How can Mr. King continue to allow his work to be ruined by Hollywood?!

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Tilly

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Sep 23, 2017
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As I’ve said elsewhere, if it is a book you have enjoyed reading more than once, and if you ever plan to read it again, a movie CAN and DOES ruin a book.

Clan of the Cave Bear is a perfect example. I loved that book and had read it at least 4 times. They made a mockery of it (called it a movie...but mockery is more accurate a word). I made the mistake of watching the movie, and for several years, whenever I tried to read the book again all I could see was Daryl Hannah, and all the scenes that were so very wrong.

The movie ruined the book.

This is why I will never watch DT.
I get what you are saying. My Mother and I read the Clan series together a long time ago and I also remember that awful adaptation. I don't usually go to movies or watch things I've read because of this reason. I wish I'd started sooner. I remember talking to my Mom about that story more than I do that movie. I've had books and songs tainted. It' been 40 years and a local business used Honky Cat for their commercial. Only recently have I been able to hear it without thinking about John, John, Little John Garner who wore overalls when he talked about his bargain barn. Things do get tainted sometimes. If I really liked the story, then my adaptation in my head will remain the best one.
 

carrie's younger brother

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Mar 8, 2012
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Read The Original Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Now watch the beloved 1393 MGM film adaptation. See any similarity? Yes, some but boy are there a lot of differences. The shoes in the book are silver, for one!
Bottom line: there is a looooong list of book to movie adaptations that veer wildly from the author's original ideas. The Dark Tower is just one in thousands.
 

Tilly

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Sep 23, 2017
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Yes
Tilly yes, what’s in my head remains the best, but unfortunately I cannot unsee what I have seen.

And did you go through the entire Clan series? Including the white caves? They are real.
I think I did. I remember the original author got sick. Jean something and it took forever for one book to come out. She couldn't help it. Yes, some things you cannot un-see, do or hear...if they do a bad adaptation, I can somehow differentiate and keep the book version for me. That and I don't see many adaptations unless I know everyone likes it. I'm just glad I wasn't that attached to Honky Cat.
 

doowopgirl

very avid fan
Aug 7, 2009
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I can't wait till these get released on dvd! Just last night at a Halloween party I was talking to a friend who's not a King fan and she watched Gerald's Game and loved it. I told her to watch Delores Claiborne now as it's tied into GG.
Although I was able to see then on Netflix, I will be snagging them on DVD myself.
 

Robert Gray

Well-Known Member
Nicolaj Arcel, the director, says he is a big fan of the books and emphasized that all through the promotion of the movie.

Heh. I always love it when Producers and Directors say that because it is always followed by an immediate tossing everything from the books out the window. It is tantamount to when Trump says the words "believe me" and everything that follows from it. :) Oddly enough, people who write great adaptations and stick close to the books rarely make a big deal about it. They let their work do the talking for them.
 
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Gerald

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Sep 8, 2011
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In the end though SK is complimentary about the film and feels the filmmakers have done a good job of making a coherent movie, but says the purists may not like it. He says of all his books the fans of The Dark Tower are the most zealous and fervent. And that shows on this forum.
He also says he never felt it was a movie idea to begin with, being too complex and long.

Stephen King Shares What He Thinks of THE DARK TOWER Movie | Nerdist
 

kingricefan

All-being, keeper of Space, Time & Dimension.
Jul 11, 2006
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In the end though SK is complimentary about the film and feels the filmmakers have done a good job of making a coherent movie, but says the purists may not like it. He says of all his books the fans of The Dark Tower are the most zealous and fervent. And that shows on this forum.
He also says he never felt it was a movie idea to begin with, being too complex and long.

Stephen King Shares What He Thinks of THE DARK TOWER Movie | Nerdist
Therein lies the problem- unless it is turned into a series on Netflix, HBO or something along those lines, with a huge budget to work with, it would have to be gutted and dumbed-down for the general population. Which is kind of what we got with the theatrical version.
 

Gerald

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Sep 8, 2011
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Therein lies the problem- unless it is turned into a series on Netflix, HBO or something along those lines, with a huge budget to work with, it would have to be gutted and dumbed-down for the general population. Which is kind of what we got with the theatrical version.

He says the fans of the Dark Tower books are just a small subgroup of his readers. The problem is probably that the readership of the books is not big enough to spend a huge budget on.
 

Gerald

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I think often he just has too much on his plate to be closely involved with the adaptations - he mostly has two new books out a year. People like Rowling or Martin are far closer involved with their adaptations, it appears. He has so many books out and is constantly writing new ones that he doesn't seem to spend that much time on sets and in meetings.
Also, as that last article said, he isn't so eager for them to be filmed. And therein may lie the answer to the question of this thread: in the end he doesn't seem to care all that much. He wants to allow everyone to film something he wrote, but he doesn't closely guard it. In a way, it is strange because he is a big filmfan as well as a bookfan: his books constantly mention filmtitles and he does these 'best film of the year' lists.
It may be just the multitude of his works that he can't control them all and chooses a more wait-and-see attitude.
 

Gerald

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Sep 8, 2011
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Apart from The Shining, which obviously he remade, only Pet Sematary seems to have been one he was really protective of and wanted to make sure it got filmed absolutely the way he wanted. I think he was much more closely involved with that than usual, and you can tell from the end result. I think if writers are closely involved with their adaptations and have the right directors and producers working on them, it makes a big difference.