Mick Garris talks about Desperation and more...
Posted: October 23, 2000, 19:15
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NEWS -
King and Mellencamp is developing a Musical
Posted: October 23, 2000, 19:07
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Exclusive: Mellencamp, Stephen King Developing MusicalTwo of pop culture's biggest names -- Stephen King and John Mellencamp -- are uniting to write a musical, and naturally, it's a ghost story. "Our goal is someday to end up on Broadway," Mellencamp tells Billboard. "We're not going to take it straight to Broadway." The artist knows he and King are bound to make mistakes along the way, "but that's part of the fun of it. See, that's the great thing about this for Steve and I both; we don't really have to do this."
The untitled work was Mellencamp's idea, but King, one of the top-selling authors of all time, quickly agreed to work with the singer, whom he's long admired. "I'm like everyone else, I think he's great," says King. "He's from the Midwest; he's got a nice, sort of 'common people' thing."
For King, the story was appealing. "I was in Florida, so John came down and told me the plot," he says. "It was kind of a ghostly thing, which is why he thought of me, I guess. I liked the story."
The play, according to Mellencamp, 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," says Mellencamp. "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."
Mellencamp says he's written four songs already for the project, including tracks called "My Name Is Joe" and "You Don't Know Me." Each song is written with the character's personality and age in mind. "I plan to have every person sing from their generation," he says. "This is what I'm thinking right now, but it may not work out this way. When the 18-year-old sings, he'll be rapping at you. When the people in their 70s are singing, they'll be singing in the style of Broadway or the style of Sinatra or country. I intend to cover any type of music that Americans have invented."
While the road is littered with unsuccessful musicals by pop artists, both Mellencamp and King are adopting a "why not?" attitude. "We talked about [Paul Simon's] 'Capeman.' John and I both agree that maybe it didn't work, but that this might," says King. "That's really part of my attraction about working with him. He has a lot of courage and ability to go in there and say, 'This isn't supposed to work, but we're going to do it anyway.'"
Copied from Lilja's Library: http://liljas-library.com/
Animation of The Eyes of the Dragon
Posted: October 8, 2000, 23:04
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The Eyes of the Dragon: Stephen King's fantasy epic has had its film/tv rights optioned to WAMC Entertainment whose proposing turning the novel into a $45 million budgeted animated feature. Talking with ScreenDaily, WAMC's French owner Sidonie Herman said "The storyline and characters provide all the ingredients for a classic fantasy, sword-and-sorcerer animated tale, but are also blended with Stephen King's own brand of suspense and dark humour". A screenplay for the project is being worked on right now and is due for completion early next year though one surprising movie is that while character designs will be done in the US, set and background animation will be done in Europe to try and better capture the novel's medieval setting.
...and ScreenDaily reported the following:
WAMC set to animate Stephen King’s Dragon
Francoise Meaux Saint Marc in Cannes
October 04, 2000
Los Angeles-based financing outfit WAMC Entertainment, headed by Frenchman Sidonie Herman, has optioned Stephen King’s novel The Eyes Of The Dragon, which it plans to adapt as a $45m animated feature.
WAMC – founded by Herman in 1995 – specialises in securing international production financing for North American and European film and television properties, mostly in the animation area.
The novel, which King wrote for his daughter in 1987, is set in a kingdom still inhabited by dragons, magicians and chivalrous knights. "The storyline and characters provide all the ingredients for a classic fantasy, sword-and-sorcerer animated tale, but are also blended with Stephen King’s own brand of suspense and dark humour," Herman told ScreenDaily.
The project’s screenplay, due for completion by early 2001, and character design will be originated in the US, while sets and background will be created in Europe, where Herman believes animators are likely to best capture the book’s medieval setting.
WAMC has worked with several leading North American and European production companies including the US’ Film Roman, Hearst Entertainment and Porchlight Entertainment, France’s TF1 International and Ellipsanime and Germany’s Cinevox, Studio Babelsberg and CLT-Ufa. It claims to have raised $57m in production finance in North America and Europe, and has also recently set up an international sales department, headed by Dominique Bovio.
Bryan Smith dead
Posted: September 23, 2000, 13:11
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Driver in Stephen King Crash Dies
FRYEBURG, Maine (AP) - The driver responsible for the crash that left Stephen King seriously injured last year has been found dead in his home.
Bryan Edwin Smith, 43, had not been seen or heard from for about three days when police were summoned to his mobile home Friday evening, at the request of Smith's brother.
Authorities found Smith's body in his bed. An autopsy was planned, but there was no sign of violence or foul play, said Capt. James Miclon, who found Smith.
"He was on a variety of medications for his health," Miclon said Saturday. Miclon did not say what ailments Smith had.
King was walking along a road in North Lovell, where he has a summer home, when he was struck by Smith's van. The author sustained broken bones in his right leg and hip, broken ribs, a punctured lung and a skull laceration.
Smith pleaded guilty in January to a misdemeanor driving-to-endanger charge in a plea deal that included a six-month suspended jail sentence and a driver's license suspension.
State records showed Smith was convicted of driving to endanger and failing to stop upon the signal of a police officer in 1998.
He was also convicted of failing to produce evidence of insurance in 1991, driving while intoxicated in 1989 and four speeding violations since 1988.
* * *
Monday, September 25, 2000
Driver who hit King dies at 43
By Deborah Turcotte Seavey, Of the NEWS Staff
The final chapter in the Stephen King accident saga was written over the weekend.
It had a surprise ending.
On Friday night, the driver who nearly killed the author when he hit him with his 1985 Dodge Caravan a little more than a year ago, was found dead in his bed in his Fryeburg trailer.
Bryan E. Smith was 43.
This was not to have been the final chapter in the King-Smith story. The last few pages were supposed to have been written next month, when Smith was scheduled to find out if the state would renew his driver's license.
Smith's privileges were revoked for a year last October - six months by the secretary of state and six months in a plea agreement with Oxford County prosecutors - as a penalty for striking King.
In the meantime, the drama-in-real-life was on the shelf, waiting for that last installment. At 6:25 p.m. Friday, some of the characters were reassembled, this time with different scripts.
Smith's family hadn't heard from him in three days, and his mother, Dorothy, was concerned. She went to Smith's trailer, but he did not answer the door.
Smith's brother Everett, who is a Fryeburg police officer, called the Oxford County Sheriff's Department and asked if deputies could check on his brother. Deputy Matthew Baker, who was the first on the accident scene last year, and another deputy peered through the windows and saw Smith lying on the bed.
He would not respond to their knocks or shouts, and the doors were locked. Smith's Rottweilers, Bullet and Pistol, were barking.
The deputies sought help from Capt. James Miclon, who last year oversaw the accident investigation.
The doors on Smith's trailer were pried open and an animal control officer removed the dogs.
Miclon approached Smith. He was dead.
"I said, 'Wow,'" Miclon recalled Saturday. "I wasn't expecting anything like that."
Smith appeared to be at peace.
"There he was, on his back in bed, covered up," Miclon said. "He was just laying there, like he went to sleep."
It was a clear summer's evening on June 19, 1999, when the lives of the disabled construction worker and one of the world's most prolific writers became intertwined on a two-lane road in western Maine. Smith, who was trying to control Bullet and had his eyes off the road, swerved and hit King, who was enjoying his usual daily walk alongside state Route 5.
The days that followed were filled with pain and repair for King, who underwent at least five surgeries to fix a broken hip, fractured leg, punctured lung and scalp laceration. Crutches, braces, pins in the leg, pain-relief medication - the unfamiliar for a healthy individual became the familiar for a man who had to learn to walk through the agony of injury.
"It's God's grace that he isn't responsible for my death," King told the Bangor Daily News on Aug. 27, 1999.
The days afterward also were filled with public scrutiny for Smith, who was not injured in the accident. The spotlight of celebrity became familiar for a man whose life in recent years had become engulfed in depression, disability and a pharmacy chest of pain-relief medications.
There was often a note of self-pity in his comments to the press.
"They don't look at my handicap," Smith told the Bangor Daily News on Sept. 22, 1999. "They don't care if I breathe tomorrow or die the next day."
