Netflix's The Talisman from Speilberg and the Duffer Brothers

[mae]

This is probably nothing but if you'll recall, there was talk over ten years ago (jeez) about Steven Spielberg adapting The Talisman for TV:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/second-take-spielberg-tnt-do-145361

Following last year's limited series "Into the West," TNT is getting into business with Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks Television again, this time to bring the Stephen King-Peter Straub novel "The Talisman" to the small screen.

TNT said Tuesday that it has greenlighted a six-hour limited-series adaptation of the novel, first published in 1984. "Talisman" centers on a boy who goes on a quest through this world and a parallel world known as the Territories, experiencing good and evil in each. His goal is to obtain a mysterious talisman that will save his dying mother's life as well as the life of her "twinner," the Queen of the Territories.

The project, set to premiere in summer 2008, will be executive produced by Spielberg and his frequent partner Kathleen Kennedy along with Ehren Kruger ("The Ring"), who will adapt the novel. Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey, who head DreamWorks Television, will co-executive produce.

Michael Wright, senior vp original programming at TNT and TBS, said the discussions about a second collaboration with Spielberg and DreamWorks started after the 12-hour "West" aired in summer 2005. Wright said that he, Spielberg, Frank and Falvey were talking about potential projects, and "a couple days later, Steven called back and said, 'What do you think of 'The Talisman'? Ironically, I had tried to pursue the project a few times before at other places, but it had never been available."

DreamWorks SKG previously had been developing "Talisman" as a feature film. Before that, the project was being developed as a miniseries at ABC.

Wright praised Spielberg and King, calling them "incredibly talented people who consistently create entertaining work that's very smart," which is in line with "what we aspire to do at Turner." He also said that "Talisman" is "truly one of Stephen King's best books."

"It's a fantastic adventure, it's scary, it's full of wonder," he said. "I can't stress enough that I'm so pleased to be working with these people (again). All of us had a really fantastic experience working together on 'Into the West' both creatively and in terms of the show's reception."

TNT has adapted two other King books: The four-hour "Salem's Lot," one of 2004's top-rated cable movies, and "Nightmares & Dreamscapes," an eight-part anthology series that aired this summer.

Spielberg's other longform TV credits include HBO's "Band of Brothers" and Sci Fi Channel's "Taken."

Obviously, that didn't happen:

http://www.eonline.com/news/56164/spielberg-and-king-s-talisman-shelved

Steven Spielberg's long-awaited TV adaptation of Stephen King's The Talisman is seemingly stuck in a dead zone.

The Oscar-winning director and TNT have postponed plans to turn the 1984 fantasy epic, which King cowrote with Peter Straub, into a six-hour miniseries airing next summer, the cable network confirmed Thursday.

"Production is on hold, but the project remains in development," a TNT rep told E! Online, declining to go into details.

After successfully collaborating on the highly rated, Emmy-winning 2005 western miniseries Into the West, TNT and DreamWorks Television announced in December plans to shoot The Talisman, with Spielberg reprising his supervisory role as executive producer.

The novel follows the surreal quest of Jack Sawyer, a 12-year-old boy who journeys from this world into a parallel one known as the Territories to retrieve a mysterious relic with magical properties that can save his dying mother.

DreamWorks did not comment on the delay Thursday. However, an insider with the company told the Hollywood Reporter that the decision was made primarily because of spiraling costs due to complex special effects. Producers realized they couldn't bring the ambitious project, based on a teleplay by Ehren Kruger (The Ring), in on its approved budget.

Spielberg has long been obsessed with The Talisman, having tried to set it up several times since he and longtime producer Kathleen Kennedy acquired the screen rights in 1984.

One of the first attempts came in the early '90s in the form of a feature film with a script by Richard LaGravenese (The Fisher King, The Bridges of Madison County).

When that failed to gain any traction, Spielberg and Kennedy sought to develop The Talisman as a four-hour miniseries with ABC. But the project was derailed after the Alphabet net got cold feet over a skyrocketing budget.

Then Universal and DreamWorks revived The Talisman as a feature, bringing in several notable Hollywood scribes to take a stab at it. At one point, writer-director Edward Zwick (Blood Diamond, The Last Samurai) was even attached.

The latest incarnation of Talisman came about after Spielberg pitched the project to TNT honcho Michael Wright, who greenlighted the endeavor based on the success of Into the West.

