Stephen King's Movie Club

Most are familiar with Stephen King as an author of chilling stories, often adapted into movies. The correlation between his films and their easy adaptability to the big screen is no surprise considering King's own admission:

"My books are the movies I see in my head, that's all. I write them down, and some producer says, 'Hey! This'd make a pretty good movie!' because in a way it already is one." - Stephen King

Of his masses of books and short stories adapted for the big screen I want to discuss King's self proclaimed favorites.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Based on the short story "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" by King published in 1982, The Shawshank Redemption, tells the story of an innocent man, Andy Dufrense, imprisoned for the murder of his wife and her lover. Directed and written by Frank Darabont, it is true to King's original story, adapting an almost entirely internal monologue to a beautiful film.

Interestingly, the narrator of the story is not the main character, Andy, but a man he meets in Shawshank prison, Red. Although most screenwriters would cringe at using a narrator, it works in Shawshank because the source material is so heavy- and because Red is played by Morgan Freeman. Who doesn't want to listen to Morgan Freeman talk? Red calls himself "the only guilty man in Shawshank." This line is straight from King's writing as are many others. Like this one:

Stand By Me (1986)
Based on the short story "The Body" by King, published in 1982, Stand By Me is a tale of childhood and innocence lost. Directed by Rob Reiner, known at the time only for Spinal Tap (1982), who later directed another King flick, , this story isn't the kind of movie to give you nightmares but it does have the contemplative, almost philosophical tone that all Stephen King stories have in one way or another.
The boys - played by River Phoenix, Wil Wheaton, Cory Feldman, and Jerry O'Connell - embark on a quest to find a dead body. King has an affinity for writing about young people who've lost something while keeping their childlike view of people and the world in tact.
The two main boys, Gordie and Chris are dealing with very adult problems, and throughout the story they are written as complex people who are not only sad but can laugh. Gordie LaChance, played by Wil Wheaton, is dealing with the death of his older brother and being alienated by his parents. Chris, played by River Phoenix, has a bad reputation around town earned by his family, which he is struggling to either live up to or denounce. Despite all four boys personal problems they support each other and still manage to be preteen boys.

Bonus: From youtuber Zefrank's True Facts series, True Facts About Morgan Freeman

So Many Questions

There were a lot of questions to ask this summer. For me, there was the, how will I spend my free time? How many reruns of Friends can I watch until my brain rots? And, will there be a new drama this summer that can capture my attention? The new CBS drama Under the Dome was able to answer my third question with a big whopping “yes”. After watching the very first episode, which was filled with an intriguing plot, well-developed characters and breathtaking special effects, I was hooked. Based off the novel written by Stephen King, the show follows a small Northeastern town of Chester’s Mill that is sent into a panic when an invisible dome falls from the sky and cuts the town off from the rest of the world. The first episode is full of heart-wrenching scenes including a cow being split in half by the dome, birds falling from the sky, a truck slamming into the dome, an airplane crashing from the sky and so much more.

The residents of Chester’s Mill have their own questions to ask. The characters include a former solider who has recently committed murder, a young teen looking to get away from her boyfriend, a young teen seemingly obsessed with his girlfriend, a journalist (played by an actress from Twilight), the town’s councilor (played by Dean Norris of Breaking Bad), a lesbian couple and their daughter, the town’s priest, the town’s sheriff (played by an old Lost star), his deputy and two radio DJs. Their questions are pretty obvious. Where did this dome come from? Why did the dome fall in their town? What secrets of theirs will be revealed? And, what dangerous secrets do other people in the dome have?

The audience members have started to form their own questions. In fact, as soon as I finished watching the first episode I knew already that this show would be one full of surprising twists. The show is produced by Stephen King and Steven Spielberg and is receiving help from Brian K. Vaughan, the writer of Lost. In fact, many individuals on the crew and cast are formally from Lost. Likewise, the show has seemed to embark on a similar theme as Lost had. The show considers the possibility that the dome is more than just a random supernatural occurrence. Rather, the show suggests that every character has a purpose for being stuck under this dome. Like Lost and many other series based off of Stephen King novels, this series does not seem to have a concrete ending in the near future. When CBS had first announced Under the Dome as a summer mini series, it was exciting to know that we wouldn’t have to sit around for nine or so seasons trying to figure out who the mother was in a story about meeting the mother. However, CBS recently announced that the show is no longer a mini series, but due to high ratings, will be picked up for a second season. This shocking and bittersweet announcement has viewers question, will we really ever know how this dome got here?

CBS have a lot riding on the answers to their own questions. They were unsure if a summer series would really get any attention at all. Much to their excitement, we just couldn’t help but to get sucked into yet another Stephen King production. I’m sure now they are questioning, “how long can they keep this going before answering our many questions?”

