this one! Wish I was in Philadelphia to go see it because everything about this looks fresh, creative and very energetic. Brat Productions is calling this a "comic horror thrill ride" -- nice! CARRIE. The play will run from October 2 through November 7, 2010; appropriately the Halloween season.
.PHILADELPHIA –
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This October, Brat Productions presents Carrie like never before in a black comedy by Erik Jackson, based on the legendary 1974 novel by Stephen King. Fresh from last Halloween’s critically acclaimed Haunted Poe (Best Production of a Play, Philadelphia Weekly), Brat offers another distinctive theater experience with the gender-bending Philadelphia premiere of Jackson's adaptation of King’s bestselling novel.
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Carrie begins previews October 2, opens on October 7 (press night), and runs through November 7, 2010 at Underground Arts at the Wolf Building (340 North 12th Street, Philadelphia). Tickets, ranging from $15 – $29, will be available soon at www.bratproductions.org and through TicketLeap.
Carrie begins previews October 2, opens on October 7 (press night), and runs through November 7, 2010 at Underground Arts at the Wolf Building (340 North 12th Street, Philadelphia). Tickets, ranging from $15 – $29, will be available soon at www.bratproductions.org and through TicketLeap.
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Directed by Brat Productions’ Producing Artistic Director Michael Alltop, Carrie features puppets and costumes from Haunted Poe’s Alisa Sickora Kleckner and stunning special effects – exploding light bulbs, flying knives, electric shocks, a car crash, and a burning high school – created by a team that includes Sickora Kleckner, along with set designer Chris Kleckner, lighting designer Paul Moffitt and Michael Christaldi . Erik Jackson’s Carrie includes all of the magic and blood-drenched horror of the original bestselling novel with surprising and hilarious new twists.
Directed by Brat Productions’ Producing Artistic Director Michael Alltop, Carrie features puppets and costumes from Haunted Poe’s Alisa Sickora Kleckner and stunning special effects – exploding light bulbs, flying knives, electric shocks, a car crash, and a burning high school – created by a team that includes Sickora Kleckner, along with set designer Chris Kleckner, lighting designer Paul Moffitt and Michael Christaldi . Erik Jackson’s Carrie includes all of the magic and blood-drenched horror of the original bestselling novel with surprising and hilarious new twists.
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Adding a gender-bending spin, New Jersey-based actor, drag performer, and musician Erik Ransom (off-Broadway’s My Big Gay Italian Wedding) will play the iconic telekinetic outcast, Carrie White.
Adding a gender-bending spin, New Jersey-based actor, drag performer, and musician Erik Ransom (off-Broadway’s My Big Gay Italian Wedding) will play the iconic telekinetic outcast, Carrie White.
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The cast of nine features notable Philadelphia actors: Leah Walton (EgoPo’s Spring Awakening and Azuka Theatre’s Nerve) as Carrie’s religious fanatic mother Margaret White, Bradley Wrenn (Swim Pony’s SURVIVE!, ’09 Philly Fringe’s The Annihilation Point) as Carrie’s love interest Tommy Ross, Bethany Ditnes (Luna Theater’s Sick) as the quintessential mean girl Chris Hargensen, Mariel Rosati (Montgomery Theater’s Moonlight and Magnolias) as Sue Snell, Jess Conda (Brat’s Haunted Poe, and the ’10 reincarnation of a 24-hour Bald Soprano) as Norma Watson, Justin Jain (Brat’s Haunted Poe) as Billy Nolan, Colleen Corcoran (company member of Madhouse Theater Company) as Miss Gardner, and Jarrod Yuskauskas (Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum) as the principal, Mr. Morton.
The cast of nine features notable Philadelphia actors: Leah Walton (EgoPo’s Spring Awakening and Azuka Theatre’s Nerve) as Carrie’s religious fanatic mother Margaret White, Bradley Wrenn (Swim Pony’s SURVIVE!, ’09 Philly Fringe’s The Annihilation Point) as Carrie’s love interest Tommy Ross, Bethany Ditnes (Luna Theater’s Sick) as the quintessential mean girl Chris Hargensen, Mariel Rosati (Montgomery Theater’s Moonlight and Magnolias) as Sue Snell, Jess Conda (Brat’s Haunted Poe, and the ’10 reincarnation of a 24-hour Bald Soprano) as Norma Watson, Justin Jain (Brat’s Haunted Poe) as Billy Nolan, Colleen Corcoran (company member of Madhouse Theater Company) as Miss Gardner, and Jarrod Yuskauskas (Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum) as the principal, Mr. Morton.
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Brat has salvaged lockers and curtains from a closed high school to add a layer of reality to the oppressive school environment, setting the scene for Carrie’s fiery rage-filled prom night massacre, which The New York Times applauds, saying, “The story’s big prom-night finish has never been more fun.”
Brat has salvaged lockers and curtains from a closed high school to add a layer of reality to the oppressive school environment, setting the scene for Carrie’s fiery rage-filled prom night massacre, which The New York Times applauds, saying, “The story’s big prom-night finish has never been more fun.”
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Says playwright Erik Jackson, “I was lucky enough to be introduced to Michael Alltop, and Brat Productions through a mutual friend when Michael was looking for a writer on another project, and I really admired the excellent, adventurous work they were doing. I can't wait to see what they do with Carrie. Michael has let slip a few things already that have made my jaw drop.”
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Says playwright Erik Jackson, “I was lucky enough to be introduced to Michael Alltop, and Brat Productions through a mutual friend when Michael was looking for a writer on another project, and I really admired the excellent, adventurous work they were doing. I can't wait to see what they do with Carrie. Michael has let slip a few things already that have made my jaw drop.”
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Alltop says, “Halloween is about imagination, a time in which even adults get into the spirit of the season and play ‘dress up,’ assume an alter-ego, and let go of inhibitions. These are qualities that all theater artists employ on a daily basis, but it’s unusual for most ‘normal’ people. By producing a show every Halloween, we aim to get people out of their comfort zones and close the gap between artists and audiences. Our goal is to show just how engaging a work of theater can be.”
.ABOUT THE PLAY
After playwright Erik Jackson wrote an impassioned 6-page letter asking Stephen King to entrust him with one of his great bestsellers, the world-renowned novelist agreed to allow Jackson and Theatre Couture (creators of the off-Broadway hits Charlie! and Tell-Tale) to mine Carrie for humor, developing it into a dark comedy for 2006’s sold-out off-Broadway run at PS122 in New York, featuring the internationally-recognized drag queen Sherry Vine (aka Keith Levy) as Carrie White.
