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Frank Darabont Finally Ready! THE MIST Is Coming! And He’ll Tell You About It Himself!
Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.
It sounds awesome.
I saw Frank not long ago, and much of what he says in the statement below, I heard him talk about. He was still trying to decide where to do the film at that point, but now it looks like all those details are set and THE MIST is finally ready to roll.
I’ve read the film he plans on shooting, and I have to say... it’s bleak and serious and really well-built. Even for fans of the novella, there’s plenty of new meat on the bones, and I think it’s going to be an intense ride.
But I’ll let him explain why in this statement that he sent me tonight, and which I believe he also sent to VARIETY, although I’m not sure how much of it they’ll run:
“Stephen King’s THE MIST”
Quote from Frank Darabont
"Doing THE MIST is a delight for me on a number of levels. For starters, I've always loved horror as a genre. Not so much the slasher thing, that got tired very quickly in my view, but from my earliest recollection I grew up loving movies that sought to scare the crap out of me, starting with the classic Universal monsters. Well, of course, that love of the genre is what led me to Stephen King's works in the first place, isn't it? So it's time to repay that debt and try to scare the crap out of an audience myself. With Steve's great story, and a little luck, I'm hoping to do just that.
“Another reason is, it's a project Stephen King and I have been talking about doing for almost twenty years now, since I first got to know and become friends with the man. In fact, it almost was my first directing project many years ago, but I went classy and did THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION instead. But THE MIST never went away; it's been lurking out there calling my name for a long, long time...and it's time to answer the call; it's time to get down and dirty and make a nasty little character-driven gut-punch horror movie. It's one of Stephen King's most legendary shorter works, very well known by his fans. Marsha in King’s office tells me it's the number one question asked by his fans when they write to his website (which she runs): when's THE MIST going to be made as a film? Well, I've always wanted to make my low-budget horror movie, so here we go. In a very real sense, I have to thank Danny Boyle, a man I've never met, but whose example in making 28 DAYS LATER really encouraged me. I saw that film, loved it, and thought: Well, why the hell not? Why not go make your scary little movie, shoot it fast, have some fun?
“That segues to the final reason I'm so looking forward to doing this. In a sense, doing a film like THE MIST is like putting myself into film school and learning a whole new approach to what I do. I had a foretaste of that earlier this year when I had the privilege of directing an episode of THE SHIELD for my friend Shawn Ryan. It was a seven-day shoot, fast-fast-fast, and I have to say there was something wildly liberating about shooting that way...it was an opportunity to put aside my reverence for Kubrickian elegance for a moment (and the painstaking approach it entails) and shoot fast and loose instead, do a real seat-of-the-pants style that embraces the ragged edges as virtues instead of avoiding them as sins. I'd say that if directing something like THE GREEN MILE is the equivalent of conducting a huge symphony orchestra playing Beethoven's Ninth in perfect tune, then directing something like THE SHIELD is the equivalent of jumping up on a small stage and playing with a small jazz combo and not caring if you miss a few notes -- in fact, missing some notes is kind of the point, isn't it? I want to take what I learned doing THE SHIELD and apply it to a feature film, and THE MIST is the perfect venue for that kind of in-your-face, in-the-moment energy. So one might say that if I've been going to film school this year, and if THE SHIELD was my mid-term, then THE MIST will be my class thesis. I can always go back to being the elegant guy later.”
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Been looking forward to this movie for ages. Hope he lives up to the potential the story gives him. Be interesting to see if he can do the action stuff.
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never been first before
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yup, also. i know who is writing saw 4 and you dont. so i win. :P
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*sniff sniff* :(
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i don't. but i think i do.
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I'd delete my post if I could just to give it to you...
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a long time ago, maybe twenty years, but I'm excited about this. Monsters In The Mist, can't wait.
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Creepy frickin' huge bugs. Holing up in a supermarket. having to make a run for it. The Mist is really well structured... can't wait to see what darabont imagines the monsters look like.
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My old guinea pig died and I want to get a new one, but my kids tell me it's too soon.
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... what Darabont imagines the monsters to look like. To me the point of the thing is the fear generated by the fact that we don't really see what these things are like (apart from one or two, 'course!) Fear of the unknown, the oldest trick in the book.
