mae
08-17-2012, 11:51 AM
http://whatculture.com/film/5-stephen-king-novellas-that-need-to-be-feature-films.php
The best thing about Stephen King is the conviction. Because, let’s face it, some of his ideas come across as kind of lame when you first hear them (Evil car, anyone?). Luckily, King is a writer of such skill and talent that they never seem that way when you’re actually reading the books. He makes it all seem plausible.
King also manages to pull off that risky feat in which the odd or horrific circumstances surrounding his plots go forever unexplained – a key component that might make or break a novelist’s relationship with his audience. But nope: King’s confidence assures readers that they don’t really need to know why things are happening, just that they are, and this is what the characters are doing in reactionary terms. Because really, King’s works are almost always about his characters. They’re stories about time and place and culture and society as much as they’re about hell-bent clowns, psychic adolescents and rabid dogs.
But Stephen King isn’t to be defined by his novels alone. Over the span of his long career he’s ventured into all sorts of creative writing avenues: these include the short story, and the novella. Even if you think novella is a made-up word that pretentious people use to describe something half the size of a novel, writers have been toying with the format for hundreds of years. And Stephen King knows that better than most: he’s written more than a dozen of the things since he started writing in the 60s. In fact, The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption, The Mist and Stand By Me all began life as novellas before they each became wonderful feature films.
To celebrate the fact that King has two brand new novels on the way (one of which is a long-awaited sequel to The Shining), here’s a run-down of his 5 best novellas that are yet to become feature films (in case you want to read something but can’t be bothered to read an entire novel, these novella things are considered rather good).
5. A Good Marriage
Publication Year: 2010
Collected In: Full Dark, No Stars
What’s the worst discovery you could make about your partner of 30 years? Serial cheater? Try serial killer. That’s the horrifying discovery that Darcy Anderson makes when her husband Bob, all-round nice guy, accountant and coin collector, goes away on a business trip. Darcy is in the garage when she stumbles upon a box of evidence that points to Bob’s not-so-normal pastimes. Horrified and struck with disbelief, Darcy can’t hide what she believes is the truth… and soon enough, Bob will be coming home.
A Good Marriage is vintage King in the sense that it explores hidden truths that will eventually come to light and shake the foundations of his character’s lives. The subject of marriage is dissected throughout the narrative, as Darcy ponders exactly what it means to share your existence with somebody and not know everything about them. It’s an exceptionally well-told story, simple in its execution, and embodied with a strange, lingering power that asks you to consider exactly how well you know the people you chose to spend time with.
Would it make a good feature film?
Yes. A Good Marriage has the potential to double as a vivid portrait of what it means to be married and a classic trouble in suburbia drama. It also has the potential, with a few tweaks, to roll as a relentless thriller in every sense.
4. Blockade Billy
Publication Date: 2010
Collected In: -
William “Blockade Billy” Blakely is the greatest baseball player to have ever graced the game – except that nobody remembers him because every trace of his career has been erased from the history books. Told from the perspective of George “Granny” Grantham – the third base coach of fictional baseball team the New Jersey Titans – Blockade Billy takes form as an oral history set over many years. The story begins in 1957, as George recalls the first game in which Billy is brought onto the field as a last resort and manages to blow everybody away with his skill. Of course, this is King, so Billy is harnessing a dark secret that will ultimately be his undoing.
Blockade Billy is Stephen King’s only major contribution to the relatively scarce field of sports fiction. King’s own love of baseball is easily noticed over the span of his works, however, and he’s written a couple of non-fiction books on the subject, too. King’s American fans had often wondered if he’d get around to writing something centered on baseball, and he wrote this novella in just 2 weeks as a kind of response. And it’s a good little story – not exactly his best work – that manages to blend baseball and King’s trademark macabre in a way that feels authentic.
Would it make a good feature film?