.After playwright Erik Jackson wrote an impassioned 6-page letter asking Stephen King to entrust him with one of his great bestsellers, the world-renowned novelist agreed to allow Jackson and Theatre Couture (creators of the off-Broadway hits Charlie! and Tell-Tale) to mine Carrie for humor, developing it into a dark comedy for 2006’s sold-out off-Broadway run at PS122 in New York, featuring the internationally-recognized drag queen Sherry Vine (aka Keith Levy) as Carrie White.
Carrie – which has also been a 1976 feature film directed by Brian De Palma, a 1988 Broadway musical, a 1999 feature film sequel, and a 2002 television movie – tells the story of young Carrie White who is painfully shy, unfortunately naïve, and telekinetic. Carrie's fundamentalist Christian mother Margaret has been tormenting her for years, and things are even worse at school. When a terrified Carrie gets her first period in the school locker room's shower, her classmates taunt her and pelt her with feminine products. Banned from the prom for the locker room harassment, the gorgeous but cruel Chris Hargensen hatches an awful plan to exact revenge by humiliating Carrie in front of the whole school at the senior prom. But, what Chris doesn't know is that Carrie can move things with her mind, and she'll soon find out that she picked the wrong girl to mess with.
.“The essential nature of the story to me is the examination of the outsider, the outcast, the loser,” says Jackson. “I think most everyone on the planet at one time or another has felt like that person. I was intrigued by the idea of exploring a reverse Cinderella story: the put-upon ugly duckling gets the guy, goes to the ball – and then it all goes to hell, quite literally. I love extremes in my own work, and have always been drawn to the contrast between King's novel's sweet, quiet moments and the gruesome spectacle.”
.ABOUT BRAT PRODUCTIONS
Founded in 1996, Brat Productions is committed to “thinking outside the proscenium” with performance pieces that are surprising and incendiary, entertaining and unsettling. Brat’s mission is to create an audience of the future by producing theatre that breaks the rules; theatre that tests conventions; theatre that rocks! Over the years, Brat has established itself as one of Philadelphia’s most adventurous theatre companies and is known for using unusual performance venues to enhance original and noteworthy productions. Its numerous productions have included Three Chord Fiction, winner of the Ted and Stevie Wolf Barrymore Award for New Approaches to Collaboration, Haunted Poe, A 24-Hour The Bald Soprano, A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant and Eye-95: Retarred.
.Founded in 1996, Brat Productions is committed to “thinking outside the proscenium” with performance pieces that are surprising and incendiary, entertaining and unsettling. Brat’s mission is to create an audience of the future by producing theatre that breaks the rules; theatre that tests conventions; theatre that rocks! Over the years, Brat has established itself as one of Philadelphia’s most adventurous theatre companies and is known for using unusual performance venues to enhance original and noteworthy productions. Its numerous productions have included Three Chord Fiction, winner of the Ted and Stevie Wolf Barrymore Award for New Approaches to Collaboration, Haunted Poe, A 24-Hour The Bald Soprano, A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant and Eye-95: Retarred.
CARRIE ONLINE
For an insider look at Carrie, regular updates on the show, tips for audience members and more, follow Brat Productions online:
.Official Website www.bratproductions.org
Become a Fan of Brat on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bratproductions?ref=ts
Check out Brat on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/bratproductions
.Carrie has been funded by the Wyncote Foundation. Brat has received 2010-11 season support from the William Penn Foundation, Haas Trust “A”, Samuel S. Fels Fund, and the Independence Foundation.
.Dates: October 2 – November 7, 2010
Previews run October 2-6
Opening night is Thursday, October 7
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Location: Underground Arts at the Wolf Building
340 North 12th Street (at Callowhill)
Philadelphia, PA
Tickets: $15 – $29
340 North 12th Street (at Callowhill)
Philadelphia, PA
Tickets: $15 – $29
Carrie Blog
This is a pretty cool Carrie site. Here's a couple of samples of interesting trivia they have posted.
- The casting of the film was part of a legendary "dual audition." George Lucas and Brian DePalma held an open casting call; Lucas was looking for a cast for STAR WARS, DePalma for CARRIE. In addition to trying out for roles in CARRIE, the ladies were casting to play Princess Leia and the guys were trying out for Luke Skywalker. DePalma later said in an Entertainment Weekly article that Lucas wanted to use Amy Irving (Sue Snell) to play the role of Princess Leia Organa, but DePalma ultimately won her for his film.
- The statuette in Carrie's prayer closet is often believed to be Jesus Christ (it was scripted as such). However, when they decided that Margaret's death would differ from the novel and she's instead by stabbed to death by kitchen utensils, they opted to parallel her death by creating the statuette in the likeness of St. Sebastian, a Christian Saint who is generally depicted as having been stabbed with arrows.
http://carriefansite.blogspot.com/2007/06/carrie-trivia.html
Christine Journal 3: DEATH COUNT
I watched Red Dawn a while back at a "guys night." The DVD had this awesome button, a death count! Every time someone got shot up, the death counter at the bottom of the screen would go up. It was really cool. I think Christine is worthy of a death count. So far I'm at 2, but I think there's much much more to come.
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DEATH COUNT:
1 by Suicide.
1 by choking.
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The choking is really terrible, since it's a child. So far Christine is a monster very much like Pennywise -- she preys on the weak. In the case of Christine, thus far, it is a child and a distraught mother. Be interesting to see if such a pattern continues.
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LeBay's brother offers to tell Dennis the morbid history of Christine. The offer comes, very appropriately, in a graveyard! I like that. The actual history isn't retold there, but the first meeting takes place at LeBay's funeral.
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Knowing what he knows about Christine, Dennis has every reason to freak out. Why does he stick with Arnie? That's the kind of question a high school teacher could ask his lit class. However, Christine is probably banned from schools.
Haven: Random Thoughts On "Butterfly"
Wow, Friday nights episode of Haven was great.
- Nice to have some established characters so the individual stories can begin to unfold. I won't comment on the plot, except to say that I thought it was truly Stephen "Kingish."
- I think every town needs a preacher who drinks and looks like the devil.
- Connections to Colorado Kid sandwich the show.
- What is it about this show that reminds me of Northern Exposure? Might be as simple as Newcomer gets introduced to small town. Or maybe it's the music... probably not.
- Haven, while having a small town feel, is nicely paced. There are a lot of special effects and is full of action.
Alas, Vampires Are Scary!
A woman says a vampire caused her to crash in a canal. She came to the end of the road and saw a vampire in front of her. Here's the story from cryptomonsters.com . . .
