YOUTUBE: Stephen Rebello Talks About The Making of Psycho

This is cool!  Stephen Rebello, author of Alfred Hitchcock and The Making Of Psycho has a short video where her discusses the film Psycholand and the movie as a reflection of popular culture. Check it out, as he also shows off his incredible collection of vintage movie posters.


Nina shared with me,

"Stephen Rebello is an expert on Psycho and his book on the subject is being turned into a movie starring Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren."

I can't wait for that movie!

Here's the youtube video:

You can buy Rebello's book HERE.
Thanks to Nina.

Misery Journal #4: Annie and the Overlook Hotel

Misery is scary.  I mean, it is messed  up scary.

The Shining

Know what it's a lot like?  The Shining.  Think about it: A man trapped (as Danny was trapped) while he watches the person who controls his life go steadily more and more insane.

It turns out that Paul is not Annie's first captive.  Discussing a photographer she murdered, Annie tells Paul:

He was going to go up to the old hotel and sketch the ruins. His pictures were going to be with an article they were doing. It was a famous old hotel called the Overlook. It burned down ten years ago. The caretaker burned it down. He was crazy. Everybody in town said so. But never mind; he’s dead.

That's pretty neat!

Sledgehammer or AX ?

Now, for the worst part: The famous scene in which Annie breaks Paul's legs. . . that's not in the book.  No sir.  No leg breaking here.  It's worse -- fantastically worse.  Instead of breaking is legs,  she chops off his foot with an ax and cauterizes with a blowtorch.

What King is really good at is build up.  Annie doesn't just swing and ax and ouchie. . . Paul has a new boo-boo.  No, King builds  up to this.  It is painful as he watches Annie set up shop and prepare to do the deed.  More than that, there is a lot of dialogue here as Annie talks on and on.  And, she just happens to mention she gave him a pre-op shop.  As she rambles, the reader and Paul both wonder the same thing -- why did a serial killer just give Paul a pre-op shop?  What kind of operation is Mr. Sheldon in for?

I would have thought so much talking without action would be a writing no-no. . . but it actually builds incredible suspense.  As a reader, you connect deeply with Paul because you are wondering, "Where's she going with this?  What's that crazy lady about to do?"

Once Annie has decided what she is going to do, and has explained to Paul why she's going to do it -- she drops into something like a trance.  She's no longer just crazy Annie, she is now deadly Annie.

he understood that when this was over, she would have only the vaguest memories of what she had done, as she had only the vaguest memories of killing the children and the old people and the terminal patients and Andrew Pomeroy.

The careful buildup doesn't mean King cheats the reader for a moment once the chopping begins.  I'd offer  up some  quotes here. .  .  but I won't.  The writing at this point is unusually vivid -- and should be read in context.

LINK: Hernandez Review Of The Gunslinger

I enjoyed Josef Hernandez's short review of The Gunslinger.

Hernandez rightly points out that the book has no "actual  plot."  YES!  Plot will come,  in the sweet bye and bye with the Dark Tower -- namely in book two.  But  the first book serves to set the tone.

He says about the revised version: "I found myself enjoying it more than I have in the past. That may be because King has gone back over it and smoothed out the edges a bit as well as added some things that would come up later in the series to make it flow better. Or it could just be that I have a better appreciation for the series now than I had in the past."

I know Dark Tower purist were not happy with the revisions -- I'm all for it!  I haven't read the revised book, but I will when I reread the Dark Tower series.  Why not issue the book the way King wants it to read?  It makes sense after so many years of writing, to go back and rework the novel.  More than that, the writing itself was reworked.

Hernandez also says that to him, King's obsession with The Dark Tower "has become too much."  Certainly not!

He writes:

In its own right, “The gunslinger” is a good book, although not one of King’s best, but leaves the reader wanting for more. The revised edition is much better than the first edition that was published as it is easier to read and the story flows smoothly. If you are looking to enter into this world for the first time or to travel with Roland once again, “The gunslinger” will serve as the doorway into the mind of Stephen King as he chases his elusive dreams.

The full review  is at examiner.com

Misery Journal #3: Journal Of A Serial Killer

I’m loving the book.  I’ve assumed I had a good grasp on Misery because the movie was so very faithful.  Fans could not ask for a better adaptation of the book. That said, no screen adaptation could reproduce what King has done on the page.

Writing:

“Over the years Paul had grown more and more resigned to the fact that he could not read stories as he had when he was a kid; by becoming a writer of them himself, he had condemned himself to a life of dissection.” – Misery, p.151

When you do something often, it can become difficult to enjoy the art itself.  Misery touches on a period in Paul’s life when he found it difficult to enjoy other people’s writing without being a critic.  Makes sense – dancers each think they can do better than the person on stage; writers can be tempted to think they can write a better book than another writer.  Even preachers can struggle to listen to someone else preach, because they sit there thinking, “I wouldn’t have done that with  that text. . .” or “I would have said that much better.”

It is a sad thought – because a person perticipates in a form of art, they can reach a point where they no longer enjoy other people’s finished product.  I wonder if movie directors find it difficult to watch movies; or if cooks have trouble eating someone elses food.  Don’t laugh, just watch food network.

Journal Of A Serial Killer

Misery is nerve racking throughout; but mid novel, King really ups the anti.  While Annie is out, Paul leaves his room.  First, obviously, he wants to see if there is a way to escape the house.  Second, he needs to steal food and meds, since Annie is not there to care for him.  What Paul finds on his journey through Annie’s house is at first just flat out disgusting.  Annie loves food, and does not love cleaning.  So her house is pretty trashed.

As Paul explores, he finds something deeply disturbing: A journal.  It is full of news paper clippings, neatly organized in chronlogical order.  They include articles about Annie’s family – her father and husband – and their deaths.  Paul discovers the entire scrap book is a book of death!

Annie, a Nurse, is a serial killer.  She killed her family, killed old people in the hospital, and then moved on to kill babies.  At one point, Paul has the body count at thirty.

• Here are some of the headings he thumbs through: 
• Five Die In Apartment House Fire
• Bakersfield Accountant Dies In Freak Fall
• USC Student Dies In Freak Fall
• Head Maternity Nurse Questioned In Infant Deaths
• Three More Infant Deaths In Boulder Hospital

As Paul goes through the notebook, the reader begins to sense his dread.  He is trapped in the home of a serial killer.  I love the way this turns the tables!  Usually it is a woman who is helplessly left in the clutches of a man, tied up or blindfolded so she cannot escape.  But King has a man, bound to a wheelchair – in excruciating pain – at the mercy of a very wicked and sick woman.

I was wondering if it is realistic for a serial killer to keep such neat, clean notes of their crimes.  Actually, I think it’s very realistic!  Criminals seem to have a need to document and remember their crimes.  Ted Bundy revisited his crime scenes.  The book is a way for Annie to keep her victims near her.

