Stephen King won two Bram Stoker Awards for the 2008 publishing year at the Horror Writers Association's Stoker Awards Banquet held in Burbank, California on Saturday. Just After Sunset won Superior Achievement in a Collection; and Duma Key won Superior Achievement in a Novel. Mick Garris accepted the Awards for King and read King's acceptances, which were notable for his praise of Guests of Honor Richard Matheson and Richard Christian Matheson.
As I have said earlier Dolan's Cadillac will get it's world premier on DVD in Sweden on July 1st and now you can check out the official Swedish website.
Slaid Cleaves has always leaned a little toward the dark side in his literate folk narratives, so it comes as no surprise that his No. 1 fan is pop literature’s prince of darkness, Stephen King.
The scary scribe even contributed liner notes to the singer-songwriter’s latest, ominously titled collection of songs, "Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away.”
Grzesiek from StephenKing.pl told me about an interview they have done with Robin Furth. In it she's talking about The Dark Tower and Talisman comic books.
Eli Roth elaborates about Cell:
He elaborates further at Fangoria: “But the script wasn’t ready,” he explains, “and the studio [Dimension] had a very different idea of what they wanted as opposed to what I hoped to make. Instead of fighting with them, I thought, what’s the rush, but then quietly let it go.”
Here is more info about Ghost Brothers of Darkland County:
June 1st, 2009 - The production of the "Ghost Brothers of Darkland County" CD/book package is slated to commence on June 15, when producer T Bone Burnett begins laying down the tracks in Los Angeles for the 18 new songs John [Mellencamp] has written for his musical theater collaboration with Stephen King. King's dialog will later be assembled in John's Belmont Studio.
The cast for the production is still not finalized but will definitely be star-studded. Projected release of the completed project is next January and will be in more than one configuration, with a "deluxe" version to include a book containing the show's full text and song lyrics, a CD featuring the show's dialog and songs, and a second CD with only the songs.
Summer is short and entertainment is vital. Therefore, make sure you take advantage of this June's suggestions. Would I steer you wrong? Hell, no! So here they are:
1. Fangoria's anniversary issue, on sale now.
2. Bruce Springsteen's Seeger Sessions.
3. James McMurtry's Just Us Kids. Real alt-country rock and roll.
4. Apple pies from Checkers. They come rolled in cinnamon. Yum!
5. Waffles and eggs at Waffle House. Hash browns loaded with cheese optional.
6. Monster Truck Jam (as long as you root for The Gravedigger to lose.)
7. Ride the Boulder Dash wooden roller coaster in Bristol, CT.
8. Listen to the entire Metallica catalogue. Then get your ears checked. You know you've been meaning to do it.
9. Go to the beach on a motorcycle with your honey.
10. Read Nobody Move, by Denis Johnson.
11. Read Gone Tomorrow, by Lee Child.
12. Read Look Again, by Lisa Scottoline.
13. Read The Way Home, by George Pelecanos.
14. See Drag Me to Hell, directed by the incomparable Sam Raimi.
15. Play AC/DC in your car with the windows rolled down and the volume all the way up.
16. Root for the Red Sox to bury the Yankees.
17. Pray for Big Papi (David Ortiz).
18. Wear your sunglasses at night.
19. Watch for an excerpt from Under the Dome in Entertainment Weekly.
Personally I think item 19 is the most exciting one...
The Fire Wire: reports...
The new Stephen King novella entitled Morality is featured in the July 2009 issue of Esquire magazine. The magazine should be on newsstands this week and features the Israeli model, Bar Refaeli on the cover with a temporary tattoo of the story covering her body. A scan of the cover is below…happy reading!
Here is a description of the plot:
Chad, an aspiring writer who is teaching school until he lands a publishing contract, and his wife, Nora, who is working as a home nurse for a retired minister, are like most people these days struggling financially. Nora is approached by her employer with a proposition that could make their dream of a home in Vermont a reality. But will it be worth the moral consequences?
It looks like Eli Roth has given up on Cell:
In 2007, [Eli Roth] was attached to direct an adaptation of Stephen King's epic zombie thriller "Cell," but later dropped out. "I walked away from it," he says. "I love Stephen King and I love the book, but I want to write my own stories."
There has been many that thought the trailer for Dolan's Cadillac was far to long and revealed to much. Well, the explanation can be found in this message from herbertwest:
Film Bridge International told me that :
"this was an earlier version of a promo used as a marketing tool for distributors who had already bought the film. [...]Also, you may have seen, the promo is too long and gives a way too much of the film."
This info about upcoming signings to promote Under the Dome was released on King's message board a few hours ago.
I just checked with Scribner to see if I could at least post the cities and got the okay. We're still working on the details of dates and venues but should be able to get that to you in the next couple of months. This is also the most likely order for the events.
New York
Baltimore or D.C. (not yet determined which one)
Atlanta
Sarasota
Minneapolis
Toronto
New England city (not yet determined which one)
Things they Left Behind has been optioned for a movie:
In the 12 months since Reliance Big Entertainment, the flagship media and entertainment arm of Indian conglomerate, Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (R-ADAG), first introduced its innovative development/production financing deals, called Creative Partnerships, more than twenty individual projects have been approved.
The initial seven deals, with Nicolas Cage's Saturn Films, Jim Carrey's JC 23 Entertainment, George Clooney's Smokehouse Productions, Chris Columbus' 1492 Pictures, Tom Hanks' Playtone Productions, Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment, and Jay Roach's Everyman Pictures, were announced during the Cannes Film Festival 2008 by Reliance Big Entertainment Chairman Amit Khanna and President Rajesh Sawhney. These were followed by deals with Julia Roberts' Red Om Films and Brett Ratner's Rat Entertainment.
