Nordling here.
I've read THE STAND probably about 4 times, back in my youth. I used to be a King fanatic. I'm not so much anymore, although his latest collection, FULL DARK NO STARS, is actually really damn good. Bleak as hell, too. If you ask most King fans what his best work is, you'd probably hear THE STAND mentioned more than most. I'd have to agree - it's epic in scope, parts are scary as hell, it's got great characters and who doesn't love an end-of-the-world story? W've seen a miniseries of the material, and it's not too bad, actually, it just shows its small budget a bit, and THE STAND's too big, in a way, for television.
Apparently, someone else feels the same way, according to Hollywood Reporter. Looks like THE STAND is heading to the silver screen at last, after many years and many attempts. Warner Brothers and CBS Films are coming together to bring the novel to film, and I imagine that with a huge budget, some A list actors, and a good director this could potentially be something great. No word on any kind of casting or director yet - far too early to tell. This is probably a project that the producers don't want to skimp on the budget.
So - thoughts? Casting? Director? Writer? Who should play Randall Flagg? Or Stu Redman? Harold Lauder? Or the Trashcan Man? My personal preference for Flagg would be someone pretty huge, who's never done a villain of this caliber before. Hopefully we'll have more information on this project very soon.
Nordling, out.
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. I wanted to comment on this story a little bit. I love that Hollywood is catching epic King fever on the heels of the big undertaking of The Dark Tower (something I'm still nervous about and will be until Ron Howard proves he and his team will knock this out of the park). This is actually incredibly good news.
I have a soft spot for Mick Garris' TV take on The Stand, but that has more to do with the perfect casting of Gary Sinise as Stu Redman and Ruby Dee as Mother Abigail. I also really liked Rob Lowe as Nick Andros, too... and Bill Fagerbakke as Tom Cullen (M-O-O-N, that spells Tom Cullen). But yeah, it's the safe-for-TV-audiences version of the story.
If they can get a great director and a great cast (and split it into two movies) with a studio that'll give them a big enough budget and have the balls to go R-rated we could have a brilliant set of movies here.
Much like Nordling, I devoured this book. All of King's longform early work were my favorites. The Stand and IT were books that I re-read at least three or four times. It felt like I was visiting friends when I did. There's a particular feeling I get when reading THE STAND, a desire for the book to somehow never end. I want to follow those characters (those that survive) as they rebuild society. I begin to dread the final page. I've never had that feeling with any other book, no matter how much I like it.
If they can get a filmmaker to evoke a similar feeling then I'll know they succeeded in their interpretation.
Can I somehow force Alfonso Cuaron to take this gig? Does he have kids I can kidnap or is he having an affair I can get photographic blackmail proof of?
Maybe Neill Blomkamp? Who else would be good?