The casting is going to be crucial. Unknowns, please.
I just want him to lose that lame 'love scene' — it's so out of place in there. As if *that* could happen. Cuh! -
Having been a King fan for over 15 years, I think it's about time The Mist became a movie.
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Stephen King came to Sydney and I got over my fear of public speaking (somewhat) to ask him if he was ever going to write a sequel to The Mist so we'd know what happened to the survivor's next. I remember thinking "I hope he doesn't just say Frank Darabont is making it into a movie and leave it like that". Which is exactly what King said. That was in 1997.
Having reread the story more recently, I'm now more aware that it was probably deliberately left to be opened ended, unfortunately ...
A possibly interesting bit of trivia ... apparently this story inspired the game "Half Life". -
Darabont makes a horror film! Seeing how this guy obviously loves the genre and knows his shit it's great to see him finaly tackle the subject. Look forward to this.
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This is so badass. I freakin' love "The Mist" and was really disappointed when it didnt go ahead last year. I cant wait to hear more, and I'll be very curious to see the finished product and especially if they use some of the pretty shocking added stuff I've heard about from one of the drafts of the script.
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Mick Garris didn't pick this up. I'm so pleased that Frank Darabont did. Whether it's crap or not, it will be well-written crap. Great news indeed!
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Has been cast in the lead I think as David. I'm really hoping this film IS actually scary. The Mist is one of my fave King stories, it scared the shit out of me when I first read it. The scene where they go next door the the drug store and (SPOILERS) get attacked by them giant fucking spider-things that shoot flesh melting web is awesome! I hope it tasnspires well onto the screen. It's a story that sounds silly, but is actually scary as hell if done right!
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Apparently he has set the film up at the Weinsteins' company. This means that they will force him to shoot a happy ending with lots of explosions. Fuck off.
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That they didnt bother announcing that Thomas Jane is gloriously linked to this movie... great choice. Ah crap abiggerboat I just saw your post lol! Sorry.
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I know, I know, that was my reaction too to hearing Bob Fucking Weinstein was involved... let's just pray Frank gets final cut in his contract.
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Apart from the final 20 minutes anyway. Tom Jane is a great choice, he should be in nearly all King horror adaptations. Perfect for Ben Salem's lots, perfect for Stu in the stand perfect for Torrance in the shining. Anyhooo, awesome little book that should make for a genuine scary film. I think we can all thank god there will be no small asian girls with long black hair that are not scary at all in this film.
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of the popular computer game. Although I suppose that's spelled Myst. Yeah, this will probably suck.
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Anyone know which episode he directed ?
Season 5 was the best TV I've ever seen, so nice to know Darabont had a hand.
Moriarty, any news or thoughts on casting ? -
For the sake of consistency.
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unless he makes shawshank 2 with steven seagal and ja rule.
oh hang on a minute... -
I don’t think Darabont is the man for the job, although in the right hands this could be a great film.
Shawshank Redemption is seriously over rated and Green Mile is a bit pompous (was watching it last night on tv and realised it takes itself way too seriously)
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I guess I am one of the few that would not be looking forward to this movie. I read The Mist years ago and was never as impressed with it as much as the King fanboi's out there. Once you realise that the world outside of the store is filled with killer bugs, you sort of just wait for everyone to get killed at the end. This would have been a cool movie 10 years ago, but this type of slimy monster/bug movie has been done to death in the last decade. But who knows, I never though Shawshank would be one of the few King stories to translate well to the big screen, so there may be hope.
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I'll go see it. I've been wanting a movie of this since I read The Mist in Skeleton Crew 20 years ago.
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cant go wrong with tentacle monsters, right HP?
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This is one of King's very best horror novellas, and I've always wanted to see this as a movie. I just hope that Darabont uses practical monster effects as much as possible, and keeps the creatures off-screen and barely-glimpsed. Tom Jane seems like decent casting as the hero. I just want to see that scene (SPOILERS) where the bag boy opens the door in the back and gets attacked by the tentacles. One of the most vivid scenes in the book. And don't puss out and add a more definative ending. The uncertanty of the book's ending is one of the story's chief pleasures(as King puts it in the afterword, "You make up the second reel").