Yes. The oral history aspect makes it ripe for an on-screen adaptation, and certain elements of the plot could be expanded to flesh the story out further. The revelation of Billy’s secret would also prove satisfying as a big screen twist. It might also be the first in a new genre mash-up: the sports horror film.
3. The Library Policeman
Publication Date: 1990
Collected In: Four Past Midnight
When Sam Peebles takes a couple of books out from his local library to help research an upcoming speech, the strange librarian warns him that the books must be returned on time or he will face the consequences brought on by “The Library Policeman.” But the books are soon misplaced and Sam is told that the librarian he saw has been dead for years. Unnerved and confused, Sam is eventually drawn into a nightmare that threatens his very sanity… as his childhood fears begin to plague him once again in the form of a terrible monster.
Inspired by an idea that his son gave him when King suggested he visit the library for a school project, The Library Policeman is a novella that only Stephen King could pull off – a deceivingly quirky story that carries a lot of weight. The theme of childhood fears returning out of the past is classic King, and here he manifests a monster in the similar vein to It to create a story that’s both brilliantly entertaining and terrifying all at once.
Would it make a good feature film?
Yes. There’s enough here for a feature film adaptation. It has the potential to become a taut little thriller that offers jumps and thrills in droves, and would also resonant with audiences who, like Sam, are similarly gripped by the fears of their youth.
2. The Langoliers
Publication Date: 1990
Collected In: Four Past Midnight
On a seemingly routine red eye flight from Los Angeles to Boston, ten passengers awaken to find that everybody else has vanished – everybody that wasn’t sleeping when they ripped through some kind of space-time continuum wormhole. Brian Engle, an off-duty pilot, must take command of the passengers – an assorted collection of weirdos, eccentrics, those with hidden agendas, and even a psychic – to get themselves to safety. But it’s not as simple as just landing the plane. Nothing is as it seems… and the past is catching up with them.
Large cast of assorted characters? Check. Unexplained events force said characters into action? Check. Death and danger at every turn? Check. A sheer contender for most Stephen King-esque Stephen King novella, The Langoliers might have taken its inspiration from a Richard Matherson story set similarly high in the friendly skies: the brilliant Terror at 20,000 Feet. Unlike Terror, though, King’s story isn’t about a monster clutching onto the wings of an airplane and scaring the passengers as it scurries around on top – instead, it’s an odd little tale about the intricacies of time travel with nothing much on its plate but a will to entertain the heck out of you. It was actually made as a sub-par CBS TV movie in 1995 with awful special effects and bad acting, but we’re not counting that.
Would it make a good feature film?
Yes and no. With a large budget and attached to a director who can work with a small team of actors to get the best possible performances out of his cast, this could be a potential blockbuster. But King’s story skips on a detailed explanation of the events which occur and could leave audiences at the movies feeling somewhat cheated.
1. Big Driver
Publication Date: 2010
Collected In: Full Dark, No Stars
On the drive home from a speaking engagement, Tess, a successful mystery writer, accidentally runs her car over a piece of wood embedded with nails and is left stranded in the wilderness. Soon enough, a large man in a truck offers to give her a ride, but this is the sick, perverted bastard who set the trap in the first place and he proceeds to rape and abuse her. But Tess is far from defeated, and it’s thoughts of revenge that soon begin to steer her destiny towards a horrifying, blood-soaked climax…
Big Driver is Stephen King having fun in the same way that Richard Bachman did back in the 70s. There’s nothing particularly special going on here except for a thrilling sense of mounting tension achieved through the speedy narrative structure. King ties the novella together with some keen observations on the nature of revenge itself – Tess must deal with her new feelings knowing she wants to kill somebody – but this is basically just pleasure reading in that great, taut King style. The author even admits in the liner notes that “there’s something intensely satisfying about what they call private justice” and cites Death Wish as an inspiration for the story.
Would it make a good feature film?
Yes. Big Driver is pretty much already a late-night horror movie in the vein of 70s women-out-for-revenge-movies like I Spit On Your Grave. Adapted with B-movie tendencies by somebody who knows how to pull off pulpy material, this could be a great – if not familiar – horror flick.
