How did you first become acquainted with Stephen King?
I had recently made Martin, which was to be screened at the USA Film Festival, the current Sundance Film Festival. Several big Hollywood executives came to see the film, including some from Warner Bros. who were thrilled. At the end of the film they said to me, “Wow, we bought the rights to Salem’s Lot, the story of a vampire set in a small town written by Stephen King, and your Martin is very similar. I really think you two should meet!” They gave me a plane ticket and sent me to meet Stephen. We talked a lot; it was on that occasion that he gave me a copy of The Stand and said, “Let’s do it together!” He then came to me while I was making Knightriders, and I asked him to do a small cameo. On the set of the film we started talking about Creepshow, which was actually the first time we collaborated.
Among the many unsuccessful collaborations with King is precisely The Stand.
Stephen initially refused to do it for TV, so several parts of the original story had to be cut, but by doing so he lost his “power.” In the end we had made a script of about three hours, we were looking for funding but no one would make such a long feature. So after several attempts the project reached an impasse and nothing was done with it since then. I only worked with him on that version. Then things changed, after several years Stephen decided to make a TV adaptation. At that time there were no cable channels and the TV version was very sweetened, they cut a lot of scenes. King hated The Shining so much that he wanted to remake it, but Kubrick’s version is better. He might then decide to remake The Stand as well now that TV series are going so well, although I doubt he ever will, but it would be nice if he called me.
How did it go instead with Pet Sematary?
On that occasion I was forced to re-shoot the final part of Monkey Shines. The producer, Richard Rubinstein, my working partner at the time, did not want to wait any longer and I had to give up. So Mary Lambert was chosen to do the adaptation.
The same thing happened with It?
Actually no, I was never really involved in the project. We talked about it several times with Stephen, it seemed like something interesting could be done, but in the end other choices were made.
Have you tried to bring more of his stories to the screen?
I had written the adaptation of The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, also thinking of Dakota Fanning as the lead, before she became a star after Man on Fire, but we couldn’t sell it. I liked it very much, Stephen was also enthusiastic about it, but no one in Hollywood was interested in that project, they considered my script too soft. I keep hoping for it anyway! I also tried with The Gerald Game, we talked about it often with Steve and Frank Darabont, but there was nothing to be done.
If there was a chance to work together again today would you still try to adapt “Tom Gordon”?
Absolutely, I invested so much time in that adaptation. I love the story. But I don’t think it will ever be done. Hollywood doesn’t like to make a movie starring a little girl, unless she’s a star, someone like Shirley Temple just to understand. If you try to stay as faithful as possible to the original story there is no room for adult characters. The problem with the script has always been this: they demand there be established actors, movie stars, which allows them to sell the film, but both Steve and I don’t like the idea of twisting the story just to have a cast of a certain level.
Do you think Stephen King really changed the way stories are told, even in the world of film?
It is really difficult for me to answer this question. As for Creepshow, he wrote the script so I didn’t need to worry about anything (laughs, Ed.). But when, for example, I wrote the adaptation of The Dark Half, I found myself in a strange situation. I didn’t really want to change anything from the original story, I wanted to be completely immersed in it, not to miss the slightest detail. It was quite a strange experience, because when an idea pops into your mind you have total freedom, you can imagine and fantasize all you want. When I found myself working on Steve’s written material, on the other hand, it was all more complicated because I didn’t want to change anything, everything is so perfect in his stories. I love his style, his way of telling stories, his ability to make fantastic situations and stories real and everyday.
What is your relationship today with Stephen King?
Stephen is a dear friend, plays in a rock band, loves baseball, and is a simple person. It’s easy to love him. And collaborating with him is the easiest thing in the world.
