King Tweets Dome

Stephen King posted this today, and I love it:

How about Netflix bringing back UNDER THE DOME, only starting from scratch and actually doing the book?

Stephen King Summer Vacation

Let's have fun. . .

1. If you could go anywhere in the Stephen King universe for Summer Vacation -- where would you go?

2. If you could SEND someone you don't like anywhere in the Stephen King universe, where would you send them? 

A few suggested vacation spots:

1. Under The Dome (Chester's Mill)

Points of interest:

•  Cloud Top Ski Resort
• The Sweetbriar Rose 
• Drippers Roadhouse
• Chester Pond

Talk Stephen King recommends you avoid Big Jim's Used Cars. 

2. Midworld

Points of interest:

• The Dark Tower
• Lud
• Gilead
• The Way Station

Talk Stephen King recommends you avoid The Wastelands

3. Castle Rock

FROM: thekingofcastlerock.blogspot.com

Castle Rock is the flagship town in Stephen King’s work, and is located in southwestern Maine, between Rumford and Augusta. The town, created by SK was to be more than a mere location for a story. The Complete Stephen King Universe asserts that it was designed to “function as a scale model of contemporary American society”. 

On the surface, Castle Rock is a postcard snapshot of everyday America. It is the exact kind of town that politicians are referring to when they mention “helping Mainstreet America”, and Norman Rockwell painted in his Saturday Evening Post covers. However, this tranquil town, filled with Mom-and Pop stores and community spirit, has had a violent history; most of the tragic events occurred after 1978. Many people wonder what exactly happened in the little rural town in Maine that ultimately led to its destruction.

FROM: Stephen King, A Face Among The Masters:

In Lord of the Flies, the bullies name their headquarters on the island “Castle Rock,” which is what King named his fictional town . More than a few bullies found their way to Castle Rock, Maine, including the gang in the novella, The Body, led by Ace Merrill.

4. Derry

Points of interest:

• The Sandpipe: The Standpipe was a large watertower in Derry. In its earlier days, it remained unlocked so that patrons of an adjoining park could climb a spiral staircase around the tank to look out over Derry from the top. The Standpipe was closed to the public after several children drowned in the tank, most likely the fault of It. The Standpipe was where Stan Uris first encountered It, which took the form of drowned children.  After the grown-up Losers Club kills It in second Ritual Of Chüd in 1985, a huge storm ensues, destroying many buildings and landmarks in Derry, including the Standpipe. In Dreamcatcher, Mr. Gray drives to Derry to find the Standpipe, only to discover a memorial featuring a cast-bronze statue of two children and a plaque underneath, dedicated to the victims of the 1985 flood and of It. The plaque has been vandalized with graffiti reading, "PENNYWISE LIVES". In 11/22/63, Jake Epping buys a pillow with a picture of the standpipe on it. He hides a gun in it, the gun he uses to kill Frank Dunning. (SOURCE)
• 29 Neibolt Street, a run-down, abandoned house near the trainyard. It is in this house – or rather, under the house's front porch – that Eddie Kaspbrak first encounters It, which shows itself as a mix between a homeless leper and its familiar Pennywise form. Later, after Eddie tells them his story, Bill and Richie go to investigate the house and are chased off by It, the creature having taken the form of a werewolf. (source)
• The barrens
• The Canal

Talk Stephen King advises you not to feed the clowns.  

A FEW MORE:

5. Palm Desert, Ca (mentioned in Duma Key)
6. Duma Key
7. Desperation
8. Las Vegas of The Stand
9. Chamberlain (home town of Carrie)
10. Little Tall Island - Just off the coast of Maine (Dolores Claiborne)
11. Tarker’s Mills - The small town of Tarker’s Mills was a nice place to live, except during the full moon. As chronicled in Stephen King’s “Cycle of the Werewolf” (www.syfy.co.uk/blogs/top-10-stephen-king-towns)
12. Haven
13. 'Salem's Lot (also known as Jerusalem's Lot)
14. Dallas (11/22/63) -- NOT!

Of course, if you really want a Stephen King vaction, Stu Tinker, who used to run Betts Bookstore has a tour that has great reviews.  "Stu's knowledge, love of the subject, friendship with Mr King all make this tour THE BEST and most important thing to do if you're a King fan. So much knowledge, humour and honesty in this man. Loved it!" tripadvisor.com

Under The Dome Comes To Paperback In Two Volumes

Under The Dome has finally come to paperback in a normal size.  By normal, I mean it's not the large, oversized paperbacks  recently popularized.  So how do you get Under  The Dome in paperback without the massive tome falling apart before your finish? It's being released in two parts.