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“According to Colorado State Patrol,” according to the report, the woman was “heading down a dirt road near 20 and K roads late Sunday night” and “told emergency responders she saw a vampire in front of her. Troopers say she put her SUV into reverse and backed into a canal.”The woman’s husband picked her up at the scene and took her home. “Inspectors do not suspect drugs or alcohol to have caused the accident,” and said, further, that “they saw no sign of a vampire.” http://cryptomonsters.com/archives/1017
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That poor lady! She should keep a spare wooden stake beside her in the future.
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Know what I like about this story? This lady was smart enough to be afraid of the vampires! No more of that nasty Twilight "Vamps are so sexy" junk! No, this was a good Stephen King Salem's Lot kinda fear. And, if she really did think she saw a vampire and drove off the road, whose version of vampires prove to be more true -- King's or Meyers? I'm not saying anything about the writing in Twilight, I'm just saying it's nice to find out vampires are supposed to be scary!
King Characters Worthy Of Haven
As always. . . just for fun
I wrote a post on the Carrie remake that pondered if Carrie White could possibly live in Haven. Well, probably not. Then I watched Fire Starter 2, Rekindled. Not really worth a review! Stephen King has said that he still thinks about to particular characters: Danny from The Shining and Charlie from Fire Starter. Hopefully Dr. Sleep is being joyfully created on a computer somewhere at this very moment!
.Now that we've gotten a glimpse of what Haven is about, consider what King characters could live in Haven. I'll start with the obvious, feel free the post your ideas. I'll include people who died in the King novels, or my list would be superly short.
.1. Carrie White, Carrie.
2. Danny Torrance, The Shining. (I'm still excited about Dr. Sleep.)
3. Charlie McGee, Fire Starter.
4. Johnny Smith, Dead Zone.
5. Andy McGee (and wife), Fire Starter.
6. John Coffey, The Green Mile.
7. Thad Beaumont, The Dark Half. ? Probably not, unless George Stark can come along. (For those of you tracking the Twilight Zone connections, I'm almost sure it's a nod to Charles Beaumont.)
.Short list, right? And notice something: Most of the list comes from the very early King works. Of course, Green Mile isn't so early, but the rest are all before Needful Things. It points out a change in the pattern of Kings writing.
.Early on King used characters who had a supernatural ability -- or possessed something supernatural. So Arnie had Christine and Louis Creed had the Pet Cemetery. Later novels have less people with secret powers and more unusual situations. the Tommyknockers is not about people with special abilities, but people who gain abilities because of an outside circumstance.
.Okay, who did I forget?
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Could Carrie White Live In Haven? -- http://talkstephenking.blogspot.com/2010/06/could-carrie-white-live-in-haven.html
Cemetery Dance: Peek At SK'S New Book!
Do you read Cemetery Dance? I just subscribed. Their header for the upcoming issues promises a sneak peek at King's new novel. I'm all a flutter!
What Master Of Horror Things Of BP
In his EW column The Pop Of King, the master of horror shared what he really thinks of BP. The article was titled, "How 'Armageddon' anticipated the BP crisis."
Here's the paragraph that got my attention, "I read a blog post about this situation where the writer called BP ''half-assed.'' That's simply not true. BP has a whole ass; it's just that one cheek is smart and the other one is stupid. The smart cheek knew how to drill nearly a mile deep to get the oil, but the dumb cheek can't seem to fix what went wrong. Jekyll-and-Hyde buttocks, if you see what I mean."
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20395194,00.html
Here's the paragraph that got my attention, "I read a blog post about this situation where the writer called BP ''half-assed.'' That's simply not true. BP has a whole ass; it's just that one cheek is smart and the other one is stupid. The smart cheek knew how to drill nearly a mile deep to get the oil, but the dumb cheek can't seem to fix what went wrong. Jekyll-and-Hyde buttocks, if you see what I mean."
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20395194,00.html
Pillars, Follett And Stephen King
A favorite author of mine is Ken Follett. But here's the deal, I don't like everything he writes. What I do like of his, I really like! I usually take a pass on the spy novels (Key to Rebecca and so on), even though they are always a cut above normal spy stories. What Follett writes that I'm really passionate about is some really good historical fiction.
.One of my all time favorite books (right next to The Stand, of course!) is Follett's lengthy novel The Pillars Of The Earth. Talk about epic! This book is the gigantic tale of the construction of a great Cathedral in Kingsbridge, England. Follett's heroes are both human and heroic. His villains are fully worthy of our hate, true scoundrels. And the story is brilliant. By the way, I was raving about Pillars long before Oprah was. It used to be one of those books I made an effort to read at least once a year.
.So how happy was I when I saw that the 900+ Pillars of the Earth had been turned into a series on Starz. Only problem, I don't have Starz! I called my wife in desperation. Please, please, I begged, fix this injustice and restore order to the world. I must, must, must see this! She told me not to make an idol of it, and then ordered Starz. Relief. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1453159/
.Place In The Stephen King Universe:
.So what's this got to do with Stephen King? Well, first off I always want to encourage King fans to read far beyond the King universe. Not just horror, but classics and different genres. And if you're going to read historical fiction, Follett is the best.
.Ken Follett lists Stephen King as one of the authors he reads. How cool is that?! Follett also did the introduction for the special edition of The Shining. Both King and Follett have books on Wikipedia's "Most Commonly Challenged Books In The United States." Follett for Pillars of the Earth, King for Carrie, Dead Zone, Christine and Cujo. So by that list, I guess King is four times as offensive to some people as Ken Follett. And, worthy of note, Frank Muller did audio editions of both authors works. For Follett, it was his novel Code To Zero.
.I think the two have a similar style of writing. To be sure, their subjects are quite different, but both write with an episodic style. Scene builds upon scene. They don't "tell" you someone is bad, they show you. Both men write as if it were television.
.King Inspired By Follett:
.On tampabay.com, Colette Bancroft has an article titled, "Bush White House inspired characterizations in 'Under the Dome,' Stephen King says. Thankfully for all of us, King had more inspiration than just politics! Bancroft quotes King (speaking of the development of The Cannibals to UTD), "'People seem to like the long ones. So I tried another version, called The Cannibals, about people trapped in an apartment building. But that didn't work because the space was too small.' Then King read Ken Follett's historical novels The Pillars of the Earth and World Without End. 'Those are huge books, but I really liked the narrative drive.' That moved him to return to the dome idea in 2006. 'I felt I finally had the chops to do it. You never stop learning if you keep your mind open.'"
