King and Carpenter: A Match Made in Hell?

King and Carpenter: A Match Made in Hell?
by Brandon Engel

The most compelling monsters are the ones who illicit our deepest sympathies. John Carpenter’s The Thing, however, elicits sympathy in a surprisingly pathetic way: he got his ass handed to him by E.T.! The fearsome shape-shifter of Carpenter’s misanthropic visions just couldn’t hold his own in the box-office against Hollywood’s favorite doe-eyed, feeble weakling (no, not Spielberg, but the alien).

And it’s really too bad that the film didn’t enjoy a more dignified theatrical run, because a.) it deserved to and b.) the rumor is that if Carpenter’s film hadn’t tanked, he was going to be brought into direct a big-budget film adaptation of Stephen King’s Firestarter. And it’s really too bad, in a way, because the Firestarter film that ultimately was released was an enormous let down.

It didn’t prevent Carpenter and King from teaming up, however. Not long after the release of The Thing, Carpenter was recruited to direct a feature length adaptation of King’s Christine (1983), which tells the story of a bloodthirsty 1957 Plymouth Fury. This was perhaps, the most appropriate King story for a collaboration between the two men, and I say this for a couple of reasons. For one, King’s stories can become so involved, with so many characters introduced, that, in many situations, it would be impractical and distracting to compress all of them into a single film. One of the things that distinguishes Carpenter’s work on the whole is that he’s capable of telling captivating stories with very few principal actors (think Halloween, Dark Star, Starman, The Thing). Christine is a story with relatively few characters, and with much of the narrative tension borne out of the intensity of a few key relationships. For another thing, Carpenter is versatile in that he has shown a facility for both visually driven narratives (The Thing, Big Trouble in Little China, Escape From New York) and narratives that downplay the importance of intense visuals and make economic use of what is not seen (Halloween especially). King has an extremely colorful imagination, and while there are certain images that he evokes successfully through his writing, attempts to translate these images directly to screen have in some instances, fallen short.

One of the things that becomes clear looking at the work of both men, is that Carpenter and King spoke the same language, and had many of the same cultural reference points. Both men drew liberally from the influences of EC Comics. Both men, in fact have spoken in interviews about the significance of those horror comics, and both men have paid tribute to them: King with Creepshow (1983) and Carpenter most directly with John Carpenter’s Body Bags (1993). Both men were also huge admirers of Ray Bradbury, who might have, in some way,s provided the seedling for the idea that would blossom into Christine. Ray Bradbury was a pre-eminent purveyor of cold-war era technophobia. Themes of rapidly evolving technology (amplified by the arms race between the states and the former U.S.S.R.) are prevalent in his work, and King and Carpenter have integrated elements of this into their work also.

While critical response to Christine was mixed up its initial release, the film has aged pretty well in many ways. After all, we live in an age of cars that can drive themselves, and wireless home security monitoring systems that control everything. One of the things that has perhaps kept it relevant to modern audiences is the fact that technology is still creepy. It’s creepier now than it’s ever been.

With Halloween season upon us here again, let’s toast to two masters of menace! And here’s to hoping that King will manage to pull Carpenter out of semi-retirement and provide him with a decent script to work off of (something that Carpenter, sadly, has been lacking for a few decades now)

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Brandon Engel is a Chicago-based blogger with a keen interest in all things horror. Among his favorite Stephen King novels are: Firestarter, Cujo, The Shining, Carrie, Hearts in Atlantis, and Misery. Follow him: @BrandonEngel2

Let's Talk SHOP

With a new TNT series set to come to television titled, The Shop, it seems appropriate to revisit what the Shop is.

Formal Name: The Department of Scientific Intelligence 

Location: Longmont, Virginia

The Shop is a mysterious government institution that is featured in Stephen King's novel, Firestarter. The Shop is headed up by Captain James Hollister, better known as Cap. It is a heavily guarded scientific institution backed up by a few not-so-nice hit men. Of course, the first handful of hit men turn out to be completely incompetent! (Namely, my already mentioned, a killer named O.J. go figure!)