Whining:

I’ve been reading Misery as I also press through several frustrations . . . like my computer going to Blue screen.  It’s fixed, but I lost a sermon – which represents 10-15 hours of work.  I’ve been telling everyone that the lost sermon is the “greatest sermon ever.”  After all, no one will ever know, right?!  Reproducing a sermon already written is impossible.  Have to just assume God had another plan and struggle with the text again.

And, as I fight with a computer – I’m listening to Misery.  How appropriate!

Sound Track For Carrie Musical

Broadway World has noted that Amazon.com is releasing a CD titled, "premiere cast", a recording for CARRIE: THE MUSICAL.  The CD is set to be released September 25.

Broadway World gives this brief history of the musical:

Off-Broadway's reworked and re-imagined production of Carrie, the musical, had its first preview on January 31, 2012, at the Lucille Lortel Theatre. The show opened officially on March 1, 2012. Carrie was forced to cut short its previously announced extension and closed following the evening performance on Sunday, April 8, 2012, after 34 previews and 46 performances. 

Based on Stephen King's bestselling novel, the musical of Carrie hadn't been seen since its legendary 1988 Broadway production. The show's original authors joined with director Stafford Arima (Altar Boyz) and MCC Theater for a newly reworked and fully re-imagined vision of the gripping tale. 

The full article is HERE

CD Offers Stephen King Movie Trivia Book

This is cool!  Cemetery Dance is a busy publisher.  On the heels of anouncing The Illustrated Stephen King Trivia Book, they are releasing news of the New Stephen King Movie Trivia Book.

Cemetery Dance offers this description of the book:

The Illustrated Stephen King Movie Trivia Book by Brian James Freeman (The Illustrated Stephen King Trivia Book), Hans-Åke Lilja (Lilja's Library: The World of Stephen King), and Kevin Quigley (Wetware: On the Digital Frontline With Stephen King) features more than 1,000 questions to test your knowledge of the movies, miniseries, and television episodes based on ideas conjured from the imagination of the King of Horror, along with more than 50 special illustration-based questions from Cemetery Dance favorite artist Glenn Chadbourne!

In addition, the book concludes with a special afterword by Mick Garris, director of The Stand, The Shining, Riding the Bullet, Desperation, Bag of Bones, and many others!

The Illustrated Stephen King Movie Trivia Book includes material right up through this year and no Stephen King collection will be complete without it!

You can purchase the book HERE.

Polyvore: THE SHINING

My daughter having fun on Polyvore.  Check it out HERE.

Tabitha and Stephen King Foundation Award Grants to Maine Libraries

In the clutter of several Stephen King news articles – I found this one in particular interesting. This short piece of news was posted at www.maine.gov by Valerie Osborne, August 8,2012.

During the month of July several Maine libraries received news that they had been awarded grants from the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation. Once again, Maine libraries are so fortunate to benefit from the generosity of this Foundation. Libraries have shared with us their delight in learning that their library was a recipient of a grant from the Kings in this latest round of awards. Keep in mind that the list includes only those libraries that shared this information with the Maine State Library.

Abel J, Morneault Memorial Library (Van Buren) $20,000 bathroom and entry way renovation 

• Edythe Dyer Community Library (Hampden) $10,000 boiler replacement

• Bingham Union Library $6,000 replace furnace

• Lincoln Memorial Library (Lincoln) $1,500 Read it Forward Program 

• Treat Memorial Library (Livermore Falls) $25,000 HVAC project

• Millinocket Memorial Library $30,000 to replace windows

• Brownfield Public Library $800 new conference table

• South Berwick Public Library $50,000 shelving for new facility

Remainders Last Show On THE LATE SHOW

CBS has posted the August 6 episode of The Late Show with Craig Ferguson.  The Rock Bottom Remainders played their last gig on the show, and Ferguson interviewed King.

Ferguson expressed confusion about the cover of the Wind Through the Keyhole.  He also noted that on the jacket cover, King seems like an "angry lookin' man."  They also discussed writing.  Ferguson said King is a "genre of his own."  I like that!  King says he read a lot of Poe and Lovecraft, but was impacted most by California writers like Richard Matheson and Ray Bradbury.

King emphasizes he is a regular guy -- his wife is not scared of him.  His job is to drag the trash. . . write a book.  Funny -- you sorta gotta see it.

King says that print interviews like to ask when he was like as a kid, with the real question being what happened to him as a kid that messed him up so bad.

Funny, King notes that he does not know how popular he'll be after he dies, but then says, "I'm not sure I'll care!  I don't think I'll be hanging around libraries as a ghost 'reeeeed my booook'."

They also discuss things that scare us all. . . like clowns!  "That clown figure is the same in a lot of cultures, societies.  Children have the same reaction to them everywhere."

The show is great.  CBS  online is a little. . . commercial intensive.  I can't complain, I am watching their show for free!  Check it out.

The episode is at  www.cbs.com

The Overlook's Past Matters

With many of us -- most of us -- rolling our eyes in disgust at the idea of a prequel to The Shining, I thought it was worth noting King's comments on the Hotel's past.

I was reading through Stephen King goes to Hollywood, when this quote got my attention:

“My screenplay, which Kubrick chose not to use, was considerably different from the script that came out at his end.  For one, my screen play was pegged even more heavily than the book on something Kubrick never touch on: the past of the hotel.  It says in ‘Salems Lot, ‘An evil house calls evil men.’  That was the idea in THE SHINING.  The hotel was not evil because those had been there, but thsoe people went there because the place was evil.”

–Speaking of The Shining with Christopher Evans

King is saying that  the Hotel's past matters to the texture of the story.  Of course, I think King's version of The Shining (the ABC mini-series) gave a lot of history and back story. I enjoyed that Mini-series a lot!  I wonder how much of King's original script, the one given to Kubrick, was used to create the mini-series.  I  wonder what happened to that script.

Smythe's review of The Stand

James Smythe at gaurdian.co.uk has posted a unique review of The Stand.  (HERE)  The article is the the next installment of his journey to read the King books in chronological order.  Like most King readers, the Stand is a favorite of Smythe's.  And, like many of us,  he discovered the Stand while  he was young.

Smythe begins with the conclusion that The Stand is essentially the book of Job -- with a little fantasy thrown in.

About the line-up, Smythe writes:

Where King's previous antagonists were small fry (or protagonists flipped on their heads), Randall Flagg is never less than pure evil. He has a counterpart, as all evils should: Mother Abigail, 108 years old, who communes with God, and who is the frail good to Flagg's evil. 