Meanwhile, Spielberg is wrapping up production on another long-awaited passion project—the newly christened Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which is due in theaters May 22, 2008.

Now, here I am, ten years or so later, just reading up on Spielberg's upcoming film The Post, and what do you know:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/amblin-partners-ceo-michael-wright-exiting-company-1041313

Michael Wright, Amblin Partners' top executive, is stepping down as CEO, the company announced Tuesday.

Steven Spielberg, who serves as chairman, will assume the CEO post.

Wright, who became DreamWorks CEO in September 2014, was later instrumental in establishing the overarching Amblin Partners, home of DreamWorks, and in forging Amblin’s distribution deal with Universal Pictures. His contract wasn't up until 2020 after being renewed in early 2016, according to sources.

A major mandate was to build and exploit the trio of labels that fall under Amblin Partners: Amblin, for family films; DreamWorks, for adult fare, such as this fall's Pentagon Papers drama The Post, directed by Spielberg; and Participant Media, for socially conscious movies. (Jeff Skoll's Participant is a major stakeholder in Amblin.)

Wright will become an executive producer on two of Amblin's upcoming films.

“I have always enjoyed working with Michael and the unique creative collaboration we’ve shared going back to his days at Turner Broadcasting," Spielberg said in a statement. "I am very pleased to continue our relationship and that he is joining our upcoming projects, The Talisman and The Wand, as an executive producer. I also want to express my gratitude to Michael for helping us launch our company and creating a strong foundation to build on in the future.”

An insider said there was a feeling that Wright wasn't the right fit, even though he was a huge Spielberg fan. He essentially became Spielberg's No. 2 after the departure of former DreamWorks co-chairman Stacey Snider, who is now chairman of 20th Century Fox Film.

During his tenure, Wright oversaw a slate that included The Girl on the Train and A Dog's Purpose and the recently announced The House With the Clock in Its Walls.

Jeff Small remains president and co-CEO, and, with Spielberg, will oversee the company's operations. Holly Bario, president of production, will continue to be responsible for the company's film development and production.

Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey continue in their posts as co-presidents of Amblin Television.

Before joining DreamWorks in 2014, Wright was president and head of programming for TBS, TNT and Turner Classic Movies. At Turner, he spearheaded brand-building for the three networks and led TNT and TBS to the top of the cable charts for 10 years in a row. During that time, Wright programmed some of the biggest hits on cable television, including The Closer, Southland and Falling Skies on TNT and Conan on TBS.

[Girlystevedave]

I would love to see an adaptation of The Talisman. With so many of King’s other works being made into movies and tv shows, The Talisman is easily among those who deserve to be told on screen. It could be epic. :o

[webstar1000]

I would love to see an adaptation of The Talisman. With so many of King’s other works being made into movies and tv shows, The Talisman is easily among those who deserve to be told on screen. It could be epic. :o

Damm right it could be epic. Wow.. this is great news!

[mae]

I'm surprised this is not getting more attention, but I do hope we hear more about it soon. Then again, maybe it's just nothing, like before.

[St. Troy]

I'm no longer a huge fan of the novel, but if they do this right, it could make for a nice little cable series.

[Bev Vincent]

I'm surprised this is not getting more attention, but I do hope we hear more about it soon. Then again, maybe it's just nothing, like before.

Until the day they announce casting, I remain dubious about the prospects of this project. Amblin has had the rights for 33 years.

[mae]

I'm surprised this is not getting more attention, but I do hope we hear more about it soon. Then again, maybe it's just nothing, like before.

Until the day they announce casting, I remain dubious about the prospects of this project. Amblin has had the rights for 33 years.

Agreed, but Spielberg himself called The Talisman an upcoming project. When was the last time he mentioned it? Back when it failed to take off ten years ago? Maybe it's back on for good. King's brand is so hot right now! :biggrin1:

[Girlystevedave]

I'm no longer a huge fan of the novel, but if they do this right, it could make for a nice little cable series.

Can you elaborate on what you mean by “no longer a huge fan of the novel”?
And I hope I’m in no way coming off as a smart ass. I’m genuinely curious.

[Brian861]

I'm currently listening to the audiobook (have never read the novel). I thought I wouldn't get past disc 1 but I hung in there and it got more interesting to me as it went along. I plan on listening to Black House right after.

[Girlystevedave]

I'm currently listening to the audiobook (have never read the novel). I thought I wouldn't get past disc 1 but I hung in there and it got more interesting to me as it went along. I plan on listening to Black House right after.