The Stephen King Universe has an entire section that looks at stories that incorporate The Shop. The book notes,

"Two observations can be made. First, though operating in the prime reality, the Shop seems to share certain facets with the low men in yellow coats from Rolands reality (Hearts in Atlantis). Second, if there are thinnies between the prime reality and any of the others, the shop is almost certainly aware of them." (SK Universe 248)

King says this about Shop headquarters in Fire Starter:

Two handsome Southern plantation homes faced each other across a long and rolling grass lawn that was crisscrossed by a few gracefully looping bike paths and a two lane crushed-gravel drive that came over the hill from the main road. Off to one side of one of these houses was the hill from the main road. off to one side of one of these houses was a large barn, painted bright red and trimmed spotless white. Near the other was a long stable, done in the same handsome red with white trim. Some of the best horseflesh in the South was quartered here. between the barn and the stable was a wide, shallow duckpond, calmly reflecting the sky. 

In the 1860's, the original owners of these two homes had gone off and got themselves killed in the war, and all survivors of both families were dead now. The two estates had been consolidated into one piece of government property in 1954. It was Shop headquarters. (Fire Starter, p.63)

The Shop appears in:

1. Firestarter
2. The Tommyknockers
3. Golden years
4. The langoliers

The Shop Crossovers:

• THE LANGOLIERS (Four Past Midnight)—FIRESTARTER“The Shop” is mentioned in The Langoliers. Presumably the same “Shop” as in Firestarter.

• THE TALISMAN—FIRESTARTER The Rainbird Towers, a New York condominium complex, is mentioned in "The Talisman." Rainbird is the name of The Shop operative assigned to Charlie McGee in "Firestarter." 

• THE TOMMYKNOCKERS—FIRESTARTER: After all the excitement was over in The Tommyknockers, “The Shop” came to Haven to investigate.

The Shop Lives On

EW reported that TNT is developing a new series called, "The Shop."  It is based  on Stephen King's 1980 novel, Firestarter. Twenty years after the events in the novel, Charlie is tracked down and introduced to a group of people who have special abilities.

“It turns out The Shop is very much alive, bigger and badder than ever, and its dark experiments are unleashing terrifying new entities on the world. It’s now up to Talbot, Charlie and the rest of the team to find The Shop and destroy it for good.” (Source: insidetv.ew.com)

TNT Developing THE SHOP

EW reports that TNT is developing a new series called, "The Shop."  It is based  on Stephen King's 1980 novel, Firestarter.  Sporting the tagline, "TNT Drama.  Boom," to emphasize  that the network wants to focus on thrill.

Jim Hibberd explains the story will focus on the evil agency, The Shop, that tried to capture poor Charlie McGee in the original novel.  20 years later, Charlie is tracked down and introduced to a group of people who have special abilities.  (thinking Haven?)

“It turns out The Shop is very much alive, bigger and badder than ever, and its dark experiments are unleashing terrifying new entities on the world. It’s now up to Talbot, Charlie and the rest of the team to find The Shop and destroy it for good.”

Stephen King -- Connecting The Dots

I loved Louis  Peitzman's article at BuzzFeed titled, "These Stephen King Connections Will Blow Your Mind."  They did  not blow my mind -- butstill pretty cool.

Here's a snippet, be sure to check  out the entire article at  www.buzzfeed.com

 In The Tommyknockers, mysterious organization The Shop invades Haven to control the alien presence.

11. The Shop is responsible for the Lot Six experiments, which gave Charlie McGee her powers in Firestarter.

12. And The Shop was involved in the Arrowhead Project, which resulted in the titular supernatural disaster of The Mist.

13. The organization is also mentioned in “The Langoliers.”

14. The same evil forces run throughout many Stephen King works. Take Randall Flagg, for example. He’s the major antagonist in The Stand.

15. But he also pursues Roland Deschain in The Dark Tower series. More on that in a bit.

 

16. Randall Flagg gets namechecked in ‘Salem’s Lot.

17. And he may be the demonic entity in the Stephen King short story “Children of the Corn.”

18. But Randall Flagg actually serves The Crimson King, who is another major adversary in The Dark Tower.

King Interview At Telegraph UK

Jane Mulkerris at www.telegraph.co.uk met with Stephen King in Wilmington, North Carolina, a few days before the Under the Dome's launch.

King tells Mulkerris that though some of his work has been well treated by adaptations, some certainly have not!  He specifically mentioned Firestarter as one that was not a good translation to screen. 

King also says he is glad to be on TV, indicating he was a fan of television when it wasn't popular. He acknowledges that television can be weak because executives are so cautious, but that doesn't seem to stop him from thinking a good time might be ahead with Under The Dome.  Interesting, as Under the Dome has been signed up for a second season, King told Mulkerris, "There’s a tendency to run things until they’re threadbare. Some of the cable networks also went to the well too long. I think Dexter has run a season too long, for one thing.”

