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Re: Stephen King
[Re: pizzaboy]
#562179
12/12/09 10:19 AM
12/12/09 10:19 AM
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 13,145 East Tennessee
ronnierocketAGO
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 13,145
East Tennessee
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I respect King in that he does have a tremendous imagination, and the amount of good (and bad) movies based off his short stories/novels is quite numerous and astounding.
And yeah he is prolific, but I think King at his worst at times can just job his plots and characterize people with contrived convenience so he doesn't have to waste time thinking it through and dish out another book by the Christmas market. It says something when a stilted thriller like THE MIST is "faithful." I rather have a good movie, thank you very much.
For example, lets look at THE DEAD ZONE novel of his. You have an opening with the hero as a kid getting his psychic powers, and eventual villain revealed to be a rotten ambitious son of a bitch. King goes on and on with the in-depth backstory of all these characters, relevant or not.
As David Cronenberg's terrific movie showed, you don't need all that bullshit. Indeed the best King adaptations from THE DEAD ZONE to CARRIE to SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION to CHRISTINE and GREEN MILE and yeah even Kubrick's THE SHINING....they all realize King has great ideas.
Keep them. The rest, well at your own risk sunshine.
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Re: Stephen King
[Re: ronnierocketAGO]
#562189
12/12/09 11:56 AM
12/12/09 11:56 AM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,296 Throggs Neck
pizzaboy
OP
The Fuckin Doctor
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OP
The Fuckin Doctor
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,296
Throggs Neck
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I rather have a good movie, thank you very much.
For example, lets look at THE DEAD ZONE novel of his. You have an opening with the hero as a kid getting his psychic powers, and eventual villain revealed to be a rotten ambitious son of a bitch. King goes on and on with the in-depth backstory of all these characters, relevant or not.
As David Cronenberg's terrific movie showed, you don't need all that bullshit.
"The Dead Zone" was a wonderful novel, Ronnie. Those backstories made you care about John and Sarah, and made you loathe Stillson. They were essential to advancing the plot. While I agree that sometimes King's novels are way too long and the backstories aren't really essential, "The Dead Zone" isn't one of them. And you said it yourself, you're a bigger film fan than book fan, which is fine. But it leaves you with a clear bias against the written word .
"I got news for you. If it wasn't for the toilet, there would be no books." --- George Costanza.
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Re: Stephen King
[Re: pizzaboy]
#562206
12/12/09 11:48 PM
12/12/09 11:48 PM
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 13,145 East Tennessee
ronnierocketAGO
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 13,145
East Tennessee
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I rather have a good movie, thank you very much.
For example, lets look at THE DEAD ZONE novel of his. You have an opening with the hero as a kid getting his psychic powers, and eventual villain revealed to be a rotten ambitious son of a bitch. King goes on and on with the in-depth backstory of all these characters, relevant or not.
As David Cronenberg's terrific movie showed, you don't need all that bullshit.
"The Dead Zone" was a wonderful novel, Ronnie. Those backstories made you care about John and Sarah, and made you loathe Stillson. They were essential to advancing the plot. While I agree that sometimes King's novels are way too long and the backstories aren't really essential, "The Dead Zone" isn't one of them. And you said it yourself, you're a bigger film fan than book fan, which is fine. But it leaves you with a clear bias against the written word . Except it didn't make me care about them more. Mate, length doesn't necessarily equate better.
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Re: Stephen King
[Re: ronnierocketAGO]
#562226
12/13/09 02:31 PM
12/13/09 02:31 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,296 Throggs Neck
pizzaboy
OP
The Fuckin Doctor
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OP
The Fuckin Doctor
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,296
Throggs Neck
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Except it didn't make me care about them more. Yeah, but you're a sociopath . Mate, length doesn't necessarily equate better.
That's not what your girlfriend told me . Owned. You just got OWNED by a 50 year old man .
"I got news for you. If it wasn't for the toilet, there would be no books." --- George Costanza.
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Re: Stephen King
[Re: pizzaboy]
#562237
12/13/09 03:12 PM
12/13/09 03:12 PM
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 17,300 New York
Sicilian Babe
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 17,300
New York
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I hated the film adaptation of "The Dead Zone", despite the fact that martin Sheen was so wonderfully evil as Stillson. It was not faithful to the book and the changes seemed ridiculously arbitrary. "Christine" was pretty darned good, but the best adaptation of one of King's horror novels, IMO, is "Carrie". While some of "The Stand" is great, the casting of whiny Molly Ringwald as Fran was akin to Sofia in GF3. Just ruined it for me.
And then, of course, there is the excellent "Green Mile" and, in a class by itself, "Shawshank".
President Emeritus of the Neal Pulcawer Fan Club
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Re: Stephen King
[Re: Lilo]
#562296
12/14/09 01:28 PM
12/14/09 01:28 PM
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 22,902 New York
SC
Consigliere
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Consigliere
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 22,902
New York
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Pet Semetary was also very good. The book was MUCH better than the movie. Many of King's works didn't translate to the screen as well as they were in print. I think the best example of this was "Cujo". The book was awesome but the movie could not capture the horror experienced by the trapped woman and her child. Fred Gwynne was a decent actor (I had seen him on Broadway in the role of Big Daddy in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and he did a wonderful job) but somehow seeing Herman Munster in "Pet Semetary" was a distraction.
