NEWS -

Michael Piller died November 1

Posted: November 3, 2005, 00:00

Some sad news. Michael Piller, co-creator and executive producer of The Dead Zone, died November 1 at the age of 57 following a long battle with cancer.

Stephen's Picks for the week of October 31, 2005 is out:

* Stephen is reading Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman (Excellent)
* He is also reading This Book Will Save Your Life, by A.M. Homes (Excellent)
* On television, Stephen is watching Veronica Mars (Very Good)

Here is a nice review of the audio book of The Shining.

Interview with Jae Lee

Posted: October 31, 2005, 22:12

Here is an interview with Jae Lee, the man who is drawing The Dark Tower for Marvel.

Thanks to Bev Vincent.

The Dark Tower comics

Posted: October 30, 2005, 00:00

There has been a lot of info about The Dark Tower comics so I thought I would try to summarize what's happening for you:

* There will be 6 issues.
* They will be released in April, May, June, July, August and September 2006.
* In time for the holiday in 2006, all 6 parts will be released together in a hardback edition.
* The first mini-series is set in a time when Roland, Alain and Cutherbert were boys. The series is drawing heavily from Wizard and Glass and the story occurs when the trio were boys. Much of it will be during the time in Hambry. This period is so important to the development of Roland as the last gunslinger. This is the time when he earns his guns andbecomes a man.
* The look and feel of the series will probably be along the lines of Marvel's Ultimate line, with thicker cover and glossy paper. The price will be in line with Marvel's other titles.
* Marvel will do multiple miniseries and hard cover collections based on The Dark Tower. There will be more after this first six-issue mini-series.

The UK edition of Stephen King's The Dark Tower: A Concordance, Volume II is now shipping from Amazon.co.uk. This is the only hardback edition of this title. You can reserve your copy here.

Thanks to John Hanic.

The Marvel issue is now solved

Posted: October 28, 2005, 21:55

The Marvel issue is now solved. Here is a part from the press release:

The comic series will mark the first time Stephen King has produced original content for an ongoing comic book project. The series will expand the saga of King's epic hero, Roland Deschain, whose quest to save the Dark Tower is captured in seven best-selling novels published over the course of twenty-five years. King's unparalleled storytelling power will inform new stories that delve into the life and times of the young Roland, revealing the trials and conflicts that lead to the burden of destiny he must assume as a man, the last Gunslinger from a world that has moved on. The comics will work in conjunction with the novels, further supplementing and defining the saga's mythology under the direction of the acclaimed author himself.

There will be 6 issues. One issue each month starting in April 2006. The at Christmas next year all 6 parts will be released together in a hardback edition.

You can read the entire press release here.

Over at Newsarama, in Joe Fridays Joe Quesada reveal a lot about the upcoming comics.

Marvel has also started their promotion of the comics. These bookmarks will soon appear in stores.

Thanks to everyone that sent me info about this. It's not often my mailbox is as full as it was today :)

Comments on King and Marvel

Posted: October 27, 2005, 21:51

PN Online reported the following today:
Horror King's graphic novel

STEPHEN KING IS writing a graphic novel for Marvel Comics. Illustrated by Jae Lee, well-known American illustrator of comic books, it will form the eighth volume in King’s Dark Tower series, published by Simon & Schuster in the States and Hodder in the UK. Marvel is distributed worldwide by Diamond Book Distributors and publication is scheduled for next autumn.

Publishers Weekly reported the following:

Publisher Weekly is also reporting that Stephen King will bring the Dark Tower series to Marvel. In a recent article, Publisher Weekly wrote:

"In a move that can only continue to elevate the literary and commercial cachet of the graphic novel format, sources say that bestselling novelist Stephen King has agreed to write a new installment of his Dark Tower series as a graphic novel to be published in 2006.

"A spokesperson for Marvel Comics, which will announce the deal on Friday, confirmed that they will publish a King work, although they didn't disclose details. Marvel was dropping hints about a possible King book at this year's Comic-con in July. Sources say that the new Dark Tower installment will be published first as a comic book periodical beginning in April and later released as a Marvel hardcover in the fall of 2006. The artist on the book will be veteran comics illustrator Jae Lee and the colorist is Richard Isanove, who won a recent Quill Award for his work on Marvel's 1602."

