Lilja's Library (77 page)

I will admit that when I got this audio I was very skeptical and thought to myself, “Man, they do anything to make a buck now…,” but I have to eat those words because the dramatization of
Night of the Living Dead
is very well done and has earned its place in the bookcase, right beside the movie. 

The only mistake they did was that they let young Karen speak. Everyone knows a zombie can’t speak… 

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The Mist (The Script)
 

Written For the Book  

The Mist
had been in the works for a very long time, but it was finally being turned into a feature film. I was fortunate enough to get to take a look at the script in advance of the release. 

The script is very true to the story. Some small things have been changed, but what has been changed is nothing worth being upset about. Darabont has done a very good job in translating King’s story to the script, and while I can’t speak for the finished movie, the script has a very King-ish feeling to it. 

As always it’s hard to judge a movie by the script, but after reading the script and also different reports from the set, I’m willing to bet this one is going to be good. 

Most of you are familiar with the story, but for those of you who aren’t, it’s a story about some people who get trapped in a grocery store when a very bad mist roles in. Pretty soon they start to notice that there is something moving in the mist, something very bad. 

The Mist
was first published in
Skeleton Crew
and has been the subject of different movie rumors for more than five years. When I read the script I actually already knew who was going to play the different characters. I don’t know if that is a good thing or not, but either way it was impossible to ignore while reading the script. 

The only potential problem as I see it is how they use the special effects for the movie. Reports from the set say they are handling it very well, so while I don’t think there’s anything to worry about, it is still a threat to the finished movie. If they succeed in making the special effects believable I can’t see any way they can go wrong with this one. It has King’s story, a script by Darabont and direction by Darabont. What could go wrong? Nothing, if you ask me. Darabont has proven time and again that he is capable of making very good Stephen King movies. I’m convinced that he will again.  

Lilja’s last words about
The Mist
(The Script)
 

I read this script in early March of 2007, and as an effort on Darabont’s part to keep the ending a secret, I didn’t get the last pages (no one did as far as I know). That means I don’t know the ending while I write this, but I hope that, by the time you read this, the movie will be out and I will be right in my prediction of it being a success. 

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Black House (The Script) 

Written For the Book  

Let me start by saying that
Black House
is a very hard book to turn into a movie. Why? Well, for one thing, it’s the second book in a series of three. Also, because it has very strong connections to
The Dark Tower
, I’m not sure that people who haven’t read those books will get all of that, and
The Talisman
is about to be shot with what I guess is an entirely different cast. So, this movie has a lot going against it, but still, I’d like to see it be made… 

Richard Chizmar and John Schaech have produced a good script. They have kept
The Dark Tower
stuff to a minimum, and the same goes for the connections to
The Talisman
. And even if I usually want as much from the book in the movie as possible, I think that theirs is the right approach in this case. We get hints that Jack has a past that is important, but it isn’t required knowledge here. It works a lot better than I feared before I read it. 

One thing that I’d like to point out, though, is that I got the same feeling when I read the script as I did when I read the book—the same good feeling. All of the main characters are there, and I can’t wait to see who they will cast as Burny. He is one nasty fellow. 

Another obstacle they have to overcome is the need for special effects, which the script requires. You have the
Black House itself, you have the jumps between our world and the Territories and you have the bee and the crow. As all of you who have read the book know, a bee and a crow play a rather important part in the story. 

Part of the script also sounds very hard to transform for the screen. The hardest being the scenes from inside the Black House. They will be hard to do, and they will also need to be exactly right or they will look fake and not good at all.  

So, the filmmakers have a very hard and difficult task ahead of themselves, but this script is definitely a good start. I’m not one hundred percent convinced it’s possible to get this movie made in the right way, but I’m definitely looking forward to them trying. The script does what’s expected; now it’s just the rest…  

Lilja’s final words about
Black House (The Script)
 

It’s a good thing that Jack has grown up between
The Talisman
and
Black House
…that way they don’t need to work around the fact that he probably won’t be played by the same actor. Speedy, though, is an entirely different matter… 

Oh, and this version of the script is dated 2005, so when/if the movie is done it may differ somewhat, but I hope most of it stays intact. 

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From a Buick 8 (The Script) 

Written For the Book  

I have just finished the script for
From a Buick 8
. This is one is dated May 1, 2005, so if/when the movie is actually done it may be different from this version of the script. 

This script is written by Richard Chizmar and John Schaech, and I think they have done a very good job. In some parts the script feels very much like
The Green Mile
. Not the plot so much, but the feeling…and that is very good. 

From a Buick 8
is the story about a Buick that turns out to be everything but a Buick; it’s some sort of portal to another dimension or world, and it’s been impounded by the police, and Officer Wilcox takes a special interest in it.  

