Stephen King’s imagination has brought countless hours of entertainment to movie-going audiences with such classics as The Shawshank Redemption, The Shining, Stand By Me, and The Green Mile (to name a few); however, his work has inspired some pretty awful productions as well, like Graveyard Shift, The Mangler, and The Langoliers. We have lived in a King-infused world for so long that we’re now seeing remakes of his films, both in theaters and on TV. King himself wrote a mini-series remake of The Shining, having been dissatisfied with Stanley Kubrick‘s version; there have been two TV movies of Salem’s Lot; Carrie was remade for television (with a theatrical remake in the works); a very different version of King’s directorial debut, Maximum Overdrive, was produced as a TV movie, renamed Trucks; it seems that Ben Affleck will direct a big-screen variation of The Stand, of which Stephen King himself scribed the mini-series; talks of remaking It and Pet Sematary have been bandied about. All of this when there are still many books and short stories King wrote that have yet to be produced (Under the Dome and 11/22/63 are in development as an HBO mini-series and a theatrical film, respectively).
What say you? Are there King feature films, TV movies, or mini-series that could stand a fresh coat of paint and a re-invisioning by a different filmmaker? Are any of them so perfect that they should be left alone (or conversely so bad that they should never have been made in the first place, let alone remade)? Are any of these productions more appropriate for a different medium, so that a theatrical movie should be done for the small screen, or vice versa? Take the following polls and voice your opinion.
I have been asked to contribute articles about screenwriting to the blog Screenwritersdaily.com. This is a great site for aspiring screenwriters and includes news about the entertainment industry. My first publications is Structure: The Framework of a Screenplay. I’ll announce when new articles of mine are posted there. Enjoy!
Let’s play make-believe that you are a studio executive that is given the choice to greenlight a sequel to a film made in the last 30 years or so that is considered a classic, assuming that the same creative team that made the original (director, screenwriter, actors) would be involved. Of this list, which one do you think would make the best film and would be the one that you would give approval?
Screenwriters: Francis Ford Coppola, John Milius (based on the book Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad)
Stars Who Could Return: Martin Sheen, Sam Bottoms, Laurence Fishburn, Robert Duvall
Plot: During the Vietnam War, an Army Captain is sent on a secret mission to stop a crazed Colonel who has made himself a cult leader in the middle of the Cambodian jungle and has to fight being overcome with insanity himself.
Where the Film Left Off: Captain Willard (Sheen) kills Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando) while villagers ceremoniously slaughter a buffalo, then takes off down the river with crewman Lance Johnson (Bottoms) while Kurtz’s last words, “The horror…the horror…” are heard on the soundtrack.
Possible Events in a Sequel: Similar events, or something even worse, could take place in either Iraq or Afghanistan involving surviving characters. It would be interested if, like the original, the sequel was an adaptation of a classic novel but set during a modern war.
Stars Who Could Return: Eddie Murphy, Dan Ackroyd, Jamie Lee Curtis
Plot: Two ultra-wealthy old men place a bet involving a stock broker and a homeless con artist who are forced to switch roles in society.
Where the Film Left Off: Louise (Ackroyd) and Billy Ray (Murphy) team up to beat the old men at their game and become rich while ruining their nemeses.
Possible Events in a Sequel: A story involving the 1% vs. the 99% is more timely than ever, so having Murphy, Ackroyd, and director Landis revisit this theme could have hilarious results.
Stars Who Could Return: Warrick Davis, Val Kilmer, Joanne Whaley, Jean Marsh
Plot: A tiny farmer, a swordsman, and a midwife’s daughter team up to save a baby that is destined to destroy an evil queen.
Where the Film Left Off: Willow (Davis) saves baby Elora and banishes Queen Bavmorda to another dimension and gives the child to Madmartigan (Kilmer) and Sorsha (Whaley) to raise as their own.
Possible Events in a Sequel: A novel trilogy Chronicles of the Shadow War credited to George Lucas and Chris Claermont was written that continues the story with Elora now a teenager; film versions of this could be The Lord of the Rings to Willow‘s The Hobbit.