To add a little more proof to the fire, we went to Jae Lee, asking him if the rumors had any merit. He would not comment on the subject.

Marvel then later gave the following statement:

When asked to comment on the report, a Marvel spokesman said, "Marvel will be releasing the correct info of what 'King' is on Friday."

Thanks to IGN, Rocky Wood, Ariel, David Blais and Nick Bolanos.

The return of 1408

Posted: October 26, 2005, 22:37

1408 is back. As I reported some years ago it was supposed to be done by Eli Roth, but he is now out of the project and this is a new script, new director but the same film studio:

Dimension Enters King's '1408'

Dimension has set helmer Mikael Hafstrom and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura for a horror movie based on Stephen King's short story "1408." The script by Matt Greenberg is being rewritten by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski.

The story revolves around a man specializing in debunking paranormal occurrences who meets his match when he checks into the notorious room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel. There he encounters true terror.

The short story appeared in the King audio book Blood and Smoke and later in the King anthology Everything's Eventual, published in 2002.

Alexander and Karaszewski together have scripted such films as The People vs. Larry Flynt and Ed Wood.

Thanks to Bev Vincent.

And the 4th episode is...

Posted: October 26, 2005, 12:34

It's now confirmed that will be the fourth known episode in Nightmares and Dreamscapes:

Nightmares and Dreamscapes is going to be a series that will be airing on the TNT network. This series is based off the book by Stephen King and is sure to be a hit. The series is planned to run starting sometime in 2006 with the first episode being called "You know that got a Hell of a Band". In this series you will see some merchandise that was purchased from us. This includes a Crosley select o matic and a reproduction old time telephone. We here at BarsandBooths.com are big Stephen King fans and look forward to seeing our merchandise in this series. Thanks for choosing us for you retro needs!

Thanks to Bev Vincent.

UK illustrated Salem's Lot

Posted: October 26, 2005, 00:00

Hodder & Stoughton will release a UK edition of the new illustrated Salem's Lot. It's out on April 10, 2006 but you can pre-order today.

The South Park episode that aired yesterday incorporated part of a Pet Semetary narrative. They should be replaying it all week on Comedy Central. However, for more info about the episode, see here.

Thanks to Christopher Hayre.

The 8 episodes are...

Posted: October 25, 2005, 12:33

Of the 8 episodes in the Nightmares & Dreamscapes TV series we know the title of 3. They are Umney's Last Case, Battleground and Home Delivery. There are also guesses that You Know They Have a Hell of a Band will be included. Rumors have it that Steven Weber and Kim Delaney (NYPD Blue) will star in the later.

The same source from IMDB.com says that the first episode will air on TNT on June 15, 2006. This is NOT confirmed yet though.

Thanks to Bev Vincent.

Rebecca Gibney returns to King

Posted: October 24, 2005, 12:29

Rebecca Gibney joins the cast (Harold Hopkins, William H.Macy, Sigrid Thornton, Jacqueline McKenzie, Jeremy Sisto, Andy Anderson and Henry Thomas) for King's Nightmares & Dreamscapes TV series.

Rebecca Gibney returns to King
Posted by Clint Morris on October 21, 2005

Rebecca Gibney doesn’t exactly have “Salem’s Lot” in big, black, bold letters on her resume – does anyone? - so it is a bolt from the blue to hear she’s on-board another Stephen King series. But work’s work, right?

The gorgeous Gibney, best known for her role in the Aussie series’ and telemovies’ “The Flying Doctors”, “Come in Spinner” and “Halifax F.P”, has joined the cast of the eight-part telemovie series “Nightmares and Dreamscapes” co-starring Harold Hopkins, William H.Macy, Sigrid Thornton, Jacqueline McKenzie, Jeremy Sisto, Andy Anderson and Henry Thomas. The series films here in Melbourne until Feb 2006.

Gibney will also be seen in the new film “Lost and Found”, about an Award-winning architect that’s facing a glittering future as long as he can come to terms with his traumatic past. Brett Climo co-stars.

Thanks to Moviehole.

New interview with King, review and screenings

Posted: October 24, 2005, 00:00

There is a new interview with King online from Weekly Reader. There is one interview and a bunch of questions from kids.