King told Mulkerris, 

“I’ve never been an intellectual writer.  The relationship that I want to have with readers is more visceral than that. I hope there’s something to think about in the books that I write but I wouldn’t like it if you read them twice and thought about stuff the second time.”

With this, Mulkerris says King grins and says he just wants to scare you the first time.

OMNI Available on Internet Archive

This is by By EDW Lynch at laughingsquid.com 

The classic science & sci-fi magazine OMNI is now available on the Internet Archive. OMNI was co-founded by Kathy Keeton and Penthouse publisher Bob Guccione in 1978 and was published until 1995. The magazine featured the work of Ray Bradbury, Stephen King, William S. Burroughs, Isaac Asimov, and many others. After going out of print, OMNI lived on as one of the first webzines, from 1996 to 1998.

In 1986 Omni excerpted Firestarter and published the short story "The End Of The Whole Mess."

REPOST: King Books That Deserve A Sequel

With all the talk about a possible sequel to the Shining, and then all the quick moves to quiet any excitement -- not to mention an addition to the Dark Tower -- got me to thinking about books that deserve a sequel.

Of course, much of King's work has built on itself. There were the Castle Rock stories, Derry stories, and in some cases the Dark Tower actually served as a sequal. In particular Salem's Lot -- Which really serves as redemption for Father Callahan.

Sometimes Hollywood has offered us sequels. Children of the Corn, Salem's Lot, Pet Semetery, Carrie and others I can't think of off hand. None of these were really very good. There was a version of Carrie that had an extended ending (beyond the King book) that I thought was well done.

A quick list of books I wish had a sequel. Please offer your own.
1. The Eyes of the Dragon
2. Black House. ? I think there will be one.
3. The Shining. Dr. Sleep, as King has suggested, but not promised.  (2012, okay, we now  anxiously await the novel)
4. Firestarter. So. . . what did happen to Charlie?
5. Pet Semetary. King style, not Hollywood.
And. . .
6. IT. Did Pennywise really die? Really? Are you sure?

(Originally posted: November 26, 2009)

Firestarter Remake and more

photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/angeliquexo/4107714393/sizes/z/in/photostream/

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File this under "here we go again." I saw today at Liljas Library that there are plans to remake Maximum Overdrive.

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I also spotted this headline at variety.com, "U, De Laurentiis to reignite 'Fire starter'." Great.

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Here's a snippet from the variety article:

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'Firestarter' has a great mythology and with Martha and Lorenzo's vision we believe the franchise can be extended in a new and exciting direction," said Debbie Liebling, U's prexy of production.

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De Laurentiis Co. has a slew of projects in various stages of development, including a reboot of the cult classic "Barbarella," a remake of another King adaptation, "Maximum Overdrive" and a new spin on 1980s TV actioner "MacGyver."
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Smith is now working on the "Firestarter" script. U hopes to get the pic into production next year, but has yet to take the project out to directors.

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Besides the 1984 pic, cabler Syfy fielded a telepic in 2002 dubbed "Firestarter 2: Rekindled."

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http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118028978?refCatId=13

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I just can't wait.

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Actually, could someone make remakes we actually want. Maybe a mini-series of Needful Things, or a remake of Dolores Claiborne? Or how about someone make one of the novels that's still quietly waiting some screen time -- Lisey's Story, UTD, Cell (please!), From A Buick 8, Bag of Bones?

Firestarter, The Movie

The Hunt

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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.

Suicide By Garbage Disposal?

Is it possible? I reflected earlier that while I really like the scene in which Dr. Herman Pynchot sticks his hand in his garbage disposal (while wearing his wife's undies), I'm not sure a garbage disposal would really create as much damage as King conjures up.
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Now, this brings us to an interesting news article. The CNN reports that NBC is getting sued because its show Hero's shows a woman getting her hand chomped up by the garbage disposal. Who's suing over that? A garbage disposal company!
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The article includes this:
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Dan Callahan, spokesman for Emerson, said the company, of course, does not recommend anybody put their hands in a garbage disposal that is turned on.
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But he also pointed out that, according to data from the government's Consumer Products Safety Commission, you are actually ten times more likely to get injured by your dishwasher than your garbage disposal.
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And I've been told that if you did stick your hand in a garbage disposal (not that I've tried) you would hurt yourself but you would not wind up losing any fingers as was the case with the girl on "Heroes."
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http://money.cnn.com/2006/10/17/commentary/mediabiz/index.htm

THE SHOP

Fire Starter has peaked my interest in the mysterious government institution "The Shop." The Shop is headed up by Captain James Hollister, better known as Cap. The Shop is a heavily guarded scientific institution backed up by a few not-so-nice hit men. Of course, the first handful of hit men turn out to be completely incompetent! (Namely, my already mentioned, a killer named O.J. go figure!)

