The Stand

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so, the stand. one of the very few stephen king books i actually liked. i read the abridged version first, then immediately went and bought the unabridged version and read that. twice. the mini-series was great in parts, but only "ok" overall and not as effective as it could have been. so.... who knows what this will be. i agree with king that there is no way to cleanly and effectively do this in a single 2-hour film, but i think i'd rather see a longer 3+ hour film than a trilogy - that would be a train wreck.
THR wrote:Stephen King's 'The Stand' Heading to the Big Screen (Exclusive)
Stephen King's grand opus The Stand is finally getting the big-screen treatment.

Warner Bros. and CBS Films are teaming to adapt the novel, which in many ways set the bar for a generation of post-apocalyptic stories and influenced works ranging from TV's Lost to music group Anthrax.

Mosaic and Roy Lee are producing.

The companies will co-develop and co-produce the feature film, with CBS having the option to participate in co-financing. Warners will handle worldwide marketing and distribution.

The studios and producers will sit down with writers and directors in the coming weeks in an attempt to find the right take on the material. One thing to be determined is whether to attempt the adaptation in one or multiple movies. King will be involved in some capacity.

CBS has held the rights for many years but recently realized the best way to undertake the project was with a partner. Warners beat out Fox and Sony in a tight bidding war for the gig, getting its hands on one of the biggest-selling books of all time.

CBS, meanwhile, gets a chance to be involved in an ambitious big-budget tentpole with little downside. The company just released its fourth movie, The Mechanic, which performed better than expected this weekend with an opening of $11.4 million.

The Stand is a story of good vs. evil after a virus wipes out most of the American population. While it features dozens of characters (such as the Trashcan Man and Mother Abigail) and overlapping story lines running over many years, the struggle boils down to a group of survivors fighting the Antichrist-like Randall Flagg.

The novel was originally published in 1978, but by the time it was rereleased in 1990 with King adding and revising portions of the story, it had achieved cult-like status.

George Romero and Warners separately tried in vain to launch a movie adaptation in the 1980s, and a tone-downed version was produced as a six-hour miniseries by ABC in 1994. In recent years, Marvel Comics has been adapting the story to great acclaim.

King's stories made for popular Hollywood adaptations in the 1980s and '90s, but that love seemed to lose steam in the past decade. But with Universal mounting an ambitious take on The Dark Tower, and now The Stand, King may be getting ready to return to the throne as the novelist the town loves the most.
THR wrote:Stephen King Shares His Thoughts on 'The Stand' Movie, Suggests Casting
"I didn’t know anything about the remake until I read about it on the Internet," the author says of the news that THR broke Monday.

As The Hollywood Reporter broke exclusively Monday, Warner Bros. and CBS Films are teaming for a film adaptation of Stephen King's grand opus The Stand.

Want to know what King himself thinks of the idea?

"I didn’t know anything about the remake until I read about it on the Internet," he told his former employer, Entertainment Weekly (King was a columnist for the magazine until recently).

Still, he has some thoughts about it. The author said it would be impossible to make it as a two-hour movie and suggested it would likely be better as a trilogy.

"Historically speaking, movie studios blow the budget on things like this, so maybe it’ll be fun to look at," King said. "The dough certainly isn’t going to me, although if it is a trilogy, and if it makes a lot of money, I might be able to buy a chicken dinner at Popeye’s. Great slaw!"

As for casting, he argued that "no one will be able to top Gary Sinise," who played central character Stu Redman in the 1994 ABC miniseries.

"He was perfect," King said, although he suggested Jake Gyllenhaal as his "runner-up pick." He added that Billy Bob Thornton would be "cool" as the Trashcan Man.

King also predicted that Molly Ringwald won't be reprising her character from the mini. Nor would she be playing the Trashcan Man, he quipped.

The horror maestro -- a noted music junkie who sprinkles his books with lots of song references -- also urged filmmakers include "a lot of heavy-metal for the soundtrack."

As for when he expects a film might hit theaters? King referenced a quote that Stand readers will recognize: "M-O-O-N, that spells 'you probably won’t see this anytime soon.' And when you do, Woody Allen won’t be directing it. Or Molly Ringwald."