Thanks to Miss X and Bev Vincent.

There will be a remake of Creepshow.

Thanks to Rocky Wood, Bob I and Anders Jakobson.

A new column is out. This one is called The Fright Stuff and you can read it online here.

Thanks to Paul Poroshin.

You can also check out my review of Salem's Lot: Illustrated Edition. Pre-order you copy here.

Stephen King's Gotham Café is screening in several cities in North America this week.
* The Bethel Film Festival on Friday, October 28th and Saturday, October 29th in Bethel, CT. (http://www.bethelfilmfestival.com/whatsshowing.html)
* As part of the Rhode Island International Film Festival on Saturday, October 29th in Providence, RI. (http://www.film-festival.org/HorrorSched05.php)
* The Cinemuerte Film Festival on Sunday, October 30th in Vancouver, Canada. (http://www.cinemuerte.com/horror-film-festival/index.html)

Lisey's Story in October

Posted: October 23, 2005, 23:40

The new release dates for Cell and Lisey's Story is January 24 (about 3 month away) and October 24.

Lisey's Story out in October

Posted: October 20, 2005, 23:44

There is now an anticipated release schedule of October 24th (rather than Nov.) for Lisey’s Story.

Cell in January

Posted: October 20, 2005, 23:43

There is now an anticipated release schedule of January 24th (rather than Feb.) for Cell.

Lisey's Story comes earlier then expected

Posted: October 20, 2005, 23:38

This message was posted on King's message board today:

There is now an anticipated release schedule of January (rather than Feb.) for Cell and Oct. (rather than Nov.) for Lisey’s Story.

Future book and Stephen's Picks

Posted: October 20, 2005, 00:00

There where a request on King's message board for more info about the book to come after Lisey's Story and the reply was:

Probably not for a while--possibly not until next spring depending upon when Stephen is ready to let info out. It will not be out until after Lisey's Story which will be fall of '06, after Cell's release.

Stephen's Picks for the week of
October 17, 2005 is out:

* Stephen is reading The Mad Cook of Pymatuning by Christopher Lehman-Haupt (Great) and To Kingdom Come by Will Thomas (Good).
* He is listening to Drunken Lullabies, by Flogging Molly (Excellent).
* His movie pick of the week is In Her Shoes, Directed by Curtis Hanson (Real Good).

Dollar Baby and Dead Zone Holiday episode

Posted: October 18, 2005, 00:00

So the mystery with the new Dollar Babies are solved. Neither Blood Jacker, Rats or We All Fall Down is based on King's stories.

However, Home Delivery is and it looks like it might be one of the coolest Dollar Babies ever done. You can see for yourself at the official site.

Thanks to Bev Vincent and Stephen King Short Movies.

Here is a description of the special holiday episode of The Dead Zone:

When female psychic Alex Sinclair (returning guest star Jennifer Finnigan) pays Johnny a surprise Christmas visit, the two work together to solve the mystery of one very lost and confused Santa. Sharing disturbing and contradictory visions of their Santa's life, Alex and Johnny wonder who this strange old man in a track suit and Santa hat really is. As their investigation unfolds, they become involved with three young street kids who are equally lost, and who wind up joining everyone back at Johnny's for the best - albeit strangest - Christmas any of them can remember.

Here are a bit more info about the desktop calendar for 2006 SK Library/BOMC has produced. It's a hardcover, fairly large, and is chock full of trivia, information, quotes and excerpts.

Leef Peepers, King's essay about tourists exploring the fall colors, is reprinted in its entirety, as is the short story My Pretty Pony. Snippets from On Writing and other King commentaries, plus reviews, bloopers, lists (beers, cars, etc.).

Thanks to Bev Vincent.

Mellencamp talks Ghost Brothers

Posted: October 17, 2005, 12:54

John Mellencamp talks The Ghost Brothers of Darkland County.

Most pressing, however, are plans to finish his collaboration with King for the musical drama, "The Ghost Brothers of Darkland County."

"You can't believe the s-- we're going through, dealing with everything," Mellencamp said. "The same guys who did (the Monty Python-influenced) 'Spamalot' are involved now and hopefully it's going to become less hectic. This is not like painting. Now there's like 40,000 people involved."