Screenwriters: Danny Bilson, Paul De Meo (story by Danny Bilson, Paul De Meo, William Dear, based on the graphic novel by Dave Stevens)
Stars Who Could Return: Billy Campbell, Jennifer Connelly, Alan Arkin
Plot: A stunt pilot uses a top-secret rocket pack to save his girlfriend from gangsters and Nazis.
Where the Film Left Off: While Cliff (Campbell) rescues Jenny (Connelly) from a flaming Zeppelin, evil Sinclair (Timothy Dalton) steals the rocket pack but inadvertently kills himself on the Hollywood sign; however, the heroes find prints of a new and improved rocket pack in Sinclair’s villa that mechanic Peabody (Arkin) can build.
Possible Events in a Sequel: Set in the late ’50’s/early ’60’s, the Rocketeer goes back in action, perhaps even passing the suit on to a younger hero.
Screenwriter: Eric Roth (based on the book by Winston Groom)
Stars Who Could Return: Tom Hanks, Gary Sinise, Haley Joel Osment
Plot: A mentally-challenged man goes through a series of improbably events in his life, positively effects everyone he meets, including historical figures.
Where the Film Left Off:Forrest (Hanks) loses his beloved Jenny to an unknown disease and must take on the responsibilities of being a father to an exceptional son (Osment).
Possible Events in a Sequel: Further adventures of Forrest, who now must deal with a grown son.
Screenwriters: James Cameron, Claude Zidi, Simon Michaël, Didier Kaminka
Stars Who Could Return: Arnold Schwartzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Eliza Dushku, Grant Heslov, Bill Paxton
Plot: A spy who has been hiding his occupation from his family has to rescue his wife and daughter from terrorists intent on setting off a nuclear bomb in the Florida Keys.
Where the Film Left Off: After saving his daughter (Dushku) and killing the villain (Art Malik), Harry moves on to his next mission, but is now partnered with wife Helen (Curtis), who is apparently now a spy as well.
Possible Events in a Sequel: Another amazing adventure in the lives of husband and wife spies, possibly with daughter Dana the newest agent.
Plot: Detectives track down a serial killer who patterns his murders on the seven deadly sins.
Where the Film Left Off:After learning that John Doe (Kevin Spacey) beheaded his wife (Gwyneth Paltrow), Detective Mills (Pitt) kills John Doe in cold blood.
Possible Events in a Sequel: Two decades later, Mills is released from a mental hospital and/or prison and must team up with Detective Somerset (Freeman) for one more gruesome case while trying to retain his sanity.
Stars Who Could Return: Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Judd Hirsch, Vivica A. Fox
Plot: Aliens destroy all the major cities on Earth, so the humans have to fight back to save the planet.
Where the Film Left Off: Captain Hiller (Smith) and David Levinson (Goldblum) upload a virus in the alien mothership, allowing pilots to take down all the other ships around the Earth, thereby saving the day.
Possible Events in a Sequel: What has happened in the 15 years since the humans fought back? Are we still fighting these aliens on the ground and in the air? Are other aliens arriving to make more mischief?
Steven Spielberg has arguably had more effect on the motion picture industry than any other filmmaker in modern times. IMDb lists 50 titles for him as director and 130 as producer. He has mentored up-and-coming filmmakers, shattered box office records, and created some of the most iconic cinematic images over the last 5 decades. He founded Amblin Entertainment, Dreamworks SKG, and the Shoah Foundation Institute. In this past year, he had two movies he directed released within a week of each other (The Adventures of Tintin and War Horse) and countless others that he produced. He bounces back and forth between blockbuster entertainment and artistic achievements–for example, Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List were shot back-to-back and both released in 1993, and his next films he has scheduled to direct are Lincoln and Robopocalypse. How much do you know about him as a filmmaker? Click the button below and take the Steven Spielberg quiz:
After taking the quiz, scroll down to see more information about the questions (or cheat and skip the quiz altogether):
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Last warning for spoilers!
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The first professional directing job that Steven Spielberg had was for Rod Serling’s The Night Gallery in 1969. He directed one segment of the pilot called “Eyes” starring Joan Crawford.
2
The first movie that Steven Spielberg was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director was Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1978).