Job and Revelation:

And, about the Biblical book of Job (pronounced Jobe) Smythe  offers:

I read once that The Stand was essentially the Book of Job, with the survivors in Job's place: tested by good and evil both; pushed and challenged to see how much they could endure, as if their suffering were a game. There's a little more epic fantasy here than in the Bible, maybe, and it ends not with a war, but with an accident; with the chaos of Trashcan Man finding a weapon, and with Flagg's showing off going to far. But I can still see it. Good wins by default, because evil cannot. Those were the rules in the Old Testament, and they're the rules now.

That's an interesting perspective.  The Stand is very much like Job!  However, in Biblical terms, I think the Stand is more like the book of Revelation.  (No "s" in Revelation.)  Plagues are poured out on the world, evil rises up and people must choose which side they will turn to.  As evil rises, the good must decide if they will  bow down  to evil (take the mark of the beast) or stand up against evil (the mark of God.)  Yet, in the end, man cannot stand against evil alone, only the work of God can end it.  Thus in revelation fire comes from heaven and destroys the enemies of God, while in the Stand, the finger of God brings an end to evil.

What I like about The Stand as end-time fiction is that it does not play the rapture game.  The rapture is a ridiculous view -- new to the scene theologically -- that God will rapture out his people before the Great Tribulation.  In this case, King gets it more right than the Left Behind series!  God does not rapture his people out in the hour of evil, he expects them to "stand."  In fact, Christ clearly said that those  who "stand to the end will be saved." (Matt. 24:13)

Here's a fuller  post of mine on The Stand and the Bible.

An American Lord Of The Rings

As I read this, I keep wanting to shout, "me too, me too!"  For instance, Smythe notes that King said in the introduction that  he wanted to write something like Lord  of the Rings.  He notes, "I didn't read Tolkien when I was a kid, I read this."  YES!  Me too.  I did read Lord of the Rings -- for as long as I could.  I find Lord of the Rings difficult.  I know this will offend many, but it does not connect with me at all.  It seems like they just walk around a lot.  (I just realized that in The Stand. . . there's a lot of walking around!)

That said, what does  connect with me is The Stand.  It is more than an American version of Lord of the Rings, I think it reaches far beyond.  The Stand doesn't build an unknown world as a stage for its characters to play on -- in the Stand, the characters are on our stage.  

Some of my favorite lines (from the Smythe review)

• The Stand is a masterpiece. . . 
• When swine flu broke out in 2009, I lost track of the number of tweets referring to it as Captain Trip.
• About Flagg: "I've mentioned him before – in my Carrie and Night Shift rereads – but here's where he makes his grand entrance."
•  This is my most reread book.
• as I read The Stand again, I realised that I am wholly, totally indebted to King's book.

Might Russell Crowe Be Roland Deschain?

The Dark Tower might be back on track !  And, a new Roland is a real possibility.

Mike Fleming at Deadline has posted  news that Akiva Goldsman has given Warner  Brothers a new script for the first installment of The Dark Tower.  A decision to green light the film or not will be made "within two weeks."

And for the big question. .  . who would  be playing Roland Deschain?  How about Russell Crowe?  Fleming writes: "I’m told that director Ron Howard and producers Brian Grazer and Goldsman have been talking with their A Beautiful Mind star Russell Crowe about playing Deschain."

Fleming clariies that there is "no deal with Crowe" at the present time.


My wife gives the "oh yeah" go ahead to Crowe. . . I have no idea why.  She  says he has the "rugged masculinity" that characterizes Roland.  "After all," she declared with a bit  too  much delight, "he was Gladiator."  Oh well, my vote is still for Clint Eastwood.

The full article is at www.deadline.com

Misery Journal #2: Prequel To On Writing

I am about half way through the Stephen King novel Misery.  Originally slated to be a Bachman novel, Misery was ultimately published under King’s own name.  This is because the big secret was uncovered. . . Stephen King was indeed Richard Bachman.  Misery is an unrelentingly painful book, with very few spots of sunshine.  I like the book very much.

Some observations as I’ve been reading:

1.  The writing.

The book itself revolves almost completely, thus far at least, around the two central characters of Paul and Annie.  Further, King never switches view points.  The reader receives all information from Paul Sheldon’s point of view.  This means that the reader is immersed in Paul’s internal thought processes and perspective.  When he blacks out, the narrative blacks out with him.  When Paul suffers, believe me, King is a skilled enough writer to carry the reader right into his suffering.

In one scene, as Paul explores the house, King brilliantly breaks up the intensity of the Paul’s thoughts and the action sequence by bringing in the voice of a sports caster.  Of course, that voice is in Paul’s head!  In another scene, the typewriter itself becomes a character and talks to Mr. Sheldon!

I thought you were supposed to be good, the typewriter said— his mind had invested it with a sneering and yet callow voice: the voice of a teen-age gunslinger in a Hollywood western, a kid intent on making a fast reputation here in Deadwood. You’re not so good. Hell, you can’t even please one crazy overweight ex-nurse. Maybe you broke your writing bone in that crash, too ... only that bone isn’t healing.

At another point he hears the Red Queen lecturing Alice.

To the reader, these scenes (the sportscaster, the typewriter, the Red Queen) help break up the long sections of monologue running through Paul’s head.

The movie opened Misery up quite a bit by adding the character of the Sherif and his wife.  This broke up the long scenes between Annie and Paul.

2. Annie's many tortures

Annie has many ways of torturing Paul.  This is mostly because she herself is a tortured soul. (Hurt people. . . hurt people.)  Here are a few ways thus far that Annie has tortured Paul:

• She left him without food or care for several days.
• She messes with his meds.  In particular, she gets him addicted and then refuses access to medication.
• She beats him at times.
• She forced him to burn his book, Fast Cars.  This was probably one of the most painful things!
• She reminds him often of his hopeless situation.  She encourages him to scream, because no one is coming.
• . . . and don’t I know, there is so much more to come!

3. Prequel to On Writing

Since "prequel" talk is in the air. . . I think Misery serves as a prequel to King’s book, “On Writing.”  Or it is the novelized version.  I know this is not intentional, but in Misery, King takes the reader deep inside the writing process.

When Paul agrees to write a sequel to his latest Misery novel, Annie is not pleased with the first few pages.  She calls the new work a “cheat.”  She clarifies that she has no problem with a writer using plot lines that might seem unlikely – so long as they are consistent within the confines of the work.  What is unfair is to just pretend something didn’t happen!

This is from Paul’s head:

deus ex machina, the god from the machine, first used in Greek amphitheaters. When the playwright got his hero into an impossible jam, this chair decked with flowers came down from overhead. The hero sat down in it and was drawn up and out of harm’s way. Even the stupidest swain could grasp the symbolism-the hero had been saved by God. But the deus ex machina— sometimes known in the technical jargon as “the old parachute-under-the-airplane-seat trick,” finally went out of vogue around the year 1700. Except, of course, for such arcana as the Rocket Man serials and the Nancy Drew books. I guess you missed the news, Annie. 