Death and reconciliation are major themes in the King-Mellencamp collaboration. As he explained to Billboard recently, King's story involves two young men, brothers, who dislike each other immensely. Their father takes them to their family vacation cabin, where, a generation before them, the father's two older brothers killed each other in a similar sibling rivalry.

"There's a confederacy of ghosts who also live in this house," Mellencamp told Billboard. "The older (dead) brothers are there, and they speak to the audience, and they sing to the audience. That's all I want to say, except through this family vacation, many things are learned about the family, and many interesting songs are sung."

Several months ago during an interview at his Brown County recording studio, Mellencamp excitedly played a couple of the songs from the show.

"Some of the songs were written four or five years ago. I was shooting in the dark then. Now I know exactly where we're going and I've got a lot of work in front of me."

Thanks to Rocky Wood.

Harold Hopkins joins Nightmare cast.

Posted: October 17, 2005, 11:33

Veteran Australian actor Harold Hopkins, known for his roles in such classics as “The Club”, “Gallipoli” and “Brides of Christ”, has joined the cast of Nightmares and Dreamscapes, the new Stephen King telemovie series, being filmed in Melbourne. He co-stars with William H.Macy. Brian Henson and Stacy Title direct the pic, which was written for TV by Mick Garris

Thanks to Bloody-Disgusting.

Dana Bright to return in season 5

Posted: October 17, 2005, 00:13

The character Dana Bright, played by Kristen Dalton will be back for one episode (Articles of Faith) in season 5 of The Dead Zone.

Rhode Island International Film Festival

Posted: October 17, 2005, 00:00

It seems that the film festival to be in October is Rhode Island International Film Festival. According to their program they will show a whole bunch of Stephen King short films. Some unknown (at least to me) until now. Here is the list:

Gotham Cafe (15 min)
Rats (5 min)
We all Fall Down (15 min)
Home Delivery (11 min)
Road Virus Heads North (14 min)
Blood Jacker (? min)

Thanks to Bev Vincent.

More on The Furnace

Posted: October 16, 2005, 00:00

Here us King's two paragraphs of the story The Furnace. You can help him finish it here.

Thanks to Rocky Wood.

King is on the cover of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine (December 2005), which is already on some newsstands. King is quoted on the cover in response to "What They Say About Queen" along with Janet Maslin, Edward D. Hoch and John Updike. Unfortunately, there is nothing inside the issue by or about King, just the cover. The Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine website has not yet been updated with information regarding the new issue.

Thanks to Jonathan Reitan.

New story: The Furnace

Posted: October 15, 2005, 00:00

There is a new King 'story' around. It is the first two paragraphs of a story for Teens to complete. It's called The Furnace and appears in Know Your Own World for October 2005. A sister magazine carries an interview and a small excerpt from The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, and excerpt from On Writing and some other King stuff.

According to Rocky it's been confirmed that King will NOT be finishing the story. More info to come...

Thanks to Rocky Wood.

Dead Zone season 4 review and The Road Virus Heads North screenings

Posted: October 14, 2005, 00:00

Now you can check out my review of season 4 of The Dead Zone.

The Road Virus Heads North is playing in Screamfest LA 2005 this Saturday, Oct. 15 at Universal Studios (12:00pm), and it'll be opening the world premiere of Tobe Hooper's new film "Mortuary" next Thursday, Oct. 20 at the NYC Horror Film Festival at Tribeca Cinemas (10:30pm).

It's also playing at the Rhode Island International Film Festival the week after, but I haven't received a screening date yet.

Thanks to Dave Brock.

Stephen's Picks and Lighthouse VI

Posted: October 13, 2005, 00:00

Stephen's Picks is a new weekly feature on his official site. Here are his picks for the week of October 10, 2005:

* Stephen is reading The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly.
* He is listening to King of the New York Streets by Dion.
* His movie pick of the week is Serenity - he loved it.

This continuity clarification if from King himself and was published on his official site:

"The review of The Colorado Kid in today's issue of USA Today mentions that there was no Starbucks in Denver in 1980. Don't assume that's a mistake on my part. The constant readers of the Dark Tower series may realize that that is not necessarily a continuity error, but a clue."