The first time I read it, I had a difficult time really get into it at first. Then, at a certain point in the novel, it hooked me and I fell in love with it. I hope you enjoy it the rest of the way.

[St. Troy]

I'm no longer a huge fan of the novel, but if they do this right, it could make for a nice little cable series.

Can you elaborate on what you mean by “no longer a huge fan of the novel”?
And I hope I’m in no way coming off as a smart ass. I’m genuinely curious.

I've read it twice - the first time, as a teenager, I loved it. For years, I would see it on my shelf and think, "ah - now there's one fine reading experience." Just looking at the dust jacket made me happy and refreshed my mind.

Then, in 2011, I re-read it and was unhappy with virtually everything about it. Why? Well...I hesitate to criticize the pieces in which King has disappointed me on this forum because in a King-oriented forum, that may come across as trolling or just being a dick for being a dick's sake. He's why we're all here, and I do love him. Also, for those that love The Talisman, I'm definitely not trying to make you see things my way; if that were an option, I'd just clam up so as not to ruin something for someone else.

But if you're still curious about my specific problems with The Talisman, I'll put them here (warning, it gets ugly):

The short version: everything struck me as arbitrary and villains mostly seemed made of paper.

The long reason? Read below (and I'm saving myself some work by quoting here from e-mails I wrote to a friend at the time (and this is only about half of what I wrote)):

"nearly every significant detail is completely arbitrary - why is the talisman the most powerful important thing there is yet somehow made of glass and totally fragile? Why can it call to Jack across a continent and kill its enemies but it can't talk anyone else throughout the centuries into packing it in a padded box or building it a chainmail vest? Why couldn't Wolf II show up to drive Jack cross-country at the start of the quest, but he can at the end? The fate of the world hinged on the fact that Speedy didn't own a station wagon and couldn't buy a bus ticket. 'Oh, no, you have to walk, and although the walks are much shorter in the magical land you can flip to anytime you like, you really shouldn't walk there, because, well, we have 600 more pages to fill with homoerotic hillbillies and environmentalist propaganda.'"

"And I'm getting SO FUCKING TIRED of King's insistence on the ability to defeat the evil monster du jour just by believing. A bunch of knights in armor battle Jack in the hotel, but essentially just by standing up to them (with a guitar pick or some fucking thing) he makes them fall down. And why is the manifestation of such a powerful evil something as dumb as a knight swinging a mace? And a spider saying "fushing feef"? That's not even worthy of a cheap haunted house, never mind the Incredibly Evil Hotel That Awaits At The End Of The Journey. Jesus Christ. The two most successful horror authors of their time, and this is the best they could do? That's right up there with "eeeeeeee!", which by the way also made an appearance here, after Gardener bit off the end of his tongue. Biting off his tongue was a nice touch, but then he sticks his fingers in his ears and does the "nyah nyah" thing – moronic.

But I digress; let's get back to the use of ultimately impotent manifestations of evil. When things started getting weird at the Thayer school, all the ugly monster people were capable of getting to our world, damaging property, and growing worms, but when it came to actually getting Jack, they had to ask Richard for permission. They gave chase when Jack & Richard made a run for the depot, so maybe they had the ability to grab & kill Jack, but if so, that means they didn't have the ability to enter the Thayer school without Richard's permission. So, who gave them permission to enter this world to begin with? Totally arbitrary. Any evil that has the ability to get within an inch of killing you but not the ability to do anything once there ISN'T worth my reading time. I mean, in The Stand, Flagg was fucking people up left and right; in Salem's Lot, lots of people got chomped and the hero would have too if he didn't watch his ass (and he still almost got chomped), and in The Shining, the whole point was that the ghosts couldn't do physical things themselves but sure as hell destroyed Jack Torrance psychologically as they enslaved him. The evil was real, the monsters were genuinely dangerous, the plots made sense, the books were good. Too much to ask? Hmm???????"

"Can you imagine what this collaboration could have been, some freakin' sick combination of Shadowland and Salem's Lot (for example) - dark magic, real evil, a house with true mysteries, believable characters, monsters that hide in the darkness and don't advertise their approach, no spoilers, no grand announcements to the protagonist that he is The Chosen Standard Bearer Of Good And Is Destined To Thwart Evil, but instead a claustrophobic plot that drives characters and events to unknown ends where success doesn't guarantee survival and vice versa - my God, what a phenomenally wasted opportunity.