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The Mist was the first story I ever read that creeped me out. Probably my favorite work by King. Really well structured and paced, not to mention the way he wrote it just feels "real" to me. It has also inspired quite a few works. The creator of Silent Hill (game) admits he got a ton of inspiration from the story, and I think Valve mentioned they were inspired by it as well for Halflife. In anycase, the ending in the movie more or less needs to end the exact way the story did. It's wide open yet at the sametime bleak+dark as hell.
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is the name of the book. And I think Darabont is directing an episode of The Sheild for the upcoming season.
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See Dreamcatcher with bonus short "Final Flight Of The Osiris" from the Animatrix - or, as it should have been, See Final Flight Of The Osiris with bonus long "Dreamcatcher" from the people with too much budget than they know what to do with, over-actors with no direction, and another really bad adaptation to the silver screen. Up there with Lost In Space as filums that were so utterly crap that pity is too good for 'em.
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Oct 19, 2006 8:20:05 AM CDT
If it's as good as the fully dramatized audiobook....
by neo con snake plissken
I'm there. Shooting it like 28 days is a cool idea, but you have to have some really good special effects to go along with it. I mean, the 40 foot bug at the end walking over the car? Oooofa.
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Rather than cop out and add something happy like he did with Shawshank. I wonder if the 'suits' made him do that after testing the film. Anybody know? Other than that, I love the 'low budget horror' approach, as well as his concept of scaring his audience, and The Mist is, at its heart, an old fashioned monster story.
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does anybody remember an old PC game version of The Mist? It ran off DOS and was text only. Also, it came with a map of the town.
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According to a quick Google search Darabont is the director for Episode #6 of Season 6(the upcoming season) of The Shield
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I just got very, very excited. I read what was (at the time) Darabont's production draft of the script about a year and a half ago, and let me tell you...this is going to scare the shit out of people. It was one of the first horror films in a long time that actually has characters with defined arcs and personalities, and it somehow manages to take what's nearly an ensemble cast and keep the story fluid and frightening. I won't give too much away, but let's say this: everyone in this thread who has said something to the effect of, "I hope (insert scene here) is in this...," well buckle up, because it was in the draft I read. And the ending? As bleak, awful, and wholly appropriate as any ending I've ever read in my life. This is not tied up neatly with a bow. In fact, having not read the novella, I can safely say the ending made me sick to my stomach - not because of the gore (it's past that at that point) but because of the rationale...and what comes after. I'm for damn sure 100% behind Frank on this project. I think it's something people will be talking about for a long time.
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Is that ever going to happen? Inquiring minds want to know. Thanks for coming down to the Bob Burns Halloween show. We worked hard on that. Much fun.
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Del Toro did in Mimic, it ought to be a fun flick.
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Anyway - great book, promising movie.
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The only thing that gives me pause...thinking of Darabont's rewrite on Nightmare on Elm 3 as an "adaptation" of sorts of Craven's original screenplay & intent, whose more serious and horrific tone I feel he & the director wrecked and "comedied" up, that worries me for what he wants to get out of a horror movie. But I'll give him the benefit of the doubt due to his subsequent work which I like. On a separate note, it would be cool to see this movie end exactly where the novella did and then have a comic book miniseries or something presenting lots of different people's continuations from that moment, just to see what their "next reel"s could be.
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I looooved the story but listeningto the audio version awhile back, I realized just how much the story depends on the performances. That kid in the audio book was killing me. I sort of like the idea of a fast, sloppy and personal approach. Anything to stay away from the Mick Garris filmed in Canada feel of so many adaptations and much of the Nightmares and Dreamscapes mini (with the exception of the fantastic Battleground episode).
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Cannot wait for this.
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Just wait and see. He's due for a mind blower.