Thanks to Miss X.

Lighthouse Media One is currently compiling their third and final Stephen King Special - Lighthouse VI. They still have a few places open for essays/non-fiction articles on King, but these would need to be submitted within the next two weeks to lmo1@blueyonder.co.uk

Further details can be found at www.lighthousemediaone.co.uk.

The proof of Lighthouse V (the second King special) has been approved and LMO are awaiting delivery on this book.

After Lisey's Story

Posted: October 12, 2005, 00:00

Once again King's moderator on the official message board has confirmed that King knows what he will do after Lisey's Story. Here is what she answered to the question of if King knows what he will do after Lisey's Story:

Yes, he already knows what he plans to write after those are edited.

She also mentioned that Lunch At Gotham Cafe has been optioned for a theater release.

My review of the CD from SCarrie: The Musical is now online.

If you want your own copy of the SCarrie CD you can get it here.

Cell to be 384 pages long

Posted: October 10, 2005, 23:42

According to Simon & Schuster's website Cell will be 384 pages long and on 10 CDs and 8 cassettes. Please note though that this is estimated numbers, not confirmed numbers.

Richard Thomas in Nightmares...

Posted: October 10, 2005, 11:32

According to an article in Playbill magazine, Richard Thomas will be filming a part in the Nightmares & Dreamscapes series in January.

Thanks to Bev Vincent.

King's the "Sunday Morning" program...

Posted: October 8, 2005, 00:00

You can now pre-order the UK edition of Cell from Amazon.co.uk. The release date listed is February 13.

Thanks to Marco Lammers.

King's the "Sunday Morning" program seems to be airing tomorrow morning, October 9, some time between 9:00 and 10:30.Here is what Hard Case Crime say about it in a mail.

First, the TV appearance: Those of you who have been with us for a while may recall that about two months ago CBS came by to interview us for their "Sunday Morning" program. They originally told us that the segment was scheduled to air on September 18th; then it was rescheduled for September 25th; then October 2nd. After the piece failed to air on any of those dates, we started to despair of ever seeing it. But earlier today, CBS did something they'd never done before: They publicly announced that the piece would run this coming Sunday. Here's what they posted on their Web site and sent to everyone on their mailing list: "PULP FICTION: Growing up, writer Stephen King loved reading dime store novels. Now the established author has written one of his own, a paperback murder mystery called 'The Colorado Kid,' the latest in the retro series 'Hard Case Crime.' Anthony Mason sits down with the author and learns about his role in the comeback of pulp fiction." So: While we can't make any promises, it looks like the piece may actually be airing tomorrow morning, October 9, some time between 9:00 and 10:30. I'll be tuning in, and I hope you'll join me.

The holiday special of The Dead Zone has gotten an earlier premiere date. This is from the official site:

SPECIAL HOLIDAY EPISODE! Don't miss "A Very Dead Zone Christmas," an all new episode of The Dead Zone, premiering Sunday, November 27 at 10/9C! Watch this site for more details, coming soon.

Thanks to Dohi.

Marvel Comics' Editor-in-Chief talks King

Posted: October 7, 2005, 21:50

More info about King's possible collaboration with Marvel:

Marvel Comics' Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada had this to say when a fan noted that novelist Stephen King had said in a web interview he'd be doing some work for Marvel.

"Let's say, hypothetically, that we were doing business with Steven King. Would that be cool?" The crowd responded enthusiastically "Yes" and Quesada replies "Let's leave it at that, then."

Thanks to Ari.

2006 Stephen King Library Desk Calendar

Posted: October 7, 2005, 00:00

On the official message board King's moderator got the question "if King was working on any book now" and gave this very pleasant answer: He's in the editing phase of two books but has an idea for a new one that he will begin writing soon.

Doubleday Book Club is releasing a Stephen King desk calendar for 2006. Here is a description of it:

If you're already a fan of Stephen King, chances are you're more than a little creeped out by pet cemeteries, you have a healthy fear of clowns, and when you think of the Man in Black, it isn't Johnny Cash who comes to mind. But we'd like to tell you a few things about the master of horror that you don't already know know. Peek inside the pages of the 2006 Stephen King Library Desk Calendar to discover:

- What question King answered correctly on Jeopardy! to beat David Duchovny and Lynn Redgrave.
- The story behind why Stephen King was partly to blame for the Red Sox curse.
- In his own words, why King wrote under the pen name Richard Bachman
- King's tips for the aspiring writer
- The top ten list of King's most popular characters
- King's musical tastes
- The overlooked novels of Tabitha King, and much more.