Now this makes me wonder -- why?  The Stand was a longer novel and was released in one single volume that was not oversized.  Of course, my copy quickly wore out in a single reading, but I did make it to the end.  I've never been a fan of books in multiple volumes.  What's more, while Under the Dome is long, it's not two thousand pages.

The book is selling at Books  a Million for a little over $8 for each part.  So that's $16 for a paperback edition of Under The Dome.

So what's going on with the paperback version of Under The Dome?  That's a question Kevin Quigley (CharnelHouseSK.com) jumped on in his January 10 article at Fearnet.  As always, Quigley's article is wonderful.   He even explains why  paperbacks got taller. Turns out, the people who read paperbacks are getting older!  Quigley also discuses changes Scribner has made in their approach to King's book cover designs.

Here's a snippet from Quigley's article, explaining Under The Dome's long road to paperback publication:

While previous mega-long bestsellers like It and The Stand fit easily in regular mass-market editions, the split and staggered release of the Under the Dome mass-markets makes sense for today’s market.  With the new “easier to read” edict for the 7.5” paperbacks, these books are also easier to hold – at nearly 1,300 combined pages, a single paperback might actually turn off potential new readers.  Setting the release dates of the two paperbacks a month apart also keeps these new readers in mind, especially those who enjoy the serialized storytelling of the show and might be eager to replicate the experience.  New American Library did the same with Desperation and The Regulators in 1997: though the books – which tell different stories with the same characters – came out on the same day in hardcover, in paperback, Desperation came out a month earlier than its altered twin.

It's an interesting approach Scribner is taking.  Of course, it makes me wonder if people will really read half the novel, then wait for the other half to come out.  Don't they know they can buy the whole thing?  Would you go to  Burger King and buy half a Whopper, eat it slowly, then buy the other half?  Even if it's big, you want the whole thing.

Qigley notes that "For the first time, Under the Dome will be available in every existing format--"  Which actually is exciting.  In fact, I'm willing to buy a volume 3 if King would give us more.

Kevin Quigley's article, The Long Road to 'Under the Dome' in Paperback, can be found at fearnet.com

Check out my recent discussion with Quigley about all things related to The Mist at talkstephenking interview-with-kevin-quigley

The Simpsons Under The Dome

Vulture.com has a fun article by Jesse David Fox that compares Under  The Dome to The Simpsons movie. Yes, we all know King did not steal from the Simpsons -- he wrote The Cannibals, an early version of Dome, int he 80's.  But, the comparisons are still pretty cool.

Domed Town	Springfield	Chester's Mill
Domers	The EPA.	Unknown.
Reason for Doming	To quarantine the highly polluted town.	Unknown.
Can You See Through It?	Yes.	Yes.
Can You Hear Through It?	No.	No.
The Domed Band Together To...	Try to kill Homer.	Put out a fire.
Who's in Charge?	Emperor of Springfield Moe Szyslak.	Councilman Big Jim Rennie.
Charismatic Newcomer?	Spider Pig.	Barbie.
Ominous Chanting	Abe Simpson's church meltdown: "Epa! Epa! Epa!"	Joe and Norrie's "pink stars are falling" seizures.
Dome-Crossed Loves	Lisa and her Irish environmental dreamboat Colin.	Deputy Sheriff Linda Esquivel and her fireman fiancé.
Means of Escape	Sandbox sinkhole.	Unknown.
Useless Escape Tools	Swordfish, bubbles, pies, jackhammer, elephant's head.	Bulldozer.
Failed Dome Punchers	Drederick Tatum.	Junior Rennie.
Shooting It Results In...	Bullets bouncing back and wounding Hometown Security agents.	Bullets bouncing back and killing a cop.
Other Objects That Bounce Off Dome	Head of the EPA Russ Cargill's binoculars.	Reporter Julia Shumway's tennis ball.
Outside Military	Easily duped by forged leaf note.	Loves spraying dome with water.
School	Seemingly in perfect condition, but kids don't go because city has descended into chaos.	Likely in perfect condition, but kids don't go because they're having phone-charging parties.

Under The Dome: Why I Like The TV Show Better Than The Book

I like Under The Dome a lot.  I thought the book was fantastic; big, well written and nicely paced.  As much as I enjoyed the book, I think the television show actually has the upper hand.  I think it's a stronger story.  Of course, I say this not yet knowing how they have decided to resolve the mystery of what the Dome is.

The television show has several advantages over the book that lend to its strengths.  For instance, they didn't have to come up with an idea and characters, King did that for them.  What they were able to do was fine tune and play with the core elements, making it even better.  They also had the advantage of group think!  Of course, sometimes this doesn't work; but it seems that in the case of Under  The Dome, many minds at work have done the story good.

There are things I find strange in the television show.  Like how long it takes to travel across town while entire other scenes unfold.  And why didn't anyone think sooner to head to the Dome's center to look for its power source?  Having it covered with dirt was a good way not only to hide it, but be able to show it visually on television -- since the force-field dome is invisible.

