Stephen King's "The Long Walk"
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Slaanesh69
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lol so many things I want to say, that have already been said in one form or another by all of you. But I like smelling my own farts so fuck it:
Yeah, this short story is one of his best. Shawshank was such a great movie because (1) the acting and direction were top notch and (2) the movie was practically word for word the short story. Running Man is a perfect microcosm of the 1980's, and enjoyable for the schlock we love(d), but objectively it was a terrible movie and so far from the source story that it essentially only shared the title and character names. A modern, dark movie take on the ACTUAL story of one (innocent? he was innocent, right?) man against the dystopian society would be fantastic.
And then there was The Langoliers. Someone posted a pic from it not long ago.
But the theme of the story as I interpreted it was something like "careful what you wish for, you might get it" and the regrets of the sacrifices to get it kind of thing - the ending was pretty depressing. It could also be something like an overall representation of life - you have to fight and struggle and sacrifice through your life, and when you finally reach your objective in the end (retirement?) you wonder if it was at all worth it. And you can never stop along the journey or your life is fucked.
That was terrible, but I hope at least somewhat understandable.
You can't make this movie a spectacle, it has to be a slower burn. Act 1 is the story and background of the main character - starts drab but slowly gets optimistic. Act 2 is the hype leading up to, and the start of, the race. Includes flashbacks of other races, glimpses into the life of former winners - mood gets exciting and colorful and positive - more reference to winners and little reference to the consequence of not winning. Act 3 is the race itself - starts positive and degrades rapidly all the way to the depressing ending. The race is only a third of the movie as it has to be harsh and brutal.
Yeah, this short story is one of his best. Shawshank was such a great movie because (1) the acting and direction were top notch and (2) the movie was practically word for word the short story. Running Man is a perfect microcosm of the 1980's, and enjoyable for the schlock we love(d), but objectively it was a terrible movie and so far from the source story that it essentially only shared the title and character names. A modern, dark movie take on the ACTUAL story of one (innocent? he was innocent, right?) man against the dystopian society would be fantastic.
And then there was The Langoliers. Someone posted a pic from it not long ago.
But the theme of the story as I interpreted it was something like "careful what you wish for, you might get it" and the regrets of the sacrifices to get it kind of thing - the ending was pretty depressing. It could also be something like an overall representation of life - you have to fight and struggle and sacrifice through your life, and when you finally reach your objective in the end (retirement?) you wonder if it was at all worth it. And you can never stop along the journey or your life is fucked.
That was terrible, but I hope at least somewhat understandable.
You can't make this movie a spectacle, it has to be a slower burn. Act 1 is the story and background of the main character - starts drab but slowly gets optimistic. Act 2 is the hype leading up to, and the start of, the race. Includes flashbacks of other races, glimpses into the life of former winners - mood gets exciting and colorful and positive - more reference to winners and little reference to the consequence of not winning. Act 3 is the race itself - starts positive and degrades rapidly all the way to the depressing ending. The race is only a third of the movie as it has to be harsh and brutal.
Slaanesh69
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Imajica and Weaveworld are in my top 100 fav books of all time. I can't remember if, in my Barker phase, I read Damnation Game but now I think I need to buy a bunch of Barker books for my Kindle.......
Faith
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He was innocent (motivation was medication for his child), we are almost there as an "dystopian society". I do not belive Hollywood dares to make a "true to story" movie about this, it would hit too close to home. Best part of the story is him flying an airliner into a skyscraper and I do not belive the US is ready for that for some reason... pussys.
Chukzombi
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yeah its never gonna get remade for a whole host of reasons. or i should say its never going to be remade with anything close to a faithful adaption. richard dawson kissing old ladies and Ahnuld making corny quips after each fatality is the best we'll ever see. i still cant believe this was made by the same Stephen King who whines on twitter all day like a little baby.