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You know, horror is only effective if you're 15 and under. Just like you lose the magic when you return to Disney World as an adult, so do ye lose the magic when you revisit a horror movie that scared you as a kid. If anything, horror has become flat out boring. The Japs and Spaniards have more of a pulse now about what is scary than any American. Slashers are retarded. Ghost stories where you rely on the "imagination" are riddled with cliches. Excess gore doesn't get the point across either. Monsters in the mist? Seen it, it's called the Fog. Horror movies have become nothing more than creative ways to mutilate somebody, e.g. Saw, Final Destination, Hostel. BORING! Do you know why its boring? Because we're freaking adults and we know better. We know that knife is not going to come through the screen. We're too fucking safe. Kids don't understand that shit though, like that audience in the 1920s that shit the bed when that locomotive was heading toward the screen---freaking primates. If you are over 15, every horror film will have a level of disappointment. You watch any of the top 10 horror movies before your turn 10, those fuckers are gonna be classics by the time you reach thirty because you remeber you couldn't sleep for two weeks. Watching a Zuni doll chase a bitch around the room at 30 is about as scary as Bratz episode. Maybe I'm too numb, but whatever the reason, I have accepted that I will never see a great horror film again.
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since that was another movie the Weisteins fucked up. In fact when I was talking about forcing the director to add lots of explosions and a sappy happy ending... Guess which film I was talking about? The Weinsteins performed double anal on del Toro to put it lightly.
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Here we are with another adaptation of Stephen King's work. Yes, thank Bob Alnmight that Garris is not touching this movie. I don't know how Garris became King's asshole buddy, but they have a lot to answer for. Let's create a list of the garbage adaptations directed by this hack. When I heard he directed Desperation, I removed it from my TIVO. Saccharine horror. I'd like to think that the TV execs reigned in the gore and violence much to Garris's chagrin, but that's doubtful. He's just a saccharine hack trying to be edgy, but is only edgy to the Baptist youth group crowd. King had better start putting clauses in the film rights contracts that prevent watered down versions of his work. Cable only. Why hasn't some HBO exec discussed a "Dark Tower" series with King? Use the "Deadwood" set and keep Garris the fuck away.
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But I'd love to see John Carpenter on this project.
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...is running for re-election on a campaign platform of stupid.
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Horror movies, or stories in general, have always relied on the imagination, fears, and shared experience of the audience throughout history. It is no different now then it was when Ook the Caveman told the tale of the Sabertooth tiger that had rock for skin and couldnt be killed by spears. You look at the some of the most effective horror in history and most of it is based off either primal fears (such as Jaws, becoming prey for another animal), religious belief (either supporting it by saying "hey, satan is real!" or by making you question it), or "realistic" events (political massacres, social unrest, etc). The last reason is one primary factor as to why I think zombie movies creep people out. They serve as almost a metaphor for the "mob mentality" we see all too often in not only our history, but present as well. Things like the genocides in Rwanda. You are faced with a mob of bodies who can't be reasoned with, whom are hard to escape from, who swell in ranks with each passing day, who are driven by the mindless desire to tear you to pieces. Even though we know zombies are fake, a part of our mind accepts that sort of event can happen and thus it sparks that fear within us.
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The Mist definitely scared the crap out of me. I think Frank Darabont is perfect for this, and the fact that he has been so passionate for making it is even better. I know I would like to read his Indiana Jones script. I think his work is a bit languid for an adventure film, but I'm quite sure it's an interesting story with complete characters. Should he shoot The Mist in black & white or has that been overdone too much lately too feel really different?
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I can understand your complaints on the lackluster films in the contemporary horror genre, but I think we can all hope and expect "The Mist" to be nothing like that dull, lifeless, piece of crap known as "The Fog."
I'm talking about the original, by the way. -
that "low budget" doesn't mean "low production value." Frankly, I'd like to see "The Mist" with the production quality that "Shawshank" had. The whole "Why not go make your 'scary little movie'" comment has me a little worried. As long as he gives the material the treatment it deserves, it should be cool as hell.
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Ya I said it. Do I find Dracula to be scary now. Of course I don't. Do I find many other old horror films to be scary? No. Does that somehow reduce their greatness. Of course not. There are others things to a great film.
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When a horror film no longer scares, it is no longer a horror film. Quote that on granite.