.

The Stephen King Universe has an entire section that looks at stories that incorporate The Shop. The book notes, "Two observations can be made. First, though operating in the prime reality, the Shop seems to share certain facets with the low men in yellow coats from Rolands reality (Hearts in Atlantis). Second, if there are thinnies between the prime reality and any of the others, the shop is almost certainly aware of them." (SK Universe 248)

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Formal Name: The Department of Scientific Intelligence

Location: Longmont, Virginia

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King says this about Shop headquarters in Fire Starter:

Two handsome Southern plantation homes faced each other across a long and rolling grass lawn that was crisscrossed by a few gracefully looping bike paths and a two lane crushed-gravel drive that came over the hill from the main road. Off to one side of one of these houses was the hill from the main road. off to one side of one of these houses was a large barn, painted bright red and trimmed spotless white. Near the other was a long stable, done in the same handsome red with white trim. Some of the best horseflesh in the South was quartered here. between the barn and the stable was a wide, shallow duckpond, calmly reflecting the sky.

.

In the 1860's, the original owners of these two homes had gone off and got themselves killed in the war, and all survivors of both families were dead now. The two estates had been consolidated into one piece of government property in 1954. It was Shop headquarters. (Fire Starter, p.63)

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The Shop appears in:

Firestarter

The Tommyknockers

Golden eyars

The langoliers

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The Shop Crossovers:

This is from http://www.malakoff.com/sklnklst.htm.

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THE LANGOLIERS (Four Past Midnight)—FIRESTARTER“The Shop” is mentioned in The Langoliers. Presumably the same “Shop” as in Firestarter.

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THE TALISMAN—FIRESTARTER The Rainbird Towers, a New York condominium complex, is mentioned in "The Talisman." Rainbird is the name of The Shop operative assigned to Charlie McGee in "Firestarter."

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THE TOMMYKNOCKERS—FIRESTARTERAfter all the excitement was over in The Tommyknockers, “The Shop” came to Haven to investigate.

Firestarter Journal #1

I started reading Fire-starter the other day. As I did with Under The Dome, I am going to take down notes as I go. This is a lot easier than doing a longer review once I've finished reading.

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I've held back from reading this because I saw the movie. And, let's just say, it's a typical Stephen King movie -- it didn't work for me. With the release of several early King novels in audio book format, I decided to give Fire-starter a fresh chance. So far, I'm glad I did.

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Genre: As usual with King, this isn't so much about horror as it is characters.
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Notes:

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1. I really like the pacing King has in this novel. As he usually does, King starts in the middle of the story. Act 2, if you will. As the story opens, Andy and his daughter Charlie are on the run from a shadowy government agency called "The Shop."

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2. Dedicated to Shirley Jackson "who never needed to raise her voice." King includes her books, The Haunting of Hill House, The Lottery (a freaky short story), We Have Always Lived in the Castle and The Sundial. I liked Shirley Jackson's work, and like King she has suffered from Hollywood adaptations of her work that really don't represent her well! (though I did hear one awesome radio drama on the Lottery) Anyway, King's appreciation for Jackson is well stated -- it's like a nod from the master of horror, go read this ladies books!

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3. Opening quote: "It was a pleasure to burn." --Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451.

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4. Andy McGee has the power to "push" things into someones mind. In particular, the novel opens with him pushing a cabbie to think a $1 bill is a $100 bill. Interesting, later -- back at the shop -- the dollar bill has been confiscated and continues to effect those who look at it. When Andy uses his power, he is left with severe migraine headaches.
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5. Several extended flashbacks give details to Andy's meeting his wife, Vicky. The best flashbacks regard Charlie, who burns up teddy bears, leaves pillows smoldering and even injures her mother. The parents have fire extinguishers all over the house. The extent of Charlie's power is not revealed early on, obviously it will be the subject of the book.
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picture: Michael Whelan

Asbestos Firestarter

How do you keep your copy of Firestarter safe from Charlie? After all, one wrong look from her could send your entire Stephen King collection up in smoke. Well, Abe Books is here to help.

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I know, you've been loking for that asbestos copy of Firestarter -- right? Without it, your collection just isn't the same.