Re: The Stand

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I never did read this one, although I've read most of his early stuff (and like most kids thought the cover of the book was awesome and creepy). My general take is 'meh.' Based on the lenght this would seem ripe for a 12 episode run on a major cable channel or something; a filmed version would certainly be lacking.

I'm just glad the Eli Roth directed adaptation of King's Stand retread about cell phones killing everyone never got made.
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

Re: The Stand

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/film wrote:‘The Stand’ Director Josh Boone Crafting 3-Hour, R-Rated Adaptation

When The Fault in Our Stars director Josh Boone was hired to direct The Stand for Warner Bros., we assumed that the intent on the studio side would be to make a film or pair of films with a broad appeal. In other words, we figured that WB wanted Boone to craft a film that could harness some of the teen appeal and social media buzz of The Fault in Our Stars. Turns out that might not be quite the case, as the director says he plans a single film (but a very long one) with an R rating.

Vulture spoke to Boone, and asked specifically about his plans for The Stand.
We’re gonna do one three-hour, R-rated version with an amazing A-list cast across the board. Every single one of those characters will be somebody you recognize and somebody you relate to. And it’s gonna be awesome. I’m really excited. It’s the most exciting thing I’ve ever got to do in my entire life. If 12-year-old me had ever known that one day I’d be doing this, to even just go back and look at that kid, I’d be like, Keep doing what you’re doing! It’s just crazy. I’ve met so many actors over the years, and like, when I met Stephen King, I hugged him with tears in my eyes. He meant that much to me when I was young. I still say everything I learned about writing I learned from Stephen King. I don’t read screenplays. I don’t read screenplay how-to books. It’s always just, establish the character. Establish the character.
Frankly, the A-list cast aspect really isn’t a surprise. This is going to be a huge tentpole for Warner Bros., and that’s a studio that doesn’t mess around with casting. Sure, we’ve heard that Boone’s regular collaborator Nat Wolff is likely to be in the film, and he’s not quite a household name. But the big roles are likely to be filled out by people everyone knows.

It’s the single film plan, and the R-rating that will get people talking. A single film is going to require some serious story compression, and as things start to move forward it would not be a surprise to see WB make the decision to split into two films. And the R rating is promising, especially in light of the news that the It adaptation is moving to New Line, which will allow it to be positioned explicitly as a horror film. Warner Bros. does big R-rated films (such as Argo), and as The Stand probably won’t be a picture tightly tied to licensing (unlike, say, a Batman or Harry Potter film) there’s no reason to hold it to PG-13. Fingers crossed, then, that Boone’s intent becomes reality.
now this is interesting...

Re: The Stand

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/film wrote:‘The Stand’ Adaptation Now Planned as Four Movies

Warner Bros. has been trying to craft a new film adaptation of Stephen King‘s novel The Stand for several years. The studio has gone through a roster of writers and directors, but last year finally landed on The Fault in Our Stars director Josh Boone to write and direct.

Boone is a life-long fan of Stephen King, and has been pretty forthcoming with some comments about The Stand. Now, what was originally seen as a single-film adaptation has now expanded into something much bigger. Because WB likes the prospect of selling an event movie series rather than one single long dramatic horror movie, The Stand is now planned as a four-film series.

Josh Boone appeared on Kevin Smith’s Hollywood Babble-On podcast for a really great conversation (stream it below) and had quite a lot to say about The Stand. When he was first brought in to talk about it, he was given earlier script drafts to read.
[Those drafts] were not so much where I thought they should be going with it. [They were] much more like a big summer blockbuster. When I thought about The Stand it’s so much about the vast network of characters, and all their problems. It’s kind of a morality play set in post-apocalyptic America. The battle between good and evil is the battle for these peoples’ souls. They make choices which dictate the fate of humanity.
The first stage of developing the film started out, despite Boone’s initial concerns, as a single film adaptation. Boone scripted that, and had some specific ideas about how to compress the sprawling novel into a solitary film (note that this middle of this quote has a Stand spoiler in it):
I really wanted to do an A-list actor, really grounded, credible version of the movie. I sold them on that and they hired me…I sold them on a single, three hour movie. I went and got [Stephen] King sold on it, everybody’s really excited…I told the story non-linear and that was the way I was able to compress that book and get everything into that script. You open with Mother Abigail dying and sending the guys off, and then you jump back in time… So what happened is the script gets finished, I write it in like five months, everybody loves it, King loves it, $87 million is what it was budgeted at, really expensive for a horror drama that doesn’t have set pieces.
As he says, that’s a pretty good budget range for a film planned as a hard-R horror adaptation. Boone would have probably had to really be smart about using that money, but if he gets the characters right, a lot of The Stand’s tension can come from waiting for things to explode. (Elsewhere, Boone talks about the idea that the horror of The Stand is Larry Underwood trapped in the Lincoln Tunnel, and that it’s subjective horror, akin to Roman Polanski’s work, rather than a setpiece sort of horror.)

