It seems like that time again, doesn't it? Time for the Stephen King horror wagon to roll out and creep the bejeezus out of us like nobody else can. I don't know how he does it. Is there another writer still alive whose work has been adapted to film and television more consistently than King, or as often?
A few weeks ago I brought you the news that King's
Cell was being adapted to the big screen (and starring John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson). Now I bring you the news that the novel often considered his greatest horror story ever,
The Stand, has a new director on board—and this could be one of the best choices a King adaptation has had since Frank Darabont brought us
The Shawshank Redemption,
The Green Mile, and
The Mist.
Ladies and gents, Fanboys and Fangirls, our new director for
The Stand will be Paul Greengrass, whom you may know as the director of
Captain Phillips,
Green Zone,
Bloody Sunday, and
The Bourne Ultimatum (and
Supremacy). If you can't imagine how bloody awesome this could be, then you probably haven't seen any of these films. Shame on you, because you should.
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| "Eh? Greengrass Zone? I suppose you're funny?!!" |
The Stand, if you have not read it (I recommend the full uncut version, of course) is much more than a postapocalyptic ultimate biblical good versus evil story. It charts the beginning of the end in painstaking detail, as a manufactured doomsday virus is accidentally unleashed from a secret US military base, wiping out more than 90% of the human race.
That's just the beginning. A demonic villain then arrives looking to build himself an empire in the ruins of the world. He is opposed by only a handful of shell-shocked survivors, banded together by the elderly Mother Abigail to take a final stand against his evil plans.
Two words sum up
The Stand: 1.) Grim and 2.) Epic!
The novel was originally adapted into a miniseries in 1994; that version remains a classic of television rarely surpassed in scale, effectiveness, and cast to this day.
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| "Listen man, if you want to interview Miley Cyrus, you'll have to take your shots!" |
More recently, it got a lush comic adaptation from Marvel, and thus the yearning and pining for a relentless movie version began. I have to be honest, I've been squealing like a schoolgirl for a movie trilogy for years. My whole life, in fact, but we don't need to go into that!
Sound off, Fanboys. What are your thoughts? Comments below and watch this space. Thanks for reading.
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