Although Under the Dome may have given us what we needed, an entertaining summer television series, it has come at a high price. It has caused us to be addicted to yet another confusing, surprising drama, which we may really never stop asking questions about.

The Stanley Hotel- Estes Park, CO

This past summer I spent some time in Colorado visiting family. During my time there, we took a trip up to Estes Park, Colorado, home of the famous Stanley Hotel.

The Stanley Hotel, in Estes Park, CO. Taken this past July.

The hotel was built in 1909 by Freelan Oscar Stanley, of the same family who built the famous Stanley Steamer. While this hotel is historically significant, I mention it today because of our recent discussion of Stephen King's The Shining.

While the Stanley is well-known as a historically significant landmark, it is also famous for its part in the creation of the 1980 film, The Shining.

Inspired by the haunted history of the hotel, Stephen King wrote the novel, The Shining on which the film was based after his stay at the hotel, in 1977.

The film was actually shot mostly in Oregon, at a hotel called the Timberline Lodge, however a few scenes from Kubrik's film, as well as the entire mini-series (also called The Shining, and yes, it is confusing) were shot on location at the Stanley.

While in Estes Park, my family and I took a tour of the haunted hotel, visiting infamous rooms, such as room 217. It is said that every room in the hotel is haunted, with supernatural events occurring everywhere. Things such as strange noises, moving objects, footsteps, and more have been reported.
In addition to being the birth place of The Shining, other films have been shot in the picturesque Estes Park, such as Dumb and Dumber and multiple episodes of Ghost Hunters. 

Overall it was a really cool experience to visit such a historic hotel. Learning about the history of both the hotel and the area was really interesting. 
Here are some pictures I took on my trip. Some were on a DSLR, and some were taken on my iPhone, but I hope you like them! See you next week... 

An aerial shot of Estes Park, CO

Room 217

Signed photo of Shelly Duval from The Shining at the Stanley hotel

Shine On, Kubrick.

This past Friday I saw The Shining for the first time. This past Saturday I saw The Shining for the second time. Throughout my first viewing I was gripped by every shot, I was captivated by every aspect of every shot because I knew that everything in the frame was there for a reason. There were no accidents in the final product. Every single detail means something. Throughout my first viewing I was also struck by how much tension and fear was created solely by the score. Scenes that would have been absolutely normal otherwise took on a sinister tone with music. You can feel yourself being drawn into the warped insane character that is Jack. The film isn't scary in the sense that it makes you jump, it is terrifying because of the implications of the actions of the characters. This film is truly terrifying, you are filled with a distinct unease and fear throughout. My second viewing was entirely different, I had read up on some of the symbolism in the movie after my first viewing and set out to see the film from a new perspective the second time around. One of the major "conspiracies" surrounding the film is the assertion that it is Kubrick's confession to faking the moon landing. I knew that there was some conspiracy regarding the moon landing but on my first viewing I didn't pick up anything. On my second viewing it became clear to me that the Overlook Hotel is supposed to symbolize America in that it is this vast space that is literally built upon a Native American burial ground, it looks beautiful from the outside but is deteriorating on the inside. Stuart Ullman is JFK, enlisting Jack to take care of this very important task for them and roping him into an extended commitment. Jack and Danny are a split version of Kubrick dealing with the pressures of faking the moon landing. Jack is the logical side of Kubrick while Danny is the young artist who is confused and horrified by the process. Wendy is supposed to be Kubrick's wife who is just mentally exhausted and abused by the task her husband has taken on. There are so many intricacies to this film that it would be near impossible to explain them without actually watching the film. This movie is made to be thought about, there is no clear thing that everyone takes away from it. You watch it and you feel something, your perception of what happened is entirely up to you. The audience is free to give meaning to the film in their own way. I could not recommend this film more, I will be watching it again for the third time within the next few days.

Stand By Me

So even though it's not a recent title, I thought I'd throw this one out there: if you haven't seen Stand By Me, watch it. It's about four boys who go looking for a dead body just for the adventure of it. My brother got it for Christmas one year and my parents were super-psyched to watch it as a family, even though my brother and I were like "yeah, yeah, okay, this looks kinda meh." For the first fifteen minutes, I was convinced it was a horror movie and something was going to jump out and eat the kids only because I knew it was based on a Stephen King novella.

Oh my God my family was DYING during the whole thing. We couldn't stop quoting it for weeks, and it's a major family favorite now. It has Kiefer Sutherland in it for a bit. Oh, and if you watch it, look up what the character Verne looks like today. It's insane.