Here's why I think the television show is a stronger story than the novel:

• More mystery.  The book revolved around one central  mystery -- what is the Dome?   However, the television show keeps heaping mystery upon mystery!  With each newly introduced question, the viewer is drawn deeper into the mystery.  What is the little dome?  How did it rain?  What are the pink stars?  (that was int he book)  Is the Dome itself alive?  Does it have will?  What's up with Barbie?
• Greater tension.  The book certainly had a lot of tension; but the television show heaps it on by giving Big Jim an enemy, Ollie Dinsmore.  It's strange how I actually find myself feeling sorry for poor big Jim!
• More character depth.  Big Jim's relationship with his son is explored with more depth in the television show.  Also, Big Jim himself is a more multidimensional character; as is Barbie.
• The plot is more tangled.  King gave us a story with a pretty massive plot, and taking its cue from the book, the television show gets even more complicated.

About the little Dome -- with the egg -- revealed in last weeks episode, Darren Franich at popwatch.ew.com hypothesizes:

Looks a little bit like pink stars, doesn’t it? Of course, they’re not falling…they’re rising. Was this somehow evidence that the Egg was absorbing the dying Alice’s life essence? Could it be that the little Egg is absorbing the souls/bio-electromagnetic field of everyone who dies inside of the Dome? Assuming that no one has died offscreen, the number of pink stars looks about right for our total body count so far: Three cops, one local diner attendant, a reverend, an out-of-town lesbian psychiatrist who vividly remembers all her med school training, and a couple murderous townies. Am I missing anyone? Could the Egg be absorbing Chester’s Mill life force in order to give birth to some new creature? Like, the Anti-Christ? Or the Alien Anti-Christ? Is the egg the source of the Dome’s power, as Joe implied, or is it a beneficiary of the Dome?

Reynolds Sketches Under The Dome Characters

I like Sarah Reynolds sketch of her interpretation of the characters from Under The Dome.  This is her take from READING the book, not watching the show.

She posted at her blog, sarahlynnreynolds.com,

I recently finished Stephen King's Under The Dome and thought it would be fun to paint some of the characters as I imagined them. I've also been looking at a lot of really incredible movie poster design lately and wanted to try making a piece inspired by that sort of aesthetic. So, those two concepts came together here. 

From Top Left to Right:
Big Jim Rennie
Dale Barbara
Junior Rennie
The Chef
Julia Shumway
Rusty Everett

Reposted with permission.

King Discusses Changes To Under The Dome

Stephen King's letter to constant readers about the differences betweenthe TV series and the book versions of Under The Dome.  I am glad the "solution" to the Dome has been changed.  I am among those who did not think the answer to the mystery was that good in the novel.  Now the mystery is fresh and new!  

Here's Kings letter:

For those of you out there in Constant Reader Land who are feeling miffed because the TV version of Under the Dome varies considerably from the book version, here’s a little story.

    Near the end of his life, and long after his greatest novels were written, James M. Cain agreed to be interviewed by a student reporter who covered culture and the arts for his college newspaper. This young man began his time with Cain by bemoaning how Hollywood had changed books such as The Postman Always Rings Twice and Double Indemnity. Before he could properly get into his rant, the old man interrupted him by pointing to a shelf of books behind his desk. “The movies didn’t change them a bit, son,” he said. “They’re all right up there. Every word is the same as when I wrote them.”

    I feel the same way about Under the Dome. If you loved the book when you first read it, it’s still there for your perusal. But that doesn’t mean the TV series is bad, because it’s not. In fact, it’s very good. And, if you look closely, you’ll see that most of my characters are still there, although some have been combined and others have changed jobs. That’s also true of the big stuff, like the supermarket riot, the reason for all that propane storage, and the book’s thematic concerns with diminishing resources.

    Many of the changes wrought by Brian K. Vaughan and his team of writers have been of necessity, and I approved of them wholeheartedly. Some have been occasioned by their plan to keep the Dome in place over Chester’s Mill for months instead of little more than a week, as is the case in the book. Other story modifications are slotting into place because the writers have completely re-imagined the source of the Dome.

    That such a re-imagining had to take place was my only serious concern when the series was still in the planning stages, and that concern was purely practical. If the solution to the mystery were the same on TV as in the book, everyone would know it in short order, which would spoil a lot of the fun (besides, plenty of readers didn’t like my solution, anyway). By the same token, it would spoil things if you guys knew the arcs of the characters in advance. Some who die in the book—Angie, for instance—live in the TV version of Chester’s Mill…at least for a while. And some who live in the book may not be as lucky during the run of the show. Just sayin’.