As an added bonus, Stephen King's short story, "My Pretty Pony," is included at the end of our exclusive calendar. 7" x 10"; 128 pages; spiral bound.

Tom Gordon far away...

Posted: October 5, 2005, 23:27

It seams that the movie version of The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is quite far from being done. This is what Romero said about it in an interview with Bloody Disgusting.

Steve and I go way back and he's a great guy and I wanted to do "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon", which is a wonderful story. I've actually already written the adaptation and wanted Dakota Fanning for the lead role. But Hollywood thought the story was "too soft", especially with my name attached to it so it's on hold for now. But we came VERY close to doing it! Perhaps one day soon.

Stephen King is Richard Bachman

Posted: October 3, 2005, 00:00

Tomorrow The Colorado Kid hits the bookstores but if you want to get it online you can do so by clicking any of these links:

- Book from Amazon.com
- Book from Amazon.co.uk
- CD from Amazon.com
- Cassette from Amazon.com

Overlook Connection Press is going to release an updated and completely revised edition of Michael Collings book Stephen King is Richard Bachman. Here is a description of the book:

This is the whole story of how Stephen King's Richard Bachman came to life, and when King finally had to "give up the ghost" and come forth with the truth - that he was writing under the pseudonym of Richard Bachman. This of course came about when the fifth novel, "Thinner," was released and a reader discovered King's pseudonym.

Now Michael Collings takes us from the beginnings of this unusual fiction side show of Stephen King's body of work, to what we understand will be the last Bachman release, "The Regulators." Or will it?

Updated and completely revised with new information and Richard Bachman releases since it's original publication almost 20 years ago.

Chapters Featured:

- A History for Richard Bachman
- Genre, Theme, and Image in Richard Bachman
- Rage
- The Long Walk
- Roadwork
- The Running Man
- Thinner
- Regulators and Desperation
- Pipe-Dreams and Possibilities

Cover Art by Erik Wilson

Release Date: January 2006

Thanks to Kevin Quigley.

You can now check out my review of Brian Freeman's Blue November Storms in The Review Section.

Mellencamp, King Going Back To Work On Play

Posted: October 1, 2005, 13:17

Mellencamp, King Going Back To Work On Play
By Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

John Mellencamp will spend the bulk of November working in New York with Stephen King on their long-gestating play with music, "The Ghost Brothers of Darkland County." Details of the project was first revealed by Billboard in the fall of 2000.

Mellencamp previously said the play is about "two brothers; they're 19 years old or 20, maybe 18 or 21, who are very competitive and dislike each other immensely. The father takes them to the family vacation place, a cabin that the boys hadn't been to since they were kids."

"What has happened is that the father had two older brothers who hated each other and killed each other in that cabin," he continued. "There's a confederacy of ghosts who also live in this house. The older [dead] brothers are there, and they speak to the audience, and they sing to the audience. That's all I want to say, except through this family vacation, many things are learned about the family, and many interesting songs are sung."

Having just concluded a summer tour with John Fogerty and the 20th annual Farm Aid benefit, Mellencamp will perform Oct. 29 at Neil Young's Bridge School Benefit in Mountain View, Calif. Two additional benefit shows in New York are in the works for November, but details have yet to be announced.

Meanwhile, Mellencamp's paintings will on display from Nov. 18-Jan. 7 at Indiana University's Herron School of Art in Indianapolis.

UK Cell out in February

Posted: September 30, 2005, 23:41

Hodder & Stoughton confirmed today that they also will release Cell in February.

Dollar Baby: Umney's Last Case

Posted: September 30, 2005, 00:00

A Dollar Baby of Umney's Last Case is in the making. Right now it's in post-production and a finished product might be around the end of January. The movie was shot it on 35mm over 2 weeks, and it will run between 25 and 30 minutes.

Thanks to Peter Hansen.

If you missed King's appearance on Conan O'Brien you can now see the segment online over at
Stephen King Short Movies.