The best thing about Stephen King is the conviction. Because, let’s face it, some of his ideas come across as kind of lame when you first hear them (Evil car, anyone?). Luckily, King is a writer of such skill and talent that they never seem that way when you’re actually reading the books. He makes it all seem plausible.
King also manages to pull off that risky feat in which the odd or horrific circumstances surrounding his plots go forever unexplained – a key component that might make or break a novelist’s relationship with his audience. But nope: King’s confidence assures readers that they don’t really need to know why things are happening, just that they are, and this is what the characters are doing in reactionary terms. Because really, King’s works are almost always about his characters. They’re stories about time and place and culture and society as much as they’re about hell-bent clowns, psychic adolescents and rabid dogs.
But Stephen King isn’t to be defined by his novels alone. Over the span of his long career he’s ventured into all sorts of creative writing avenues: these include the short story, and the novella. Even if you think novella is a made-up word that pretentious people use to describe something half the size of a novel, writers have been toying with the format for hundreds of years. And Stephen King knows that better than most: he’s written more than a dozen of the things since he started writing in the 60s. In fact, The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption, The Mist and Stand By Me all began life as novellas before they each became wonderful feature films.
To celebrate the fact that King has two brand new novels on the way (one of which is a long-awaited sequel to The Shining), here’s a run-down of his 5 best novellas that are yet to become feature films (in case you want to read something but can’t be bothered to read an entire novel, these novella things are considered rather good).
5. A Good Marriage
Publication Year: 2010
Collected In: Full Dark, No Stars
What’s the worst discovery you could make about your partner of 30 years? Serial cheater? Try serial killer. That’s the horrifying discovery that Darcy Anderson makes when her husband Bob, all-round nice guy, accountant and coin collector, goes away on a business trip. Darcy is in the garage when she stumbles upon a box of evidence that points to Bob’s not-so-normal pastimes. Horrified and struck with disbelief, Darcy can’t hide what she believes is the truth… and soon enough, Bob will be coming home.
A Good Marriage is vintage King in the sense that it explores hidden truths that will eventually come to light and shake the foundations of his character’s lives. The subject of marriage is dissected throughout the narrative, as Darcy ponders exactly what it means to share your existence with somebody and not know everything about them. It’s an exceptionally well-told story, simple in its execution, and embodied with a strange, lingering power that asks you to consider exactly how well you know the people you chose to spend time with.
Would it make a good feature film?
Yes. A Good Marriage has the potential to double as a vivid portrait of what it means to be married and a classic trouble in suburbia drama. It also has the potential, with a few tweaks, to roll as a relentless thriller in every sense.
4. Blockade Billy
Publication Date: 2010
Collected In: -
William “Blockade Billy” Blakely is the greatest baseball player to have ever graced the game – except that nobody remembers him because every trace of his career has been erased from the history books. Told from the perspective of George “Granny” Grantham – the third base coach of fictional baseball team the New Jersey Titans – Blockade Billy takes form as an oral history set over many years. The story begins in 1957, as George recalls the first game in which Billy is brought onto the field as a last resort and manages to blow everybody away with his skill. Of course, this is King, so Billy is harnessing a dark secret that will ultimately be his undoing.
Blockade Billy is Stephen King’s only major contribution to the relatively scarce field of sports fiction. King’s own love of baseball is easily noticed over the span of his works, however, and he’s written a couple of non-fiction books on the subject, too. King’s American fans had often wondered if he’d get around to writing something centered on baseball, and he wrote this novella in just 2 weeks as a kind of response. And it’s a good little story – not exactly his best work – that manages to blend baseball and King’s trademark macabre in a way that feels authentic.
Would it make a good feature film?
Yes. The oral history aspect makes it ripe for an on-screen adaptation, and certain elements of the plot could be expanded to flesh the story out further. The revelation of Billy’s secret would also prove satisfying as a big screen twist. It might also be the first in a new genre mash-up: the sports horror film.