    Listen, I’ve always been a situational writer. My idea of what to do with a plot is to shoot it before it can breed. It’s true that when I start a story, I usually have a general idea of where it’s going to finish up, but in many cases I end up in a different place entirely (for instance, I fully expected Ben Mears to die at the end of ’Salem’s Lot, and Susannah Dean was supposed to pop off at the end of Song of Susannah). “The book is the boss,” Alfred Bester used to say, and what that means to me is the situation is the boss. If you play fair with the characters—and let them play their parts according to their strengths and weaknesses—you can never go wrong. It’s impossible.

    

There’s only one element of my novel that absolutely had to be the same in the novel and the show, and that’s the Dome itself. It’s best to think of that novel and what you’re seeing week-to-week on CBS as a case of fraternal twins. Both started in the same creative womb, but you will be able to tell them apart. Or, if you’re of a sci-fi bent, think of them as alternate versions of the same reality.

    As for me, I’m enjoying the chance to watch that alternate reality play out; I still think there’s no place like Dome.

    As for you, Constant Reader, feel free to take the original down from your bookshelf anytime you want. Nothing between the covers has changed a bit.

Stephen King
June 27th, 2013 

Remembering Under The Dome

Tonight CBS premiers the Summer mini-series UNDER THE DOME.  I'm really looking forward to it.  I loved the book!

Of course, up to this point, all I know about Under The Dome comes from the book.  The images in my mind are formed and built on King's words.  But after I watch the first episode of Under The Dome, everything is going to change.  No longer will my only viewpoint of this story come from Stephen King.  There will now be visual images, new story lines, characters will come to life in a new way.  All of that is good.  I also know that in some ways watching a visual adaptation of a book causes you to forever change your understanding of that book.  So, in some ways, I'm saying good bye today to Under The Dome as I've known it thus far.  (Don't laugh at me, I know this is corny)

A reader builds a special bond with a writer.  Words have the power to move directly from his typewriter where he builds each scene, enacts each sound effect, summons each character -- to my page where I see it all come to life in the theater of the mind.  No middle man needed.  Even though he sells millions of books, each time I read the words it's as if it's just me and Mr. King sitting in a room as he tells me a story.

Under The Dome is a novel that I remember enjoying quite a lot -- but I don't remember a lot of it!  I do not recall each plot turn with the detail I did The Stand.  Probably good, since it will give me some freedom watching the movie.  Has a movie ever irritated you as you watched it because it was making giant turns the book didn't?  What sticks deeply with me is early scenes of the Dome coming down.

Let's have some fun!  I went through some of my Under The Dome Journal entries and collected some of my favorite notes from the novel.

NOTES FROM UNDER THE DOME JOURNAL:

• Two guys walking along, one inside the Dome, one outside the Dome. Nice!
• Wow. This book really, really moves. Chopped off hands, dead people, car wrecks. All good stuff. 

In Their Heads

From Dome Journal #3: I'm freaked out by how King can take me inside Juniors head. I don't like it. I don't want to understand him. But that's what makes King such a good writer. I do identify. I liked the part where he woke up and hoped it was all a dream. I've had bad events in life where I woke up and thought -- ahhh! So it wasn't a dream?!

Can You Lick The Dome?

From Dome Journal #6: . . .It seems that little attention is given to the dome itself. Wouldn't little kids try to climb it? Anyone poked it -- with something other than a cruise missile? Licked it? that only comes to mind because it's Christmas time and I just saw that movie where the kid licks the pole and his tongue sticks. I wonder what would happen if you stuck your tongue to that Dome. . .! Get a shock probably.

From Dome Journal #5: The image of people washing the Dome was wonderful! If only we could do that on planet earth. I have this mental picture of those planes that drop water on fires coming over the dome and dropping water on it so they can see exactly where it's at.

Narrative Coolness!

From Dome Journal #7: One of the things I really like is King's easy, conversational narration. In fact, I find myself saying: "Oh, I didn't know you could do that!"

For instance, the main paragraph on page 474 is wonderful. Notice how King is acting like a tour guide. He suddenly moves to present active tense and speaks directly to the reader. It is as if the constant reader has been transported inside the Dome and is sitting a-top the store roof with Mr. King as he points out what's going on.

• "There is a pause, a moment of in-drawn breath. think of a cat teetering on two wheels, deciding whether or not to go over."
• "See Rose Twitchell looking around..."
• "See Anson put his arm around her waist."
• "Listen to George Roux howl through her hanging mouth..." (yuck)
• "See the reinforcements."
• "Next comes Linda Everett.."
• "See Julia arrive just behind Linda and Marty..."
• "See frank DeLesseps kneel down beside Mel just in time to avoid another rock..."
• "Then... then someone yells. . ."