Among the highlights of the development slate are:
Saturn Films: VOODOO CHILD with writer John Collee.
JC 23 Entertainment: O'GUNN with writers Ed Cannistraci and Fred Seton. 1492 Pictures: THINGS THEY LEFT BEHIND, the Stephen King short story about 9/11 survivors, has been optioned. As has Thurston Clarke's book, 'The Last Campaign', and David Dorfman's script, 'It's A Miserable Life'. Rat Entertainment: YOUNGBLOOD based on Rob Liefeld's iconic graphic novel, INFINITY with writer John Collee; and JOHN DELOREAN PROJECT with James Toback Red Om Films: DAN ELDON PROJECT.
Bev Vincent reported the following news about the cover for Under the Dome:
Per SK's message board: "Scribner is planning to make the unveiling of the cover an 'event' and we should have news about that in the next couple of months, but it is done."
Good news about Ghost Brothers of Darkland County. As it looks today it will be released in a package containing a book and a CD. This is from John Mellencamps official site:
5) "Ghost Brothers of Darkland County" CD/Book Package: This will involve a recording of the songs and the dialog of John's musical collaboration with Stephen King, with T-Bone Burnett producing and acting as musical director. It won't be a "cast album," but will contain performances by major artists. The book will include the text of the musical-also called the "book" in theater lingo.
If things go as planned, the set will be available prior to the "Ghost Brothers" opening next April at Atlanta's Alliance Theater. In the works for 10 years, the production remains a priority for both John and King, who have become close friends during the intense collaboration.
Remember: None of this is written in stone! Everything is subject to change!
From a New York Times article about online piracy of books:
For some writers, tracking down illegal e-books is simply not worth it.
“The question is, how much time and energy do I want to spend chasing these guys,” Stephen King wrote in an e-mail message. “And to what end? My sense is that most of them live in basements floored with carpeting remnants, living on Funions and discount beer.”
This very interesting book was just announced from Lonely Road Books: Riding the Bullet: The Deluxe Special Edition Double
by Stephen King and Mick Garris
This is your chance to experience Riding the Bullet in a way only those close to the production of the film ever have. Start with King's original novella, then flip the book over and read the original script by Mick Garris. Compare what he kept, what he had to change, and even the storytelling flourishes he added to round out the tale.
You'll also get featuring full-color and B&W artwork by Bernie Wrightson; unique design with two color printing throughout
Plus: Exclusive storyboards, photos from the set, production notes, hand-corrected script pages, and more from the Top Secret "Director's Notebook" kept during the production
You can now order your copy (except the lettered one that has already sold out) here.
Here is more about The Dark Tower movie:
As “Star Trek” makes its case for the new J.J. Abrams age of the franchise this weekend, he and fellow “Lost” creator Damon Lindelof continue to have early discussions about Stephen King’s cult series of books “The Dark Tower.” Lindelof confirmed Abrams’ assertion that “Lost” is priority number one at the moments, but said the project would require at least as much care as Zack Snyder’s adaptation of “Watchmen.”
“Having seen Zack go through what he went through on ‘Watchmen’ in terms of saying of where can I digress from the material I just get headaches thinking about changing anything,” Lindelof told MTV News. “It was the defining literary tale of my young adulthood into adulthood.”
Lindelof is keenly aware of how that level of attachment can affect his approach to the project. “My reverence for Stephen King is now getting in the way of what any good writer would do first when they’re adapting a book, which is take creative license in changing stuff,” he explained.
If the Hollywood power duo indeed moves on to King’s fantasy/Western tale when they finish with “Lost” it may be an extended commitment in addition to being a demanding one, given the scope of the seven-book series.
“Paramount is certainly looking at it as a franchise movie and thinking about sequels but we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves,” Lindelof said. “Ideas have been thrown around that are very informal at this point.”
And more formal conversations very well may not be in the cards until the fates of Oceanic Flight 815’s passengers are firmly on the ground for the the “Lost” finale.
Here are some previews for the upcoming The Family Guy’s Stephen King spoof entitled Three Kings which airs tonight. Unfortunately it looks like you have to be in the US to be able to watch these clips...
In an upcoming interview in Cemetery Dance #61 (shipping this summer) Peter Straub talks about the third Talisman book.
Cemetery Dance: Are you going to do a third book with Stephen King?
Peter Straub: We plan to. We were going to start right about now, but King got sidetracked by a Broadway musical that he was writing with John Mellencamp. So that's been taking shape. And I think they were having out-of-town tryouts this autumn. Then we'll see what happens. But at some point we'll get back to it, because we have to. It's like two-thirds of a long, long story, and the other part really should be done.
Here is Hodder & Stoughton's description of Under the Dome:
Celebrated storyteller Stephen King returns to his roots in this tour de force featuring more than 100 characters – some heroic, some diabolical – and a supernatural element as chilling as nay he’s ever conjured.
On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day in Chester’s Mill, Maine, the town in inexplicably and suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into it and fall from the sky in flaming wreckage, people running errands in the neighbouring town are divided from their families. Dale Barbara, Iraq veteran, teams up with a few intrepid citizens against the town’s corrupt politician. But time, under the dome, is running out …
UNDER THE DOME is King at his epic best and will capture a brand new readership as well as thrilling his existing fans.
£19.99 hardback 10 November
Audiobook £39.13 18xCD
J.J. Abrams recently got the question about what’s happening with The Dark Tower movie and said that as soon as Damon Lindelof is done with LOST they hope to get started on The Dark Tower project.
King's official now has pictures of three new characters from The Talisma comic. They are Lily Cavanaugh, Jack Sawyer and Phil sawyer. Check them out here.