I never should have reread this. Wolf!"

[Brian861]

I'm currently listening to the audiobook (have never read the novel). I thought I wouldn't get past disc 1 but I hung in there and it got more interesting to me as it went along. I plan on listening to Black House right after.

The first time I read it, I had a difficult time really get into it at first. Then, at a certain point in the novel, it hooked me and I fell in love with it. I hope you enjoy it the rest of the way.

Thanks, Amanda. I'm just starting into disc 2 of 3 so there's no turning back now.

[Girlystevedave]

I'm no longer a huge fan of the novel, but if they do this right, it could make for a nice little cable series.

Can you elaborate on what you mean by “no longer a huge fan of the novel”?
And I hope I’m in no way coming off as a smart ass. I’m genuinely curious.

I've read it twice - the first time, as a teenager, I loved it. For years, I would see it on my shelf and think, "ah - now there's one fine reading experience." Just looking at the dust jacket made me happy and refreshed my mind.

Then, in 2011, I re-read it and was unhappy with virtually everything about it. Why? Well...I hesitate to criticize the pieces in which King has disappointed me on this forum because in a King-oriented forum, that may come across as trolling or just being a dick for being a dick's sake. He's why we're all here, and I do love him. Also, for those that love The Talisman, I'm definitely not trying to make you see things my way; if that were an option, I'd just clam up so as not to ruin something for someone else.

But if you're still curious about my specific problems with The Talisman, I'll put them here (warning, it gets ugly):

The short version: everything struck me as arbitrary and villains mostly seemed made of paper.

The long reason? Read below (and I'm saving myself some work by quoting here from e-mails I wrote to a friend at the time (and this is only about half of what I wrote)):

"nearly every significant detail is completely arbitrary - why is the talisman the most powerful important thing there is yet somehow made of glass and totally fragile? Why can it call to Jack across a continent and kill its enemies but it can't talk anyone else throughout the centuries into packing it in a padded box or building it a chainmail vest? Why couldn't Wolf II show up to drive Jack cross-country at the start of the quest, but he can at the end? The fate of the world hinged on the fact that Speedy didn't own a station wagon and couldn't buy a bus ticket. 'Oh, no, you have to walk, and although the walks are much shorter in the magical land you can flip to anytime you like, you really shouldn't walk there, because, well, we have 600 more pages to fill with homoerotic hillbillies and environmentalist propaganda.'"

"And I'm getting SO FUCKING TIRED of King's insistence on the ability to defeat the evil monster du jour just by believing. A bunch of knights in armor battle Jack in the hotel, but essentially just by standing up to them (with a guitar pick or some fucking thing) he makes them fall down. And why is the manifestation of such a powerful evil something as dumb as a knight swinging a mace? And a spider saying "fushing feef"? That's not even worthy of a cheap haunted house, never mind the Incredibly Evil Hotel That Awaits At The End Of The Journey. Jesus Christ. The two most successful horror authors of their time, and this is the best they could do? That's right up there with "eeeeeeee!", which by the way also made an appearance here, after Gardener bit off the end of his tongue. Biting off his tongue was a nice touch, but then he sticks his fingers in his ears and does the "nyah nyah" thing – moronic.

But I digress; let's get back to the use of ultimately impotent manifestations of evil. When things started getting weird at the Thayer school, all the ugly monster people were capable of getting to our world, damaging property, and growing worms, but when it came to actually getting Jack, they had to ask Richard for permission. They gave chase when Jack & Richard made a run for the depot, so maybe they had the ability to grab & kill Jack, but if so, that means they didn't have the ability to enter the Thayer school without Richard's permission. So, who gave them permission to enter this world to begin with? Totally arbitrary. Any evil that has the ability to get within an inch of killing you but not the ability to do anything once there ISN'T worth my reading time. I mean, in The Stand, Flagg was fucking people up left and right; in Salem's Lot, lots of people got chomped and the hero would have too if he didn't watch his ass (and he still almost got chomped), and in The Shining, the whole point was that the ghosts couldn't do physical things themselves but sure as hell destroyed Jack Torrance psychologically as they enslaved him. The evil was real, the monsters were genuinely dangerous, the plots made sense, the books were good. Too much to ask? Hmm???????"