But WB actually wanted a more expensive film, something with setpieces that would make The Stand easier to market overseas. Boone just wanted to get the tone and characters right. But then Warners had another offer.
They came back and said “would you do it as multiple films?” and I said “fuck yes!” I loved my script, and I was willing to drop it in an instant because you’re able to do an even truer version that way. So I think we are going to do like four movies. I can’t tell you anything about how we’re going to do them, or what’s going to be in which movie. I’ll just say we are going to do four movies, and we’re going to do THE STAND at the highest level you can do it at, with a cast that’s going to blow people’s minds. We’ve already been talking to lots of people, and have people on board in certain roles that people don’t know about. We’re looking to go into production next year, maybe in the spring.
jesus, enough with this shit.

Re: The Stand

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Why not split it into two trilogies? If only Hollywood dared to think big.
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

Re: The Stand

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lol @ 4 movies. good news, bad news: good news is it's going to be a limited series. bad news is it's going to be on fucking CBS all access.
EW wrote:Stephen King's The Stand officially becoming a new TV series

It’s finally official: Stephen King’s apocalyptic novel The Stand is becoming a new limited series.

The 1978 fan favorite has been greenlit as a 10-episode event series for the streaming service CBS All Access.

“I’m excited and so very pleased that The Stand is going to have a new life on this exciting new platform,” King said in a statement. “The people involved are men and women who know exactly what they’re doing; the scripts are dynamite. The result bids to be something memorable and thrilling. I believe it will take viewers away to a world they hope will never happen.”

The Stand is arguably the godfather of the modern post-apocalyptic drama — before there was The Walking Dead or The Road or Mad Max, there was The Stand. The story follows a group of survivors after a plague kills off most of the world’s population. A synopsis accompanying the release explains: “The fate of mankind rests on the frail shoulders of the 108-year-old Mother Abagail and a handful of survivors. Their worst nightmares are embodied in a man with a lethal smile and unspeakable powers: Randall Flagg, the Dark Man.”

This new adaptation has been in development for years by writers Josh Boone and Ben Cavell. Boone will also direct the project.

“I read The Stand under my bed when I was 12, and my Baptist parents burned it in our fireplace upon discovery,” Boone said. “Incensed, I stole my dad’s FedEx account number and mailed King a letter professing my love for his work. Several weeks later, I came home to find a box had arrived from Maine, and inside were several books, each inscribed with a beautiful note from god himself, who encouraged me in my writing and thanked me for being a fan. My parents, genuinely moved by King’s kindness and generosity, lifted the ban on his books that very day. I wrote King a cameo as himself in my first film and have been working to bring The Stand to the screen for five years. I’ve found incredible partners in CBS All Access and Ben Cavell. Together with Stephen King, Owen King, my longtime producing partners Knate Lee and Jill Killington, we plan to bring you the ultimate version of King’s masterwork.”

The Stand was previously adapted into a generally well-received 1994 ABC four-episode miniseries, with a cast that included Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwald, Rob Lowe, and Laura San Giacomo.

“With over 400 million books sold around the world, Stephen King is one of our greatest living authors and The Stand is widely considered the crown jewel of his work,” said Julie McNamara, executive vice president of original content at CBS All Access. “Millions of fans have been waiting for a modern interpretation that delivers on its depth, scope and ambition. We are thrilled to be working with Stephen, Josh, Ben and a dedicated team working passionately to bring this brilliant material to life.”