Annie explains the problem with an illustration from the Rocketman short films she used to watch every week as a kid.  She was upset one week when the story picked up, but made changes to the previous week.  Annie tells Paul, “The car went over the cliff, and all the kids in the theater were cheering because Rocket Man got out, but I wasn’t cheering, Paul. I was mad! I started yelling, ‘That isn’t what happened last week! That isn’t what happened last week!’” and, ““He didn’t get out of the cockadoodie car! It went over the edge and he was still inside it! Do you understand that?”

Paul realizes that he can’t just write a quick book to please Annie, he is going to have to put real thought into this novel – because if he doesn’t bring Misery back to life somehow, Paul knows Annie is going to kill him.

Can a writer write for his life?  That was also a theme of The Dark Half.  Not just his dinner or his house. . . can he write if his life depends on it?  You betcha! But not joyfully.  Writing done at gun point is not the result of the overflow of the heart.  It’s mechanical and painful.

The typewriter sat there, smirking at him. “I hate you,” Paul said morosely, and looked out the window. (Misery)

And

TRYING TO HAVE AN IDEA wasn’t the same thing as GETTING AN IDEA. GETTING AN IDEA was a more humble way of saying I am inspired, or Eureka! My muse has spoken! (Misery)

4. What Annoys Me
Thus far, I only have one major complaint: I do not enjoy reading Mr. Sheldon’s writing.  I enjoy Stephen King very much!  But King feels the need to take us inside the novel Sheldon is writing. . . page by page, thus far!  I honestly don’t care about Ian, Geoffrey, or the doctor or the rest of them!  Very naughty of me, I know.

King doesn’t just give us a taste of Misery’s Return – he gives us full chapters.  If I were not listening to the book, I would be tempted to scan at this point.

Preview: King on Craig Ferguson show

Broadway.com has a preview of Stephen King on the Craig Ferguson show.

On the August 6th episode of CBS's THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH CRAIG FERGUSON, Craig chats with author Stephen King about his inspiration and plans for the future (as a ghost!). The episode airs August 6 at 12:37am ET/PT.



HERE is the original link.

CD Offers A Revised Illustrated Stephen King Trivia Book

Cemetery Dance has announced today that they will be publishing a revised version of The Illustrated Stephen King Trivia Book by Brian James Freeman and Bev Vincent. It includes material up to The Wind Through the Keyhole.  The afterword is by Kevin Quigley, who is the founder of Charnel House, which Cemetery Dance notes is, “one of the oldest Stephen King fan sites on the web.”

From Cemetery Dance:

This revised and updated second edition of The Illustrated Stephen King Trivia Book features all of the original questions from the first edition, along with more than one hundred new questions about Stephen King's most recent releases!

Also included are ten brand new illustration-based questions from Cemetery Dance favorite artist Glenn Chadbourne, along with the 60 illustration-based questions from the original edition. (See samples on the website.

Trade editions are $20.  Signed editions are $40.

Purchase The Illustrated Stephen King Trivia Book at www.cemeterydance.com

Thoughts On A Shining Prequel

With talk of a prequel to The Shining, I was interested in Christopher Campbell's piece at movies.com that discussed what direction a sequel to The Shining should go.

The article is full of wonderful quotes and insights.  My favorite is Campbell's own thoughts:

It's a bit confusing, or will be, that there will be two very different continuities going on with the tale of the Torrance family and the Overlook, although in a way these are somewhat separate stories, kind of like how Prometheus is a prequel to Alien but can itself spawn a whole other parallel-moving series. Maybe Warner Bros. will similarly want to go with further movies specific to the hotel. Personally, I can't wait for the one where the Overlook is launched into space and turned into a prison.

See, that's wonderful! And it is a problem, isn't it?  I mean, we have the Shining, then the movie,  then the mini-series, and the prequel and the sequel -- none of  them following quite the same streams of narration.

That said, I also appreciated this quote from Ethan Anderton:

Though I'd be interested in seeing what takes place at the Overlook Hotel, I'm a little skeptical without any source material from Stephen King. However, if Rise of the Planet of the Apes can craft a solid prequel to a classic film, then I suppose anything is possible. But Kubrick's shoes aren't going to be easy to fill. 

That's the spirit, mate! Of course,  I can think of a few prequel's that did not turn out as nicely as Rise of the Planet of the Apes; namely . . .  oh, I won't name names!  STAR WARS!  oops, it slipped out.

May I also point out that no matter how good a prequel is, it can't live up the Kubrick version of The Shining because there is not likely to be conspiracy groups who believe it was actually evidence of a fake moon landing.  (If you don't know what I'm talking about, you are so blessed!)

Campbell's article  is here:

Warner Brothers Considering a Prequel to The Shining

photo credit: LA TIMES

Jack Nicholson waits as director Stanley Kubrick 

sets up a shot for the 1980 classic film "The Shining." 

(The Stanley Kubrick Estate / July 28, 2012)

HERE'S JOHNNY AGAIN!, the The Los Angeles Times announces.  The times is reporting that Warner Brothers is "exploring the possibility of a prequel to 'The Shining.'"

Times reporter Steven Zeitchik writes:

Warner Bros.is quietly exploring the possibility of a prequel to “The Shining,” the 1980 Stanley Kubrickchillfest that many fans regard as the scariest movie of all time. The studio has solicited the involvement of Hollywood writer-producer Laeta Kalogridis and her partners Bradley Fischer and James Vanderbilt to craft a new take as producers, according to a person familiar with the project who was not authorized to talk about it publicly.

What happened at the hotel before Jack Torrance and his family arrived?  According to the novel, the old caretaker went crazy under the influence of evil spirits at the hotel and killed his entire family. So. . .the new movie would focus on the terrible events surrounding the death of the former caretakers family at the overlook.  Of course, this is exactly the same plot as the King novel, except instead of escaping – the family gets slaughtered instead.

King once said that his original plan for The Shining involved the entire Torrance family getting killed. Check out my article, "Alternate Ending To The Shining."  King is quoted in In Tim Underwood's book, Stephen King Goes To Hollywood:

"The Shining' was open right until the end. I didn't know what was going to happen until the very end. The shows in the book. The original plan was for them all to die up there and for Danny to become the controlling force o the hotel after he died. And the psychic force of the hotel would go up exponentially. . . But I got connected with the kid.

In the first draft of the book Jack beats his wife to death with the mallet and it was blood and brains and everything. It was really just terrible and I couldn't do it. I couldn't leave it that way." S.K. Goes To Hollywood, p.76

Oh, my favorite line from the Times article: "there's no word yet on whether there will be a movie adaptation of the new novel."  King doesn't even have to write sequel's to his own work for them to make children of the Corn part 304.

