Ten-hour miniseries of The Stand on CBS All Access

[Johnny Alien]

With DT, the original plan was to focus on characters on TV and action on the big screen.

I have heard that but I simply can't figure out how that would work. Plus I am sure the plan has changed a few times. The last comment from someone that read the script said that the first three books were merged into the first film. If that is actually true (and I am far from someone that could verify) then that would point to them not using the show to do character build up. Using the show for back story just makes a ton of sense from both a financial perspective and from a viewers perspective as it does not force anyone to see the show on a channel they don't pay for. But if it ever gets off the ground they will do what they do regardless of what I feel is a good idea. I do feel that if they don't do Wizard and Glass as part of the TV series then it will possibly be dropped altogether. Which is something I wouldn't be happy about.

[Iwritecode]

I've said it for Dark Tower and I'll say it here... I don't think a television to movie adaptation is a good idea unless you can find a way to make the two work independently of one another. I do think eight episodes and a movie is better than DT's proposed 'a movie then a TV show then a movie' but I'd rather see it as an R-rated film trilogy.

Agreed.

I don't see how you can split up the story and have it make sense if someone doesn't see either the TV show or the movie. They are either going to have a movie that drops into the middle of the action or backtracks a lot of the ground covered by the TV show.

I'm not sure how the show could have any kind of satisfying ending either without literally saying: "Ok, now go watch the movie to see how it all works out".

[divemaster]

Apropos of nothing, but an interesting tidbit nonethelss...

I just sold a whole bunch of my Arkham House collection to Josh Boone. A couple of King items as well. Over 20 books.

[Xerrand]

I generally hate when they take books I love and transfer them to the screen, but I think the stand is really suitable for this, and a decent re-make would be amazing! Can't wait

[herbertwest]

I dont really understand how "busy" some people are.
- JJ Abrams deals with Star Wars 7 (which I would have thought would have kept him busy until the release day), 11/22/63 and some other projects.
- Josh Boone :
o The Stand,
o Josh Boone to write and direct new X-Men spinoff, The New Mutants
o Lisey's Story?
o and according to this new article : the reboot of Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles, as well as "He will write the screenplay for The Drowning Girl, while Kiernan will be writing The Red Tree"

[Ari_Racing]

It's not like they're doing all this at the same time...I think they probably work less hours than we do.

[mae]

[Wicked]

Thank you for that video, Pablo

Who is that guy that hasn't read 'The Stand'!? I'll admit, I'd not read it, until I saw the mini-series, but after I did, I had to read it, and I was so glad I did. You miss so much just relying on the condensed version that was offered via the mini-series. It was good, but it was condensed.

There were a few books I had my kids read when they were growing up that schools traditionally don't introduce them to. Ender's Game (Orson Scott Card), Thief of Always (Clive Barker) and starting HS, The Stand. They have both grown to not only love the work of King (though they're not quite the junkie I am...yet) but they both, to my amusement always mutter that someone has 'Captain Trips' when they hear someone cough madly in public, or tell me "them summertime colds are the worst, old timer!" when I'm down sick.

If they're going to remake 'The Stand', I just hope it is done well. Perhaps maybe.. tie it in to that 'Dark Tower' movie I've been waiting on for forever...

[rockthecasbah]

I tried rereading The Stand but couldn't get the rancid TV Mini-Series out of my head. All I could picture was Molly Ringwald, Corin Nemic, and Gary Sinese.

[Merlin1958]

I tried rereading The Stand but couldn't get the rancid TV Mini-Series out of my head. All I could picture was Molly Ringwald, Corin Nemic, and Gary Sinese.

IDK, I actually thought some of the casting was rather good. Sinese as Stu was good, The Trashcan Man was very good, Rob Lowe as the mute was fair and the guy who played Tom Cullen was great. To name a few. However, the series as a whole stunk.

[rockthecasbah]

The TV series was definitely "Low Budget Night at The Apollo" Something along the line of The Walking Dead FX would have helped. I forget exactly, but there was a scene where someone was being chased in a car and out of nowhere a port-o-john gets into the scenery. Apparently a mistake that wasn't corrected in editing.

[mtdman]

I loved the TV miniseries. I own it on DVD and watch it a couple times a year. Molly Ringworm is great in that show. IMO they shouldn't try to make a new movie, they got it right the first time in the 90s.

[Merlin1958]

I loved the TV miniseries. I own it on DVD and watch it a couple times a year. Molly Ringworm is great in that show. IMO they shouldn't try to make a new movie, they got it right the first time in the 90s.