There’s no casting on the new project as of yet. What’s particularly smart and restrained in this era of networks trying to maximize popular brands is that the project will be a limited series — it’s easy to imagine outlets wanting to turn The Stand into something that would run for years, like how CBS tried to stretch out King’s Under the Dome. There’s no premiere date yet, but given the announcement timing and the fact that the scripts are done, a 2020 date would seem likely.

The news comes as King’s classics are enjoying a cinematic resurgence, with a new big-screen version of Pet Sematary coming April 5 and a sequel to 2017’s blockbuster IT coming Sept. 6.

Re: The Stand

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Do what I did for the first season of Star Trek Discovery. Sign up for the couple of months it runs and then cancel the service. They give you the first week free so if you sign up the day of the first episode you can save a little.
Just cut them up like regular chickens

Re: The Stand

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iHorror wrote:Premiere Date is Set for ‘The Stand’ on CBS All Access

Deadline is reporting that CBS All Access’s limited series adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand is set to premiere on December 17, 2020.

Set in a world where a bio-engineered super-flu–colloquially known as Captain Trips–is unleashed by accident, King’s epic novel centers on two groups of survivors who find themselves embroiled in the ultimate battle of good versus evil to determine the future of the human race.

Josh Boone (The New Mutants) and Ben Cavell adapted the series with King providing the script for the final episode–an epilogue presenting information never released by the author before about what comes after the big showdown. Boone also directed the first and final episodes of the series.

The Stand comes with a star-studded cast including Henry Zaga (The New Mutants), Whoopi Goldberg (Ghost), Alexander Skarsgard (True Blood), James Marsden (Westworld), Jovan Adepo (Overlord), Greg Kinnear (The Gift), and Heather Graham (Boogie Nights) to name just a few.

While there is no word yet on whether the series will be released in one drop or in a weekly format, odds are good that CBS All Access will want to extend the run, making it more of an event than a single drop by might give the show. It’s a format the streaming platform has followed with most of its original content.

The Stand was previously adapted as a miniseries by Mick Garris in the early 90s, and the director will return in an unnamed cameo for this new vision.
oh, king decreed he must show up with "new material" at the end and ruin whatever they were doing? great. he needs to stay the fuck away from adaptations of his work.

Re: The Stand

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I’m 7 episodes in, i don’t hate it. I don’t find it overly annoying. From what i remember, it seems pretty faithful. A couple casting choices are odd but shrug.

Re: The Stand

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Ok, it went off the rails very quickly after i wrote that. The last two episodes in particular were shitty. Granted, it was a long time ago i read the book a couple times, but i don’t remember Mother Abigail becoming lightning and laying waste to everything. I also don’t remember Trashcan Man acting like a fucking retarded 3 year old child. That one was so annoying as i remember really liking him in the book as a character. I assumed Evil Midnight Bomber from The Tick was modeled after him, but in this he was acting like... i can’t even describe how he was acting. If Bobcat Golthwait’s character from Police Academy was a child and on way more blow. Mercifully, they only have him in this for a few minutes. Oh, and remember how much time Tom and Stu spent together after Tom finds Stu with his broken leg? Exactly zero seconds of screen time in this. And Harold just got more and more annoying as time went on. I realized that in this, he’s exactly the kid from the beginning of Creepshow. Some older kids chase him, knock him off his bike, tease him, etc. And i’m just really not buying James Marsden being with Odessa Young. At all. Of all the people left, that’s who James Marsden, who may be the best looking man left alive outside of vegas, ends up with? Nah. Speaking of Vegas, i did not like Skarsgård’s Flagg. Wasn’t buying him as ending up running Vegas. Amber Heard’s Nadine was nothing but distracting. All i thought about every time she was on screen was about how she took a shit in Depp’s bed. She’s just not a good actress. Wish Heather Graham would have stayed on longer. I thought Larry, Glen, and Nick were all pretty good castings. There were also a couple nods to The Shining (visually), and fucking Stephen King in one of the works of art. Has to be in everything.

Whatever. The take-away here is, this is mostly OK at best, until it isn’t. Then it’s fucking awful.

Re: The Stand

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I was almost ready to consider moving this forward on my watchlist based on your first post. But now it's back down it based on the second one.
Just cut them up like regular chickens