"Can you imagine what this collaboration could have been, some freakin' sick combination of Shadowland and Salem's Lot (for example) - dark magic, real evil, a house with true mysteries, believable characters, monsters that hide in the darkness and don't advertise their approach, no spoilers, no grand announcements to the protagonist that he is The Chosen Standard Bearer Of Good And Is Destined To Thwart Evil, but instead a claustrophobic plot that drives characters and events to unknown ends where success doesn't guarantee survival and vice versa - my God, what a phenomenally wasted opportunity.

I never should have reread this. Wolf!"


First, thanks for sharing your reasons. That was a lot of detail and it must have at least felt good to air those grievances. :lol:

I have read The Talisman twice in my life. I loved it enough the first time around to want to reread it years later and I still thoroughly enjoyed it. Enjoyed it enough that, as you said, just looking at the book itslef evokes a strong sense of nostalgia and joy for me. It's been years since I've read it by now and your post has made me wonder whether my opinion of it would be different at this point in my life. I've been wanting to do a reread for years and now I'm scared. haha
I will say though, as much as I love The Talisman, I always felt that Straub's writing took away from the book. I've never read any of his other works, so maybe that's unfair for me to say, but I feel like he had the tendency to drone on at times, something I'd never picked up on from King's books.

I'll get around to a reread soon and, fingers crossed, I'll enjoy it just as I did before. If I don't, I'll remember your post and think "Damn, he was onto something!" :lol:

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on it. :)

[Girlystevedave]

I'm currently listening to the audiobook (have never read the novel). I thought I wouldn't get past disc 1 but I hung in there and it got more interesting to me as it went along. I plan on listening to Black House right after.

The first time I read it, I had a difficult time really get into it at first. Then, at a certain point in the novel, it hooked me and I fell in love with it. I hope you enjoy it the rest of the way.

Thanks, Amanda. I'm just starting into disc 2 of 3 so there's no turning back now.

Nice! :thumbsup:

[St. Troy]

I have read The Talisman twice in my life. I loved it enough the first time around to want to reread it years later and I still thoroughly enjoyed it. Enjoyed it enough that, as you said, just looking at the book itslef evokes a strong sense of nostalgia and joy for me. It's been years since I've read it by now and your post has made me wonder whether my opinion of it would be different at this point in my life. I've been wanting to do a reread for years and now I'm scared...

I'll get around to a reread soon and, fingers crossed, I'll enjoy it just as I did before. If I don't, I'll remember your post and think "Damn, he was onto something!" :lol:

I'd say that if you enjoyed it the second time, you're probably safe this time around, but do post something here to let me know - hopefully you avoid my fate!


I will say though, as much as I love The Talisman, I always felt that Straub's writing took away from the book. I've never read any of his other works, so maybe that's unfair for me to say, but I feel like he had the tendency to drone on at times, something I'd never picked up on from King's books.

It's funny you say that, because I can't tell who writes what in The Talisman, and I think either King or Straub has said that if you're reading a passage and think you know who wrote it, it was probably written by the other one (implying that they imitated each other, or maybe just that they synched very well as a writing team). I suppose the long-time die-hards might know who is who anyway, though (I'm curious as to what people like Bev think about this).

As for Straub, he's well worth checking out - I push Shadowland on people at every opportunity (It is the only horror novel I would definitely rank above it), so do check that out, and Ghost Story is great as well (I really wish CD would do editions of these two). Shadowland seems to improve with every re-read (and I'm due for one of Ghost Story). If you end up enjoying those, he definitely has a catalog to dive into.

[mae]

And here we go:

http://variety.com/2017/film/news/stephen-king-talisman-movie-writer-josh-boone-1202587687/



“Fault in Our Stars” and “New Mutants” director Josh Boone will write Amblin Entertainment’s adaptation of Stephen King’s novel “The Talisman.” Although he’s currently just set to pen the script, there is a possibility he could eventually come on as a director as well.

Frank Marshall is producing the film with Michael Wright exec producing.

Based on the best-selling novel, the movie follows a boy, who in order to save his mother from certain death, enters a parallel world known as the Territories in search of a powerful talisman.

Amblin had initially been developing the project as a TV show, but has since decided to turn it into a film.

Boone has had a long standing relationship with the author after being tapped to write and direct an adaptation of “The Stand” for the author. Even after “The Stand” was put on hold, the iconic author had enjoyed working with Boone so much that he tasked him with writing an adaptation of “Revival”, which is currently in development.