I should correct myself. It didn't "stink", but it wasn't great either. It is all we have, visually but it also screams "Made for TV" when I watch it and I'll click on it when it is playing on cable now and again. It should benefit substantially, in the right hands, on the big screen, IMHO

[Wicked]

Oh, I can re-read The Stand over and over and always find it a joy compared to the mini-series.

I too liked Sinese, Lowe, Max Headroom (Trash) and Tom Cullen in their roles. I've never liked Molly Ringwald in anything, but that dark hair just didn't suit her, she looked like she was playing a part (and you want to immerse yourself in what you watch, not think, "what a bad wig!") The Rat Man was great. The Judge? Loved him. Glenn? Perfect. Nadine..blech. Larry? Flagg? Room for improvement, I think.

I think I'd like to see what can be done with this now that I really think about it, and I too, own it on DVD and do watch it, however, I'm okay with something being 'updated' if it's not "roont" in the process.

[TCCBodhi]

Ruby Dee was also great in it, though she was hindered by a horrible prosthetic and makeup job in it.

[Wicked]

Oh yeah, I forgot all about Mother Abigail. She was great in her role, Ruby Dee, though wasn't she? She did what Molly couldn't do, she made me believe for a time, regardless of budget and limitations, that she was who she was supposed to be, Mother Abigail.. I suppose that's why I didn't even think about it!

[mae]

As posted by Bev in its own new thread:

Josh Boone Pushes Back Stephen King’s ‘The Stand’ To Next Direct ‘Revival

[M-O-O-N]

I hope they do it right.

[mae]

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplayli...-axed-20160219

The plans for the new movie adaptation of Stephen King's "The Stand" were once quite ambitious with talk of the author's massive novel being split between four movies, along with an eight-episode companion miniseries. However, the project was recently put on hold, and director Josh Boone moved on to another King adaptation, "The Revival" starring Samuel L. Jackson. According to producer Roy Lee, "The Stand" is still being retooled, with the possibility of bringing the massive book down to one, big movie.

“Right now it’s just in a holding pattern trying to figure out how to best make the movie because we’ve toyed with breaking it up into multiple movies, making it into one, making it into two. The latest draft, Josh Boone had written it and he was very anxious to make it but since then has written another script, 'Revival,' which he’s gonna do beforehand, so we’re just waiting for that,” Lee told Collider.

"...we’ve been experimenting with trying to see what the one movie would look like," he added. "If you do the one movie, you obviously have to take out a big portion of the book, so trying to balance what to keep and what to cut out was a long process because there’s so much to go through. So that’s why it’s been a long process. Right now it’s written as two movies.”

Reading between lines, one senses that Warner Bros. aren't quite ready to gamble on a big Stephen King franchise, and perhaps given the studio's current, heavy investment in their DC Films, that's understandable. But it does seem a bit foolish to try and whittle down an 800-page plus novel into a single movie, even if it is three hours long. As for the the proposed TV series, Lee says the ABC series from the '90s is quite good as it is, but the bigger issue was trying to figure out how to weave the movies and shows together.

"...the logistics made it very difficult to try to do a worldwide launch of a movie when the TV component would not necessarily be released at the same time worldwide. So it became a logistic nightmare to try to figure that out, so that plan was abandoned,” he said.

It's a bit interesting in that context to consider that Sony and MRC are still pushing ahead with their planned multiple movie and TV series adaptation of King's "The Dark Tower," and don't seem to be troubled by the ambition required.

All told, it sounds like "The Stand" might be a long way off, so we'll have to wait and see if Boone and Lee can crack the code to make it a satisfying take on the book, but one that won't require too much risk from the studio.

[Merlin1958]

First, great article, Pablo (TDT.Org Sr. Correspondent)!!!!! JMHO, but given, King's past history of films made from his material (not an indictment on, King's work, but more of one on how Hollywood has chosen to adapt it) in the past, I could see why they might hesitate on taking a risk on "The Stand" (which also has a "Made for TV" version to consider) into a "Current Franchise". The "bean Counters" might be turning over in their sleep.

However, I am mystified as to why they haven't exploited the "Marvel" angle (As someone else suggested in the "DT Film" thread) to cash in on the whole fantasy/Action heroes/comics craze for franchise material with regard to TDT. Seems like a natural. Probably comes down to current "Rights" and "Negotiations" in the end. However, you would think that with "Universal" trotting out an intricate "Classic Movie Monster Universe", DC with MGM (?) universe, the "Marvel Universe success and even the recent deal by "Sony & Marvel" on Spiderman, that everyone would be drooling on this with dreams of "LOTR" dancing in their heads. Again, JMHO and a thought.