Thanks to Stephen King Short Movies.

Desperation release dates

Posted: September 28, 2005, 23:10

As I have reported earlier Desperation will air in May 2006 and Lion's Gate is probably releasing the DVD the following July.

Cover of Wolves of the Calla in color

Posted: September 27, 2005, 00:00

To the right you can see the paperback cover of The Dark Tower V - Wolves of the Calla in color.

Don't forget to check out Simon & Schuster Audio's promotion of The Colorado Kid. There will be 25 minutes of excerpts online in 5 parts. Part 1 to 3 is now online. You can listen to them here.

New column: My So-Called Admirer

Posted: September 26, 2005, 00:00

King has a new column out. Its title is My So-Called Admirer and you can read it here.

Thanks to Bev Vincent.

Simon & Schuster Audio is promoting The Colorado Kid audio book with 25 minutes of excerpts over five days, 5 minutes a day. You can listen to them here.

King's interview for Sunday Morning on CBS about The Colorado Kid has been bumped to October 2nd but his appearance at Conan O'Brien will air again tonight. You can also read a transcript of King's interview with O'Brien here (scroll down a bit).

Thanks to Bev Vincent.

King in New York

Posted: September 25, 2005, 00:00

Don't miss an all new holiday-themed episode of The Dead Zone, premiering Friday, December 9 at 10/9C! More info coming soon.

King visited Conan O'Brien last Friday. This was a last minute replacement for another guest. He was promoting the New Yorker Festival and The Colorado Kid. At the festival King signed books for 150 persons.

Thanks to Bev Vincent, Anthony Sposato and and Reader1504.

Here is a trailer for the Dollar Baby Suffer the little Children

Thanks to Stephen King Short Movies.

Salem's Lot ARC's

Posted: September 23, 2005, 00:00

The ARCs for Doubleday's Illustrated Salem's Lot is out and it seems to be the same book as the one from Centipede Press (with at least most if not all the photographs included in the signed numbered editions). The one big difference though is that the Doubleday edition has a new introduction by King.

Thanks to John Hanic.

No nightmares for Stone

Posted: September 22, 2005, 11:30

In an article from Herald Sun a spokeswoman for the production of Nightmares & Dreamscapes said a rumor that Sharon Stone had been cast in one episode was "entirely not true".

Thanks to Bev Vincent.

Assassination Vacation and Lost boy, Lost girl reviews

Posted: September 22, 2005, 00:00

Today I have two reviews for you and it's not reviews of books by King. Why you may ask? Well, they both go under the section Almost King in the review section.

Both titles are audio books one are Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell and the other Lost Boy, Lost Girl by Peter Straub.

$25,100 to be in Cell

Posted: September 19, 2005, 23:39

OK, the auction for naming a character in Cell is over. The winner paid $25,100 and as it turned out it was a present for her brother (talk about the perfect gift) and the name you should look for is Ray Huizenga. Read more about it here:

Fort Lauderdale woman wins eBay auction to name character in Stephen King book

SAN FRANCISCO -- Stephen King's new horror story focuses on a set of rampaging zombies controlled by cell phones. As of Sunday night, one may bear the last name Huizenga.

King fans from Romania to Australia spent much of last week on eBay, outbidding each other in an online auction organized by prominent authors selling the right to name characters in their new novels. Initially conceived as a creative fund-raiser for the First Amendment Project, a struggling nonprofit that defends the free speech rights of writers and artists, the auction quickly became the Internet site's most watched item.

As the online auction's first round closed Sunday night, Pam Alexander of Fort Lauderdale spent the last nail-biting minutes pledging $25,100 to name a character in King's zombie novel, CELL. That money, plus an additional $50,000 in proceeds from other auctions, will go directly to the First Amendment Project.

"I thought it would be a great gift to give to my brother to have his name in the book,'' said Alexander, who won the auction as a gift for her brother, Ray Huizenga, a fishing captain and longtime King fan. "It's definitely extravagant but it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and he's worth it.''

Alexander beat out a disappointed Paul Stegman, of Papillion, Neb., who was poised to take out a credit line on his house to buy a way into King's head.