Hollywood has been busy with King adaptations with “Dark Tower” and “It”, which recently became the biggest horror pic of all time with $606 million worldwide. His TV work is also heating up with Audience renewing “Mr. Mercedes” while Hulu is currently shooting “Castle Rock” which Bad Robot is producing.

Boone broke out as a helmer when he wrote and directed the box office hit “The Fault in Our Stars.” He recently helmed Fox’s “X-Men” spinoff “New Mutants” with Anya Taylor-Joy and also wrote “The Pretenders” from James Franco.

He is repped by CAA and attorney Greg Slewett of Bloom Hergott.

[needfulthings]

1985 U.K.
http://imageshack.com/a/img924/8083/9qgui8.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img923/5817/lQmYq4.jpg

[St. Troy]

This pleases me.

I will be interested to see how they handle Wolf.

[herbertwest]

Apparently Josh Boone is currently working on a script for SS.
> https://www.instagram.com/p/BaH5A0ZjdAd/?taken-by=joshboonemovies

Dont take me wrong, but so far it seems that Josh Boone works on a LOT of different projects, but none seems going any further

IMDB currently lists the following projects as announced :
- Pretenders
- Xmen series
- The Stand
- Lisey's Stories
- The Talisman

I believe that there were also some other adaptations : LESTAT by Anne Rices and he mentionned another book on instagram but I forgot which
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1837748/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

[Girlystevedave]

We're getting somewhere! :excited:

[mae]

http://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3468597/josh-boone-shares-early-storyboard-stephen-kings-talisman/

Next up on the Stephen King revival train is Amblin’s adaptation of The Talisman, which recently enlisted Fault in Our Stars and New Mutants director Josh Boone.

Boone is currently penning the script, but could potentially also direct.

“Based on the best-selling novel, the movie follows a boy, who in order to save his mother from certain death, enters a parallel world known as the Territories in search of a powerful talisman.”

While Boone works on the script, he’s revealed over on Instagram that his longtime storyboard artist Ashley Guillory is illustrating the script as he goes.

Check out an early first look at the adaptation below!

https://scontent-lga3-1.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/e35/23161432_731080167101756_7932498450443141120_n.jpg

[Merlin1958]

:clap::clap::clap:

[Girlystevedave]

Whaaaat?! :excited:

[herbertwest]

I saw that the other day, and frankly it's a lot of noise for not very much. It's just 1 small illustration that do not show much, and frankly, i dont find the artwork particularly nice...

[webstar1000]

I saw that the other day, and frankly it's a lot of noise for not very much. It's just 1 small illustration that do not show much, and frankly, i dont find the artwork particularly nice...

Totally agree!

[Bev Vincent]

I saw that the other day, and frankly it's a lot of noise for not very much. It's just 1 small illustration that do not show much, and frankly, i dont find the artwork particularly nice...

It's a storyboard -- not meant to be a work of art.

[NoAttitudeThisTime]

I saw that the other day, and frankly it's a lot of noise for not very much. It's just 1 small illustration that do not show much, and frankly, i dont find the artwork particularly nice...

It's a storyboard -- not meant to be a work of art.

Exactly. Who cares about storyboards? It's the (hopefully upcoming) movie that matters!

[mae]

Also, doesn't look like any storyboard I ever saw.

[Bev Vincent]

Also, doesn't look like any storyboard I ever saw.

Every director has his/her own style.

[Girlystevedave]

I don't care if the storyboard art looks like a 5 year old drew it, I'm still excited that the movie is even a possibility. :lol:

[mae]

That's for sure.

[herbertwest]

NOW, that's a real piece of a storyboard and not just an illustration
>>> https://www.instagram.com/p/BbpoZh8lQud/?taken-by=andy_muschietti

https://scontent-cdt1-1.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/e35/23595849_1404109689687870_3394070787240493056_n.jp g

[mtdman]

After seeing Dark Tower, I have no positive expectations for this movie. It might be best done as a limited tv series on netflix or amazon. But they will try to cram too much into a 2 hour movie, and it will suck. It happens again and again with these adaptations. I don't know why they feel like they should even bother.

[mae]

https://consequenceofsound.net/2018/04/steven-spielberg-intends-to-adapt-stephen-kings-the-talisman/

Talk about timing: Consequence of Sound’s own Stephen King podcast, The Losers’ Club, is tackling King and Peter Straub’s fantasy epic, The Talisman, next week, right on the heels of news that Steven Spielberg himself might finally be bringing the book to the big screen.

