Kinky Boots? No...King Reboots.

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Doc Creed

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King told Vulture last year that The Stand may be a miniseries on CBS All Access and that, based on the success of IT film, there was interest in making 'Salem's Lot a feature film, too. According to Den of Geek there is talk of remaking Firestarter, too, which I'm rooting for. Stranger Things helped me to imagine a better version of this book with greater special effects (they weren't bad, but now there'd be more options) and a better child actor (sorry, Drew). I know some of you get queasy at the word "reboot" and have disdain for them in general but let's talk about it. Any buzz on new projects? Feel free to add comments or wishes for movies based on books we haven't yet seen depicted/developed.

Steffen

I'd like to see The Talisman, Lisey's Story, Joyland, and Duma Key. Doctor Sleep? Not so much. Does anyone know if Darabont is going to make The Long Walk or The Monkey? I'm excited to see a new take on Pet Sematary but what I think would be better is another Tommyknockers movie but one which is actually scary and not hackneyed.

Thanks for commenting. :encouragement:
 
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Doc Creed

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I don’t think The Long Walk can be a successful movie without it being a completely different story. So, I’d prefer it not be made at all.
I know what you mean but I think it can be done, in the right hands. Gerald's Game had challenges all its own but they were able to creatively get around those hurdles. I think much of the movie could be flashbacks of Garraty and maybe apocryphal scenes with Ray as a toddler and learning to walk, his father berating him as Ray trains for bootcamp carrying cinder blocks back and forth ("Keep walking, Ray, never give up!") or funny scenes not related to walking...I'm just spitballing, obviously the writers shouldn't beat a metaphor to death but I'd like to see a quiet, grim, surreal movie (maybe even black and white like Schindler's List or a war film) with artistic sequences and great dialogue. Having the actors walk constantly sounds boring but even in the book their landscape was ever changing and they had to face weather, falling comerades, etc..
It would take a better mind than mind to pull it together but with talented writers and the right director it could be brilliant. The perfect components must coalesce.
 

Doc Creed

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I know what you mean but I think it can be done, in the right hands. Gerald's Game had challenges all its own but they were able to creatively get around those hurdles. I think much of the movie could be flashbacks of Garraty and maybe apocryphal scenes with Ray as a toddler and learning to walk, his father berating him as Ray trains for bootcamp carrying cinder blocks back and forth ("Keep walking, Ray, never give up!") or funny scenes not related to walking...I'm just spitballing, obviously the writers shouldn't beat a metaphor to death but I'd like to see a quiet, grim, surreal movie (maybe even black and white like Schindler's List or a war film) with artistic sequences and great dialogue. Having the actors walk constantly sounds boring but even in the book their landscape was ever changing and they had to face weather, falling comerades, etc..
It would take a better mind than mind to pull it together but with talented writers and the right director it could be brilliant. The perfect components must coalesce.
*better mind than mine
(Exhibit A) :D
 

Doc Creed

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....this is like re-heating leftovers.....just my opinion......so many remakes and reboots out there, it seems as if the original idea is going the way or the Dodo....
I think so, too, but if a movie can be improved then I say go for it. I'm less enthusiastic about such reboots as the new Gremlins coming soon. However, there are plenty of King books left that haven't been films; I have high hopes.
 

Anduan Pirate Princess

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....this is like re-heating leftovers.....just my opinion......so many remakes and reboots out there, it seems as if the original idea is going the way or the Dodo....
I know! Doesn’t it feel like Hollywood has completely given up?
But there have been so many King movies in the past that range from so-so to terrible, so at least there is the possibility for improvement. I’m just tired of them taking movies that were originally great and remaking them/updating them unnecessarily.
 

GNTLGNT

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I know! Doesn’t it feel like Hollywood has completely given up?
But there have been so many King movies in the past that range from so-so to terrible, so at least there is the possibility for improvement. I’m just tired of them taking movies that were originally great and remaking them/updating them unnecessarily.
....yes’m, that pretty much echoes how I feel in my heart....leave the good King films and try to resurrect the craptastic ones....
 

Steffen

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Hey Doc Creed, check online and you'll see the latest updates.. Tommyknockers has been confirmed as being developed by James Wan. He is producing and may likely direct as well. Ever since the Conjuring films I've badly wanted to see him tackle a SK property. Tommyknockers isn't one of my preferred King books, and I would have preferred to see Wan do something like Shining or Pet Sematary. But hey, I'm pretty sure JW will make a terrific film.

I really want to see the Pet Sematary film, but so far both the directors and casting of Jason Clarke has left me less than enthused. I'm hoping for the best.

The Stand is being developed as a 10 hour mini-series with Josh Boone still attached. It's no longer a trilogy, which I'm happy for. The three-act structure that Hollywood sticks to would make it problematic to divide the book in that fashion, and I'd much prefer an episodic adaptation.

I have no idea if Darabont is working on anything King related, but I'd love to see him tackle The Long Walk.

There was a recent interview with Steven Spielberg where he states that he still has the rights to The Talisman and hopes to turn it into a film one day. Considering Spielberg's slate, I doubt it will happen. The Talisman is the great unmade SK film, and the one I really want to see, but I'd prefer a cable TV version.

Duma Key is on my wishlist for a min-series with somebody like Bryan Cranston. Joyland and Blaze (I was surprised at how much I loved that book when I read it a few years ago) is prime fodder for Netflix.
 