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Shmoopy
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Updates: The Long Walk: Everything We Know About The Stephen King Adaptation
I'm gonna guess there will be Hunger Games comparisons because:
I'm gonna guess there will be Hunger Games comparisons because:
Shmoopy
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My analysis as well. Stick to the story. Keep the dystopian world-building cool, but minimized. There's even totally realistic ways in which women, younger, or even old people (i.e. diverse) would be good at walking really, really far. You don't have to crowbar that shit in at all.
This could even be a franchise about people taking the long walk every year. Squid Game is interesting that way ... like who the hell would even do it?
But 100% agreed if they try to shoehorn some Hunger Games "fight the system" BS in, it will be trash. In an actual dystopia the option of fighting The Man doesn't exist. Nobody sane would even try it. In an actual dystopia if any group even tried to organize they'd be dead already.
Chukzombi
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if there was any love interest in TLW, that will get boosted, if none. then some of these guys are going to be gay for each other. maybe thats the point of this movie. all the contestants are being punished for their gay love and the bad guys are MAGA country rednecks. King likes to shit his books up with this stuff.
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Vuuxo
Karen
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Be honest... Name one Stephen King adaptation that did the novel justice. I can't think of any. "IT" is probably as close as you're going to get and even then it's a long shot.this is a movie i thought would never get made, like i dont even know how it can be done justice outside of a novel. buckle up boys.
André Øvredal To Direct Stephen King’s ‘The Long Walk’ For New Line
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark director André Øvredal is set to direct New Line’s movie adaptation of Stephen King’s The Long Walk.deadline.com
faille
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shawshank redemption.
the original Stand. obviously plenty of room for improvement, but the new one showed just had bad it can be.
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Arbitrary
Tranny Chaser
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Adaptations of The Body, Pet Semetary, Carrie, Trucks, Salem's Lot, The Dead Zone, Firestarter, Christine, Misery, The Dark Half, The Tommyknockers, Needful Things, Gerald's Game, Dolores Claiborne, The Green Mile and Doctor Sleep are all as good as or better than their source material.
edit - also The Shining, The Mist and Apt Pupil.
edit - also The Shining, The Mist and Apt Pupil.
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Vuuxo
Karen
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You mean Maximum Overdrive, sir.
The short story is named Trucks, nerd.
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I think it's a fair list of adaptations if we're talking about things on par with the written version. There's some wiggle room there. Tommyknockers is kind of of shitty both as a book and as a movie but Jimmy Smits is carrying that whole production on his fucking back.
King hating Kubrick's version of The Shining and going on to make a shitty but more faithful version will never not be confusing as fuck. I know he considers the Kubrick version mean-spirited and has been quoted as saying "I think he (Kubrick) went out to make a film that hurts people" but I wonder if some of that is from it initially being poorly received critically and commercially. I just rewatched it a few days ago when it was cold and shitty out and it's just great.
King hating Kubrick's version of The Shining and going on to make a shitty but more faithful version will never not be confusing as fuck. I know he considers the Kubrick version mean-spirited and has been quoted as saying "I think he (Kubrick) went out to make a film that hurts people" but I wonder if some of that is from it initially being poorly received critically and commercially. I just rewatched it a few days ago when it was cold and shitty out and it's just great.
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Chukzombi
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Call me crazy, but Tommyknockers is easily one of my favorite King books. Running Man, Roadwork and Salem's lot are good too. The movie for Tommyknockers is supercringe. Though there are some messed up moments. Yes, Jimmy Smits didn't have much to work with. The casting department must have been one lonely guy because Tracey Lords ended up in there. I wasn't complaining, just odd choices.
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Tranny Chaser
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You're crazy.
I've read Tommyknockers twice now and it's not a bad time but it's an odd story. It's like King wrote it in between fighting a summer cold with cocaine and whiskey.
Slaanesh69
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I..........wat? Tommyknockers is, without hyperbole, one of the worst novels I have ever read.
Truly, one man's garbage is another man's gold. This is why it is so hard to recommend any kind of art or entertainment to someone else!!!
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