In this episode, we are honored to have one of the first Stephen King chroniclers, Stephen Spignesi, join us for an interview. Back in the 1990s, Stephen wrote the Stephen King Encyclopedia which was a great boon for King fans, in the pre-Internet days. Stephen has a new King book coming out this October - Stephen King: American Master.
Plus our recap of the latest Stephen King news.
We hope you enjoy this episode and, as usual, we want to hear from you.
Good or bad, we want it all!
You can leave us comments, questions, topic suggestions at:
1) FaceBook - Lilja's Library
2) Audio Message - Speak Pipe widget on the right hand of the podcast page (send voicemail)
In this podcast:
1) 00:00 - Intro
2) 00:30 - Podcast Setup
3) 01:02 - News From The Death Room
4) 21:00 - Stephen Spignesi Interview
5) 1:17:19 - Podcast Signoff
6) 1:18:37 - Outro
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Outro Music - Stand by Me - Ben E. King
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The Hollywood Reporter reports that Fatih Akin will direct the remake of Firestarter.
Fatih Akin — the German director behind last year's Golden Globe winner In the Fade — will direct Firestarter for Universal and Blumhouse.
The 1980 Stephen King book will be adapted by Scott Teems andJason Blum and Akiva Goldsman will produce, with Martha de Laurentiis, who was an associate producer on the 1984 movie, set to executive produce.
Variety reports that Rebecca Ferguson is in negotiations to co-star with Ewan McGregor in Doctor Sleep. It is unknown who Ferguson will be playing though.
Today the Czech edition of Shining in the Dark (Osvícení v temnotě) hits the stores. You can also order online here and a first review can be found here.
If anyone sees the book in the stores please send photos.
Deadline reports that 20th Century Fox is finalizing a deal for The Boogeyman. The film will be done by Scott Beck & Bryan Woods who's done A Quiet Place. 21 Laps’ Shawn Levy Dan Levine and Dan Cohen are producing.
Seems Henry Bowers survived the first film. Bloody Disgusting reports that Teach Grant has joined the cast as bully Henry Bowers, In the first movie he was played by Nicholas Hamilton.
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., June 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The AT&T* AUDIENCE Network series "Mr. Mercedes," produced by Sonar Entertainment, is returning to San Diego Comic-Con July 19-21 with the cast and creators of season 2 for the "Mr. Mercedes Immersive Experience" and show panel.
The "Mr. Mercedes Immersive Experience" will give fans a glimpse into the past and a peek into the future of the AT&T AUDIENCE Network original series based on the trilogy by Stephen King. Fans can be the first to play the virtual reality (VR) escape room game, "Mr. Mercedes: Lair Escape," on the HTC Vive Pro – the next generation of VR headsets. In the "Mr. Mercedes: Finders Keepers" augmented reality (AR) adventure game, they'll collect clues to unlock never-before-seen content and special prizes.
The "Mr. Mercedes Immersive Experience" will include:
Augmented Reality Adventure Game – Download the app to embark on an AR-driven investigation helping Detective Bill Hodges crack the case and claim a reward if you succeed.
Virtual Reality Escape Room Game – Be fully immersed in a virtual escape room inside Brady's lair. Escape before time runs out or you're trapped forever!
Recreating the Physical World of "Mr. Mercedes" – The show's set designers are recreating Finders Keepers, Mercy General Hospital and Brady's lair using actual props.
Bringing Brady to Life Through Projection Mapping – 3-D light projection will creepily bring Brady to life in his hospital bed. Is he in a coma or did you just see him move?
Lenticular Photo Experience – This photo op will transform the participant's face into Brady's along with a socially shareable GIF.
Private Screening Room – Media, VIP and lucky fans will get the chance to watch a sneak peek of season 2.
Xavier Dolan and Will Beinbrink have been cast in IT: Chapter 2. Dolan will be playing the role of Adrian Mellon and Beinbrink will play Tom Rogan, Beverly’s abusive husband.
Here is a plot summary for season 2 of Mr Mercedes.
The series picks up a year after Brady Hartsfield's thwarted attempt to perpetrate a second mass murder in the community of Bridgton, Ohio. Since the incident, Hartsfield has been hospitalized in a vegetative state. Retired Detective Bill Hodges has done his best to move on from his Brady obsession, teaming up with Holly Gibney to open Finders Keepers, a private investigative agency. But when unexplainable occurrences begin to affect hospital staff members attending to Brady, Hodges is haunted by the feeling that Brady is somehow responsible.