In a new Entertainment Weekly article outlining the various projects King and Spielberg have discussed over the years, there’s a quote from the latter that should get fans of Jack Sawyer, Wolf, and that nefarious Morgan Sloat excited. “I feel that in the very near future, that’s going to be our richest collaboration,” Spielberg said. “Universal bought the book for me, so it wasn’t optioned. It was an outright sale of the book. I’ve owned the book since ’82, and I’m hoping to get this movie made in the next couple of years. I’m not committing to the project as a director, I’m just saying that it’s something that I’ve wanted to see come to theaters for the last 35 years.”

“Several times he came very close to making it, and there were a lot of discussions about that,” King added.

Now would be a fitting time to bring up that Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment hired The Fault In Our Stars director and King superfan Josh Boone to pen a script back in the fall. That same bit of news also noted that Frank Marshall would be producing alongside executive producer Michael Wright, so the wheels are definitely turning.

Of course, Boone himself is currently in reshoots for New Mutants, and also apparently involved in potential adaptations of The Stand and Revival for TV and film, respectively, so his plate is full. King’s is, too; in addition to Andy Muschietti’s upcoming It sequel and Hulu’s Castle Rock series, the author will see the likes of Pet Sematary, Doctor Sleep, and “The Bone Church” adapted for the screen, as well as whatever Amazon is up to with The Dark Tower.

The Talisman is nearly 1,000 pages, however, not to mention absolutely epic in scope, so don’t be surprised if the project collapses beneath its own weight. That happened in the past, after all. EW’s article points out that the book was nearly adapted as a six-hour miniseries for TNT by screenwriter Ehren Kruger about a decade ago before falling apart. “At that time it was just too rich for TNT’s blood,” Spielberg said. “Then I pulled it back and decided to try to reconfigure it once again as a feature film.”

If you haven’t already, subscribe to The Losers’ Club to stay up on the latest developments on this project and all the many, many others percolating out there.

[Merlin1958]

<--------------- crosses his fingers

[TravelinJack]

You know I would definitely like to see this happen.

[Girlystevedave]

Me too. There's some real potential for it to make for a great movie.

[St. Troy]

Exclusive: Stephen King’s ‘The Talisman’ Lands ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Director Mike Barker

http://collider.com/stephen-king-the-talisman-movie-mike-barker/

[MikeDuke]

Sounds like it might really happen. I guess they could probably do this in one film. Fingers crossed that it really happens and that it a good adaptation. I haven't read it in a while but it is one of my favorites for sure.

[Girlystevedave]

Sounds like it might really happen. I guess they could probably do this in one film. Fingers crossed that it really happens and that it a good adaptation. I haven't read it in a while but it is one of my favorites for sure.

Ditto. I would love to see a good adaptation of this book. It could really translate to film so well if they do it right.

[Merlin1958]

https://www.aintitcool.com/the-talisman-has-a-director-81869/

[CyberGhostface]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/steven-spielberg-duffer-bros-team-to-tackle-stephen-kings-talisman-exclusive


The Duffer Brothers, whose own Stranger Things owes more than a few debts to King’s work, will executive produce a series adapting the book, that will be produced by Netflix in association with Spielberg’s Amblin Television and Paramount Television Studios.

Curtis Gwinn, who worked as a writer-exec producer on Duffers’ Stranger Things, will act as writer and showrunner of the project, which is in development. With deals still being sewn up and in negotiations, Netflix and the production parties involved had no comment.

[Iwritecode]

So in other words, no new news.

Thanks for the non-update Hollywoodreporter.com :rolleyes3:

[Merlin1958]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/steven-spielberg-duffer-bros-team-to-tackle-stephen-kings-talisman-exclusive


The Duffer Brothers, whose own Stranger Things owes more than a few debts to King’s work, will executive produce a series adapting the book, that will be produced by Netflix in association with Spielberg’s Amblin Television and Paramount Television Studios.

Curtis Gwinn, who worked as a writer-exec producer on Duffers’ Stranger Things, will act as writer and showrunner of the project, which is in development. With deals still being sewn up and in negotiations, Netflix and the production parties involved had no comment.


So in other words, no new news.

Thanks for the non-update Hollywoodreporter.com :rolleyes3:

That's not exactly fair, at least its "In-Play" again. Sounds like they will begin production soon and that's great news to me anyway.