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"I don't know how big it actually was, but it passed directly over us. One of it's gray, wrinkled legs smashed down right beside my window, and Mrs. Reppler said later she could not see the underside of it's body, although she craned her neck up to look. She saw only two Cyclopean legs going up and up into the mist like living towers until they were lost to sight."
awesome! -
on those emulator sites. and does any have any of these scripts online?
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I've been wanting a Mist movie ever since I first read the story as a kid. From what I know about the script draft, Darabont NEEDS to keep that amazing ending! It would be extremely ballsy but I have no idea if the suits will go for it.
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Nuff said.
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I've been waiting for this movie to happen for a long, long time. I can't wait to see it. Darabont does King better than anyone else (with the exception of maybe Kubrick, who made a classic film out of King but didn't really do it in a way that was about keeping King's stuff--which is probably why King hated the film so much (course, I think Stephen King should get over it; I mean, Kubrick's film is fan-freaking-tastic, but I digress)). Bottom line: Darabont has made two great Stephen King dramas. I can't WAIT to see him tackle Stephen King horror. ESPECIALLY a story that is as much fun as The Mist. Love it, love it, love it.
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I've never missed an episode of that show, it's the thing on TV (besides LOST and RESCUE ME) by far! What episode did he direct? I shall visit IMDb.com to find out. Oh yes, I shall find out...
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I hate leaving out words, it ruins my chi.
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2007 can't get here soon enough.
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Here's The Mist DOS game if you want it. It's a free download.
http://www.the-underdogs.info/game.php?id=1065 -
Tthe formatting at this site put a space between 'info/' and 'game' in the above link. Delete the space and the link is fine.
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Are you doing a contiunation to John Carpenter's The Thing for the SciFi channel? Or the Who goes There? There's already a prequel in the works.
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They don't give you money to be the "elegant guy" anymore.
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Best news ever! MAKE IT NOW!
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I have always wanted The Mist to be adapted to a series on TV...the blending of the two (or more?) worlds and the search by the main characters for other survivors and the origin/cause of the Mist, and the reversion of Earth back to its normal state. That is, close the wormhole or recall the "wormplane" that the Arrowhead project began in its research in time viewing.
And as for the hint in the story, I think King through in a verrrrry minor hint that the wife survived at home when the Repair truck the husband (David?) sees go by to clear trees, just before he goes into town, makes it way back down the road and rescues the wife and hits the road to find the husband.
It would make a great series and has a definite story arc that could be filmed/planned for in the last episode. -
and I'd probably agree with you if you said his style really blows now, but his early stuff rocks the frigging house.
The Mist was one of my all time favorite stories of his. Second to the unedited Stand.
If this guy can catch the feel of this story and show just what needs to be shown and leave to guessing what needs to be left there, this will kick ass.
Can't wait! -
What a pretentious, self-regarding explanation for doing another hacky King adaptation. His master's thesis? Shut up and shoot.
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That's all I have to say about you, asshole. The man has been the single biggest horror fiction icon for the past two decades or so and his works still endure. I'd like to see you try that, asshat.
Anyway, if the script is good, then it stands to reason that King didn't write it. The guy can write a helluva novel, but he can't do screenplays to save his life. The Mist is an excellent, creepy story, so I'll sure as hell be lining up to see it. -
I am there when this is done. I still have my 3d tape version of the mist somewhere
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I had it on CD. William Sadler played the main guy. It was great.
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It's an abridged version of the audiobook. The LP and cassette editions are full length. The original ZBS cassette had a fifteen minute documentry on the making (long out of print - ZBS doesn't even carry the title anymore). The CD is roughly fifteen minutes shorter. Yeah, I discovered that a few days back doin' some Googling.
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I cant wait. Oh Boy.
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Frank said that he wanted King to write ANOTHER Prison movie for him. I hope some day it becomes a reality. I know Darabont loves his horror, but I want ANOTHER "shawshank". Its one of the reasons I got into screenwriting. Him and Robert Bolt. BH
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Frank said that he wanted King to write ANOTHER Prison movie for him. I hope some day it becomes a reality. I know Darabont loves his horror, but I want ANOTHER "shawshank". Its one of the reasons I got into screenwriting. Him and Robert Bolt. BH
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