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Spielberg been nominated for the Best Director Oscars 6 times:
I was nine years old when I first saw Star Wars, along with a good portion of the world’s population. Is it too melodramatic to say that it changed my life, when practically any event changes the life of a nine-year-old? Regardless, nothing else effected the direction my life took as much as George Lucas‘s science fantasy epic. One of the most powerful things that struck me about the movie, even at that young age, was the artistic imagery. Not long into my Star Wars obsession, I was given the book The Star Wars Album, which chronicled the making of the film. One section of the book was “The Art of Ralph McQuarrie: Easel Come, Easel Go” that focused on his pre-production artwork of early character designs. The name Ralph McQuarrie became synonymous to me with the look of Star Wars. The film may have been George Lucas’s creation, but it was made possible through the imagination of people like McQuarrie. Along with other names associate with that far, far away galaxy a long time ago like John Williams, John Dykstra, Dennis Muren, Rick Baker and Ben Burtt, Ralph McQuarrie became part of a pantheon of icons of a mythical level that I hero worshiped.
Hailing from Gary, Indiana, McQuarrie provided his artistic skills for Boeing as a technical illustrator before being enlisted by CBS to provide animation of the lunar surface for their coverage of the Apollo missions. This led to designing a movie poster for a film from Matthew Robbins, future director of *Batteries Not Included. Through Robbins, McQuarrie met George Lucas and began work developing characters for Star Wars. His drawings helped convince 20th Century Fox executive Alan Ladd, Jr. to take a chance on this crazy project, which everyone else in Hollywood had rejected. If not for McQuarrie’s talents, Star Wars would probably have never existed. None of this would have happened if he hadn’t survived being shot in the head during the Korean War.
McQuarrie lent his creative vision for the art design in other major science fiction events such as E.T. the Extraterrestrial, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Cocoon, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Trek, and Battlestar Galactica, in addition to illustrating work for Isaac Asimov, produced concepts and packaging for video games, designing art for a number of advertisements, and even conceptualizing a shopping mall.
I was lucky enough to see some original artwork on display during the Star Wars Celebration in 2010. It was like witnessing a piece of history, and seeing his work sent an amazing thrill through me. The nine-year-old me was alive and well, and was just as excited as the first day I saw Star Wars in the movie theater.
Ralph McQuarrie passed away on March 3, 2011 from complications of Parkinson’s disease. His legacy will always be with us. Thank you, Ralph, for inspiring us to dream.
Hollywood likes to tell the same story repeatedly. Usually it’s obvious (gee, two blockbusters coming out the same year about asteroids threatening all life on Earth—what a coincidence!), but other times it’s more subtle. For instance, consider the movies that have the following plots: a man with a low IQ changes the lives of everyone around him, including historical figures; a man ages backwards and spends his life in self-discovery; and a man who tells exaggerated stories of his life has to connect with his estranged son on his deathbed. Do these loglines indicate that the three films actually tell essentially the same story? Here’s a comparison between various elements of Forrest Gump, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Big Fish to let you decide.
Forrest Gump
Benjamin Button
Big Fish
Story:
A modern-day fable
X
X
X
Mixes reality with a fairy tale-like feel
X
X
X
Told in flashbacks using narration
X
X
X
Narrated by protagonist
X
X
Set in the South
X
X
X
Uses historical events as the backdrop
X
X
X
Spans several decades of the protagonist’s life
X
X
X
Protagonist’s life story told in series of outlandish episodes
X
X
X
Protagonist:
Changes the lives of everyone he meets
X
X
X
Uses walking aid as a child
X
X
X
Meets a girl named Jenny, who falls in love with him
X
X
Spends most of the story trying to get the girl he’s in love with
X
X
X
Has an ailment, condition, or situation that makes him different from everyone else
X
X
X
Is an athlete as a young man
X
X
Moved away from home to go on a journey that took him around the world, but returned to his home later in life
X
X
X
Serves in military during a war and performs a heroic action
X
X
X
Spends time on a boat and experiences a storm
X
X
Has a friend with a physical impediment
X
X
Travels alone later in life
X
X
Makes money due to previously befriending someone
X
X
Has issues being a father
X
X
X
Dies at the end
X
X
Love Interest:
First meets protagonist as a child
X
X
X
Repeatedly turns protagonist away
X
X
X
Falls in love with protagonist despite circumstances
X
X
X
Suffers from an ailment or injury
X
X
Works in the performing arts
X
X
Gives birth to protagonist’s child
X
X
X
Dies at the end
X
X
Film:
Directed by prominent, visually innovative director
X
X
X
At one time was going to be directed by Steven Spielberg
X
X
Based on book/short story
X
X
X
Screenplay by Eric Roth
X
X
Took several years in development
X
X
X
Uses innovative special effects
X
X
X
Running time over 2 hours
X
X
X
Protagonist played by Oscar-nominated actors
X
X
X
Lead actor nominated for Oscar for this performance
X
X
Critical reception averaged 7/10
X
X
X
Nominated for Academy Award(s)
X
X
X
Nominated for Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture
X
X
X
By the way, check out Big Fish screenwriter John August’s blog on screenwriting. It has more useful information than you would ever need…well, unless you’re an aspiring screenwriter.