Some of my notes on Pillars of the Earth:
(WARNING: There are probably spoilers here!)
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Favorite characters:
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Tom Builder: The novel opens with Tom and his family struggling to survive. Tom loses a baby boy and soon his wife. He is left to take care of his children in a hard world. Soon Tom finds steady work when the old Cathedral burns to the ground. What I really love about Tom Builder is that he can only really work on churches. He feels that working on a house or any other building doesn’t require the best of him, because it isn’t for God. But a church has to be our very best, because it is given to the Lord.
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Prior Philip: I wish Philip was real, then I wouldn't feel so strange loving him. Philip is a genuine man of faith who checks his own heart to avoid sins of pride and abuse of power. Follett does present a corrupted system of church government, but he also shows priests who are good and ready to stand up for what is right. Surrounded by corruption and immorality, the faithful Prior Philip shines. One of my favorite scenes is Philip walking along the castle wall with the King of England. (Uh... "King Stephen" not Stephen King!)
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Jack the Builder: Jack is probably Follett’s intended "hero." Picked on as a child by his step brother Alfred, Jack grows up in the shadow of his step father Tom Builder. It is to Jack that Tom's mantle falls.
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Alfred: Tom Builder's son who hates Jack. Alfred will do anything to destroy Jack and promote himself.
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William Hamleigh: One of the most vile, despicable, wicked villains ever created. He’s terrible! In fact, he’s so bad, you really do love to hate this guy. Murder, rapist, and utterly corrupt; this guy is depraved.
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Aliena: Daughter of Earl Bartholomew, she dedicates her life to avenging her father and restoring his fortune. Even when it means helping her self obsessed brother, Richard, or giving up romance with her true love, Jack, Aliena will do anything to honor her father.
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A few of my favorite scenes:
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–Prior Philip arriving at his new church and forcing the monks to submit to his authority.
–Tom Builder and his family working together to capture the thief who stole their pig.
–William storming earl's castle.
–Prior Philip exposing Waleren’s secret castle.
–Jack accidentally burning down the old church.
–The monks surrounding the workers in the stone quarry to protect them.
–Ellen coming to Tom Builder in the forest.
--Prior Philip buys Aliena's wool for full price when the merchants refuse to sell to her at the same rate because she is a woman.
--Prior Philip buys Aliena's wool for full price when the merchants refuse to sell to her at the same rate because she is a woman.
–The final scene as Follett connects fiction to history.
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The cathedral city of Kingsbridge is fictional, and is the site of Follett’s sequel World Without End. Pillars of the Earth is one of those long, wonderful reads that you feel sorrow when it’s done. Like losing an old friend you’ve walked a long way with. The characters live on in the mind even when the book is finished.
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What makes the Pillars of the Earth so gripping is that even though it’s a epic historical novel, it’s written at the pace of a spy story. Follett doesn’t waste a lot of time -- he simply presses the plot forward with a steady hand.
.The Kind Of Television Suited For King
Simple Point: I wish there was a "Twilight Zone" like series featuring Stephen King's work.
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In the previous post I linked to Stephanie Earp's article, "Can Stephen King Work on TV?"
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I think King can work on TV. Of course, I'm excited about Haven. When it comes to television, I liked Nightmares and Dreamscapes. I'll review the 8 episodes another time, but here's why I like it; Short stories with a punch are one of the things constant readers have come to expect from King. In fact, every few years King gives us a book full of wonderful stories -- Night Shift, Skeleton Crew, Nightmares and Dreamscapes, Everything Eventual, Just After Sunset.
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The format where you did short stories on television seems to be slipping away. I loved the Twilight Zone. It was written -- for the most part -- by three authors; Rod Serling, Richard Matheson and Charles Beaumont (the Twilight Zone's Richard Bachman!). While it was always Serling's show, the output was so enormous it took a creative writing team to make it happen.
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I wish we could have a Stephen King version of the Twilight Zone. Strange music, an introduction from Uncle Steve and a great story with a neck breaking twist at the end.
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They tried a remake of the Twilight Zone in the 80's. We all know how that went. And to be clear, I'm not saying King should do the Twilight Zone. However, the series had a format that would work for King's material.
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What made the Twilight Zone successful? A lot of things, but one important factor was Serling himself. Serling had immense control over the Twilight Zone! It was His show. You can read the behind the scenes story in Marc Zicree's The Twilight Zone Companion, but the bottom line is that it was Serling's gig. He sold it, he wrote for it, he often re-wrote the scripts, and he introduced each episode. He became the face of the Twilight Zone.
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There were Others!
Of course, there was the Outer Limits and Science Fiction Theater -- but they weren't built on a single person.
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The Master of Suspense -- director of Psycho and The Birds -- had Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Lots of fun! Can any of us forget those opening lines, "Good evening." We knew it would not be a good evening for someone on Mr. Hitchcock's show! This series was so good, they remade it.
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I also remember enjoying Ray Bradbury's Theater as a kid. I mention those because they are both based on a single person (in this case, respectively, a director and a writer). More recently we've had Tales from the Crypt, which King has written for, and each episode was introduced by the ghoulish Crypt keeper. I liked it! George Romero produced Tales from the Darkside.
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The forced time frame is also nice for short stories. Often King's work is actually hurt by cinema's need to flesh it out beyond the walls King created it in. You know, the best Twilight Zone's were the 30 minute ones. Season Four,w hen they went to an hour, stunk up bad! In fact, I can't think of a single episode from season four that was really wonderful.
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Still Waiting For Radio
Don't you miss old radio? I wasn't around for it! My wife said I was born an old man. Go figure. But I've said before that King's work would really work best on radio since it is the Theater Of The Mind! And it's been done. BBC gave us a faithful adaptation of Pet Semetary.
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Maybe some day they'll give us: Uncle Steve's Dark Kingdom.
Can Stephen King Work on TV?
Stephanie Earp (no, that's not her in the picture!) has a worthwhile post titled "Can Stephen King Work on TV?" She is rather stunned that King isn't used more often on the small screen.
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Earp notes, "King has had success on the small screen, but usually in a mini-series format: 'It,' 'Rose Red,' 'The Stand' and 'The Storm of the Century' among them, so why is his resume so short on long-format series?"