On June 19, 1999, Smith joined the ranks of people like the woman who repeatedly broke into talk show host David Letterman's home.
He became the answer to a likely Trivial Pursuit question, "Can you name that driver who hit author Stephen King?"
That's how Smith's death was announced Saturday in news that circulated nationally - "The driver who seriously injured author Stephen King last year was found dead in his home..."
After Smith's license was revoked, he admitted that he probably would never drive again. This was the end of motorized mobility, something he enjoyed regardless of his extensive record for offenses ranging from driving while intoxicated to reckless driving.
But before the revocation, one thing Smith knew was that he would not be going to jail. His friends in the Fryeburg area told him so, even after a grand jury charged him on Sept. 30 with aggravated assault and driving to endanger, charges that if he was convicted carried more than 10 years in prison.
His fate in the winter months was left to those college-educated people working the justice system, although King and Smith, both with differing points of view, would have dropped the word "justice."
Smith knew the lawyers could tweak the books, find loopholes in the law, to convince a jury to convict him; to lock him up and throw away the key.
In conversations, he constantly would ask, "Why me?" Others in the state had injured people walking on the side of the road or driving in their cars. In a number of cases, the pedestrians or the motorists were killed and no jail time was imposed on the guilty parties.
He was being singled out because he hurt a beloved celebrity, Smith would say. It wasn't fair.
"Just because it's Stephen King," Smith said on Oct. 1. "He can make up his own laws, his own rules. I'm being used as a guinea pig. I know I hit him. I didn't mean to. Somebody can't accept that. Why can't they accept that it was an accident?"
Smith's friends were right. He did not go to jail.
King, on the other hand, wanted justice in the form of jail time. He called Smith's plea agreement - the license suspension and a six-month suspended jail sentence - "irresponsible public business."
"What he took from me, my time, my peace of mind and my ease of body, are simply gone and no court can bring them back," King said in a statement read in Oxford County Superior Court on Jan. 4.
King could not be reached for comment about Smith's death over the weekend.
Smith repeatedly sought sympathy for himself. In his eyes, he, too, was a victim.
In his ramblings of how the system was out to get him, he eventually would come around and say how apologetic he was for hitting King; as if he knew it was obligatory for him to show remorse.
But sometimes, in those rare instances, the sense of duty was erased and a genuine sincerity was demonstrated.
"To be honest with you, I am very deeply sorry," Smith said on Sept. 1, 1999. "Very deeply sorry."
Until this weekend, the spotlight was temporarily turned off the King-Smith story. Miclon said Saturday that he was happy it was over. He believed Smith was, too.
"I think he even felt that same way after a while," Miclon said. "He didn't tell me that, but I think that's what he felt. He didn't like being on those medications."
"Those medications," which included Prozac. Valium and a handful of others, will be the focus of an autopsy scheduled for today at the state medical examiner's office in Augusta. Miclon does not suspect foul play in Smith's death.
A graveside service for Smith will be conducted at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Riverside Cemetery in North Fryeburg.
Miclon said the postmortem exam is standard procedure, "not necessarily because of who he was, but because of his age."
The publicity surrounding Smith's death shouldn't last too long, Miclon predicts, and again Smith will fade out of the public eye.
Except for the trivia buffs.
Margaret Mary Ray repeatedly broke into Letterman's home for 10 years, and was convicted in 1998 and released from jail based on time served. She committed suicide later that year in Colorado.
And Bryan E. Smith, son of Dorothy, father of one son and three daughters, and sibling to two brothers and three sisters, hit author Stephen King on June 19, 1999, on Route 5 in North Lovell, Maine.
* * *
09/25/00- Updated 10:33 AM ET
King regrets death of driver who hit him
By Bob Minzesheimer, USA TODAY
Author Stephen King says he's "stunned and sorry" to hear of the death of the man who was driving the van that struck King last year while he was walking alongside a Maine road, nearly killing him.
Bryan Edwin Smith, 43, was found dead in bed Friday night at his mobile home in Fryeburg, Maine.
Police said there was no sign of trauma or violence. "He was on a variety of medications for his health," said Capt. James Miclon of the Oxford County Sheriff's Office. Smith's brother called police after not hearing from Smith in about three days. A postmortem is planned to attempt to determine the cause of death.
King is still recovering (a leg was broken in nine places, his knee was split, a hip was fractured, among other injuries). He had objected to a plea bargain that let Smith off with a year of probation and suspended driver's license, despite nearly a dozen previous traffic infractions. Smith said he was distracted by his dog when his van veered off the road and hit King.
After police called King on Friday to tell him of Smith's death, the author said, "I would wish better for anyone. Our lives came together in a strange way. I'm grateful I didn't die. I'm sorry he's gone."
King told USA TODAY on Saturday that he never thought it was an issue of "punishing" Smith and questioned if it would do any good to send him to jail. But, he added, "I felt he was a danger to himself and to others. Something more needed to be done that wasn't done."
King also said that he began to think of Smith "almost as a force of nature. What happened to me was almost as if I had been struck by lightning. He wasn't a very good driver. It was my bad luck that I happened to be in his way."
In his new book, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, out Oct. 2, King describes what he remembers of the accident, writing in part: "I'm lying in the ditch and there's blood all over my face and my right leg hurts. I look down and see something I don't like: my lap now appears to be on sideways, as if my whole lower body had been wrenched half a turn to the right."
King notes that Smith later told police he was driving from a campground to get "some of those Marzes-bars they have up to the store." When King heard that later, "it occurs to me that I have nearly been killed by a character right out of one of my own novels. It's almost funny."
* * *
Monday September 25 1:42 PM ET
Autopsy Slated for Driver Who Struck Stephen King
PORTLAND, Maine (Reuters) - Horror writer Stephen King said on Monday he was sorry about the untimely death of the driver who struck and severely injured him last year.
Police found Bryan Smith, 43, dead in his home in the hamlet of Fryeburg, Maine. The disabled former construction worker's cause of death was not immediately apparent and a routine autopsy was scheduled. But authorities said they did not suspect foul play.
Smith was driving the 1985 Dodge Caravan in June 1999 that struck and nearly killed King.
The author of "Misery," "Carrie" and "The Shining" underwent several operations to repair a broken hip and fractured leg. He spent months on crutches and underwent physical therapy to learn how to walk again.
"I was very sorry to hear of the passing of Bryan Smith," King said in a statement. "The death of a 43-year-old man can only be termed untimely."
Smith was found dead in his bed Friday night. Autopsies, however, are routinely performed in Maine when the cause of death is unknown.
Smith was convicted of aggravated assault and driving to endanger in the King incident, charges that carry more than 10 years in prison. But after reaching a plea agreement with prosecutors, only his driving privileges were revoked for a year.
He was expecting to find out next month whether the state would renew his driver's license.
A graveside service is scheduled for Tuesday.
* * *
Monday September 25 2:34 PM ET
Man's Death Brings Novelist Sorrow
FRYEBURG, Maine (AP) - An autopsy did not explain the death of the man whose van struck and severely injured horror writer Stephen King, officials said Monday.
Bryan Smith, 43, was found dead Friday at his home in Fryeburg, with no sign of injury.
The autopsy Monday also found no evidence of trauma but no conclusion was reached on the cause of death pending the outcome of toxicology tests, according to a statement from the state medical examiner's office. Those tests could take several months.
Earlier Monday, King expressed sorrow over the death of the man he once said took his "peace of mind and my ease of body."
"I was very sorry to hear of the passing of Bryan Smith," King said in a statement issued by his assistant, Julie Eugley. "The death of a 43-year-old man can only be termed untimely."
There was no sign of violence or trauma when Smith's body was found, Capt. James Miclon of the Oxford County Sheriff's Office said. "He was on a variety of medications for his health," Miclon said.
Smith struck and seriously injured King while driving a van in North Lovell in June 1999. King, who was walking along the road, suffered broken bones in his right leg and hip, broken ribs, a punctured lung and a head injury.
Smith pleaded guilty in January to a misdemeanor driving-to-endanger charge. Prosecutors dropped a charge of aggravated assault. Smith received a six-month suspended jail sentence.