Chizmar and Schaech have been able to maintain the feeling that the characters are telling the story to young Ned, Wilcox’s son, and I’m very glad that they kept it that way and didn’t try to make a movie that just told the story, beginning to end. I think this may be the cause of the good feeling I have about the script. 

The one thing that can ruin this movie once it’s made is the use of special effects. As you know (if you have read the book) there are some very tricky special effects, and if those are executed poorly this movie will be ruined. In other words, the special effects team on this one will have a hard task at hand. 

But, if the special effects are done right this one might just be a huge success. The lead character, Sandy, should be played by someone like Tom Hanks. Someone likable. And if Hanks isn’t free, maybe someone totally unknown. Either way, it’s a very important role that needs to be cast right. 

The only thing that I would think about cutting (if it were up to me) is part of the last page where Sandy gets picked up by his date. That part is just a little too cheesy for me. Otherwise, it’s a very nice and likable story that would transform well to the screen…if done right.  

Lilja’s final words about
From a Buick 8 (The Script)
 

I really hope that this one is made. It’s a good story that deserves to be told. There have been rumors that George Romero would direct it and I think that would be a good choice, even if there surely are others out there who also could pull it off…if he’s not available… 

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Stephen King: A Primary Bibliography of the World’s Most Popular Author  

Written For the Book  

Stephen King: A Primary Bibliography of the World’s Most Popular Author
(yes, the title is that long) is written by Justin Brooks, and in the book’s foreword he says he has worked on the book for no less then eight years. You have to admire that kind of dedication.  

He also says that he hopes the book won’t be obsolete when it’s published, and that has actually been one of the book’s problems. On the back of the book it says it’s updated to the end of 2005, which means that the book, before it’s published, is already missing the last 1½ years of publication. As I see it, that’s a problem for a book like
Stephen King: A Primary Bibliography
… 

This is a problem since there are constantly things happening in the King world. King is releasing new stuff all the time, and older stuff has a habit of popping up when you least expect it. So, is it impossible to do this kind of book until King has stopped publishing? No, it’s not, but I think you have to approach it in a different way. I think you need to do it on the web.  

The biggest problem for
Stephen King: A Primary Bibliography
… and other books like it is the time between the research and when the book is published can be far too long. 

If you put it on the Internet you can update it as soon as you have a new entry…or at least once a week or once a month. The only problem is getting paid for the work you put into it. People have a tendency to just take what they want when it comes to the Net, and that is probably something we have to live with. Still though, King fans are quite demanding and they want the latest as soon as possible.  

I think that Rocky Wood was onto something when he released
The Complete Guide to the Works of Stephen King
, which is a CD-ROM with a lot of listings. He then updated the CD a couple of times (now it’s been a while though) and it was quite up-to-date. I think that is one way to go that would work.  

With that said, I do want to say that the work that Justin has put into this book is above and beyond what I would ever have the discipline to do. I knew Justin from before and can still remember his emails from time to time, asking about something. I hope I could help some of the times (he does thank me in the book, so I guess I was of some use)…  

Lilja’s last words about
Stephen King: A Primary Bibliography of the World’s Most Popular Author
 

This is the book for those of you who want to know everything about every story King has published. If you just enjoy one of King’s books from time to time you probably don’t want this one. It’s definitely not a book you read from cover to cover. You simply use it when you need facts about one of the stories…and believe me, the facts are all there! 

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Stephen King: The Non-Fiction
 

Written For the Book  

Stephen King: The Non-Fiction
is what I would call a dictionary, but not only a dictionary. Let me explain.
Stephen King: The Non-Fiction
contains information on what I believe is almost every nonfiction piece King has ever published by the time the book went to print. I’m sure he has written more, but who knows what exists that isn’t published, right? 

Authors Rocky Wood & Justin Brooks have collected information about them all in
Stephen King: The Non-Fiction
, and the nice thing is that they aren’t just listing them and where they have been published. They also offer a short review of each of the different pieces.  

The reviews are interesting to read and give you that little extra compared to just the listing; it makes the book more interesting. You usually only use a book that just lists things when you’re looking for information about a specific item, but with
Stephen King: The Non-Fiction
you can pick it up, look through it casually and find small entries here and there that are very interesting to read…just for the fun of it. And you shouldn’t be surprised if you find yourself reading the entire book from cover to cover either. 

Then there is also the question of what’s worth reading about. I mean that if King is writing an article about something, that is one thing. Then, if he writes a letter to an editor, that’s something quite different. Don’t get me wrong, I like to read both articles and the letters, but the big question is, is everything worth listing?