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She also takes some time to point out King's strengths and weaknesses as related to television. "You have to admit, it's weird that King's stories haven't been more meticulously mined for TV content. I'm not a serious King fan, but I have read about a dozen of his books over the years, and the man has a knack for certain conventions that work well on TV: The everyman hero or heroine, slow build-up of tension, great secondary characters and a never-ending resource of scare tactics. Name an everyday object and he can make it frightening, whether it's a car, a cell phone, or a lawnmower. And the one aspect he's notoriously bad at -- endings -- is the one thing you don't really need to have a good TV show."
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And, she concludes with this interesting thought: "If it was up to me, I would go back further and remake 'Carrie' for television, but that would involve not only Mr. King but an intelligent teenage protagonist, and therefore, it would be bound to fail." Of course, as I pointed out some time back, I think Carrie was being considered for a TV series. However, it didn't make it past the pilot "TV movie." (See my post: Could Carrie White Live In Haven?) http://talkstephenking.blogspot.com/2010/06/could-carrie-white-live-in-haven.html
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Of course, the series most King fans really want is The Dark Tower (just note the comments section at the end of her post). Of course, King fans want a nice long series produced with a big screen budget. I mean a weekly budget worthy of an epic. And that's the problem with both the series and the mini-series, enough money is not pumped into these to make them feel worthy of the "bigness" of a King novel. The Stand did feel big at points, but many other films could have used a little more in the budget department.
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Who Do You Write Like
No kidding... I pasted 3 chapters of the book I've been working on into the analysis and it came back saying, "You write like Stephen King." Really! I expected Olive Anne Burns. But then, I think it might tell everyone that.
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I decided to try again. Maybe SK was the only answer it would offer. So I plugged in Sunday's sermon -- absolutely sure that it is not written like Stephen King. And I was right! The sermon reads like (are you ready?) DAN BROWN. That's not funny.
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Go try it out and report back!
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http://iwl.me/
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I decided to try again. Maybe SK was the only answer it would offer. So I plugged in Sunday's sermon -- absolutely sure that it is not written like Stephen King. And I was right! The sermon reads like (are you ready?) DAN BROWN. That's not funny.
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Go try it out and report back!
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http://iwl.me/
King Among 09 Shirley Jackson Award Winners
shirleyjacksonawards.org has this announcement about their 2009 awards:
."The 2009 Shirley Jackson Awards winners were announced on Sunday, July 11th 2010, at Readercon 21, Conference on Imaginative Literature, in Burlington, Massachusetts. Congratulations to all winners!"
.King won in the catagory of "novelette" for "Morality" which was published in Esquire.
.Seminary Dean Ponders King And Theology
Russell Moore, Dean of theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary posted an article about his experience reading King's book On Writing.
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Moore's blog entry, titled "What Stephen King Taught Me About Repentance," discusses King's realization that he was an alchaholic. What grabbed Moore's attention was that King's revelation was brought on by his recycelilng! That is, all the cans piled up showed him something was wrong. Moore writes, "the image of something as mundane as a recycling bin full of cans prompting a life-change prompted me to think about the goodness of God in such things, in my own life."
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Interesting. When I read On Writing I was sturck with much the same thoughts. Moore concludes his blog entry with these two paragraphs:
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Drunkenness isn't my particular point of weakness, but I sure have lots of others. And this anecdote reminded me of how many times God has used something minor to arrest my attention. It usually isn't a cross in the sky or a vision on the road. But I'll hear someone speak and think, "Oh man, that sounds like me, and I don't want to be like that." Or a conversation will prompt me to think about some stupid parenting maneuver I've been attempting. Or my son will pretend to be "Daddy," and I'll think, "Hey, that's not how I want to be remembered by my boys." Or I'll stop in the middle of my self-pity and whining to see a sunset that will remind me how good God is to let me view it. And so on.
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I'd imagine you can think of similar things in your own life, uncanny little moments that turn you around, back toward the goal of Christ. That's discipline, though not what we typically think of when we think of discipline. These moments are moments of gentle kindness. And God's kindness is meant "to lead you to repentance" (Rom. 2:4).
I'd imagine you can think of similar things in your own life, uncanny little moments that turn you around, back toward the goal of Christ. That's discipline, though not what we typically think of when we think of discipline. These moments are moments of gentle kindness. And God's kindness is meant "to lead you to repentance" (Rom. 2:4).
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Christine Journal 2
Just a few more notes:
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Dennis' Family:
The narration from Dennis' point of view remains solid and energetic. We get a glimpse of family that's very all American. Much more healthy than most families presented in a King novel. In fact, Dennis' sister even celebrates her -- gasp -- period. A different world from Carrie White. this family is internally strong and loving. We even get a glimpse, from that awkward point of view, of Dennis knowing when his parents want it.
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By the way, when Labay dies (Christine's old owner), Dennis has an experience that is really incredible. I won't tell you what it is, but it's good!
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This is a young mans novel. King writes brilliantly from the teenagers point of view. He understands that for some school is like prison. Already there is a lot of tension for the stories protagonist, Arnie, who does not come from such a stable family. Arnie is at odds with his parents, school mates and peers. He generally reacts hastily to tension, and epically anything having to do with Christine. This is cliche, I know -- Arnie senses a love from Christine that he doesn't get anywhere else. But he also invests himself in Christine unlike he does anything else.
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What King still (as of Chapter 10) hasn't shown the reader is why Dennis is such good friends with Arnie. It's obvious why Arnie would befriend the level headed, sports jock, cheerleader magnet Dennis. It is not so clear why Dennis feels any kinship to Arnie. Does he see him as something of a project? Don't know. But the dialogue between them is great and very natural. Often Arnie, his needs and temper, dominate their conversation. Arnie doesn't take much interest in Dennis' life.
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Dedication
Slow me! I just realized the book is dedicated to "George Romero and Chris Forrest Romero. And the Burg." Chris is short for Christine. I wonder. . .
Haven Facts
Haven was filmed in: LUNENBURG, N.S. (Canada), http://www.explorelunenburg.ca/
Official website: http://www.syfy.com/haven/
Pretty balanced review: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/tv-reviews/haven-tv-review-1004102318.story
Cast:
Audrey Parker, Emily Rose
Nathan Wournos, Lucas Bryant
Duke Crocker, Eric Balfour
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Credits:
Creator/writers: Jim Dunn, Sam Ernst
Director: Adam kane
Executive producers: Shawn Piller, Lloyd Segan, Scott Shepherd, John Morayniss, Noreen Halpern, Laszlo Barna, Michael Rosenberg, David MacLeod, Sam Ernst, Jim Dunn
Consultant: Matt McGuinness
Director of photography: Eric Cayla
Production designer: Jennifer Stewart
Costume designer: Jeanie Kimber
Casting: Sheila Lane, Stephanie Gorin
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Based on: the Colorado Kid, by Stephen King. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Colorado_Kid
.Upcoming episodes:
1. Welcome to Haven
2. Consumed
3. Butterfly
4. Ball and chain.
(Episodes Source: Lilja's Library)
"Where is Haven filmed" "where is Stephen King's Haven Filmed"
10 Things I LIke About "Welcome To Haven"
With all the complaining from certain sources -- even calling it a bastard child of Eureka and having the feeling of a soap opera -- I began with pretty low expectations. After watching this, I have to wonder why anyone pays any attention to reviews! I like this. It isn't soapish!