Doc Creed

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Hey Doc Creed, check online and you'll see the latest updates.. Tommyknockers has been confirmed as being developed by James Wan. He is producing and may likely direct as well. Ever since the Conjuring films I've badly wanted to see him tackle a SK property. Tommyknockers isn't one of my preferred King books, and I would have preferred to see Wan do something like Shining or Pet Sematary. But hey, I'm pretty sure JW will make a terrific film.

I really want to see the Pet Sematary film, but so far both the directors and casting of Jason Clarke has left me less than enthused. I'm hoping for the best.

The Stand is being developed as a 10 hour mini-series with Josh Boone still attached. It's no longer a trilogy, which I'm happy for. The three-act structure that Hollywood sticks to would make it problematic to divide the book in that fashion, and I'd much prefer an episodic adaptation.

I have no idea if Darabont is working on anything King related, but I'd love to see him tackle The Long Walk.

There was a recent interview with Steven Spielberg where he states that he still has the rights to The Talisman and hopes to turn it into a film one day. Considering Spielberg's slate, I doubt it will happen. The Talisman is the great unmade SK film, and the one I really want to see, but I'd prefer a cable TV version.

Duma Key is on my wishlist for a min-series with somebody like Bryan Cranston. Joyland and Blaze (I was surprised at how much I loved that book when I read it a few years ago) is prime fodder for Netflix.
Thanks for the info, Steffen. Excellent and concise commentary as usual.

I agree with much of what you said. All of these adaptations, wow...it's alot to chew on. I'm excited about Wan bringing to life The Tommyknockers. It might be scary this time.
 

Steffen

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As much as I hate that Hollywood keeps re-visiting the SK well, there are still one or two that I think would benefit from a fresh adaptation. You probably already know how much I'd love to see a Cycle of the Werewolf adaptation, but with much better werewolves in this one, and closer to the book's theme of changing seasons. And yes, I think Firestarter would benefit from a revisit as well.

That being said, there are soooo many great horror writers out there that Hollywood needs to discover. There are lots of material from Clive Barker (who has a great cinematic style of writing just like King), Robert McCammon, Dan Simmons (I'm waiting for The Terror to finish so I can binge-watch), and will someone hurry up and do some big-budget HP Lovecraft films already??? Yeesh!
 

Doc Creed

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Gerald

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That being said, there are soooo many great horror writers out there that Hollywood needs to discover. There are lots of material from Clive Barker (who has a great cinematic style of writing just like King), Robert McCammon, Dan Simmons (I'm waiting for The Terror to finish so I can binge-watch), and will someone hurry up and do some big-budget HP Lovecraft films already??? Yeesh!

There was gonna be a tv-series of Weaveworld. The pilot was written, but it's most likely not accepted as that was quite some time ago and it's gone quiet around it. I think a lot was changed though and it was relocated to an American setting, I believe. I had the feeling it might become something very different.

Update: looked on writer Josh Stolberg's Twitter who wrote the pilot and he says it's happening, but he can't talk about it yet.
 
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Gerald

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I don’t think The Long Walk can be a successful movie without it being a completely different story. So, I’d prefer it not be made at all.

James Vanderbilt will write a screenplay for The Long Walk. He is the writer of several big Hollywood titles, like White House Down, Amazing Spider-Man 1 and 2, Independence Day: Resurgence and (the brilliant) Zodiaz. In terms of horror he's done Darkness Falls.
He will produce The Long Walk along with Bradley Fischer and William Sherak for New Line Cinema.

It seems he's wanted to make it for ten years, but the rights belonged to Darabont. Now the rights have expired and went to New Line.
 

Gerald

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The Hellraiser movies were popular for their time and the first one was close enough to the story to be a fairly good flick ....

I think Barker is hard to adapt. Barker himself did it the best with Hellraiser (Candyman by Bernard Rose did it well too), but then he kind of stumbled with Nightbreed, which looks fantastic but is a bit of a mess in every other sense.
I think he's so unique that it takes enormous vision to get what he wrote right on the screen. There's not just the strong visuals of his writing, but also the underlying ideas that come with it - he always puts in a lot to think about which sort of flows naturally out of the narrative, it's hard to get that on screen besides the visual side which is difficult in itself.
I wonder if someone else than himself could have come up with the striking way the Cenobites look in Hellraiser, or if a studio would have found an actor to portray Pinhead as well as Bradley, who is Barker's close friend and was always strongly involved in what he did and really understands what Barker and his work is about.
 

Neesy

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King told Vulture last year that The Stand may be a miniseries on CBS All Access and that, based on the success of IT film, there was interest in making 'Salem's Lot a feature film, too. According to Den of Geek there is talk of remaking Firestarter, too, which I'm rooting for. Stranger Things helped me to imagine a better version of this book with greater special effects (they weren't bad, but now there'd be more options) and a better child actor (sorry, Drew). I know some of you get queasy at the word "reboot" and have disdain for them in general but let's talk about it. Any buzz on new projects? Feel free to add comments or wishes for movies based on books we haven't yet seen depicted/developed.

Steffen

I'd like to see The Talisman, Lisey's Story, Joyland, and Duma Key. Doctor Sleep? Not so much. Does anyone know if Darabont is going to make The Long Walk or The Monkey? I'm excited to see a new take on Pet Sematary but what I think would be better is another Tommyknockers movie but one which is actually scary and not hackneyed.

Thanks for commenting. :encouragement:
Can't comment on King Rebooting but I was surprised to see James Earl Jones wearing Kinky Boots

90

I liked the adaptation of Big Driver - thought that was well done - Still want to see A Good Marriage - heard that was very good.