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Fire may have been one of mankind's greatest innovations, but what it giveth in warmth, light and cooking, it taketh away in power and destruction. Without a doubt, fire is a book's natural enemy. Nothing gives a red-blooded bibliophile the creeps more than the mention of book burning. Which, perhaps, is why Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 strikes such a responsive chord among book lovers. The task of protecting your books from fire (along with light, moisture, silverfish, and shelf-wear) can be quite vexing, which is why books like these are so amazing.
The Fine Books Company of Rochester, Michigan has bundled together the complete fireproof science fiction collection; limited first edition copies of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 and Stephen King's Firestarter, both bound in an asbestos material. Not even fireman Guy Montag himself could easily burn these babies (not that he would want to, having finally discovered the joy of reading...).

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The asbestos Fahrenheit 451 edition was limited to 200 copies, all signed by Bradbury, and the copies of Firestarter, signed by King, were a limited lettered edition of only 26 copies making this combined set quite a rarity indeed. http://www.abebooks.com/books/bradbury-fahrenheit-451-king-firestarter/asbestos-science-fiction.shtml

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the price. . . $31,810. But hey, shipping is only 8 bucks, okay! Sure, that's a lot of money, but think about it -- you won't lose this investment in a house fire. By the way, my wife already said no way.

King Of The Beach

wbur.org is putting together a list of the 100 best beach books. They have this note on their site:

"Many of you told us you just can't wait until July 29 — when we unveil the results of the 100 Best Beach Books vote — to start reading. So here's the complete list of around 200 finalists, nominated by you and the NPR Books Board. Happy reading!"

4 Nominations:

Of their 200 finalist, Stephen King's name pops up four times. That's a lot in a world full of books.

Dolores Claiborne.
Pet Semetary
The Shining
The Stand

Now, what is a "beach book"?  Duma Key, of course!  wubr says, "While all the books on the list should be enthralling enough to inoculate vacation-goers against the vagaries of missed flights and bad weather, many "great books" aren't great "beach books." Tone, setting and sheer length play their parts. On the other hand, status as a classic isn't an automatic disqualifier; both The Great Gatsby and Pride and Prejudice were popular nominees."

Okay, I'm still not sure what a beach book is. War and Peace is on the list, and I certainly don't picture that as a beach book!


So Are These Beach Books?  Well, if you're gong to read The Stand at the beach, I hope you have a long vacation or a beach house. But all of these are great! I would actually think Pet Semetary, a personal favorite, would make wonderful beach reading.

Are these beach books? I dunno! Dolores Claiborne is a wonderful read. But I somehow identify a beach book as being a little bt "forgetable." Don't know why. But a beach book feels to me like something you read only to entertain you for the moment -- lik a Simpsons episode. But, I'm sure I am the only one with that definition. My wife just says that a beach book is, "Just some little paperback that doesn't take long to read."

My List
I welcome, as always, your list. Since four books made the list, I'll offer four King books I think are "beach" books:

Christine
The Body (Different Seasons)
Firestarter
The Colorado Kid

Authors I identify as "Beach Book" writers:
James Patterson
Patricia Cornwell
John Grisham (classic Grisham, anyway.)
Harlan Coben

FULL ARTICLE HERE

photo: http://gunnshow.wordpress.com/

Life In S.K. Universe Must Be Difficult

King was asked by Star Tribune what books he'd like to revisit.

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King's answer, "I'd like to go back to "Firestarter." She was 9 or 10 at the end of the book; she's probably in her 40s now. I'm always curious about Danny Torrance in "The Shining," what it was like to grow up with psychic talent, in an abusive family. I'd like to see them meet."

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At first I thought, Interesting. This sounds like a friendlier version of Freddy verses Jason. Unless Danny has slipped a bit on his path growing up. Like Luke turning to the darkside. That could be cool.

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But upon further consideration. . . I began to wonder: Do these characters see King coming? What if Danny is living a perfectly normal life? What is Charlie is happily married? And here comes Mr. King. Full of his plots and murder, blood and migrains (Junior) and plane crashes. Look, both these characters know: It ain't easy being in a King novel. He uh -- doesn't write romance, okay?!

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I'll bet even now Danny Torrance is saying: "Stay away, Mr. King!" While every constant reader is saying: "Give us Danny and Charlie back!"

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http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/books/69918792.htmlelr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUsX

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Picture of Danny Lloyd: http://members.tripod.com/~former_child_star/lloyd_danny.html