"How many times do you have the opportunity to purchase immortality?'' said Stegman, who owns 300 King books and bid on a borrowed computer he felt would increase his "winning karma.'' "This was very out of character for me, because my general rule of thumb is to be cheap whenever possible. I thought I was the only person crazy enough to spend that much money.''

On Sept. 1, eBay Giving Works, the site's dedicated program for charity listings, went live with the electronic auction. Since then, hundreds have been bidding 24 hours a day to insert names into their favorite writers' books. The auctions already have fetched well over the non-profit's fund-raising goal of $50,000.

It's also became the "most watched'' item on eBay, an internal marker the company uses to gauge popularity, and has warranted so much attention that eBay Italy requested organizers translate the entire auction into Italian.

"We can safely say we're not going to close now,'' said David Greene, executive director of the Oakland-based First Amendment Project, which was founded in 1994. "I'm thrilled.''

Greene said that money raised by the auction will go to support the organization's pro bono work representing clients being sued over free speech, free press and freedom of expression.

The auction's second phase, which will allow bidders to vie for the chance to name a character in books by John Grisham, Dave Eggers, Neil Gaiman and others continues through Sept. 26. The benefit was the brainchild of Gaiman, who approached Pulitzer prize-winning novelist Michael Chabon with the idea when he heard the group was running out of money.

It has become the single largest fund-raising event for the First Amendment Project, whose lawyers are currently defending a publisher who produces a magazine distributed in prisons and a former sailor seeking information from the U.S. Army.

Some of those bills may be paid through the generosity of science fiction writer David Brin, who joined the cause last week. In the next round, he'll auction off the right to name a rogue moon, an exotic and gruesome disease or an entire species of extraterrestrials in his new book, which he said he wrote, thanks to First Amendment freedoms.

"Only a knowledgeable, empowered and vocal citizenry can perform well in democracy,'' Brin said in an e-mail interview.

For San Francisco author Andrew Sean Greer, the tone and structure of his new book gave him so much to think about that he hadn't even begun to figure out how to fit a fan-designated name into the plot line.

"I'm happy to try to please whoever wins the bid and give them prominent placement,'' said Greer, who sold the chance to name a creamery for $895 but didn't know yet what the winning bidder had in mind.

"Usually a soda shop isn't called Englebert Humperdink, so they'll have to content themselves if it gets reworked,'' Greer added. "We're trying to make this like a secret, a little Easter egg in the novel, not a hurdle for the writer to overcome.''

King, meanwhile, appears to be busy writing CELL, a novel he warns will read "like cheap whisky ... very nasty and extremely satisfying.''

"He's been busy,'' said Marsha DeFillippo, his personal assistant. "He just didn't have time to follow the auction that closely.''

Thanks to Bev Vincent.

Stone and Macy in Umney's Last Case

Posted: September 19, 2005, 11:26

According to Friday's Australian Financial Review newspaper Sharon Stone and William H Macy will star in the adaptation of Umney's Last Case for the Nightmares and Dreamscapes series being shot in Melbourne.

No limited Lisey's Story

Posted: September 18, 2005, 23:36

There where a question on King's official message board on whether there would be limited editions of Cell and/or Lisey's Story and the answer from the moderator was:

There are no plans for limited at this time.

No limited Cell

Posted: September 18, 2005, 23:34

There where a question on King's official message board on whether there would be limited editions of Cell and the answer from the moderator was:

There are no plans for limited at this time.

Confirmation of King and Marvel?

Posted: September 18, 2005, 21:49

It seams that in the latest Italian Spiderman comic issue, there is news about the collaboration between King and Marvel. They just said that they will give more info in a month but they confirmed that King would collaborate with Marvel. More info to come.

Thanks to Matteo.

Black House movie

Posted: September 18, 2005, 00:00

Here is an interesting post from King's official message board:

Black House - Johnathon Schaech and his business partner Richard Chizmar are writing the screenplay for a movie based on the novel Black House written by Stephen King and Peter Straub. Executive producer is Akiva Goldsman (The DaVinci Code, Cinderella Man, I Robot, Practical Magic) and the production company is Weed Road.

Lisey's Story released in November

Posted: September 17, 2005, 23:32

Huge news today! Scribner has announced that Lisey's Story will be released in November 2006

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