[Iwritecode]

It's been in play since 2017. This article is just a reminder of something we've known for the past 4 years. That they plan on making a TV series of it. Some time... eventually... maybe....

[mae]

Isn’t this the first time the Duffers have been involved?

[Iwritecode]

Isn’t this the first time the Duffers have been involved?

If it is then somebody updated the thread title.

[Ricky]

I'll believe it when I see it.

[Merlin1958]

Well, sounds like they have some sort of schedule and the financing from, Netflix behind it. I know we have been here before, but I'm going to choose to be optomistic rather than crap on it. Worth noting that before now there wasn't the same thirst for content/stories that there clearly is now. So many channels, streaming services and films going back into production its an actual race to get content up and out there for viewers. The bigger the splash the more attention they draw to their service/product. I'd say that they're quite a bit more motivated today than say a year ago. To me that is cause for an optomistic outlook.

If they do it right (always a BIG If) this could be an amazing episodic feature!!!!

[kingfan2323]

Well, sounds like they have some sort of schedule and the financing from, Netflix behind it. I know we have been here before, but I'm going to choose to be optomistic rather than crap on it. Worth noting that before now there wasn't the same thirst for content/stories that there clearly is now. So many channels, streaming services and films going back into production its an actual race to get content up and out there for viewers. The bigger the splash the more attention they draw to their service/product. I'd say that they're quite a bit more motivated today than say a year ago. To me that is cause for an optomistic outlook.

If they do it right (always a BIG If) this could be an amazing episodic feature!!!!Well said

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[Iwritecode]

I'm still waiting for the adaptation of The Long Walk. I'm pretty sure thats been talked about for 20+ years now...

[Bev Vincent]

The Duffer Brothers Look Into the Future (https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/05/stranger-things-explained-duffer-brothers?redirectURL=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/05/stranger-things-explained-duffer-brothers)

They discuss their thoughts about adapting The Talisman as a series.

[Merlin1958]

The Duffer Brothers Look Into the Future (https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/05/stranger-things-explained-duffer-brothers?redirectURL=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/05/stranger-things-explained-duffer-brothers)

They discuss their thoughts about adapting The Talisman as a series.

Very interesting and encouraging. I would think that the source material is in very good hands with all those folks involved. Certainly, Speilberg giving the blessing and being involved lays a solid groundwork for the, Duffer brothers to work with, no?

To me this is very good news.............................................. ...........once again!! lol

[CRinVA]

Fingers Crossed!

[CyberGhostface]

Well, if you can believe it, we’re really into Stephen King, and this was the ultimate. Our friend Curtis Gwinn, one of the main writers on Stranger Things actually asked if we’d be interested in getting involved. There was a show that he was talking with Amblin about. We were immediately excited. We loved The Talisman. It may be the last great ’80s Stephen King book that has not been previously adapted, and that’s only because Amblin and Spielberg have held onto it for as long as they have.

They own the rights, and they haven’t allowed any version to get made up to hopefully now. It’s a huge book, it’s really long and I don’t think it would ever have really worked effectively as a movie. Until recently, I don’t think it would have worked as television. It’s like we’re in this new era now where there’s a kind of a merging of television shows that feel and look like movies because they’re getting these pretty big budgets behind them.

So, something like Talisman that even five years ago was not doable, is very doable now. It involves a lot of things that are very similar to Stranger Things. It’s about a kid who’s trying to save his dying mother and he travels into another dimension in order to do so. I mean, it’s much more fantasy. It has sci-fi. It has horror elements. It has a lot of heart. It has everything that we love. And it’s got the best werewolf character I think, ever.

https://deadline.com/2022/07/stranger-things-duffer-brothers-interview-season-five-1235058041/

[mae]

They had a pretty big easter egg for The Talisman in that last episode.

[fernandito]

Since this has most likely been in the works between the Duffers and Netflix for months/years, that was a cheeky little Talisman Easter egg during the finale :smile:

[webstar1000]

Since this has most likely been in the works between the Duffers and Netflix for months/years, that was a cheeky little Talisman Easter egg during the finale :smile:

100%

[St. Troy]

They had a pretty big easter egg for The Talisman in that last episode.

What was it?

[CyberGhostface]

The context is pretty spoilerific but it's here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWLJ5_rGPyQ

[St. Troy]

The context is pretty spoilerific but it's here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWLJ5_rGPyQ

Yes; I thought "easter egg" might have implied a less overt reference etc.