The original cast, which includes Brendan Gleeson ("Harry Potter") as Detective Bill Hodges, Harry Treadaway ("Penny Dreadful") as Brady Hartsfield, Jharrel Jerome ("Moonlight") as Jerome Robinson, Scott Lawrence ("Avatar") as Detective Peter Dixon, Breeda Wool ("Unreal") as Lou Linklatter, Justine Lupe ("Francis Ha") as Holly Gibney, Nancy Travis ("How I Met Your Mother") as Donna Hodges, and Holland Taylor ("The Truman Show") as Ida Silver, is joined by Jack Huston ("Boardwalk Empire") as Brady Hartsfield's doctor Dr. Felix Babineau, Tessa Ferrer ("Grey's Anatomy") as Dr. Babineau's wife Cora Babineau, and Maximiliano Hernandez ("Sicario") as Assistant DA Antonio Montez for season 2.
Season 2 of "Mr. Mercedes" will premiere on AT&T AUDIENCE Network on Wednesday, Aug. 22 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
The kids pars for the remake of Pet Sematary has been cast. Ten-year-old Jeté Laurence will play Ellie and three-year-old twins Hugo and Lucas Lavoie will play Gage, her little brother.
Filming is happening as we speak and the premier is set to April 5, 2019.
Deadline reports that Castle Rock is heading for Comic-Con.
Castle Rock doesn’t premiere on Hulu until July 25, but San Diego Comic-Con attendees will get a lot more than a sneak peek at the psychological-horror drama. The entire opening episode of the J.J. Abrams-produced series based on Stephen King’s stories will be played for fans at the confab next month.
Abrams is working on the next Star Wars movie over in the U.K., so he won’t be in Ballroom 20, but a Castle Rock panel with stars Sissy Spacek, Bill Skarsgard, Melanie Lynskey and more will be there. Although it is not 100% yet that Andre Holland will be there, that panel is where the special screening is set to take place for fans too. With all that, King himself will not be in the house in any form or fashion as of right now. Yet, there is a chance that SDCC vet Abrams might show his face via video, but that is still under discussion and a matter of scheduling.
Bleeding Cool reports that Gallery 13 has gotten the rights to The Dark Tower comics. The rights include the five first books now officially titled:
Beginnings: The Gunslinger Born (Book #1) The Long Road Home (Book #2) Treachery (Book #3) The Fall of Gilead (Book #4) The Battle of Jericho Hill (Book #5)
The Gunslinger: The Journey Begins (Book #1) The Little Sisters of Eluria (Book #2) The Battle of Tull (Book #3) The Way Station (Book #4) The Man in Black (Book #5) Last Shots (Book #6)
Gallery 13 will be publishing the Beginnings prequel graphic novels every two weeks starting with The Gunslinger Born on August 14, 2018. The Gunslinger novel adaptation will publish in Spring 2019.
If you want to learn more about King's comics check out the last Stephen King Podcast.
Just got news that the German edition of Shining in the Dark is 96,8% sold out. So, if you want to get a copy make sure to order now. You can order here
Remember how I told you there would be a brand-new cover for the Swedish edition of Shining in the Dark (Varsel i Mörkret)? Well, it’s done and here is a teaser. The cover is (like the original US cover) done by Vincent Chong.
Here is an interview I did with Vincent Sammy who has done the illustrations for SST Publishers edition of Gwendy’s Button Box as well as some illustrations that was seen in Jake’s room in The Dark Tower movie.
A couple of DVD sites has announced that season 1 of Mr Mercedes will be released on August 14. This is not listed on Amazon.com though (and that makes me a bit doubtful) but still, the date makes sense with the second season premiering on August 22.
I’ll keep you updated as more news becomes available.
In this episode, podcast listener, Ami Sandler, takes us on a comic tour of Stephen King works. It's not something we have dealt with in any detail and it was a blast to do so.
Plus our recap of the latest Stephen King news.
We hope you enjoy this episode and, as usual, we want to hear from you.
Good or bad, we want it all!
You can leave us comments, questions, topic suggestions at:
1) FaceBook - Lilja's Library
2) Audio Message - Speak Pipe widget on the right hand of the podcast page (send voicemail)
In this podcast:
1) 00:00 - Intro
2) 00:30 - Podcast Setup
3) 01:58 - News From The Death Room
4) 27:13 - Ami Sandler Chat - King Comics Tour
5) 1:09:28 - Podcast Signoff
6) 1:10:51 - Outro
------------------------------------------------------------------- Intro Music - Don't Fear The Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult
Outro Music - Stand by Me - Ben E. King
------------------------------------------------------------------- iTunes - The Stephen King Podcast.
------------------------------------------------------------------- RSS Feed - RSS.
------------------------------------------------------------------- Direct Download Link - The Stephen King Podcast - Episode 88
(Click to play, right click and Chose 'Save Link As' to save the file)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
You can find the podcast on the Internet at the following locations
------------------------------------------------------------------- Support The Show - Thank You!
Deadline reports that Warner is in talks with Ewan McGregor to play Danny Torrance in Doctor Sleep.