Smith said he was distracted by his dog. He publicly apologized to King while insisting the crash was an accident and no one was at fault.
At the time of the sentencing, King, 53, chided prosecutors for making a deal that did not include any jail time and did not permanently revoke Smith's license.
"What he took from me, my time, my peace of mind and my ease of body, are simply gone and no court can bring them back," King said in January.
The Eyes Of The Dragon being done in France
Posted: September 20, 2000, 23:03
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AOL chat for The Plant
Posted: September 19, 2000, 13:09
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Here is the transcript from the chat:
OnlineHost: Legendary author STEPHEN KING will be here to chat LIVE at 8:00 PM ET. Welcome to the STEPHEN KING CONFERENCE, beginning at 8 eastern time. We'd love to start early, but the voices won't allow it until everyone's here. Some of you are new, and will want to put your questions into the queue. Remember, you don't have to wait to submit your questions! To send your question to the guest, click on the "Ask the Guest a Question" button, then use the "Send Question" option. Tonight's conference is the first of TWO special Stephen King conferences. In this conference, his new e-book THE PLANT is our center of attention. Remember, you can download it right off his website www.stephenking.com! And on October 10th, we'll be here again with Steve to talk about his new non-fiction book ON WRITING. We know you're all getting impatient, but remember--horror is heightened by tension!
OnlineHost: SKing Live has entered the room.
OnlineHost: we'll be starting in just a few moments. In the meantime, here's something to talk about---what was your FIRST Stephen King book? Talk amongst yourselves!
OnlineHost: Copyright 2000 America Online, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The auditorium consists of the audience (where you are) and the stage, where the MC/host and guests appear. AOL Live chat hosts will be in the rows to make sure that everyone has a great time.
AOLiveMC15: Welcome back to AOL Live, Stephen King!
SKing Live: It's nice to be here.
AOLiveMC15: We're extremely excited to have you with us tonight.
SKing Live: I'm excited, too. :-)
AOLiveMC15: Our first audience question deals with "The Plant"...
Question: Is "the plant" going to come out as a regular book in the stores or is it just through the internet?
SKing Live: If "The Plant gets finished, it'll eventually come out as a book, yes. The question is whether or not it'll get finished! It sort of depends on how honest the readers are. I had said I'd continue if the pay-through of a buck an episode hung around 75%. Right now it's down to 69.5%. That could be a problem.
SKing Live: I'm ready.
Question: Can we actually download Part I of The Plant AFTER Part III goes up?
SKing Live: You can continue to download Part 1 until the end of September. We were going to drop it off the website next week, but have decided to leave it up. A lot of people just seem to be getting comfortable with the technical end of it, and I'm determined to give this a fair shot.
SKing Live: Next question?
Question: Do you think of a story before you start to write or do you just start writing?
SKing Live: Usually I have an idea, and then just chase it!
SKing Live: Next?
Question: Will there be a next installment of the Dark Tower Series?
SKing Live: Yes--I'm hoping to start work on the next Dark Tower book in January or February. The tentative title is "The Crawling Shadow." It'll probably change, as that's sort of corny.
Question: What do you like best and worst about the 'new' mediums for your
work? (ebooks, web buying, etc.)
SKing Live: The whole business of "The Plant" has been an interesting introduction to the e-book world. I really hope it works. And you know, I think most people ARE being honest. It's just that a lot of people have downloaded the parts 2 or even 3 times to get it right. It's very weird. But I guess weird is my business.
Question: What unique challenges does writing in a serialized format (eg The
Plant, The Green Mile) present you? Constant Reader, Mark Fulton
SKing Live: Hey, Mark--mostly, working the serial format is scary. You're out there every month, and it's like working without a net. Certainly without an editor or copyeditor! And with The Plant, I'm really struggling to stay current. Parts 1, 2, and 3 were written a long time ago, but the new stuff is pretty cool. One hint about things to come: there's a guy writing a novel concerning a TV show where contestants are stranded on a desert island.
Question: How can I get your first online book? I missed it when it was
available, & now regret it!
SKing Live: You can still get RIDING THE BULLET from...um... I think it's www.simonsays.com. And the Plant you get from my website, www.stephenking.com. But remember, you have to pay the buck or Pennywise will get you.
AOLiveMC15: This question is from David, a longtime fan: How long will "Dreamcatcher" be and what will it be about?
SKing Live: "Dreamcatcher" is a novel that's going to be published next March. It's 907 pages long in manuscript, so it's pretty hefty. I just finished it today. It's got a little bit of that STAND vibe.
Question: Who are some authors who YOU like to read?
SKing Live: Oh, man. I read everyone. There's a new book by Randall Boyll called KATASTROPHE that's just f-----g wonderful. But I'll read just about anyone. I'm working my way through Patrick O'Brians Aubrey/Maturin novels this fall. They're
great.
Question: Mr. King. You are so prolific, you amaze me. Has there ever been a point where you felt like putting your pen down for awhile and doing something else?
Sking Live: Sometimes I put down my pen and pick up my guitar. Now THAT'S scary. :--)
Question: What was your inspiration for "It"? I just loved that movie!
SKing Live: When I got the idea for IT, I was walking home from a car breakdown. I had to cross a little bridge, and I got thinking about that old story, "3 Billy Goat's Gruff." The one where there's a monster under the bridge? That was
really the seed. That, and thinking of all the ways we change between our childhood and our adulthood.
Question: How can I get an autographed book? Is it even possible?
SKing Live: Not really. So many people ask now...they're piled up to the sky at the office. Sometimes I sign books for charities and stuff, but mostly it's a choice: I can write em, or I can sign 'em. Mostly I write 'em. Of course you could go to a book dealer. God knows I've signed enough in my time!
Question: Mr. King - I was left in complete suspense when I finished the first story in Hearts In Atlantis, "Low Men In Yellow Coats". Will you continue that story in the future?
SKing Live: That particular story is now filming as a movie--"Hearts in Atlantis," starring Anthony "fava beans" Hopkins as Bobby's friend, Ted. Of course the story itself is a small piece of the Dark Tower cycle, and if those books get done, we will encounter Ted Brautigan again. He's a breaker, after all, little as he wants to be.
AOLiveMC15: Mr. King, so many of your fans have asked about how you've been
doing since the accident:
Question: Did your accident change the way you relate to life and your work?
SKing Live: My accident changed everything. Not all those changes are bad. But it's a little easier to see the small shit in life for what it is after you've almost gotten the gate.
Question: What was the hardest book in terms of emotions for you to write?
SKing Live: Pet Sematary.
Question: Will you be making any public or television appearances to coincide with the release of "On Writing" next month?
SKing Live: I think I'm supposed to do Good Morning America.
Question: I highly enjoyed the remake of The Shining, especially how it stuck to the story line as it was originally written. Do you ever regret allowing your stories to be made into movies and, if so, which ones?
SKing Live: Well, I think several of the movies have been real stinkers, but I never regretted giving anyone the chance. Sometimes the smaller ones, like "Cujo," surprise you. I like a lot of the Castle Rock films, like STAND BY MEN,
THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, and THE GREEN MILE, because they see past the horror
to the human beings. I'm a lot more interested in the people than the monsters.
Question: Do you ever use story ideas suggested by fans?
SKing Live: Never have. Too easy to get sued for plagiarism! Besides, I've got more ideas of my own than I'll probably ever get to.
Question: How do you decide in what manner you're going to release a book,
i.e. "The Plant?"
SKing Live: "The Plant" was almost a goof. I had it, and no one had ever seen it, and I thought that was a shame. Also, it was a way of forcing myself back to work on it. We're go for Part 3, at least, but then I'm really going to have
to get serious about this thing. If people don't pay, I'll have to pull the plug. But right now, it's so hard to separate the shoplifters from people that are just having trouble making the technology work.
Question: If literature offers a space in which to explore and challenge the
human psyche, what influence or expressive outlet do you see horror as a genre serves readers; is horror a positive venue to, say, overcome one's fears or can it generate violence?