[Lookwhoitis]

The suits that have the rights to the Dark Tower dont want to give the opportunity to make the money to the Marvel Suits. They want to mine the gold themselves.

[Merlin1958]

The suits that have the rights to the Dark Tower dont want to give the opportunity to make the money to the Marvel Suits. They want to mine the gold themselves.

Well, yeah. With all due respect that is just what I was (kinds) getting at. LOL

Spoiler:

You ever really consider me to be a "Poet/Writer"?????? LOL J/K LOL

[Bunyip]

I just hope they finally make something. It deserves it....WE deserve it!Lol....I would actually be really happy with a high quality animated series. Rated R, very graphic, no holds barred animation. I think that would rock, and it would make it easier to stay true to the story, and characters...

[CyberGhostface]

Boone:

"My adaptation is incredibly faithful to King’s book, but the way I was able to contain all of it in a single three-hour film is: I shattered King’s structure and told the story non-linear. That was really what broke everything open for me. The opening scene is Mother Abigail on her deathbed sending our heroes off to make their stand against the Dark Man in Vegas, and then we jump back in time and you basically have three spinning timelines going the whole movie–Captain Trips, Boulder, and The Stand, same as the book, but they are all happening simultaneously. Sequences that fall hundreds of pages apart in the book stand side-by-side in the film, echoing and resonating in new and strange ways. I remain incredibly excited about that script. I can’t wait to make it. The Stand is the movie of a lifetime so I’m completely content waiting until someone gives us exactly what we need to do it right rather than to compromise.”

http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/157...icles-revival/

I'll give him the benefit of the doubt but I can't see one movie -- even a three hour one -- doing this justice.

[mae]

http://movieweb.com/the-stand-salems...-stephen-king/

It's a great time to be a Stephen King fan. The wild success of IT has brought a renewed interest in the author's work, which means we are bound to be getting some new adaptations of his beloved stories in the near future. There are quite a few King projects already in development, but what else could we see in the next couple of years? According to King, it looks like The Stand and Salem's Lot are up next.

The 70-year-old author spoke with Vulture recently and talked a bit about what may be coming down the pipeline. Adaptations of Gerald's Game and 1922 are coming to Netflix very soon, but Stephen King says that some of his bigger, more recognizable stories, are possibly going to get new adaptations soon. The Stand is, once again, possibly going to be done as a TV series and Salem's Lot may finally be made as a proper movie. Here's what he had to say about it.

"There's talk about doing The Stand as an extended TV series, possibly for Showtime or CBS All Access. And there's been some interest in developing Salem's Lot as a feature, probably because people are saying, 'Well, we took an old miniseries called IT and turned it into a phenomenon, so maybe we can do it with something else.' Nothing succeeds like excess!"

The Stand is something that Hollywood has been trying to crack for a while now. At one point, The Fault in Our Stars director Josh Boone was working on a movie adaptation, but we haven't heard anything about that for a while. The Stand was adapted into a series in 1994 that, at best, is very dated and, even in its time, didn't live up to the full potential that exists in the source material. As for the whole CBS All Access thing, that bit makes sense, as the network is trying to create very attractive, exclusive content to attract subscribers to the service. They already started with Star Trek: Discovery. A high-dollar Stephen King adaptation would be another huge get for the streaming service.

As for Salem's Lot, that is one of the Stephen King novels most deserving of a modern adaptation. As King points out, the novel was done as a TV movie in 1979 by Texas Chainsaw Massacre director Tobe Hooper. It would make sense for a studio to look at the success of IT and try to do the same thing with Salem's Lot. If done correctly, it could bring in the same kind of financial reward. Stephen King also says an animated feature based on one of his works is happening, but he can't tell us anything about it right now.

"There's talk about another thing, an animated feature, but I can't tell you anything further, it's a secret. That looks like it might happen."

While speaking with Vulture, the author also commented on the Insomnia VR series, saying that he hasn't heard a word about the project in quite some time. In any case, if you're a Stephen King fan, get ready for a whole bunch of new movies and shows based on his work, good and bad, over the coming years. Let's just hope if The Stand and Salem's Lot do wind up moving forward, they're done right this time.