Adapting Stephen King

Stephen King’s fiction has formed the basis of more motion picture adaptations than any other living author. Over half a century since his earliest publications, Hollywood filmmakers continue to reinvent, reimagine, remake, and reboot King’s stories, with mixed results. This book, volume 1 in a series, examines the various screen adaptations of King’s first three novels: Carrie, Salem’s Lot, and The Shining. Reaching further than questions of fidelity to the author and adherence to directorial visions, it charts the development of each individual adaptation from first option to final cut. Through old and new interviews with the writers, producers, and directors of these films–as well as in-depth analyses of produced and unproduced screenplays–it illuminates the adaptation process as an intricately collaborative endeavor. Rather than merely synopsize the resulting stories, its goal is to compare, contrast, and contextualize each of these adaptations as the products of their creators.

Joseph Maddrey has researched, written and produced more than 100 hours of documentary television, focusing on true crime and the paranormal. He lives in Midlothian, Virginia.

Joseph Maddrey
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 187
Bibliographic Info: 19 photos, note on style, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2021
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8462-8
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4257-4
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments vii
A Note on Style viii
Preface 1
Part One: Carrie 5
Origin Story 5  •  Development Hell (Oral History) 8  •  First Draft (1975) 10  •  Development Hell (Oral History) 16  •  Second Draft (January 20, 1976, with Revisions) 17  •  Reflections on the Film (Oral History) 22  •  An Interview with Lawrence D. Cohen (2019) 23  •  Legacy (The Musical, The Sequel, The Pilot) 33  •  Bryan Fuller’s CARRIE (2002) 36  •  An Interview with Bryan Fuller (2019) 42  •  Roberto ­­Aguirre-Sacasa’s CARRIE (2011) 49  •  Kimberly Peirce’s CARRIE (2013) 55  •  Reset 59
Part Two: ’Salem’s Lot 61
Origin Story 61  •  Stirling Silliphant’s First Draft (March 12, 1976) 65  •  Silliphant’s Revised First Draft (July 16, 1976) 69  •  Development Hell (Oral History) 71  •  Paul Monash’s SALEM’S LOT (1979) 73  •  Reflections on the Film (Oral History) 79  •  Legacy (The TV Series, The Sequel, The Radio Drama) 81  •  Peter Filardi’s SALEM’S LOT (2004) 84  •  An Interview with Peter Filardi (2016) 90  •  A ­­Follow-up Interview with Peter Filardi (2019) 92  •  Reset 97
Part Three: The Shining 99
Origin Story 99  •  Development Hell (Oral History) 102  •  A Philosophy of Fantasy Horror 106  •  Early Synopses (June–August 1977) 108  •  Early Treatment (August 1977) 110  •  Later Treatment 116  •  Shooting Script (March 30, 1978) 121  •  A Work in Progress 129  •  Reflections on the Film (Oral History) 135  •  An Interview with Diane Johnson (2020) 138  •  Stephen King as Filmmaker 146  •  Stephen King’s THE SHINING (1996) 150  •  Legacy (ROOM 237, THE OVERLOOK, DOCTOR SLEEP) 161  •  An Interview with Stephen King (1978) by David Chute 164
Bibliography 173
Index 179

• “Maddrey’s approach is as resourceful as his information is thorough and insightful.”—Psychobabble

• “Maddrey’s book restores the crafts of writing and screenwriting to the story of the cinematic adaptations of the early novels of Stephen King. By focusing on the nitty gritty of pitches, treatments, reworked and revised screenplays, and the last-minute changes that occur when such projects entered principal production, Maddrey demonstrates the process that made such famed film adaptations as Brian De Palma’s Carrie (1976) and Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (1980). Crucially, Maddrey restores King’s voice to the narratives of these films by not only reviewing his role in the development of making these works, but also by exploring other versions, sequels, remakes, and the critical and cultural legacies of these books. With original interviews and extensive analyses of primary documents and material in archives, Adapting Stephen King is a dream for fans of King and the movies and TV shows that he made possible.”— Kevin M. Flanagan, George Mason University