The Times Article is HERE.

Remainders On Late Show

My favorite King website -- Lilja's Library -- has the following bit of news:

The Rock Bottom Remainders will be on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on Aug 6. There will be interviews with King & Barry that was taped on June 22 in LA.

AWESOME! Also check out Lilja's contests.

SOURCE: Lilja's Library

Here are the Rock Bottom Remainders on a previous appearance of The Late Show:

Carrie Cast Prepares To Shoot The Prom Scene

picture credit: www.eonline

EONLINE posted an article titled, “Carrie Remake: Bloody Prom Scene Is ‘Gorgeous,’ Says Costar” by Mark Malkin.

The article gushes over plans for the prom scene in the new Carrie, quoting Judy Greer (who plays Mrs. Desjardin) as saying it is “amazeballs.”  I didn’t even know that was a word.  Shooting for the scene begins next week.

Malkin notes:

Chloë Grace Moretz calls Carrie Remake "Very Different...Like This Dark Black Swan Version"

"Weirdly, it's kind of beautiful," Greer told us last night at the Dannijo and Tucker Tea event in Beverly Hills. "It's really totally jarring and creepy but also in a strange way gorgeous."

The full post is HERE.

CONWAY Blogging King In Order

I enjoy Joe Conway's blog, where he is reading through the Stephen King universe in order.  The entry's are short, to the point and easy to read.

Conway writes, "I’m doing this is to put my Stephen King “obsession” to bed once and for all. Once I do this, I’ll know I’ll have read every Stephen King fictional work. For some reason, I always find myself returning to Stephen King when I don’t know what to read."

About RAGE, Conway notes, " It’s like a dark version of Catcher In The Rye, with a little Breakfast Club, and maybe some Lord Of The Flies mixed in for good measure."  I hadn't thought about that.

Conway often has opinions that others would be afraid to post!  He loves King, but suggests that maybe the short stories aren't King at his best.  He thinks the Shining is "necessarily slow."  Truth is, I like the honest straightforward reviews.

Also, if you are interested in the audio books of some of the early novels, Conway reviews these as well.  For instance, Rage does exist on audio -- and he reviews the audio.

Check it out at joeconwayr.blogspot.com

I Got Stephen King'd

It happens to the best of us. . . we buy something because it promises to have a "tribute" or essay or something by Stephen King -- only to discover HAHA!, you've been Stephen King'd.  His named gets slapped on all kinds of things that at times offer nothing more than a passing mention of him.

For me, it was the July/August 2012 edition of Readers Digest, "best of America" issue.  The cover reads, "including tributes by Stephen King, Dave Berry. . ." A tribute by Stephen King?  Wow!  I was interested.

Finding the "tribute" was real work.  I realized it wasn't going to be a muti-pager, so I began searching page by page.  Maybe a half page?  Nope.  But at least a box, right?  . . . Nope.  Remember in the olden days when Readers Digest printed their contents on the cover, and with each headline was a page number?

WAIT!  I found it!  Here is the Stephen King tribute:

Stephen King on MAINEIt was a beautiful summer's day, flawless, the kind that the tourists came to the Mine seacoast for.  You don't come to swim because the water is never really warm enough for that; you come to be knocked out by the day." (From The Stand)

1. That wasn't a tribute, that was a quote from a book.
2. That quote got cover billing on the front of Readers Digest.  Never mind the "13 things your TV weatherman won't tell you" was two full pages -- it didn't make the cover.  Stephen King did!

Question: Have you ever bought something a celebrity's name was on it -- only get realize the product really had nothing to do with that person?

Beauchamp: Should You Feel Bad About Reading SK?

Did you read Dwight Allen's article ripping Stephen King?  If you didn't -- you should, just to get a idea of what intellectual snobbery taste like -- it's HERE.  My blog  post about it is HERE.

Scott Beauchamp has a great response/article titled, "Should  You Feel Bad About Reading Stephen King?" orginally posted at bookriot.com.  Of course,  he also reviews the responses to Allen's original piece.

Beauchamp wraps up, writing:

It seems like these semi-annual "should I feel bad about reading Stephen King?" battles are getting a bit out of hand. Snobs: your standards are not objective. King Defenders: don't be so insecure. These arguments always seem to bring out the worst in people, because it really becomes a war about your identity as a reader. But who cares who considered which author to be what? Sit down and read and enjoy.

A Face In The Crowd ebook/audiobook

stephenking.com has posted  news that Craig Wasson will read the Stephen King story,  "A Face In The Crowd."  Wasson is one of my favorite readers.  It is coauthored with Stewart O'Nan.

stewartonan.com notes:

"The writing team that delivered the bestselling Faithful, about the 2004 Red Sox championship season, takes readers to the ballpark again, and to a world beyond, in an ebook original to be published on August 21, 2012."

The synopsis:

Dean Evers, an elderly widower, sits in front of the television with nothing better to do than waste his leftover evenings watching baseball. It’s Rays/Mariners, and David Price is breezing through the line-up. Suddenly, in a seat a few rows up beyond the batter, Evers sees the face of someone from decades past, someone who shouldn’t be at the ballgame, shouldn’t be on the planet. And so begins a parade of people from Evers’s past, all of them occupying that seat behind home plate. Until one day Dean Evers sees someone even eerier...

INTERVIEW: Shawn S. Lealos

Shawn Lealos is a journalist and film critic, as well as the director of the dollar baby, “I know what you need.”  He will also be writing a book about Dollar Babies as well as a novel– he’s very energetic!

Shawn’s website notes:

Shawn S. Lealos has been a professional writer for over 15 years, with articles published in national magazines, newspapers and websites. He has published movie criticism and news, sports articles and entertainment based content for websites as Yahoo! Movies, Yahoo! Sports, OMG.COM, Examiner.com, 411mania.com, Chud.com and The Huffington Post. He has also sold articles to magazines such as Inside Sports, Vox Magazine, Loud Magazine and The Red Zone.

Shawn has also written a handful of short stories and screenplays and has written, produced and directed six short films, including the Stephen King dollar baby, “I Know What You Need.” He is currently writing a book based on the Stephen King dollar babies, telling the stories of filmmakers from all over the world who used this program to get their foot in the door and further their careers.

INTERVIEW

Talk Stephen King: Hi Shawn! Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. Tell me a little about yourself. 

Shawn Lealos: I am a graduate of the University of Oklahoma where I received by Bachelor’s degree in Journalism with an emphasis on professional writing. I studied mostly novel writing but also got my feet wet with journalism, mostly sports stuff. In my last year before graduating, I read a book about movies called “Adventures in the Screen Trade” by William Goldman and decided I wanted to try to write a screenplay. I liked it and stayed in school for two more years, taking film history classes.
Since then, I have worked as a journalist and film critic while also making short films.