Warner Bros is in talks with Ewan McGregor to play Danny Torrance in Doctor Sleep, the Mike Flanagan-directed continuation of the storyline that began in the Stanley Kubrick pic The Shining. The studio put the film on a fast track after the outsized grosses of another Stephen King bestseller, It. It was then that the studio set Mike Flanagan to direct the adaptation of the 2013 King novel that picks up the life of the Redrum kid Danny Torrance when he is in his 40s and struggling with the same demons of anger and alcoholism that plagued his father.
Flanagan rewrote the script originally adapted by Akiva Goldsman. Flanagan’s producing partner Trevor Macy will produce along with Vertigo Entertainment’s Jon Berg, and Goldsman is executive producer.
In an interview with Deadline Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke says that The Dark Tower is still alive.
DEADLINE: What is the status of other high-profile genre projects that have been in early development at Amazon or stuck in deal-making limbo for a long time, The Wheel of Time (based on the fantasy books), and The Dark Tower, (based on the book and the movie)?
SALKE: Those are scripts that I haven’t gotten yet. I’ll be seeing those, that material, in the coming weeks. None of those things are dead. They’re very much alive.
Looks like the cast for IT: Chapter 2 is starting to come together. Here is what’s been confirmed so far.
- Pennywise – Bill Skarsgard (no surprise)
- James Ransone – Eddie (confirmed by himself on twitter)
- Jay Ryan – Ben (confirmed by Coming soon & Deadline)
- Isaiah Mustafa – Mike (confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter)
- Jessica Chastain – Beverly (confirmed by Sopia Lillis, young Beverly, on Instagram)
- Andy Bean – Stan (confirmed by Wyatt Oleff, young Stan, on Instagram)
- James McAvoy - Bill (in talks, probably official since the official IT Instagram follows him and they seems to only follow people involved with the movie)
- Bill Hader - Richie (in talks)
If someone has found confirmation for those not confirmed please let me know.
Deadline reports that Media Rights Capital plans a 10-episode limited series based on The Outsider.
Media Rights Capital is back in business with Stephen King, its partner on The Dark Tower. MRC has optioned the Stephen King bestselling novel The Outsider. MRC plans a 10-episode limited series adaptation, and they have secured Richard Price to write it. Jack Bender and Marty Bowen are exec producing with MRC. Bender and Bowen teamed on the series Mr. Mercedes, and Bender is a possible to direct the pilot for The Outsider. King has the option to join as executive producer. MRC will develop the show with Price writing the pilot before they set it at a network.
Looks like the cast for IT: Chapter 2 is starting to come together. Here is what’s been confirmed so far.
- Pennywise – Bill Skarsgard (no surprise)
- James Ransone – Eddie (confirmed by himself on twitter)
- Jay Ryan – Ben (confirmed by Coming soon & Deadline)
- Isaiah Mustafa – Mike (confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter)
- Bill Hader - Richie (in talks)
- James McAvoy - Bill (in talks)
- Jessica Chastain – Beverly (Not confirmed)
- Andy Bean – Stan (Not confirmed)
If someone has found confirmation for those not confirmed please let me know.
Here is an updated plot description of Elevation.
From master storyteller Stephen King comes a timely, upbeat tale about finding common ground despite deep-rooted differences.
Castle Rock is a small town, where word gets around quickly. That’s why Scott Carey wants to confide only in his friend Doctor Bob Ellis about his strange condition: he’s losing weight, without getting thinner, and the scales register the same when he is in his clothes or out of them, however heavy they are.
Scott also has new neighbours, who have opened a 'fine dining experience' in town, although it's an experience being shunned by the locals; Deidre McComb and her wife Missy Donaldson don't exactly fit in with the community's expectations. And now Scott seems trapped in a feud with the couple over their dogs dropping their business on his lawn. Missy may be friendly, but Deidre is cold as ice.
As the town prepares for its annual Thanksgiving 12k run, Scott starts to understand the prejudices his neighbours face and he tries to help. Unlikely alliances form and the mystery of Scott's affliction brings out the best in people who have indulged the worst in themselves and others.
I just found out that my friend Brian Keene was badly burned in an accident yesterday. He has first degree burns on his face and second degree burns on his body but is in good spirits.
Being a freelance author Brian does not have health insurance so friends of his has started a Go Found Me campaign to cover his hospital bills and I want to ask you to please help if you can.
Looks like King and Richard Chizmar will work together again, along with Billy Chizmar.
Next film project. Pre-production started today. Filming in late July. (Billy Chizmar/Sympatico Media)
Here is the cover for Stephen Spignesi's upcoming book about King called Stephen King, American Master. It provides a variety of interviews, essays (I have written one) and insights from the casual to the fanatical.
The book is scheduled to be published by Permuted Press in October 2018.
The release date for the remake of Pet Sematary with Jason Clarke and John Lithgow as Louis Creed and Jud Crandall has changed from April 19 to April 5 next year.