This is all stuff your English teacher will tell you not to do. But it's stuff readers love! Now, it's annoying when a writer stays in that mode for an entire novel. King doesn't even stay there for one whole page. But when he uses this narrative style, it is very powerful.

THE CANNIBALS:

From Dome Journal #1: Having read the first 120 pages of the Cannibals, I can honestly say that this version is much, much stronger. In the Cannibals people simply spent their time trying to open the door. Interesting, but not superly superly interesting. But the dome coming over an entire town opens the story up. The problems here are going to be much bigger than doors that won't open.

King doesn't take the long build up he did with Needful Things and other books. The action is immediate. The payoff's start coming quickly.

From 2009 Review of The Cannibals: talkstephenking.blogspot: The mystery revolves mostly around doors not opening. I'm sure this is explained much uller in the rest of the text. I only caught one reference to what was happening outside. "Daylight was starting to come out there, but Pulaski could not remember ever having seen a daylight quite like this one -- thin, watery, almost wavery. For a moment he was struck by unreality, by a sense that somehow his eyes were deceiving him. . ." p.42 Then we drop into a flashback.

King cut off on a pretty good line: "for the first time he felt something pierce his confusion and harried annoyance at being late. He found nothing welcome about the new emotion. It was fear." p.61 hehe -- that's good!

What's brutal is what a good read this is. There's a lot oo energy to it. Just straight story! King explains the apartment, moves to his character, speeds through a normal morning, and then slams the whole story into a great problem. No one can get out. I assume by the title that they won't be going to Vons anytime soon. Who gets eaten? Who does the eating? Gosh, my appetite is indeed wetted, Mr. King!

(Unfortunately, Under The Dome never caused the characters to become the Donner Party)

TSK: Under The Dome and Cannibals

Monsters On Maple Street

From Dome Journal #9: This book is starting to remind me of that Twilight Zone episode, "The Monsters are due on Maple Street." One of the things I like about King's writing is that he develops themes we are familiar with in new ways. Some seem to see this as a weakness, I enjoy it very much. Besides, King has the ability to up the ante. And I always believe that King gets his ideas out of his own head -- he's not stealing from The Simpson's or Twilight Zone. Anyway, Serling only gave us a quick "what if. . ." while King gives us the full answer "this is what would happen!"

Perhaps even more pointedly, the book reminds me of Star Trek's "Charlie X." (Because in that episode, the Enterprise and crew and nothing more than an alien child's toys.)  The book has also been compared to an "adult version of Lord of the Flies." Appropriate, since it deals with how people change when there is not a larger body to enforce the rules. (Dome Notes)

QUESTIONS. . . 

• Does anyone notice that all of the pictures of UNDER the dome are from OUT of the dome? Why doesn't someone draw a picture of Under The Dome?  (Dome Journal #3)
• Note: The dome traces the exact border of the town. Leading to a question: Is the town a circle? Am I missing something?  (Dome Journal #4)
• I wonder if Julia Shumway is in anyway modeled after Anne Colter. (Dome Journal #4)
• So, what stops the dome from reappearing in another part of the U.S.?
• Is this Science Fiction or Horror?
• Can I buy one of those boxes somewhere? 
• Will the bad guys come to a better-bad end?  
• Did anyone do a body count?  (Anyone want to volunteer to keep the body count for the TV series ?)

TELL ME YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE NOVEL UNDER THE DOME 

News and Notes From King's Live Talk About UTD

CBS has posted the live chat with Stephen King at www.cbs.com

NEWS:

• King said he asked to write an episode next season.
• He is currently writing a book called REVIVAL.

MY NOTES:

INSPIRATION: Naturally King is asked what inspired  Under The Dome.  He doesn't know where the idea came from,  but offers some of his first images of what the story would be.  He says, "It was a lot of fun to create that situation."  (King does like to destroy the world, doesn't he?)  He notes  he tried it in 72 and the story was just too big for him at the time.  He put it aside and wrote Carrie instead.

CHARACTERS: Asked what the best part is of seeing his story come to screen, King said it was the opportunity to see characters he created in his mind come to life.  "Sometimes it's fun to see what set designers do with places you made up."

He says that Barbie is his favorite character; however, he also says that he likes whatever character he's working on at the moment -- even the bad  ones.  This explains why his character development is so strong.  He notes the tougher  part is being the women, since he can only do that by observation.  That's interesting, since both my wife and mother have mentioned how amazing it is that he can get inside a woman's head. "It's kind of interesting and challenging to be a woman for a while," King says. He calls it, "Creative cross-dressing."  (Check out my article, Seven Reasons We Read Stephen King, #4 He's A Woman Talk Stephen King seven-reasons-we-read-stephen-king)

He said he does get to have a part in the casting of actors to play his characters.  He also notes that he keeps character lists to help him remember who's who.  This is funny -- King says that after writing Gerald's Game, which is just about one character, his wife Tabitha said his next book would be called "Living Room" and would have no characters at all.