I have written and directed eight short films so far but have neglected by original career plans to be a novel writer. I am changing that now with my non-fiction book about the Stephen King dollar babies as well as a fiction horror novel based on one of my short screenplays.

I am also working on getting my personal website going strong at shawnlealos.net and will keep it updated as I work on the dollar baby book and other future projects.

TSK: As a writer and movie maker, what are some non-King influences on your life? 

Shawn Lealos: As a screenwriter, I am really influenced by William Goldman, who wrote the book that made me start studying film. He also wrote the script for Stephen King’s “Misery.” I am also influenced by PT Anderson, the filmmaker who made “There Will be Blood” and “Magnolia.” I read the script for “Magnolia” at least once a year because I feel it is the perfect screenplay.
For novels, I was always a big fan of Dean Koontz but have not read anything by him in years. I also love the work of fantasy author Neil Gaiman, mystery writer John Sandford and I will read just about any comic book there is.

TSK: You worked for several years as a sports reporter for University of Oklahoma – is it safe to assume you have a deep love for sports? (Any favorite teams? , or are sports reporters supposed to be neutral on such things?) 

Shawn Lealos: Next to movies, football is my biggest passion. I love the Dallas Cowboys and have since the ‘70s when Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett played for them. One of my high school graduation gifts was getting to go to the Cowboys’ practice facility to meet quarterback Danny White in 1988. I am also a huge fan of the Oklahoma Sooners and loved them since I was a kid. Going to OU was a dream come true and a lot of it comes from my love for their athletic program. One of my best memories ever was standing on the sidelines, as a reporter, when OU beat Florida State for the National Championship in 2000. In baseball, I am a Texas Rangers fan and in basketball I have become an Oklahoma City Thunder fan since they moved to the state.

TSK: It looks like you also had a big part in the short film, "Les chansons." Was it difficult to act in a movie you’d written? It seems like it would be frustrating to see things not translating to film the way you imagined them! 

Shawn Lealos: It was actually a pretty small role and I hated my performance in it. I really don’t like anything I have done on film and my only memorable performance was in “Happy Holidays,” which I also wrote and directed (YouTube). That was for my film capstone class at OU. For “Les Chansons,” there was an actress named Anne Haider, who worked with us on an unfinished short film we were shooting. We thought it would be nice to produce some films by some of our cast and crew and she was the first, and only one, that we did. She wrote the script and directed it. I edited it, created the visual effects and commissioned two musicians to create the soundtrack. I am happy with the final result of the movie, especially the music (YouTube).

TSK: You’re obviously very familiar with Stephen King and his work. What has King written that’s most inspired you? 

Shawn Lealos: The book that made me a lifelong fan was the unabridged version of “The Stand.” That remains my favorite book of all time, by any author. It just blew my mind and I would recommend anyone who has not read it to do so. I also love his short story, “The Last Rung on the Ladder.” I considered directing that as my Dollar Baby but felt I could not do it justice. Other than that, other favorites include “It” and “Pet Sematary.”

TSK: You directed the 2005 Dollar Baby, "I Know What You Need." What was that like? 

Shawn Lealos: That was definitely a good experience. I asked for the rights in 1999, way before the dollar babies really broke out. At that time, there were probably under 20 dollar babies. I learned about it from the introduction to Frank Darabont’s “Shawshank Redemption” screenplay, since his dollar baby, “The Woman in the Room,” was the first ever made. Well, I got the contracts in the mail in 2000 and at that time there was no time frame on them (I heard there is a two-year limit now). Well, we tried to shoot it in 2001 and failed miserably. We worked on two more short films and then decided to try it again in 2005. We brought back the same actor we used as Edward and re-cast all the other roles. I also added a character that was not actually in the story to show things happening that were only mentioned in the short story. We hired an experienced director of photography and then I hit up about a half dozen local bands to let us use their music for free. It was definitely a learning experience.

TSK: Were you pleased with the finished results of "I Know What You Need"?
Shawn Lealos: The movie, when finished, was 40 minutes long. I have seen more dollar babies that is about that length (or longer!) but that is way too long. Film festivals book blocks of short films and long films are rejected a lot, no matter how good they are, because they don’t fit into the blocks. We shortened it to 30 minutes and I left it at that. I still think it is too long. I also feel the acting is subpar, to put it nicely. Lilja’s Library reviewed it and said as much. Since we have no time limit to making this film, we have considered remaking it a third time, keeping it around 15 minutes, and hitting the festival circuit again.

TSK: Where can we see the film?


Shawn Lealos: The problem with dollar babies and fans is that we aren’t allowed to show it to anyone outside of festivals. However, there is a film festival coming up on Memorial Day in 2013 at Comicpalooza in Houston, Texas, and Stephen King dollar baby filmmakers are invited to enter their films in that festival. There is expected to be over 25,000 people in attendance at Comicpalooza because a lot of the Battlestar Galactica cast members will be there as well. “I Know What You Need” will screen at Comicpalooza in 2013, whether it is the old version or a remade one, along with hopefully a total of four hours of other Stephen King dollar babies.

TSK: I see you plan to write a book about Stephen King dollar babies. Tell me more about this! Obviously you have some firsthand experiences with this kind of work, what kind of a book do you envision? 

Shawn Lealos: I studied novel writing extensively in college but have not put that knowledge to use since I graduated because I have been so busy writing quick journalism for money. However, I decided it was time to get off my butt and write something. The book will be formatted to allow each chapter to focus on a specific filmmaker. While I cannot see their movies (unless I already saw them at a film festival), I am interviewing each filmmaker about making their movies and will tell their stories, including what the dollar baby led to in their careers.

I’ll also be talking to Bernd Lautenslager, who runs stephenkingshortmovies.com and maybe one or two other people outside of the regular filmmakers. This is not a book so much about the movies as it is about the fans who made them. I hope to give regular fans who never got a chance to see a dollar baby a chance to see inside the making of them. While I cannot ask to see the movies, Mr. King’s attorneys have let me know they don’t mind the book written in this format.

TSK: The dollar babies are certainly some of the lesser known trails of the Stephen King universe. Do you have a favorite? (Other than I Know What You Need – of course!) 

Shawn Lealos: My favorite that I have seen is “Umney’s Last Case” by Rodney Altman. Here is how good it is. There was a TV show called “Nightmares and Dreamscapes” which was a series that featured Stephen King short stories turned into films. These were not dollar babies but were big budget TV episodes. “Umney’s Last Case” was one of the episodes and it starred the wonderful William Macey. I saw that and Altman’s dollar baby and the dollar baby is the better version of the story out of the two. That movie will also screen at Comicpalooza and I am working on getting Altman to attend and join me for a question and answer panel for the fans.