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Re: Stephen King
[Re: SC]
#562303
12/14/09 02:35 PM
12/14/09 02:35 PM
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 5,325 MI
Lilo
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 5,325
MI
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Pet Semetary was also very good. The book was MUCH better than the movie. Many of King's works didn't translate to the screen as well as they were in print. I think the best example of this was "Cujo". The book was awesome but the movie could not capture the horror experienced by the trapped woman and her child. I agree about "Pet Semetary". The book had all that backstory between the protagonist and his father-in-law. I wasn't a big fan of "Cujo" in book form and so I never saw the film...
"When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives." Winter is Coming
Now this is the Law of the Jungle—as old and as true as the sky; And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die. As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk, the Law runneth forward and back; For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.
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Re: Stephen King
[Re: ginaitaliangirl]
#562528
12/17/09 11:57 AM
12/17/09 11:57 AM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,296 Throggs Neck
pizzaboy
OP
The Fuckin Doctor
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OP
The Fuckin Doctor
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,296
Throggs Neck
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King did an interview with Colbert tonight. Once it's posted on the web site, I'll share it here because I think any SK fan would enjoy it - it was hilarious! Damn! I wish I had known, Gina. King is a great interview; a naturally funny guy, with a very dry wit. He's also very political, so I assume he and Colbert had a lot of fun together. Now hurry up and post it!
"I got news for you. If it wasn't for the toilet, there would be no books." --- George Costanza.
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Re: Stephen King
[Re: Sicilian Babe]
#562591
12/17/09 10:46 PM
12/17/09 10:46 PM
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 25,984 California
The Italian Stallionette
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 25,984
California
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That was good. I haven't seen either Stephen in a while. SB, continue watching and you'll see your favorite clown. He's so adorable. TIS
"Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind. War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today." JFK
"War is over, if you want it" - John Lennon
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Re: Stephen King
[Re: The Italian Stallionette]
#562630
12/18/09 11:52 AM
12/18/09 11:52 AM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,296 Throggs Neck
pizzaboy
OP
The Fuckin Doctor
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OP
The Fuckin Doctor
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,296
Throggs Neck
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That was great, Gina!! Colbert is the funniest guy on television. When he was talking to King about the gay protagonist in "The Cell," I almost peed myself .
"I got news for you. If it wasn't for the toilet, there would be no books." --- George Costanza.
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Re: Stephen King
[Re: Sicilian Babe]
#562677
12/19/09 10:16 AM
12/19/09 10:16 AM
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 13,145 East Tennessee
ronnierocketAGO
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 13,145
East Tennessee
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I hated the film adaptation of "The Dead Zone", despite the fact that martin Sheen was so wonderfully evil as Stillson. It was not faithful to the book and the changes seemed ridiculously arbitrary. "Christine" was pretty darned good, but the best adaptation of one of King's horror novels, IMO, is "Carrie". While some of "The Stand" is great, the casting of whiny Molly Ringwald as Fran was akin to Sofia in GF3. Just ruined it for me.
And then, of course, there is the excellent "Green Mile" and, in a class by itself, "Shawshank".
Like what exactly?
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Re: Stephen King
[Re: ginaitaliangirl]
#563855
01/04/10 08:51 AM
01/04/10 08:51 AM
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 17,300 New York
Sicilian Babe
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 17,300
New York
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Gi, that's how I felt after finishing "Cujo". After they escape from the car, but not in time to save Tad, and the father comes across the poem he had written for him about no monsters in his room, I cried my eyes out. As a father, I'm not sure how King was able to even conceive, much less write, that plotline. I usually enjoy rereading King's books, because he's so descriptive and the details are so rich, but that's one I've never picked up again. The movie, thankfully, had the ending changed.
President Emeritus of the Neal Pulcawer Fan Club
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Re: Stephen King
[Re: ginaitaliangirl]
#563884
01/04/10 01:55 PM
01/04/10 01:55 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,296 Throggs Neck
pizzaboy
OP
The Fuckin Doctor
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OP
The Fuckin Doctor
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,296
Throggs Neck
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I just finished "Bag of Bones." Amazing, but it made me cry, so I'm kind of annoyed with Stephen right now (haha)...it's so hard to pull yourself from his fictional world when the book's over!
There is something really incredible about the way he writes that makes a story so special. And though I love the spooky themes, I've really enjoyed when he takes a soft, nostalgic, and even sad tone in his writing. Great book, Gina. A lot of reviewers have written that "Bag of Bones" is King's most "literary" novel. Whatever the hell that's supposed to mean. In the eyes of the literary eggheads that review books, so called "genre" fiction has no business being mentioned in the same breath as "literary" fiction. That's why I can't stand critics. Those who can't do . . . teach. Those who can't write . . . critique. But back to "Bag of Bones." From the very first page, you knew it would be a tear jerker. And Max Devore was one of King's more memorable villains. But I agree that the ending was very sad. Although you do end up hopeful: Hopeful that Mike will adopt Kyra.
"I got news for you. If it wasn't for the toilet, there would be no books." --- George Costanza.
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Re: Stephen King
[Re: pizzaboy]
#563945
01/04/10 10:37 PM
01/04/10 10:37 PM
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Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 5,032 Texas
ginaitaliangirl
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Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 5,032
Texas
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I usually enjoy rereading King's books, because he's so descriptive and the details are so rich, but that's one I've never picked up again. SB, I've still got Cujo on my to-read list (along with many others!), so I won't read your spoiler just yet. haha And I always like doing the book version first, then movie, so hopefully it'll work out that way. But I can now prepare myself for more tears, thanks to your warning! PB, I've never been able to understand the mind of a critic very well, so I judge books just on how I enjoy them - but I'm glad to hear I enjoyed a "literary" novel.
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