King was asked which character best embodies him.  King quickly responded Gordon Lachance from The Body. "If I've written anything autobiographical in my life, it's that."  He then insists there is not a lot of autobiographical stuff in most of his book.  "Folks," he seems to say to the world, "I'm making this stuff up."

FAVORITE BOOK: King said asking a writer what their favorite book is that's like asking someone who their favorite kid is.  "I like them all," he insists.  He said he really loves the book he is currently working on.  Presently he is writing a book called "Revival."  King said he is abut halfway through with it and totally in love with the book. He also noted a special place in his heart for Lisey's story, because he associates it with a good time in his own life.  He says the most difficult was Pet Sematary.   He also says the character he would most like to meet is Dolores Claiborne.

The Language: When asked about all the short cuts in the language (like in facebook, twitter and when texting) the linguistic prude in King comes out!  He doesn't like using "2" for two, and so on.

MUSIC: King says when he wrote Lisey's story, he switched to listening almost completely to old country music.  "A lot of times what I do these days, when I'm composing, I'm just composing and the room is completely quiet.  When I edit I let it rip.  I have a real weakness for metal, disco." He likes AC/DC, Gloria Gainer, Donna Summer, Metallica, Judas Priest.

The Message Of Under The Dome: King said the message of Under The Dome is that we all live under the dome.  "We're all on planet earth, and we're not going anywhere, not in the next  hundred years.   We have diminishing resources."  There is so much gas, food, medicine and good air -- that's the situation we're all in.

Under the Dome by Stephen King Summer Readalong

Are you hyped about Under the Dome yet?  I am -- so long as I'm not the one under the dome!

Angie and Angela's Anxious Life is having a Under The Dome Readalong.  This looks like a lot of fun!  She writes:

As some of you may know I love Stephen King. I run the goodreads Stephen King Fans group and shockingly I haven't read Under the Dome yet. The size of this book makes my eyes fall out of my head. But I am going to do it... I mean I did read the Stand!! One of the main reasons I need to get this book read is because in June the show is going to start on CBS and I must read this before it starts. I always like to read the book BEFORE a movie/show.

The guidelines are listed at her blog, and this:

So if you have been meaning to read this like myself this is a great way to motivate yourself. Be sure to stop by Coffee and a Book Chicks' blog and sign up!

angelasanxiouslife.blogspot.com

Hoping CBS Will Change The Ending Of UTD

Brian Vaughn was quoted discussing Under The Dome at zap2it.com.  "There's sort of a perhaps slightly different explanation for the dome," Vaughn said.

Often when Hollywood makes major changed to the plot or structure of a King novel, the fans roar disapproval.  That's why we like it when King writes the script -- we know at least any changes will have King's blessing.

Needful Things is a prime example.  A story that was tense, dark, character driven and gory turned into something that was. . . dull, preachy and pointless.  A huge fight scene was reduced to a sermon.  I would also argue that the ending of The Mist was so dark, so terrible that it harms the whole story for me.  The ending was pointless, simply a means of shocking an audience -- certainly not necessary to the story.  The ending of The Mist did not in any way further our understanding of what had happened, it just darkened things.

When Hollywood messes up a King story,  you're left defending the written work with your friends who didn't bother to read  it. "No, really, you gotta read the book!  It was a lot scarier!"

However, I am pretty excited that with Under The Dome, CBS will be changing some of the plot and the source of the dome.  Why?  Because I think the ending to the novel was weak.  Not bad, just not a home run.  So it was a really good novel about people, but a really bad explanation of why the dome itself popped up.  I'm glad some fresh ideas have been brought to the table.  More than that, knowing that there are new answers will make me want to watch the series all the more!

King emphasized when Under The Dome was first released that he was not really interested in HOW the Dome worked.  What became evident upon reading the novel is that he was also not real interested in WHY the dome came down to begin with.  The answer went something like this, "Well, there are these leatherhead aliens, and they are very very very far beyond us.  They do not understand that we too, though we are like ants, have feelings and emotions.  But if we can convince them they are hurting us, they might have mercy."  Imagine Bill Cosby doing Noah -- "riiiight!"

I'm not the only one who thinks a different ending to UTD is a good idea.  Vaughn says, "I nervously pitched Stephen King what a different version of the ending might be ... He said, 'I wish I'd thought of that.'"  He then addd, "Which, I suspect, is just Stephen being kind.  But he's been great."

Or maybe it's not just King being nice.  Maybe they actually thought of an ending better than the one in the novel!