SKing Live: I think violent art can generate violence in violent people. For the rest of us, it's a way of exploring the dark sides of our natures (there are many, I think). We have so few outlets of this sort! I think that some violent, scary entertainments are vital. I hate the current uproar over violent films and video games, because they make such a convenient whipping boy. If you're yelling about games like WWF Smackdown, you don't have to discuss the society the gives birth to those interests.
Question: Do you find as much satisfaction writing for the online crowd as you
do for the mainstream book fans?
SKing Live: This is hard!
Question: Mr. King.. besides writing books, do you write poetry? And do you have any advice about how I can learn how to become a better poetry writer?
SKing Live: I have written a lot of poetry, but I show very little of it. Most of it just doesn't work. I even taught it for a semester, about a million years ago! I think some of the basic things apply: honesty and vivid language being only two of them.
Question: Will you be doing a sequel to "Eyes of the Dragon?"
SKing Live: "Eyes" is also a part of the Dark Tower stories. I don't think there'll ever be a sequel per se, but a talented bunch of animated filmmakers from France are making a feature out of that one.
AOLiveMC15: We have time for one final question for Stephen King tonight:
Question: What can you tell us about "On Writing" and what went into writing
it?
SKing Live: I wanted to write a book about how to write, because so many people have asked me. It's a short book, but it was very hard to write. It's amazing how much stuff you take for granted after you've been doing this for awhile! In any case, I think it's funny. The story of my accident--maybe NOT so funny--is in there, too.
AOLiveMC15: Well Mr. King, we very much look forward to your returning to AOL Live on October 10th to talk about that book.
AOLiveMC15: Thanks so much for joining us tonight -- it's been great!
SKing Live: Thanks very much. And when it comes to The Plant, I hope everyone out there will help us make it a success.
AOLiveMC15 Thanks again, Mr. King. :)
SKing Live: Goodnight!
AOLiveMC15: And thanks to our audience for all their great questions.
AOLiveMC15: Good night!
OnlineHost: SKing Live has left the room.
Thanks to Bev Vincent for sending the transcript!
The Eyes of the Dragon animated
Posted: September 15, 2000, 23:02
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The Eyes of the Dragon
Animated Film Adaptation
More info will appear as it is revealed.
Stephen King has second thoughts...
Posted: September 11, 2000, 13:06
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Here is what he said:
WHAT IS STEPHEN KING TRYING TO PROVE?
The chief hazard of the interview process is that there is never a chance for a second draft, where one may revise or delete badly expressed and sometimes downright idiotic comments. In the course of my talk with Stephen J. Dubner (Aug. 13), I spoke slightingly of my daughter's hard-won religious beliefs and, in an effort to express my admiration for my younger son's fiction, managed to make it sound ephemeral instead. His stories, witty and sharply observed, are fine examples of craft and character. The reason I didn't say that in the interview, so far as I can tell, was that my mouth was too full of my own foot. I apologize to my kids, who deserved better from their old man.
Stephen King
Bangor, Me.
Copied from Lilja's Library: http://liljas-library.com/
Travis hunting King's ghosts in ABC's mini
Posted: August 23, 2000, 13:04
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Travis hunting King's ghosts in ABC's mini
By Nellie Andreeva
LOS ANGELES (The Hollywood Reporter) --- Nancy Travis (TNT's "Running Mates") leads the cast of "Stephen King's Rose Red," an original six-hour miniseries for ABC from the horror master, which is expected to air during the February 2002 sweep.
Travis is joined by two-time Tony Award winner Judith Ivey ("The Devil's Advocate," "Hurlyburly"), Kimberly Brown ("Tumbleweeds"), Julian Sands ("Leaving Las Vegas," "A Room With a View") and Matt Keeslar ("The Last Days of Disco," CBS' "Durango") in the miniseries, which King wrote after a June 1999 accident in which he was hit by a van while walking near his Lewiston, Maine, home (HR 5/8).
The three-part miniseries tells the story of Rose Red, a dormant haunted mansion built in 1907 by a Seattle oil magnate. An obsessed psychology professor, Joyce Reardon (Travis), commissions a team of psychics and a gifted 15-year-old autistic girl (Brown) to wake the ghosts. Their attempts unleash myriad spirits and bring to light the horrifying secrets of the generations that have lived and died there.
The ensemble cast also includes Kevin Tighe ("Murder One"), Emily Deschanel ("It Could Happen to You"), Yvonne Scio ("Milonga"), Matt Ross ("The Last Days of Disco") and Tsidii LeLoca (Broadway's "The Lion King").
"We're delighted to have Stephen King back at ABC," the network's executive vp movies and miniseries Susan Lyne said. "The script is superb -- vintage King. I can't wait to see these characters brought to life."
Lyne declined comment on the project's price tag but said that elaborate special effects will probably push the budget beyond the $30 million spent on King's "Storm of the Century," his previous original miniseries for ABC.
The producing team of "Storm" is in place for "Rose Red." King and Mark Carliner (TNT's "George Wallace," ABC's "Stephen King's The Shining") have reteamed as executive producers joined by producer Thomas Brodek. "Storm" director Craig Baxley rolled the camera Tuesday,Aug. 22 when "Rose Red" began production in and around Seattle.
The miniseries is produced by Greengrass Prods. in association with Victor Television Prods. and Mark Carliner Prods.
Last year, Travis starred in CBS' short-lived comedy series "Work With Me." She also starred in another CBS sitcom, "Almost Perfect." Her feature credits include "Three Men and a Baby," "Internal Affairs" and "So I Married an Axe Murderer." She is repped by Endeavor.
King joins The Rock Bottom Remainders
Posted: August 22, 2000, 21:30
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August 22 Now Kathi Goldmark confirms that King plans to join The Rock Bottom Remainders when they play at the 930 Club in Washington, DC on November 16.Great news. I will have a review of the concert here shortly after the 16:th.
Here are dates and venues where you can see Rock Bottom Remainders this Fall (it's not clear if King will be appearing in all places though):
November 14: Gothic Theater, Denver
November 16: The Roxy, Boston
November 17: The 930 Club, Washington DC
Thanks to Bob Ireland for the info!
August 24 In a mail to Lilja's Library Kathi Goldmark confirms that King plans to join them on the whole tour. Great News!
Roger McGuinn, founder of the Byrds, also comfirms that he will join the band this fall for three concerts.
Again, thanks to Bob Ireland for the info!
August 25 Here is some news from an article that is available online:
"And if that weren't enough, The Hollywood Reporter says the group is planning to write a new book about their rock n' roll misadventures."
August 31 In an interview done by Kevin Quigley from Charnel House Kathi Goldmark tells him that King is planning to join them for all 3 performances.
"As far as I know, Steve plans to make all three dates. We've all got our fingers crossed; it's just not the same without him, and his bandmates probably miss him even more than his fans in the audience do, when he can't make a show."
She also denies any knowledge about a new book. When Kev asked her what's up whit this new book she replied;
"Where did you hear that? As far as I know, there are no plans for a second collaborative book."
I guess it was the reporters that got it wrong...again.
Read the whole interview here.
September 15 Here are the dates and times for the upcoming concerts with The Rock Bottom Remainders
Tuesday, November 14, 2000 @ 7 p.m.
The Gothic Theater located @ 3263 South Broadway, Englewood, CO
Thursday, November 16, 2000 @ 7 p.m.
The Roxy located @ 279 Tremont St., Boston, MA
Friday, November 17, 2000 @ 8 p.m.
The Platinum Club is located @ 915 F St. NW, Washington, DC
The info is from Rosandra King page!
September 28 More info about prices and what they include can be found at Rosandras page.
Songs by The Rock Bottom Remainders can now be downloaded from mp3.com
Posted: August 18, 2000, 21:27
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Press Release
SOURCE: MP3.com, Inc.
All-Star Band of Literary Giants Rocks Out on MP3.com; The Rock Bottom Remainders Features Stephen King, Amy Tan and Dave Barry
SAN DIEGO, Aug. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- MP3.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: MPPP - news) today announced that members of all-star literary band The Rock Bottom Remainders have made music available for streaming and downloading on the site. Consisting of well-known authors including horror master Stephen King, renowned humorist Dave Barry, mystery writer Ridley Pearson and award-winning novelist Amy Tan.