3. The Library Policeman
Publication Date: 1990
Collected In: Four Past Midnight
When Sam Peebles takes a couple of books out from his local library to help research an upcoming speech, the strange librarian warns him that the books must be returned on time or he will face the consequences brought on by “The Library Policeman.” But the books are soon misplaced and Sam is told that the librarian he saw has been dead for years. Unnerved and confused, Sam is eventually drawn into a nightmare that threatens his very sanity… as his childhood fears begin to plague him once again in the form of a terrible monster.
Inspired by an idea that his son gave him when King suggested he visit the library for a school project, The Library Policeman is a novella that only Stephen King could pull off – a deceivingly quirky story that carries a lot of weight. The theme of childhood fears returning out of the past is classic King, and here he manifests a monster in the similar vein to It to create a story that’s both brilliantly entertaining and terrifying all at once.
Would it make a good feature film?
Yes. There’s enough here for a feature film adaptation. It has the potential to become a taut little thriller that offers jumps and thrills in droves, and would also resonant with audiences who, like Sam, are similarly gripped by the fears of their youth.
2. The Langoliers
Publication Date: 1990
Collected In: Four Past Midnight
On a seemingly routine red eye flight from Los Angeles to Boston, ten passengers awaken to find that everybody else has vanished – everybody that wasn’t sleeping when they ripped through some kind of space-time continuum wormhole. Brian Engle, an off-duty pilot, must take command of the passengers – an assorted collection of weirdos, eccentrics, those with hidden agendas, and even a psychic – to get themselves to safety. But it’s not as simple as just landing the plane. Nothing is as it seems… and the past is catching up with them.
Large cast of assorted characters? Check. Unexplained events force said characters into action? Check. Death and danger at every turn? Check. A sheer contender for most Stephen King-esque Stephen King novella, The Langoliers might have taken its inspiration from a Richard Matherson story set similarly high in the friendly skies: the brilliant Terror at 20,000 Feet. Unlike Terror, though, King’s story isn’t about a monster clutching onto the wings of an airplane and scaring the passengers as it scurries around on top – instead, it’s an odd little tale about the intricacies of time travel with nothing much on its plate but a will to entertain the heck out of you. It was actually made as a sub-par CBS TV movie in 1995 with awful special effects and bad acting, but we’re not counting that.
Would it make a good feature film?
Yes and no. With a large budget and attached to a director who can work with a small team of actors to get the best possible performances out of his cast, this could be a potential blockbuster. But King’s story skips on a detailed explanation of the events which occur and could leave audiences at the movies feeling somewhat cheated.
1. Big Driver
Publication Date: 2010
Collected In: Full Dark, No Stars
On the drive home from a speaking engagement, Tess, a successful mystery writer, accidentally runs her car over a piece of wood embedded with nails and is left stranded in the wilderness. Soon enough, a large man in a truck offers to give her a ride, but this is the sick, perverted bastard who set the trap in the first place and he proceeds to rape and abuse her. But Tess is far from defeated, and it’s thoughts of revenge that soon begin to steer her destiny towards a horrifying, blood-soaked climax…
Big Driver is Stephen King having fun in the same way that Richard Bachman did back in the 70s. There’s nothing particularly special going on here except for a thrilling sense of mounting tension achieved through the speedy narrative structure. King ties the novella together with some keen observations on the nature of revenge itself – Tess must deal with her new feelings knowing she wants to kill somebody – but this is basically just pleasure reading in that great, taut King style. The author even admits in the liner notes that “there’s something intensely satisfying about what they call private justice” and cites Death Wish as an inspiration for the story.
Would it make a good feature film?
Yes. Big Driver is pretty much already a late-night horror movie in the vein of 70s women-out-for-revenge-movies like I Spit On Your Grave. Adapted with B-movie tendencies by somebody who knows how to pull off pulpy material, this could be a great – if not familiar – horror flick.