I did enjoy reading Under The Dome quite a bit.  But once I got to the end, it did not call me back. The idea was cool, even the characters were good -- mostly -- but the answers didn't work for me. So while I liked the theme and the characters, even the various plot turns are lost on me now.  I have a feel for how the novel went, but not a commitment for "that's how it ought to be."

Sometimes Hollywood's reworking of a story actually makes it better.  I thought that was true of Secret Window, which was in my opinion a much better movie than novel.

Tell me, what changes to King stories has Hollywood made that you think are just great?

Here are 2 movies Hollywood changed the ending to for the better:
1. Carrie.  The hand coming up from the grave --  brilliant!
2. Cujo.  Should the kid live or die?  I think the movie got it right.

Under The Dome Trailer Gives Extended Look

Huffington Post wrote:

The new footage can best be described as "explosive," given that we see everything from a plane to a house go up in smoke, illustrating the panic and chaos that grips the inhabitants of Chester's Mill after a giant, impenetrable dome inexplicably traps the town. 

CBS gives shout out to The Simpsons

EW reports:

the upcoming series version of Under the Dome will throw a reference back to The Simpsons in its third episode. “We do make a reference to The Simpsons Movie,” showrunner Neal Baer told EW. “We have a ‘recharge party’ in episode 3 and the kids are watching it.” 

There won’t be actual footage of the film in the scene, but it’s definitely in the script. “We make a verbal reference,” Baer teases.

Full story: insidetv.ew.com

Under The Dome News

CBS has given June 24th as the official release date for the Under The Dome series. I am really excited.

Christina Radish at collider.com talked to CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler about several upcoming projects. She said that we can expect to start seeing ads for the show during the Super Bowl. That's pretty neat. It means they are serious about getting viewers, and dropping a lot of money on this! She also noted that filming would begin shooting in Wilmington, North Carolina this February.

Tassler said about the script "I read it over the weekend, and I loved it. Ever since Jericho, I’ve loved these big-idea shows. I loved this script. And the auspices aren’t too shabby."

She reminded everyone "You’re talking about Stephen King. You’re talking about Steven Spielberg. We had a meeting with Brian K. Vaughan, who is also not chopped liver, and what we heard was this extraordinary vision for 13 episodes, and beyond."

The beyond worries me a bit. If they leave this open ended it could get frustrating. 

Hoping Under The Dome Shines

I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment expressed by Pat Clark in his article for the The Modesto Bee titled, "Hoping TV Doesn't Mess Up Under The Dome." YES! (yes yes yes yes yes!!!)

He has a lot of typical complaints about Stephen King adaptations -- some I agree with, some I don't. For instance, he does not seem to like the Kubrick version of The Shining, which I thought was an outstanding movie. But, more on target I think, he blasts Molly Ringwald's performance as Franny in The Stand. And I liked The Stand. . . but not Ringwald.

Clark observes, "As any fan of his books can tell you, one of the main things that makes King king is his talent for creating charac-ters. He pens people you feel like you're friends with, people you feel like you're standing side-by-side with as they weave through their stories. So it's only obvious that casting should be the No. 1 thing to get right when filming his works."

That is absolutely right on! It's all about who plays who! Misery worked first because of right casting. Same is true of Carrie and The Green Mile.

About Under The Dome, Clark writes:

So it's with some trepidation that I look forward to the upcoming TV series this summer based on King's "Under the Dome" on CBS. Reportedly, 13 episodes have been ordered, so far.

On the good news side, Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment is producing the series and King is on board as an executive producer, all this according to a Los Angeles Times story last week.

My only fear with a series is that they will take a leisurely pace getting started -- then get canceled and have to rush the ending without a strong middle story.

Here's a fan made Under The Dome movie trailer.  

THE BUBBLE!

Remember all the complaining that went on when King published Under The Dome?  It was  compared to The Simpsons. I was doing some research today into Arch Oboler, one of the radio's great scare masters.

One of Oboler's films was titled, "The Bubble."  Guess what it was about!  From Wikipedia:

A young couple, Mark (Cole) and Katherine (Walley) are traveling on a small airplane and are forced to land in a remote town where the people are behaving oddly. They then attempt to escape from the town, but discover that there is a giant glass-like force field bubble around it that prevents anyone from leaving.

TCM gives a fuller synopsis, including these tidbits:

 the visitors discover that the area is covered by a huge, transparent dome and that once a week a resident disappears, presumably to be studied by the aliens who have trapped the community in a "zoo." Mark and Catherine take refuge in an old mill in the countryside while Mark attempts to dig an escape tunnel under the dome.

Unfortunately, the movie gets terrible reviews!  Apparently Oboler's great success in radio did not transfer naturally to the big screen.  Alas, the theater of the mind is best of all.  The poor reviews, bad acting, bad directing, might explain why Oboler chose  not to show viewers any of the film int he preview below!