"We're excited to have such a prestigious group of literary figures represented on our site," said Michael Robertson, chairman and chief executive officer of MP3.com (www.mp3.com). "The Rock Bottom Remainders perform fun music with great spirit and energy, all for charitable causes. We're glad that the band has decided to join the diverse community of digital artists on MP3.com."
The literary jam band, which was first assembled to perform a single live concert for charity, now regularly plays benefit shows around the country. Founded by Don't Quit Your Day Job Records president Kathi Kamen Goldmark, also a member of the band, the Remainders perform original tunes penned by the prestigious scribes as well as cover versions of various rock and pop classics. Among the tracks currently featured on MP3.com are "Tupperware Blues," an original song written and performed by Barry, with renowned musician Warren Zevon on bass; and a cover version of the classic pop tune "These Boots Are Made for Walking" featuring Tan on vocals.
"As a band we pretty much suck, but we suck for a good cause," said Goldmark. "I think the spirit of fun comes across in these tracks, and I hope listeners will get as much enjoyment out of hearing them as we get out of making them."
In addition to producing a book about their adventures on the road, members of the Remainders have served as vocalists on a number of songs featured on "Stranger Than Fiction," a double CD from Don't Quit Your Day Job Records that benefits the Pen Writers Foundation.
The Rock Bottom Remainders join more than 87,000 digital artists who post music on MP3.com.
To receive MP3.com press releases via email, register at pr.mp3.com.
About MP3.com
MP3.com, Inc. has created what it believes is a unique and robust technology infrastructure for the storage, management, promotion and delivery of digital music. As the Internet's premier Music Service Provider (MSP), the company is dedicated to providing consumers with anytime, anywhere access to their music using any web-enabled device. The company's web site hosts what MP3.com believes is the largest collection of digital music available on the Internet, with more than 562,000 songs and audio files posted from over 87,000 digital artists and record labels. Dedicated to growing the digital music space, the company's products and services include on-demand Subscription Music Channels, an innovative Retail Music Program, a Syndicated Radio Division and others. Additionally, through the company's MSP initiative, MP3.com is partnering with a variety of forward-looking technology companies to expand its digital music strategy. MP3.com's common stock is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the ticker symbol MPPP. The company is based in San Diego, California. For more information on MP3.com, visit www.mp3.com.
Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such statements include references activities expected to occur in connection with MP3.com's relationship with The Rock Bottom Remainders. These statements involve a high degree of risk and uncertainty, are only predictions, and actual events or results may differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to differences include risks related to: MP3.com's current litigation proceedings, including without limitation the inability to reach settlement with all parties to such litigation; MP3.com's new and uncertain business model; acceptance of MP3.com's products and services; MP3.com's limited operating history, and MP3.com's rapid growth, as well as other risks detailed from time-to-time in MP3.com's reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999 and it's most recent report on Form 10-Q.
For more information, please contact, Greg Wilfahrt, Director of Public Relations of MP3.com, 858-623-7280, pr@mp3.com.
Article about King from The New York Times
Posted: August 12, 2000, 21:24
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In the article in The New York Times King says that he has finished Dreamcatcher and that it's 900 pages long. He also says that in On Writing he invites his readers-writers to submit their work to him. The best offerings he might publish in the paperback edition of the book.
To read the article you must be registered at their site but it's free.
King in Pittsburgh to research for new book
Posted: August 10, 2000, 21:23
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Some residents of Butler and Lawrence counties spotted the horror author Sunday and Monday at a state police barracks and at a Red Lobster restaurant. Apparently, King visited the area, about 35 miles north of Pittsburgh, to research rural life for a new book.
Trooper Rob Lagoon said King toured the state police offices while keeping tightlipped about the story. The author did say it should be out in 2003 and would be set in an area like western Pennsylvania.
Tina Slupe, the general manager of the restaurant where King ate, said employees recognized King and asked for his autograph.
"He told them he would give the autograph and he wouldn't bite, but if 20 people approached him seeking an autograph, he would bite," Slupe said.
King, a resident of Maine, is the best selling author of "Misery," "Carrie," "The Shining", "Pet Sematary" and "The Green Mile" among others.
King will promote On Writing on GMA Oct. 2nd
Posted: August 9, 2000, 21:17
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Dear Stephen King Fan:
Get ready for another segment of wisdom from the King -- attached is the next installment in our series of ON WRITING e-postcards. Don't forget to share it with other students of the craft, loyal King fans, and new readers alike!
And be sure to visit http://www.SimonSays.com/king where you can download ON WRITING bookmarks and enter a contest to win a free Advance Reader's Copy of the book. ON WRITING can be yours first!
But that's not all_we've also learned that King will be making an upcoming appearance on ABC's Good Morning America. Set your VCR for October 2nd, you won't want to miss this! Be sure to keep an eye on the newsstands too -- The New York Times Sunday Magazine will include a profile of ON WRITING in their August 13th issue, and Elle magazine will feature the book in September.
And what's the verdict on ON WRITING? Here's what the experts are saying:
"[On Writing] exerts a potent fascination and embodies important lessons and truths." - Publishers Weekly
"Generous, lucid, and passionate, King offers lessons and encouragementto the beginning writer, along with a warts-and-all account of a less-than-carefree life." - Kirkus Reviews
"Good advice and a good, ordinary life, relayed in spunky, vivid prose, are the prime ingredients of what must be considered not at all the usual writer's guide." - Booklist
* * *
Want to learn more? Stop by our King den at http://www.SimonSays.com/king
Keeping you up on all things King, we are...
SimonSays.com
Pictures of Larry and Lisa
Posted: August 3, 2000, 12:11
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Tim Pugliese as Larry and Lisa Goodness as Kat.
Thanks to Rosandra Montequin
King will release a new short story next month
Posted: July 23, 2000, 21:10
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The Old Dude's Ticker has now been released. I haven't read it yes so at this point I have no further info, stay tuned...In the mean time, here is the cover for the "Necon 2000 Commemorative Volume"
The new story King will have in the "Necon 2000 Commemorative Volume" will be 7 pages long and called The Old Dude's Ticker. It's reported that it will be a collaboration between King and Edgar Allan Poe!?!? How this is possible isn't clear at this time.
The story will be illustrated by Richard Sardinha and have an introduction by King.
Here are the data:
Editor: Bob Booth
Publisher: The Necon Committee
Publication Date: July, 2000
Place of Publication: Bristol, RI
Story Byline: Stephen King and Edgar Allan Poe
Story Title: The Old Dude's Ticker
Accompanying Illustration (page 24): Richard Sardinha
Text covers pages 25-31
Note: There is an introduction to the story by the author (King, not Poe).
Here's what the official site says:
And finally, we give you below the final contributors to ye Necon 2000 Commemorative Volume. NOTE:
As Ye Webmistress understands it, there is only one way to get this little gem: Attend Necon. It's part
of the Necon registration bag and extras will NOT be printed. It will not be for sale anywhere. It will
not be reprinted. And lest life has made you forget: Necon is limited to 200 attendees. Once it fills up,
that's IT, so the timeless words of wisdom apply here: You Snooze, You Lose! A few words straight from
the mouth of Our Esteemed Necon Chairman: "333 copies of the book will be printed. All are identical.
There will be no special copies (i.e. signed, numbered, human skin, etc.). The book will NEVER be
reprinted, once the printed copies are received from the printer the PageMaker file will be deleted..."
Thanks to Bev Vincent and Justin Brooks for the info.
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The Last Rung on the Ladder to be filmed
Posted: June 21, 2000, 13:01
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The movie is now 90% casted. The adult Larry will be played by Tim J. Pugliese and Lisa Goodness will be the adult Kat.
Frank Welch writes the script and the movie will be directed and produced by Lucas Knight. It'll probably air on PBS later this year.
Thanks to Tim J. Pugliese and Rosandra Montequin
Romero will make a film of Gordon
Posted: June 7, 2000, 23:10
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"The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" will be filmed by George Romero!