A couple of other great dollar babies include “Paranoid” by Jay Holben (2000) and “The Last Rung on the Ladder” by James Cole and Dan Thron (1987). I am hoping both of those screen at Comicpalooza as well.

TSK: I really enjoyed your posts about the importance of a well developed villain to the overall strength of a novel. Of course, Stephen King is well known for creating all out scary villains. Who are some of your favorite Stephen King bad guys? 

Shawn Lealos: I’d say my favorite is Randall Flagg from “The Stand.” That character has been in so many different King stories under different names as well. He was in “Eyes of the Dragon” and was The Man in Black in “The Dark Tower” series. He was also Leland Gaunt in “Needful Things.” The guy is just the ultimate evil. Of course, there is also Pennywise, one of the scariest clowns in history.

For minor characters, I loved Trashcan Man in “The Stand.”

TSK: So, tell me – what’s next?  What projects do you have coming up?  

Shawn Lealos: There is the Dollar Baby book as well as my first horror novel, “The Devil’s Playground.” I am self publishing both books because I just don’t want to deal with publishing houses and agents. However, I guarantee they will be the best they can be and I won’t spare expenses when it comes to copyeditors and designers.

After that, we are looking at remaking “I Know What You Need.” My next book after the Dollar Baby book is about the history of comic book movies and then I will be at Comicpalooza in 2013 in Houston, Texas, if anyone wants to come out, see my movie, check out my books and talk to me about Stephen King, comics or anything else really.

TSK: Thank you so much for taking time to do this!  I really look forward your novel
Shawn Lealos: Thanks for the interview, David.

McCammon Graphic Audio Books

Robert McCammon's website has posted news that The Wolf’s Hour and The Hunter from the Woods. are being turned into "graphic audio books."

Billed as "a movie in your mind" the site explains: "GraphicAudio produces audiobooks that combine a narrator with cinematic music, sound effects, and a full cast of actors." (Check it out at www.robertmccammon.com)

McCamon is a fantastic author!  He's also very familiar with Stephen King's work.  He was interviewed by author Stephen Spignesi for his massive work, "The Shape Under The Sheets."  You can check that interview out HERE.

THANKS TO BRYANT BURNETTE.  Check out his blog at Ramblings Of A Honk Mahfah

DREAD CENTRAL: Stephen King Films Head To Blu-Ray

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Batman #400: BATMAN or SUPERMAN

REPOST: IN HONOR OF BATMAN, DARK KNIGHT RISING COMING OUT TODAY

Batman #400 was issued October, 1986.  It features a special introduction by Stephen King.  King's topic of choice. . . Batman or Superman.

This special introduction its on inside front and inside back covers.  

QUESTIONS THAT MATTER:

King writes: "When I was a kid there were certain questions which came up and had to be answered. . . or at least aired, if finding a conclusive answer proved impossible.

He then offers us a quick list of questions that had to be answered:

• Whether or not Don Larsen's World series no-hitter was skill, fate, or just dumb luck.
• What was at the center of golf balls.  
• Why all the Disney characters wore gloves.
• Was there such a thing as a complete set of green Davy Crockett trading cards.  King writes, "The red ones were easy, but the green ones were weirdly scarce."
• Here's one I've given some time to: Would you come out in China upside down i it was really possible to dig all the way through the earth to the other side.  (And, may I add. . . at what point are you upside down?)

"These were questions asked and answered after you were too tired to swim out to the raft anymore and had to crash out on the beach, or when you were walking home from the baseball field in summer's sweet dusk with your feet burning inside your sneakers, or before you fell asleep on camp-outs."

Of course, this is exactly what we are treated to in the movie Stand By Me.  Questions kids ponder.  And. . . if Mickey is a mouse, Pluto is a dog. . . what's Goofy? 

And then there was this question: Who do you like better, Superman or Batman?

Before I tell you King's preference -- I took an unofficial poll.  I discovered a little generation gap.  Teens and adults pretty quickly choose Batman.  Children were divided, but Superman was still pretty popular with the kiddos.  We, it turns out, are a house divided!  The nine year old was offended anyone would think Batman was better than Superman.  She had not considered that anyone might hold a varying opinion.

King's vote: Batman.  (Come on, no surprise there, right?  He's writing the intro in the Batman comic.  I guess he would have had to do some more soul searching if D.C. had asked him to write an introduction!)

He assures us that he still "digs" Superman, because he's the "good" guy.  However, King explains that Superman is a little removed from the rest of us.  He can't be beat!  There's Kryptonite, even red and yellow Kryptonite, but "Batman was just a guy.  A rich guy, yes.  A strong guy, granted.  a smart guy, you bet.  But. . . he couldn't fly.  I think that formed my preference more than anything else."

FLIGHT: 

King discusses the first Superman movie, and the tagline, "You'll Believe A Man can Fly."  He didn't!  He didn't believe it in the movie or the comic books.  "Ironically, the closest I ever came to believing it was in the TV series."  Interesting!  I love that old TV series.  And so do my kids.  We've watched them all, over and over.  "DON'T CALL ME CHIEF!"

King says the Batman TV show was "unpleasantly campy."  I must agree!  I saw it recently, and it pained me.  But, the actors were awesome.  They were trying to make it feel like a comic book; but in that vein, the Dick Tracy movie leads the pack, I think. 

"But when Batman swung down into the Joker's hideout on a rope or stopped The Penguin from dropping Robin into a bucket of boiling hog-fat with a well-thrown Batarang, I believed.  These were not likely things, I freely grand you that, but they were possible things.  I could believe in a Caped Crusader who swung on ropes, threw boomerangs with deadly accuracy, and drove like Richard Petty getting a pregnant woman to the hospital." 

(He also says he had trouble believing in Super-breath.)

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Batman, King explains, really was a detective.  

"He had to be a detective.  He couldn't rely on super-breath to return Gotham city to its proper place after the crime had happened; he had to catch The Riddler or whomever the villain might be before he could jump start those nuclear jets.  Like Sherlock Holmes, Batman looked at the tracks the crooks left; he took finger prints; he picked up hairs from the scene of the crime and took testimony.  He kept files -- also a la Homes -- on the modus operandi of various criminals. He searched for patterns, knowing -- as all the great detectives have -- that if a pattern can be found, you can be there waiting for the criminal at his next stop."

THE DARK SIDE

So what's really up, Mr. King?  What's the bottom line?  

"Maybe the real reason that Batman appealed to me more than the other guy: There was something sinister about him.  That's right.  you heard me.  Sinister."