So, this is a pretty simple top 10 list of what I like about Haven:
1. Lots of action. Lightening storms, cars over cliffs -- good stuff.
2. Strange characters. Haven has lots of towns people that I look forward to learning more about. It has the trappings of the early chapters of a good Stephen King novel.
3. Great scenery. The small coastal town setting is nice. They aren't trapped on redundant sets. Passes for Maine for me! Of course, I've never been there.
4. Tension between major characters. What made Star Wars good (the real star wars movies) was partly the tension between the good guys. If felt real. Same is true of Haven. I like the line, "You've really got to work on your thank you's!"
5. Lots of turns and twists. This isn't a show that you can guess quite where it's going. Hey, I'm an ADHD type television watcher, and it holds my interest. There is plenty of mystery here.
6. It feels "big." That is, there's extras, or when extras aren't int eh frame, you hear stuff in the background (phones, people talking) that make you feel like it's bigger than it is. Street scenes are especially good, lots of movement. Sounds like a strange thing to like, but I was really ready for serious duds-ville after those bad reviews.
7. The scenes move quickly. They aren't dragged out with painful dialogue.
8. The music is good throughout and also gives the feelings of movement.
9. There are plenty of comic moments, without sinking to gags. It promises to be a series that can play off the characters layer upon layer.
10. There are direct connections made to the Colorado Kid novel by Stephen King. These aren't hints you have to dig deep to pick up on.
Funny, Emily Rose always wakes up with her hair nicely brushed, parted int he middle. How do you do that?
So, this is a pretty simple top 10 list of what I like about Haven:
1. Lots of action. Lightening storms, cars over cliffs -- good stuff.
2. Strange characters. Haven has lots of towns people that I look forward to learning more about. It has the trappings of the early chapters of a good Stephen King novel.
3. Great scenery. The small coastal town setting is nice. They aren't trapped on redundant sets. Passes for Maine for me! Of course, I've never been there.
4. Tension between major characters. What made Star Wars good (the real star wars movies) was partly the tension between the good guys. If felt real. Same is true of Haven. I like the line, "You've really got to work on your thank you's!"
5. Lots of turns and twists. This isn't a show that you can guess quite where it's going. Hey, I'm an ADHD type television watcher, and it holds my interest. There is plenty of mystery here.
6. It feels "big." That is, there's extras, or when extras aren't int eh frame, you hear stuff in the background (phones, people talking) that make you feel like it's bigger than it is. Street scenes are especially good, lots of movement. Sounds like a strange thing to like, but I was really ready for serious duds-ville after those bad reviews.
7. The scenes move quickly. They aren't dragged out with painful dialogue.
8. The music is good throughout and also gives the feelings of movement.
9. There are plenty of comic moments, without sinking to gags. It promises to be a series that can play off the characters layer upon layer.
10. There are direct connections made to the Colorado Kid novel by Stephen King. These aren't hints you have to dig deep to pick up on.
Funny, Emily Rose always wakes up with her hair nicely brushed, parted int he middle. How do you do that?
King's Other House ?
"Ming the Merciless" at a blog titled Bangor Daily Photo says she's found King's "real house." Is it? Well, I don't know; since I don't live near Bangor! However, Ming's blog seems pretty credible to me. Maybe I'm posting an already well known fact.
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I beleive it is, though, because if you look close on the window to the left you will spot a ghost picking his nose.
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Ming writes: "This is the house where Stephen King and his family (supposedly) really live. From what I heard, the reason he does not live in the original house anymore is because fans have come up and rung his door bells once too many times."
.A Small Pile Of Haven Links
There is a lot of web activity concerning Haven. And, as of this writing, Haven is set to hit Syfy in just a few hours. Here's just a handful of the more interesting links I'm seeing pop up out there.
- Mike Hughes offers two notable quotes, "This is what ABC's Happy Town tried to do - visit a pretty place with deep secrets" and "It's an intriguing start, well-played. Stick with it for a while." http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20107090306
- The Daily Beast asks if Haven is the next Twin Peaks. http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-07-08/stephen-kings-haven-on-syfy-is-it-the-next-twin-peaks/
- USA Weekend interview, "Haven star Emily Rose adores the quirkiness of her new Syfy show." http://whosnews.usaweekend.com/2010/07/haven-star-emily-rose-adores-the-quirkiness-of-her-new-syfy-show/
- Boston.com offers this not so flattering review, titled, "A safe ‘Haven’ for shallow characters."
- http://www.boston.com/ae/tv/articles/2010/07/09/shallow_characters_take_up_in_haven/
- And Variety is on the same band wagon, whining that Haven is a "bastard child" for syfy. Not very nice, eh! http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117943137.html?categoryid=4033&cs=1&nid=2562&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+variety%2Fheadlines+%28Variety+-+Latest+News%29
- There's more complaining from Chicago Sun Tribune, titled SyFy series is no 'Haven' for fans of logical scripts " http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/television/2476066,CST-FTR-paige08.article
- IGN, Matt Smith in his review titled "Welcome to haven", says: "Rose is refreshing as female FBI heroine Audrey, who brushes off any notions of obnoxiousness or incompetence. Lucas Bryant (Queer as Folk) is likeable enough as local cop Nathan Wournos and Balfour is perfectly suited for the role of a smooth talking small time smuggler. Believe it or not, Haven has some humor blended in, and the witty dialogue is actually the most memorable aspect of the pilot." http://tv.ign.com/articles/110/1104820p1.html
- The New York times article is titled, "Charming Village, Check; Quirky Residents, You Bet." http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/09/arts/television/09haven.html?_r=2&partner=TOPIXNEWS&ei=5099
- Bella onlline (the voice of women) Interview, Sam Ernst and Jim Dunn http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art67636.asp
- South Coast Today, "Don't visit 'Haven' for the weather" http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100709/ENTERTAIN/100709925
- Lilja's review of Haven: http://www.liljas-library.com/showreview.php?id=247
- Lilja's interview with Haven creator Sam Ernst: http://www.liljas-library.com/showinterview.php?id=74
Haven Writers Stephen King Approach
More Haven news from digitalspy. In an article titled, "Haven writers explain King approach" Catriona Wightman talks about how the writers make use King's writing.
