Doctor Sleep adaptation coming from Gerald's Game director Mike Flanagan

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Gerald

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If Flanagan is rewriting the script, then why was Goldsman involved in the first place? It doesn't seem like Flanagan's usual way of working, which is writing it with Jeff Howard. So I hope it doesn't influence the quality of the film.
 
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Steffen

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Goldsman wrote the original treatment. Once a film gets optioned (from what little I know), a screenplay needs to be produced immediately to as there is a finite amount of time for the project to get "greenlit." Hiring a director means that screenplay is subject to change depending on his vision. I'm guessing Goldsman was the main reason this thing happened, and now that Flanagan is hired, ol' Hackiva can step the eff back and let the really creative people do their thing.
 

Gerald

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I wonder why it doesn't say anywhere if it will be theatrical or not. Maybe it hasn't been decided yet? Warner Bros. seems to be behind it. Akiva Goldsman mostly does screenplays for theatrical films, but some tv as well. And Flanagan's films have been mostly theatrically released as far as I can tell, with only Gerald's Game for Netflix. Hush was also released by Netflix it seems, but I don't think it was directly made for that.
 
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Steffen

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Personally - and I know I risk getting crucified here for saying this - I think the studio missed a huge opportunity here. Forget Kubrick's film, and forget the mini-series. They should have done a fresh cinematic adaptation of the Shining, and made Doctor Sleep as its "official" sequel a couple of years down the road. But that's just me.
 

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Doc Creed

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Personally - and I know I risk getting crucified here for saying this - I think the studio missed a huge opportunity here. Forget Kubrick's film, and forget the mini-series. They should have done a fresh cinematic adaptation of the Shining, and made Doctor Sleep as its "official" sequel a couple of years down the road. But that's just me.
I like that idea. The two prior versions of The Shining were fine but each one lacked what the other achieved. Garris's version was faithful to book but not scary/moody and Kubrick's version was scary/moody but not faithful to book. To have had a version that combined the two without television restrictions would have been nice.
 

Gerald

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Personally - and I know I risk getting crucified here for saying this - I think the studio missed a huge opportunity here. Forget Kubrick's film, and forget the mini-series. They should have done a fresh cinematic adaptation of the Shining, and made Doctor Sleep as its "official" sequel a couple of years down the road. But that's just me.

I think it's impossible to make a new version of The Shining that audiences will embrace, for the very reason that you CAN'T forget Kubrick's film. Any version they make is always gonna be compared with Kubrick's film, even if it was completely faithful to the novel. The film is just that powerful.

I wouldn't have mind if Flanagan did a new Dolores Claiborne, as the connection with Gerald's Game was intact in the film - I didn't expect it to be included. But the Taylor Hackford film will be hard to beat too. Even if it takes considerable liberties with the book, it is very good; mainly I think because all King films that succeeded have great actors and good direction/script.
 

Gerald

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I'm thinking with the recent enormous success of IT, all bets are off and just about any SK movie could get greenlit, remake or not, as long as it's not tied up.

I wonder if we'll see an increase of adaptations because of It's success. I wonder if it will make much difference, because adaptations never really stopped coming, it was just that last year was a peak year, with It, The Dark Tower, Gerald's Game, 1922, Mr. Mercedes (which is still to air here) and The Mist.
And It was a remake of an older book of course, so it doesn't have to automatically mean they will pick one of the newer ones that they haven't done yet. It could also mean more remakes of the classic ones, like the new Pet Sematary that is coming.
 

Gerald

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I like what Flanagan says in this interview and it is probably a key factor to King's success as writer:

Stephen King at 70: Gerald's Game director on adapting his darkness | EW.com

"His work wasn’t only focused on the horrific that would occur — he was more focused on who it would happen to, and how it would change them."

What would the horror mean if it didn't happen to characters you care about?