And this is where the article gets real sweet, my friends.  Because, remember, I love old radio, right?  And King now compares Batman to The Shadow.  I loved the shadow! 

Batman, King says, is like a vampire -- because he is a creature of the night.  All the more a comparison, as we now know that Superman gets his power from our sun.  Thus, making Superman all the more a day creature, and Batman a night creature!

"Oh, yeah, you saw him fighting crime in the day once in a while, but mostly he was a shape in the shadows or a grim-faced man-thing crashing through a window at some small hour of the morning, his cape floating around him like a great shadow.  In those Batman-busts-in-panels, you almost always saw a horrid species of fear on the faces of the hoods he was about to flush down the toilet, and I always flet a strong sense of identity with those expressions.  yeah, I thought (and still do think), sitting under a tree in our backyard, or maybe in the tub, or on the john (or, as a kid, under the covers with a flashlight).  Yeah, that's right, they should look scared, I'd sure be scared if something like that busted in one me.  I'd be scared even if I wasn't doing something wrong."

As if to give great credibility to this line of argument, the last page of the comic -- the page facing this exposition of Batman, is a series of night scenes,w tih Batman's cape wavering around him.  The Bat signal flashes in the sky. . .

"The night was his time; the shadows were his place; like the bat from which he took his name, he saw with his hands and feet and ears.  as Bruce Wayne, he was cheerful poshy, full of savoir faire and bonhomie, a fellow easily imagined in front of the fire in his book-line library with a balloon glass of brandy and a bowl of Cheez Doodles near at hand.  But when the Bat-Signal floated against one of Gotham's skyscrapers (or perhaps the underside of a handy passing cloud) a grim and unsmiling creature emerged from the Bat-Cave.  You could shoot him and he would bleed. . . you could crank him a good one on the head and he would fold up (at least for a while ). . . but you could never, never stop him."

STEPHEN KING CONGRATULATES BATMAN

King closes by noting that Batman was on the rise (1986) and he writes:

"I'd like to congratulate the Caped Crusader on his long and valiant history, thank him for the hours of pleasure he has given me, and wish him many more years of heroic crime-busting. 

Go get'em, Big Guy.  May your Bat-Signal never fall, your Batmobile never run out of the nuclear pellets it runs on your utility belt never come up fatally under-stocked at the wrong moment. 

And please, never come busting through my skylight int he middle of the night.  You'd probably scare me into a brain hemorrhage. . . and besides, Big Guy, i'm on your side.
I always was.
--Stephen King"

That's nice, it's really really nice.  Even sweet.  

I'll weigh in on my opinion -- Batman or Superman -- in the comments section, and invite you to do the same.

Question is: WHO DO YOU PREFER, BATMAN OR SUPERMAN?

Dries: The Under-Apprecaited Films Of SK

You gotta check out Aaron Dries blog post, titled, "The Under-appreciated Films Of Stephen King." It's great!  

Dries opens things up by saying:

 When you’re as prolific as Stephen King—and when the ravens of Hollywood have picked at your bones for over forty years—you’re bound to hit some home runs. Take Carrie (1976) or The Shawshank Redemption (1994) for example, films so superbly crafted they’ll garner Oscar attention.

And then there are those other films. The not quite so polished gems.

But here’s the thing… I actually like a lot of those flicks that folks discredit. In fact, I like some of them quite a bit. 

Dries gives us his list of favorites, and a short explanation as to why each one holds a special place in his heart -- and DVD collection.  With each movie, he also includes a paragraph that reveals what he thinks is the best scene.

Here's Dries list:

1995, The Mangler
1990, The Graveyard Shift
1991, Sometimes They Come Back
1996, Thinner
2006, Desperation
1992, Sleepwalkers
1985, Silver Bullet (YES!)
1993, The Dark Half (YES, YES!)
1983, Christine
1997, The Night Flier (Oh -- now you're talking!)

Humm, he had me up until Sleepwalkers! But, honestly, it is refreshing to find someone who will defend this movie. For Sleepwalkers, Dries suggests, "My advice is unplug your brain, tap into your inner child and indulge in some EC Comic-inspired thrills."

Was Christine really "under appreciated"?

Now when it comes to The Night Flier, I'm a fan. A big fan! I love the movie, the tone, the darkness, the grittiness -- everything. I think it's all out creepy,and a delight. Dries declares the best scene is -- from beginning to end! He writes, "The film is a welcome alternative to the anemic vampire films of late, with one foot grounded in the modern world and the other in traditional Bela Lugosi lore. And unlike a lot of horror films (some of which are on this list), The Night Flier earns its deliriously gory finale."

Check out the full blog post, it's wonderful! aarondries.com

Thanks to Star Jameson

How Important Are Ebooks?

Joe Wikert has a blog post titled, "Can You Force a Customer to Buy Print Instead of E?"  

For some popular books, the idea has been that the ebook would follow the hardcover much the way a paperback does.   Wikert points out that Stephen King's JOYLAND will first appear in print only.  However, he notes concern that this approach could lend itself to piracy.  

Wikert writes:

I wonder how long it will take for someone to scan King's Joyland and post it on all the torrent sites. I'm not encouraging that, of course, but I do believe that you can reduce piracy if you offer your content at a reasonable price in all the popular formats. Although King's intent is to provide a reading experience from the old days I'm convinced it will only increase piracy of the title and cause him to complain that ebooks and ebook customers are evil.

Speaking of ebooks. . .

Do you use Scribd? It's a document sharing site that some colleges are looking to as a platform for publishing books.

I saw this interesting note in a recent article: In 2009, Simon & Schuster signed a deal to use Scribd as a potential Kindle competitor, offering excerpts and complete works from Stephen King and others. (HERE)

Check out the Los Angeles Times article from June 2009 (HERE)

Ya know, I really like books on good ole paper.  Hey, give me a scroll, I'm happy!  I remember King once saying he didn't like his word-processor because he felt like his words were under glass.  I like to be able to mark a book.  The words do feel more real in print.  But that doesn't change the fact that the e-book is so much easier!  They come to us quickly,  they're a lot cheaper and they allow us to have access to all kinds of tools inside the book itself -- like "search" and text to speech (something King, for reasons unknown to me, usually disables.) 

Walter Discusses Classic Batman Comics

I enjoyed Lauren Walter's short article "Classic Batman Comics."  (HERE) She highlights several great  moments in the classic batman series.  She says it is in honor the the upcoming Dark Knight Rising movie -- but really, do you need an excuse? Batman is just cool!

About the Stephen King Batman comic, she writes:

In celebration of "Batman Issue #400," author Stephen King wrote an introduction to the twelve-chapter storyline that has Gotham City villains kidnapping five people close to Batman, including Commissioner Gordon and Alfred.

Check out my article about Batman #400 HERE.