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She quotes Haven writer Sam Ernst saying, "There are two sides to Stephen King for us and we are both huge Stephen King fans, There's the creepy crawly and then there's the real world people's lives who suddenly go sideways on them. That's our favorite part of Stephen King."
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http://www.digitalspy.com/ustv/news/a240231/haven-writers-explain-king-approach.html
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She quotes Haven writer Sam Ernst saying, "There are two sides to Stephen King for us and we are both huge Stephen King fans, There's the creepy crawly and then there's the real world people's lives who suddenly go sideways on them. That's our favorite part of Stephen King."
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http://www.digitalspy.com/ustv/news/a240231/haven-writers-explain-king-approach.html
CHRISTINE Journal 1
I Like This Book:
.Remember in third grade when you had to do a book report? I feel like holding this up in front of the class and saying, "I like this book. It's a good book. I think everyone should read this book."
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This is a first read for me, and the truth really is that I'm really enjoying it a lot. I put off reading Christine because I enjoyed the movie so much that I foolishly thought I had a pretty full grasp on the story. It's about a car, how much more can the book have that didn't make it to the screen? As I read, I am discovering what a masterful job was done with the movie. However, the book is much more than I expected.
.This is a novel built on characters as much as it is cars. The first section of the book is told in chatty, first person prose. King takes his time building the story, but it's not the kind of slow build up that can sometimes leave the reader frustrated that nothing is happening. I've enjoyed every single scene of Christine so far.
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Of course, a lot of what King is doing at the outset of Christine is showing what a loser Arnie is while also introducing us to the car. Arnie's family is basically disfunctional while Dennis is, at least so far, from an apparently strong family.
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This reminds me of a dark version of John Knoll's "A Separate Peace."
. The books tone looms with darkness, but in a fun way. I suspect, from an interview I read, that Christine was not an easy or smooth writing process. We'll see if any of that bleeds through to the final cut; but at least at the first 7 chapters, this thing really has a lot of playful strength.
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Words:
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Some of King's descriptions are classic! I'm always interested in how King writes. He once complained that no one ever asks him about the language. I'm not sure what someone would ask, because King has such a natural command of the words that you aren't really aware of how good he is unless you pull away and look.
Some of King's descriptions are classic! I'm always interested in how King writes. He once complained that no one ever asks him about the language. I'm not sure what someone would ask, because King has such a natural command of the words that you aren't really aware of how good he is unless you pull away and look.
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Here are a couple of my favorite lines so far. These come from a dream sequence that's outstanding. This is menicing to say the least!
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"suddenly the engine begins to rev and fall off, rev and fall off; it's a hungry sound, frightening, and each time the engine revs Christine seems to lunge forward a bit, like a mean dog on a weak leash . . . and I want to move . . . but my feet seem nailed to the cracked pavement of the driveway."
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"For that first spinning moment or two, I hadn't even been sure if I was big or little -- there was only that dark, terrifying and overmastering image of the car lunging forward a little each time the engine reved, dropping back, lunging forward again, the hood vibrating over the engine-bucket, the grille like steel teeth --"
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a mean dog on a weak leash. . . the grille like steel teeth . . . nice.
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JOURNAL ENTRIES:
The purpose of the journal entries is to serve simply as notes as I read. These are not full reviews, simply my personal impressions. Leave it to Collins, Lilja, Spignesi, Vincent and Beahm to give full, critical reviews -- I'm just a dude who likes reading.
Stephen King's "6 must-reads"
I always like Stephen King's recommended reading list. His most recent, published on EW looks like a lot of fun. Check out the link below, King includes a short explanation of each book he recommends.
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Kings list in EW includes:
1. The MILLENNIUM TRILOGY, by Stieg Larsson
2. THE PASSAGE, by Justin Cronin (no surprise there, right!)
3. THE UNNAMED, by Joshua Ferris
4. STRIP, by Thomas Perry
5. STORM PREY, by John Sandford
6. ORDINARY THUNDERSTORMS, by William Boyd
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http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20355856_20399391_6,00.html
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Kings list in EW includes:
1. The MILLENNIUM TRILOGY, by Stieg Larsson
2. THE PASSAGE, by Justin Cronin (no surprise there, right!)
3. THE UNNAMED, by Joshua Ferris
4. STRIP, by Thomas Perry
5. STORM PREY, by John Sandford
6. ORDINARY THUNDERSTORMS, by William Boyd
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http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20355856_20399391_6,00.html
Link: ‘Haven’ no ‘X-Files’ rip off
Here's an article titled "haven no X files rip off."
http://jam.canoe.ca/Television/2010/07/05/14615726.html?cid=rssentertainmenttelevision
http://jam.canoe.ca/Television/2010/07/05/14615726.html?cid=rssentertainmenttelevision
Haven Picks Up Where Colorado Kid Left Off
In an article posted on digital spy titled "Haven' execs promise answers," Morgan Jeffery cites Haven producer/co-writer Sam Ernst as saying that Haven will answer a lot of the questions King left hanging in The Colorado Kid.
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Jeffry writes, "The original book tells the story of the 'Colorado Kid' and his unsolved murder. The new show will reportedly pick up where the novel left off."
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As we already know, Haven is a safe place for people who are supernaturally "afflicted."
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Jeffery also spoke to Jim Dunn, a co-writer and producer, as saying, "These supernatural afflictions had gone away, but for some reason they are coming back. These three people have three different perspectives about what is going on in this town and they all handle that reality in different ways."
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http://www.digitalspy.com/ustv/news/a238474/haven-execs-promise-answers.html
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Jeffry writes, "The original book tells the story of the 'Colorado Kid' and his unsolved murder. The new show will reportedly pick up where the novel left off."
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As we already know, Haven is a safe place for people who are supernaturally "afflicted."
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Jeffery also spoke to Jim Dunn, a co-writer and producer, as saying, "These supernatural afflictions had gone away, but for some reason they are coming back. These three people have three different perspectives about what is going on in this town and they all handle that reality in different ways."
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http://www.digitalspy.com/ustv/news/a238474/haven-execs-promise-answers.html
Finnis: Review of the Stand part 2
Here is a review by David Finniss of The Stand, part 2 at examiner.com. Finniss does a nice job overviewing this, and he has a good grasp on the novel.