Recently there has been a lot of flak over comments radio and TV personality (is he still on TV?) Rush Limbaugh made regarding law student Sandra Fluke’s testimony in front of Congress regarding contraception being part of President Obama’s health care program. Typical to form, Limbaugh made outrageous and inflammatory comments, only this time an unprecedented number of sponsors (a reported 15 as of the writing of this article) have pulled out of his show and at least one radio station has cancelled his show. Is anyone surprised by his behavior? After all, this is the same man who coined the term “feminazis” and said Michael J. Fox was faking his Parkinson’s tremors. He has been on the air in one form or another for decades and built a reputation on stirring up trouble. At one time, he was considered the voice of conservative America and possibly even secretly in charge of the GOP. Now, major Republicans like John Boener, Mitt Romney, and Rick Santorum (who’s no stranger to outrageous comments himself) are distancing themselves from the loudmouth broadcaster, and Forbes speculates that Rush is no longer as influential as he once was.
It’s not a matter of whether he is spreading the conservative message or not, but it’s how he goes about doing it. He has publicly stated that he’s a mere entertainer, yet for years his words have been treated like gospel. Why? Essentially because he’s a bully. He uses his power as a broadcaster to spew vitriol toward anyone who disagrees with his world view. He’s not interested in a civil discourse; he’s the king of his own hill willing to not only push his opponents down the incline by also throw rocks at them once they hit the bottom–and then make fun of them for their efforts. His obnoxious, vile, sneering platitudes have soiled the airwaves for far too long. Instead of trying to tear down a young woman like Ms. Fluke, he should be praising her for having the gumption and courage to go in front of a Congressional panel and state her opinions, even if they go contrary to what Limbaugh believes. Isn’t the United States based on the freedom to publicly state your views? Of course, the same could be argued about Limbaugh’s hate-filled rhetoric; the difference is that he went on a personal attack of a private individual exercising her civil rights. By using the language that he did to publicly humiliate and intimidate her, Limbaugh not only abuses the 1st Amendment but also sets himself up for slander.
Interestingly enough, one term that he used repeatedly that should be considered condescending is “co-ed,” which refers to a young woman who attends college (usually with negative connotations). Why do we need a special word for a female college student? “Student” is not good enough? There’s not a word for male students. This is 2012–why do we assume that students must be guys and are surprised that women go to school? The word was originally coined back in the days when higher education was segregated by sex, but some progressive schools started to mingle the genders in class, creating a “co-educational’ environment. Technically speaking, all students who attend mixed schools (meaning practically all of them) are co-eds. Given the fact that currently, the majority of students in the United States are women, isn’t it time that this word be retired from the English language? The fact that people like Rush Limbaugh still freely use this insulting and sexist term illustrate just how much of a dinosaur he is.
Another thing to ponder is why people find this man entertaining. Does anyone really laugh at his “comedy“? In reality, his listeners probably agree with his slant on the world and are perfectly fine with his tirades; he’s vocalizing ideas many people wish they could say, but are held back due to a perceived political correctness. But is he any different than Bill Maher or Dennis Miller or Bill O’Reilly or Keith Olbermann or anyone else who uses the broadcast medium to voice their political opinions in a loud, pedantic manner and favors his own mindset over a fair and objective discussion? We want our politics to be done in a modern gladiator style where the commentator assaults our senses and forces us to believe in their worldview by simply drowning out any other message.
FilmVerse 