In a recent interview with Wicked magazine, George Romero stated that he has written a screenplay for and plans to start directing a film adaptation of "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" in the summer of 2000.
Now he is awaiting script approval from Stephen King. Canal +, the french studio that funded Romero's latest film "Bruiser" is producing.
Thanks to Kev at Charnel House.
Stud City: a TV-pilot?
Posted: June 7, 2000, 00:55
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Check out the official web page.
Stud City is the name of a new King TV-pilot that should have been filmed during July-August 1998 but has been delayed. It's based on a short part of the short story "The Body". It's one of the story told by Gordy Lachance in "The Body". It will be released as the pilot episode of the new cable TV series called "Night Moves".
In an mail to Lilja's Library the episodes director and scriptwriter Sean Parlaman said the following:
The release date is February 2001. It will be 48 minutes, for showing in a one hour TV time slot, but it will also make the short films festival circuit, and will be available on video.
Sean
Is it time for The Shining part 2?
Posted: May 25, 2000, 21:06
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Apparently they got an e-mail from someone claming that there are plans to make a sequel to original "The Shining" with Jack Nicholson.
This is what the e-mail said:
Can't say my name, but I got some major news. Sources close to Jack Nicholson, say he's
close to signing on to 'Redrum.' Yep, that's right the sequal to 'The Shining.' The movie takes place in modern day in the summer at the hotel they were watching in the first film. We never knew if Nicholson was dead in the first one, so that's why they're bringing him back. The reason it is not called 'The Shining 2' is because nobody in this movie has the shining, its all about a crazy man still loose since the 70's waiting for his revenge, the man being Jack Nicholson.
In another mail, also to http://www.upcominghorrormovies.com some one working in a studio claims to have read a script of Redrum. He/she also
says it's a really bad script. Here is that mail:
I work in a studio where casting is the primary mode of operation. Scripts are always lying around.
Anyways, I have seen the script for a film called Redrum. I seriously doubt that Jack Nicholson is attatched to the script I read, though they are are mutating faster then the local insects. The draft I read is really, REALLY bad.
It suggests a sequel to The Shining only. The main character's name is Jack, and that's about it. It reads more like a direct-to-video sequel to The Dentist then the next chapter in The Shining. Nothing original here, more like a hodge podge of scenes boosted from a dozen direct-to-video slasher movies.
I'm not sure how much truth there is to this info but hey, they did a sequel to Carrie 25 (okay, 23 to be exact) years after the original, so why not?
If there is any further news about it I'll report it here.
King recalls fatal accident in the book On Writing
Posted: May 12, 2000, 21:05
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By HILLEL ITALIE, Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP) - Weeks after his near fatal road accident, Stephen King wondered if he would ever write again. He couldn't bend his knee. His hip was smashed. Sitting any longer than 40 minutes was torture.
Convinced he had reached one of those "crossroads moments," the author consulted his wife, Tabitha.
"My wife is the person most likely to say I'm working too hard," King notes in the memoir "On Writing," which will come out this fall. "When I told her on that July morning that I thought I'd better get back to work, I expected a lecture.
"Instead, she asked me where I wanted to set up."
Much of "On Writing" is about the craft itself, but near the end King includes a brief section in which for the first time he writes in detail about the June 1999 collision. The author was struck by a van while walking along the shoulder of a road in his home state of Maine.
"He wasn't on the road; he was on the shoulder; my shoulder," King writes of the van's driver, Bryan Smith. "I had perhaps three-quarters of a second to register this.
"There is a break in my memory here. On the other side of it I'm on the ground, looking at the back of the van, which is now pulled off the road and tilted to one side."
The author of such horror stories as "Carrie" and "The Shining" underwent five operations to set the broken bones in his right leg and hip. He also sustained broken ribs, a punctured lung and a skull laceration. In his memoir he likens the daily "pin-care" treatments for his leg to having it "dipped in kerosene and then lit on fire."
For King's first day of writing after the accident, his wife set up a work station, rolled him there in his wheelchair and kissed him on the temple. He hung in for more than an hour and a half, covered in sweat, but with "no inspiration" to go with his pain.
"There was no sense of exhilaration, no buzz - not that day - but there was a sense of accomplishment that was almost as good. I'd gotten going, there was that much," he recalls.
King estimates he takes about a hundred pills daily and he still spends two hours a day, three days a week, in rehabilitation. He sometimes leans upon a cane, but at a recent reading in Manhattan he strode on to the stage unaided.
"(A)s my leg begins to heal and my mind reaccustoms itself to its old routine - I feel that old buzz of happiness, that sense of having found the right words and put them in a line," he writes.
"I still don't have much strength - I can do a little less than half of what I used to be able to do in a day - but I've had enough to get me to the end of this book, and for that I'm grateful."
More about King's first live appearance since his accident
Posted: May 9, 2000, 21:02
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''I don't think I had any of the fun knocked out of me,'' King said Friday. But, he added, ''I didn't know if I could write. And I can.''
King was strolling along a highway in Maine on June 19 when the driver of a Dodge Caravan, distracted by a pet Rottweiler in the minivan, swerved and struck the author. King was thrown 14 feet, suffered fractures of his right hip and leg and a collapsed lung, and had a series of operations.
Friday night, before a reading at the Bowery Ballroom as part of a New Yorker book festival, King said doctors are vague about the prospects of full recovery.
''You say, 'Well, when am I going to be able to play tennis again?' And they say, 'You're doing really well.' Yeah, yeah, yeah.''
While he was recuperating last year, the 52-year-old King wrote a novella called Riding the Bullet, which was published exclusively on the Internet in March. ''It was a factor in my recovery, being able to work. Forces me out.''
King says he is trying to finish a novel tentatively called Dream Catcher, which promises to be in his tradition of grand proportions. ''All I know is that it's very long.''
Pain in his lower body and back continues to hamper his sitting before a keyboard. ''That's a problem when you can't sit for a long period of time,'' he said. ''I've been on crutches. I'm down to one now. And it screws up your back.''
An audience of about 300 cheered Friday as King set aside his single aluminum crutch and stepped center stage.
In introducing King, New Yorker literary editor Bill Buford offered a King-style aside that was eerie. Buford told how the spectacles the author wore this night were the same that, smeared with King's blood, flew onto the front seat of the van that struck him. It was the first evidence to the dog-addled driver that he had hit something other than an animal.
For nearly the next hour, King read aloud ''L.T.'s Theory of Pets,'' a short story that ends with the butchering of a small dog.
King's first live appearance since his accident
Posted: May 7, 2000, 20:59
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King rendered a spirited reading of a short story he had published entitled, "L.T.'s Theory of Pets." The renowned teller of scary stories -- who in recent years has branched into different subjects to much acclaim -- was one of several writers kicking off the inaugural The New Yorker Festival this weekend.
"It's nice to be here," King said to the crowd of about 300 people gathered at the Bowery Ballroom. "Actually, it's nice to be anywhere."
Many in the audience rose to applaud King and one young woman exclaimed, "It's nice to see you."
On June 19, 1999, King was struck by a van while walking along the shoulder of a state road. The driver pleaded guilty to a charge that meant no jail time, which left King infuriated.
These days, King remains hobbled, sometimes leaning upon a cane in his left hand. The writer, who still lives in Maine, has lost weight but spends two hours a day, three days a week, rehabilitating his body from the injuries, which included broken ribs, broken bones in his right leg, a punctured lung, and a skull laceration.
"I feel pretty good," King said in an interview before his reading. "I'm not strong but I'm feeling better."
In a display that showed he hadn't lost his sense of humor, King told the crowd that The New Yorker had been very good to him over the years. He went on to say he had selected a piece that was not published in the magazine, although it sounded "sort of like a New Yorker story."
And if the audience didn't like it, he told them they should consider the ramification of booing someone who still uses a cane. A broad grin stretched across his face, and the crowd howled with laughter.
The New Yorker created the literary and arts tribute to celebrate the magazine's 75th anniversary. Throughout the weekend, celebrities including Salman Rushdie, Alec Baldwin, Paul Simon and Kofi Annan are participating in the celebration.