Under The Dome CD Cover

Here is a cover for Under The Dome that I had not previously seen.  It is for the CD's.

Does Stephen King Need Help Developing Storylines?

Ellen LaConte has an article titled, "Why Stephen King Can Help Save Us From Climate Change." 

Oh really!  He can?  I didn't know that super-power was in his bag of tricks.  But, ya never know what the King of Horror has to offer us.  Personally, I thought saving the earth was for Captain Kirk. 

LaConte writes the article as a letter to Stephen King.  This makes me think she's actually serious!  Anyway, just the opener is a dozy: "Dear Stephen King, Most of your books are too scary for me."  She admits she doesn't read much Stephen King, but her son does.  Just like study, if you lay on the book, it sinks in -- and if you live in the house with someone who's read Stephen King, then it's just like you've read 'em!

So what can Stephen King do to save the planet?  Well, LaConte has a great idea: he should write a politically driven novel.  RIGHT!  That's new stuff, isn't it?  And this novel should be about the environment.

Wait a minute, every Stephen king fan in the world will say, King has already written that book! It was called: Under The Dome!  Someone proof reading the article must have figured this out, because she then gives this quick aside -- to King, of course -- "Now I know, Mr. King, that you're familiar with the predicament we're in, which is scarier even than the hot-housed version of some of our present quandaries you offered up in Under the Dome, which is saying a lot."  Did she read the novel to the end?  There was NO AIR!  She wants King to get "scarier" than that?  I guess he could have let the characters suffocate, but it really couldn't get much worse than UTD.

But have no fear.  You see, King doesn't need to come up with a storyline -- LaConte has written up a storyline for Stephen King.  Because, you know, he apparently calls her when he's out of ideas.  Her outline. . . has to do with HIV, the global economy and the breakdown of society.  Yes!  The breakdown of society.  Because, again, this is unexplored territory.

Can I just ask. . .
1. Why is anyone publishing this stuff?
2. If she wants to write a letter to King, why doesn't she just mail it to him?  If she can't afford the stamp, she could email it.
3. Does she really think King needs her help getting story ideas?
4. Is she truly unaware that her storyline is not really all that unique?

Of course, this is all necessary, because Hollywood hasn't done any global disaster films related to the climate, right?  oh, wait. . . does anyone remember Day After Tomorrow?  No?  You didn't miss much.  Basically -- movie in short -- global warming really means global cooling; and Mexico might be America's last best hope.  Yep, that was the plot as I remember it. 
What is interesting is that LaConte thinks King needs to add his voice to the problem.  That's what will help.  But it's not like King has been silent on this, or an array of issues!  In fact, many of his novels have been issues driven.  He described Needful Things as a commentary on the 80's spending.  The Dead Zone speaks about Nukes.  Pet Sematary is about animal rights. . . wait, I might be wrong on that one.  Cujo is!  No, that's not it! 
 
http://www.alternet.org/environment/151226/why_stephen_king_can_help_save_us_from_climate_change?page=1

Brian Keene: Influenced By The Mist

I like what I've read of Brian Keene. In fact, he's one of those authors I plan to read more of. Keene's book Darkness at the Edge of Town looks particularly interesting. One of the things I like about Keene is that he is not at all ashamed to admit that other authors inspired him.

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This is from Keene's webpage:

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Q: Was this a homage to The Mist?
A: Not a homage in the way Castaways was a homage to Richard Laymon or Urban Gothic was a homage to Edward Lee, but DotEoT was certainly influenced by The Mist, and the novel proudly wears that influence on its sleeve. The Mist is one of the most important works of horror fiction in the last fifty years, and remains one of my personal favorites (it also influenced The Conqueror Worms).

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Later Keene writes:

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Q: Plot-wise, DotEoT seems similar to Under the Dome?
A: In the sense that people are trapped inside a small-town, yes. But both are riffs on a much older theme, and DotEoT was published (in hardcover) a full year before Dome.

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http://www.briankeene.com/?p=3386

Under The Dome nominated Black Quill Award

DARK GENRE NOVEL OF THE YEAR:
(Novel-length work of horror, suspense, or thriller from a mainstream publisher; awarded to the author)

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A Dark Matter by Peter Straub (Doubleday)
Kraken by China Miéville (Del Rey)
Sparrow Rock by Nate Kenyon (Leisure / Bad Moon Books)
The Caretaker of Lorne Field by David Zeltserman (Overlook Hardcover)
The Passage by Justin Cronin (Ballantine)

Under The Dome (Stephen King)

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By the way, it's nice to see King and Cronin's work side by side. What I've read of The Passage was absolutely awesome!

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see full list of nominations here: http://www.darkscribemagazine.com/4th-annual-bqa-nominees