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A few favorite quotes:
- I love the look on NIck's face when Tom first uses the "M-O-O-N" thing.
- special credit goes to Bill Fagerbakke, his performance of Tom Cullen was dead on perfect. People praise Sinise for his portrayal of Stu Redman, rightfully so, but Fagerbakke just steals it.
- It's odd; on previous viewings, I always thought the middle two parts lagged compared to the first and fourth parts. Upon watching it now, I found this part quite superior to part 1. The characters get a lot more depth, and some of the more memorable characters show up and get a chance to shine. There were quite a few creepy scenes, but a few that had more of a humorous slant to them as well.
Finniss offers one "nit-pic" which I'll leave for you to go check out.
Interesting; for all his priase, examiner.com gives this 3 out of 5 stars.
.Firestarter, The Movie
The Hunt
.I finished Firestarter a couple months ago and decided to watch the movie. Turns out, getting a hold of this would become a small - albeit stupid - personal quest. "I'm not going to Amazon this," I told my wife. It was a major motion picture, big budget and heavy promotion; I shouldn't have to turn to the internet to dig up a copy. Besides, I didn't want to wait on the United States mail.
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Hollywood Video, which was going out of business, didn't have a copy. Neither did other local video stores. Walmart didn't have it. "Oh!" One clerk said after looking it up, "we don't carry that, and we won't." Why? "It's out of print." My eyes widened. really? Out of print! Our family headed out for vacation, and I reluctantly admitted I'd have to give in and buy it off the internet. However, I found a used bookstore in Hemet California which had a massive DVD section.
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Lost In translation
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I really liked the book. Firestarter the movie is a very faithful rendition of this story. Scene for scene I could point to where they were in the book. The chase scene at the beginning, the farm, the Shop, even the horses were all there. However, something doesn't connect here.
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You know, you can buy a translation of the Bible that is a literal "word for word" translation into English, but a Greek or Hebrew scholar will tell you something is still lost in translation. That's what happens here: Something is lost in translation.
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John Carpenter said just that. Carpenter had considered directing the film. He told Fear magazine (quoted in Creepshows), "The problem with King's novels are that sometimes they're a bit funky. The plot doesn't translate to the movies that well. Fire starter was one project that I was involved with for a while. I thought that one could have been good because there you have a very clear understanding of what's happening. Unfortunately it didn't work out in the end." p.38
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What happened?
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Specifically, the acting and scenes feel wooden. I said to my wife, "It feels like a soap opera." George C. Scott's performance is dry, lifeless. he is not a convincing Indian, either. Drew Berrymore portrays an overly emotional Charlie; where the book gave us a kid who was very much in charge.
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When the farmer takes Charlie and Andy to his farm we are introduced to his wife. Only, she doesn't come across to me as the farmers wife. She's just a lady dressed up in the right gear, but she doesn't feel like she belongs. That seems to run throughout the movie. People are playing roles, but they don't feel like they belong. From The Shop to lead characters, it isn't smooth.
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Some of the horror from the book was cut. For instance, suicide by garbage disposal was missing. I note this only because King used that slice of horror right at a point the book was starting to sag a little. It beefed up the middle of the book. By cutting that detail, the scenes of captivity at The Shop just drag on.
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King said about the movie, "The parts were all there, but the total was somehow much less than the sum of those parts." (Creepshows, p.39)
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Tony Magistrale has an interesting chapter in his book Hollywood's Stephen King. In a chapter about the Lost Children, he discusses the real lead character in firestarter is John Rainbird. If that is the case, I don't think George C. Scott's performance pulled it off.
Foruth Of July
My favorite reference to the fourth of July in a Stephen King work actually comes from the little book Cycle Of The Werewolf. Of course, by July things have gotten so bad in Tucker's Mill that even the fireworks celebration had been cancelled. When the werewolf attacks, Marty fends him off with good ole fireworks!
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By the way, there's a movie based on this book called Silver Bullet. I know it isn't grade A stuff, but I liked it a lot.
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Of course, other things happened on the fourth in the Stephen King Universe. For instance:
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By the way, there's a movie based on this book called Silver Bullet. I know it isn't grade A stuff, but I liked it a lot.
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Of course, other things happened on the fourth in the Stephen King Universe. For instance:
- In The Stand Larry Underwood discovers on July 4th that Rita has committed suicide. You've got to read the book for that one, since her character was combined with another for the mini-series.
- In the final scene in Kubrick's The Shining, we see an old photo of the hotel from July 4, 1921. Right in the front of the crowd is none other than Jack Torrance.
Perez Hilton on the IT remake
Well known blogger Perez Hilton cited the already noted Lija's Library (though he failed to actually cite his source) and then offered these thoughts:
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"We can't imagine anything will terrify us as much as the original miniseries, but you never know!" and, "that awful Pennywise the Clown will surely scare us shitless once again! That monster is FUCKED."
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Offered without commentary on my end.
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http://perezhilton.com/2010-07-01-stephen-kings-it-getting-remade
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"We can't imagine anything will terrify us as much as the original miniseries, but you never know!" and, "that awful Pennywise the Clown will surely scare us shitless once again! That monster is FUCKED."
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Offered without commentary on my end.
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http://perezhilton.com/2010-07-01-stephen-kings-it-getting-remade
EW: High Hopes For Haven
Picture: Chris Reardon/Syfy.
"Haven trades on the government-agent-plus- unexplained-phenomena approach as well. The FBI's Audrey Parker (Brothers & Sisters' Emily Rose) travels to Maine to investigate a murder in the tiny town of Haven. Aside from attractive local law enforcement in the form of police detective Nathan Wuornos (Queer as Folk's Lucas Bryant), she comes across a person who has the power to whip up hailstorms, vicious winds, and blinding fog when upset.
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"That's just the premiere's first case, and at the end of it, you see where Haven is going: Agent Audrey is an orphan, but finds a decades-old photo in the archive of the local newspaper that contains the image of a woman who looks just like...Audrey. Is this her birth mother? Why was she assigned a case that brought her to this town and this coincidence?
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"Like a lot of TV in this genre, Haven has no coincidences. And like the heroes of Warehouse 13, Audrey seems fated to encounter many conspiracies and scares. The pilot doesn't possess much Stephen King grit — in fact, it's more like Syfy whimsy. But give it time; if Haven can become darker and more complex, as Warehouse 13 has, it could become fun summer sci-fi TV."
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http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20398241,00.html?xid=rss-feed-allreviews-TV+Review%3A+Haven
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