But on Friday, much of the excitement was generated by King, who has published more than 50 best sellers, such as "The Shining," "Carrie," "Bag of Bones," and "The Green Mile."
Before the reading, he claimed to be nervous for his self-proclaimed "coming-out party." Still, he said it was easy to accept The New Yorker's request because of the magazine's "prestigious" reputation. And, he said, it would be fun.
"You don't want to do anything that you can't have a good time doing," he said.
Sun Dog to be filmed
Posted: May 4, 2000, 01:05
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Smilin Jack Ruby talked about Sun Dog with Mick Garris. Here is his report (from Dark Horizons):The Talisman: 'Smilin Jack Ruby' talked with Mick Garris about his upcoming adaptation of Stephen King's "The Talisman" that he'll be doing once he returns from a trip to Cuba with his wife. The four-hour mini-series will begin production on a date depending upon the length of the upcoming strikes, and after he plans to turn King's "Riding the Bullet" (which Garris has already adapted into a screenplay) into a theatrical feature. "The Sun Dog" IMAX project is on hold, whilst "Desperation" may become a miniseries as CBS has approached him about it (but he usually works with ABC so will give them 'first dibs' as they say).
The Sun Dog: White Cap Productions and Imax Corporation will produce large-format 3D Adaptation of Stephen King's novella, "The Sun Dog". It will be distributed to the rapidly expanding worldwide network of IMAX 3D® theatres. Production is expected to begin in 2000 and Lawrence D. Cohen, who is writing the screenplay, will executive produce with Michael Gore, who will also be scoring the film.
"This amazing story, with its glimpses of a bizarre and fantastic other world is the perfect vehicle for Imax's giant-screen 3D format. We are very pleased to have "The Sun Dog" on our production slate and are delighted to be working with Larry, Michael and Stephen on this exciting project. We also believe "The Sun Dog" will have special appeal to millions of Stephen King fans and will also introduce many new movie-goers to Imax's 3D world of experiential large-format cinema."
Imax co-CEO Bradley J. Wechsler
Here is a description from IMAX web page
STEPHEN KING'S THE SUN DOG
Based on the master of horror Stephen King's short story from his #1 best seller Four Past Midnight, with an adaptation by Larry Cohen, whose credits include Mr. King's CARRIE and IT. Fifteen-year-old Kevin Delevan wants only one present for his birthday, the Polaroid 2000 Sun camera. From the moment he receives the camera his life becomes effected by this seemingly inanimate object that has a diabolical mind of its own.
And the Oscar goes to...
Posted: March 27, 2000, 20:59
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...not The Green Mile. When the winners at the 72nd Academy Awards were announced "The Green Mile" didn't get any Oscar's. And even if this was expected it should at least have gotten at least one of the 4 it was nominated for.
Stephen King live in New York
Posted: March 26, 2000, 20:58
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On May 5:th The New Yorker magazine is celebrating their 75:th anniversary by having a weekend-long festival. The whole thing begins on Friday, May 5.
On Friday evening there will be readings at various locations around New York City. There will be two authors per location and King will team up with Matthew Klam. The two authors will be reading at the Bowery Ballroom on 6 Delancey Street at 7 pm.
There has not been any word yet on what King will read...
Bram Stoker Awards
Posted: March 24, 2000, 20:56
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"Hearts In Atlantis" was nominated for best fiction collection.
The result will be announced at the beginning of May.
Press release for Riding The Bullet
Posted: February 22, 2000, 20:45
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TO PUBLISH NEW STORY EXCLUSIVELY ON EBOOK
Riding the Bullet Available Worldwide on March 14th to eBook and PC Users
New York, March 8, 2000-- Simon & Schuster announced today that a new story by best-selling author Stephen King will appear exclusively as an eBook on March 14th (12:01 AM EST). Riding the Bullet, a story described by King as "a ghost story in the grand manner," will go directly to readers electronically, who will pay $2.50 for the 16,000-word story. The story will be a co-publication between Scribner and Philtrum Press, King's own press, and electronically published through Simon & Schuster Online. The announcement was made by Jack Romanos, President & Chief Operating Officer of Simon & Schuster, Inc., and Susan Moldow, Vice President and Publisher of Scribner.
"Riding the Bullet is yet another example of how Stephen King and Simon & Schuster continue to embrace new possibilities in every facet of their relationship," said Romanos. "This innovative publication strategy takes the eBook from the realm of novelty and directly into the very mainstream of today's culture. And it reaffirms the publisher-author relationship at a moment when it is fashionable to predict its demise."
"What an exciting opportunity this is for both us and the author," said Moldow. "From the issue of adapting traditional book design to an e-friendly format to creating instant alliances for making the story available to as many of our customers as possible, Riding the Bullet is an exceptionally apt title for this leap into the digital future." The concept of an original eBook was presented to Scribner by Ralph Vicinanza, King's longtime agent for foreign rights. He also initiated King's innovative 6-part book serial of The Green Mile.
"I'm curious to see what sort of response there is and whether or not this is the future," said King, who wrote Riding the Bullet shortly after his near-fatal accident in June 1999. King has since written several works. Riding the Bullet is his first work to go directly to readers via eBook.
The distribution of Riding the Bullet as an eBook bypasses the traditional yearlong publishing cycle. "What's exciting is that we are able to go from Stephen King's computer to the reader in a fraction of the print-book publishing arc," said Kate Tentler, Vice President and Publisher of Simon & Schuster Online. "And, we can offer this wonderful story to readers in whichever electronic format they are comfortable with: on an eBook device, a handheld Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), or on a computer."
EBook vendors participating to date include: Glassbook, Inc., netLibrary, Nuvomedia Inc.'s Rocket eBook, Peanutpress.com, SoftBook Press, and SoftLock.com. SoftLock.com provides a complete technology and service solution that will enable any retailer or bookseller with a website, whether simple or sophisticated, to sell Riding the Bullet.
Stephen King is the author of more than thirty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. Among his most recent are Hearts in Atlantis, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, The Green Mile, and the audio-only release, Blood and Smoke. In August, Pocket Books will release the paperback edition of Hearts in Atlantis, followed by the October publication from Scribner of On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. Information about Stephen King and his writing can be found at the official King website: http://www.stephenking.com/
In support of Riding the Bullet, Simon & Schuster and Scribner marketing activities, including press releases, review copies, newsletter and consumer bulletins, and business-to-business promotional materials will be produced and transmitted electronically. An excerpt from Riding the Bullet can be read at www.SimonSays.com.
CONSUMERS: Click here to purchase the eBook:
http://www.SimonSays.com/ebooks
RETAILERS: Contact your regular eBook vendor or click here to become an eBook affiliate:
http://www.softlock.com/
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Title: RIDING THE BULLET
Author: Stephen King
ISBN: 0-7432-0467-0
Word Count: 16,000
Pub Date/Time: March 14th at 12:01 AM, EST 3/8/00
Lifetime Achievement
Posted: February 22, 2000, 20:44
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NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 17, 2000--Telecare TV, Channel 25, will be holding the Second Annual Monsignor Thomas J. Hartman Awards (the "Tommys") on March 21st. The award, named for Father Tom, was created to honor those individuals from business and the arts who demonstrate an extraordinary level of excellence in communication and service to the community. This year's outstanding honorees are: (Electronic Media): Charles Dolan, Founder & Chairman of Cablevision Systems (Humanitarian): Coretta Scott King, dynamic civil rights and peace crusader. (Print Media): Stephen King, the world's most successful writer. (Lifetime Achievement): The Most Reverend John R. McGann, beloved leader of one of the largest dioceses in the country, who retired this year.
And the nominees are...
Posted: February 15, 2000, 20:40
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THE GREEN MILE
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Michael Clarke Duncan
SOUND
THE GREEN MILE (Robert J. Litt, Elliot Tyson, Michael Herbick and Willie D. Burton)
SCREENPLAY - ADAPTATION
THE GREEN MILE (Frank Darabont)
Rose Madder
Posted: February 9, 2000, 15:57
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King to turn Gerald's Game into a movie?
Posted: February 8, 2000, 23:09
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"I'd like to direct again, because I'd like to get it right. I don't know, but maybe that hope for perfection - in whatever - is what really drives me. It's a scary thought, isn't it?"
King's health
Posted: January 19, 2000, 20:36
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King's health seems to be getting better every day!!!Stephen and Tabitha pose for photographers as they arrive at the premiere of The Green Mile at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York City on December 8.
Rose Red
Posted: January 18, 2000, 20:34
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King goes to Springfield
Posted: January 17, 2000, 19:21
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Drew Barrymore provides the voice of Sophie in the "Insane Poppy Clown" episode Nov. 12. Bart meets Sophie while waiting in line to see Krusty at a book festival and she reveals that she is Krusty's daughter -- a product of a one-night stand he had during the Gulf War with a special forces commando. Hoping to make up for lost time, Krusty looks to Homer for parenting advice. Stephen King also guest stars as himself and Joe Mantegna reprises his role as Fat Tony.
The Simpsons Archive reports that the episode of The Simpsons where Stephen King and Drew Barrymore are lending their voices has been pushed forward and will not air until the series 12:th season. This means that it will air on FOX sometime between the premiere (September or October 2000) to mid season 12 (early 2001).
Here is an article about it:
THE SIMPSONS GUEST VOICES
Writer Stephen King, teen pop singer Britney Spears and actresses Drew Barrymore and Betty White are among the upcoming guest voices on The Simpsons.
Don Cheadle provides the voice of preacher Brother Faith in the episode "Faith Off," this Sunday. When Homer get his head stuck in a bucket of glue, the family attends the revival meeting of Brother Faith in a desperate attempt to save Homer. Brother Faith calls upon Bart to assist him and when the bucket comes off, Bart is convinced he too is a faith healer.
Spears appears as herself in "The Mansion Family" episode on Sunday, Jan. 23. When Mr. Burns is honored as Springfield's oldest resident, he retreats to the Mayo Clinic while the Simpsons house-sit at his mansion with disastrous results.
King and Barrymore lend their voices to the upcoming "Insane Clown Poppy" episode, in which Krusty the Clown takes parenting lessons from Homer when he discovers that he has a daughter about Bart's age from a one-night stand.
White plays herself in a forthcoming episode entitled "Missionary: Impossible," in which Homer inadvertently joins the Peace Corps.
Other guest voices upcoming this season include musicians Randy Bachman and Fred Turner of Bachman Turner Overdrive, singer Shawn Colvin and rock stars Kid Rock and his sidekick Joe, all of who will play themselves.
The longest-running sitcom on television, The Simpsons also currently holds the Guinness Book of World Records titles for "longest-running prime-time animated series" and "most celebrities featured in an animation series." Celebrating its 10th anniversary, The Simpsons also will receive a Star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday."
King signs a 3-book deal
Posted: January 10, 2000, 19:19
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"He's well, he's active, he's working very hard," said his literary agent, Arthur Greene.
King has been walking on a crutch since suffering 25 broken bones in his hip, right leg and pelvis, a collapsed lung and other injuries. "He was pretty well mangled," said King friend Stu Tinker, owner of Betts Bookstore in Bangor. "It's amazing that in this short a period he's able to get up and around and drive by himself."
The new publishing deal is for three books, "one of which is completed and the other two that he's working on," Greene said. The agent would not say what the new books are or if the deal is with King's publisher Scribner, or another house.
King has finished a non-fiction book on writing. Scheduled for a September release, that volume completes his three-book 1997 deal with Scribner that was unusual because it was light on up-front royalties but heavy on profit-sharing.
Bryan Smith gets away
Posted: January 10, 2000, 19:16
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Bryan Smith pleaded guilty to driving to endanger, and a more serious charged of aggravated assault was dropped.
Smith's license had been suspended for six months after the incident, and that will be extended to a year. Smith was also given a suspended six-month jail sentence.
Smith, who has a history of driving offenses, did not address the court. He has said he was distracted by his dog when his van veered off a road and hit King on June 19 in Lovell, where King has a vacation home.
King chided prosecutors for not trying Smith on the more serious charge and called the plea agreement "irresponsible public business.'' He said he did not believe a license suspension would keep Smith off the road because it did not in the past.
"What he took from me, my time, my peace of mind and my ease of body, are simply gone and no court can bring them back,'' King said.
King has said he was angered that Smith was allowed to keep his license for three months after the crash. It was suspended after Smith was indicted. He also said he wanted the more serious charge to be pressed so Smith could be kept off the road longer, "so that if Mr. Smith should hurt someone else, or even kill someone else, as he nearly killed me, we could at least all say we had done our absolute level best to keep this from happening," King said.
State records show Smith was convicted of driving to endanger and failing to stop upon the signal of a police officer in 1998.
He was also convicted of failing to produce evidence of insurance in 1991, driving while intoxicated in 1989 and four speeding violations since 1988.
The Green Mile Golden Globe nominations
Posted: December 22, 1999, 19:14
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Unknown poems by King
Posted: December 22, 1999, 19:13
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Very interesting!!!
The untitled one is in five verses of 7,4,8,5,4 lines respectively and begins:
"She Has Gone To Sleep While..."
The other one, entitled Woman with Child, is 17 lines in length.
The Green Mile
Posted: December 19, 1999, 19:12
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King and Writing
Posted: November 2, 1999, 18:54
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"I am aware that a lot of people have been concerned about press reports that I am either not writing or not able to write. Most of these reports are the result of material taken out of context in the Dateline interview Tabby and I did. What I said--and I believe the actual interview makes this clear--is that I found it extremely difficult to find my way back into writing after the accident. That battle was fought in July however, and I feel that I won a conditional victory.Since the accident I have finished my book on writing, I have written a novelette called "Riding the Bullet," and have begun work on an original miniseries for TV. This is called Rose Red and is an expansion of a screenplay I wrote some years ago. I have also begun talking with Peter Straub about finally writing a sequel to The Talisman -we jokingly called this project T2, although I doubt if there will be a part for Arnold Schwartzenegger. My endurance is much less than it was, and my output has been cut in half, but I am working.
I hope that this sets some fears to rest, and believe me when I say that I am very touched by the expressed concern. I am touched, in fact, that anyone cares at all, one way or the other. Now get out there and do something nice for someone else."
Stephen King, 2 November 1999
From the official page
King's Accident
Posted: June 19, 1999, 18:53
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Here is what happened:
King was walking south on the shoulder of Route 5 in North Lovell, where he owns a home, at about 4:30 p.m. when a motorist approaching from behind lost control of his Dodge Caravan because of a dog that was running loose inside.
Oxford County Sheriff's deputy Matt Baker also said that according to witnesses, the driver, Bryan Smith, 41, of Fryeburg, did not appear to be speeding and charges will not be filed against Smith. "There's nothing to charge him with,'' Baker said. "He wasn't being reckless, he was just distracted. If he had been drinking or something like that, it would have been something else.''
Baker didn't know of any state law requiring pets to be secured inside moving vehicles. However, he noted that King was technically violating the law by walking in the same direction as traffic.
King was lying in a depression about 14 feet off the road and appeared to have been thrown by the collision. The van's windshield was broken and the right front corner of the car was crunched in from the impact of striking him, he said.
Baker continued:
He was hurting, but he was able to communicate. He was talking to me. He gave me phone numbers of where to call his family. He was in a lot of pain.
Baker also said he could tell King's leg was broken and he was bleeding from a laceration on his head.
King was transported to Northern Cumberland Hospital and then flown by helicopter to Central Maine Hospital. His physical condition includes a collapsed right lung, multiple fractures of the right leg, scalp laceration, and a broken hip. King have had multiple surgery and it'll be somewhere between 9 month and a year before he is fully recovered.
King was discharged from Central Maine Medical Center on June 9, after spending nearly three weeks in the hospital.
You can find info about King's accident on King's official web page and at Central Maine Medical Center's web page.
Thanks to Marc-David Jacobs for sending me updates!
Desperation on hold
Posted: May 1, 1999, 23:24
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Movie version of Desperation?
Posted: February 6, 1999, 23:23
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Lilja On bTV
Posted: February 2, 1995, 09:12
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