5 Stephen King Books That Need to be Adapted for Film
Comments(34)
- By Venkman
First thing you need to know is that I am a huge Stephen King fan. This guy has created some of the most incredible and original stories. In my opinion he is a master storyteller. I have read most of his books and have seen all of the movies that were adapted from his books. Believe it or not there are still some stories that King has written that have yet to be made into a film. I wanted to address a few of these books because I find it perplexing that these have not been made into movies.
I’ve added fan made films that have been made for a few of these books.
The Dark Tower
I understand that I could fill the whole list up with just the Dark Tower series alone but I wanted to leave room for the other books. So let’s just start out with the first book of the series The Gunslinger. The book flows the last gunslinger in the world as he chases down his arch-rival, the Man in Black, with the goal of finding the Dark Tower.
This book has a huge following and all of the fans have been waiting in anticipation for this movie to get made. Currently J.J. Abrams owns the film rights and after the TV show ‘LOST’ has ended he has said they are going to get started on it. So we know that this film will eventually get made.
Insomnia
This is one of Kings older novels and I’m surprised it hasn’t been given the movie treatment yet. Insomnia is such a twisted and interesting tale about an old man whose wife died, and he can’t sleep. He begins to see ribbons coming out of people’s heads and during the late hours of the evening he sees two little men wandering the town. All these things lead him on an adventure of universal significance.
There is really nothing not to like about this story. It has everything a good movie needs. Maybe the fact that the main characters of the book are old people makes it not marketable enough to make. Personally I don’t see any reason as to why this book should not be adapted into a film. There were rumors back in 2007 that the film would be adapted by director Rob Schmidt but nothing ever developed beyond that.
Duma Key
Duma Key is a more recent novel so there is still time for someone to pick up the rights and make a movie out of it. This is the kind of King story that slowly builds the suspense but the payoff at the end is so worth it. The story follows an older man who moves to Duma Key Florida after he loses his arm in a horrible construction accident. While there he discovers he has a talent to paint these incredible and odd pictures. But there is something more to them, something haunting. Through these paintings he inadvertently brings out an evil entity that he must stop.
Doesn’t that just sound great!? The book has a great old time ghost story creep factor to it, one that would translate very well to film. Honestly this could be the perfect story for M. Night Shaymalan to develop to help get his skills back on track. I know his films have been crap recently, but this story fits his directing style.
The Eyes of the Dragon
This was the first Stephen King book I ever read. It was written in the 80’s, how this book is still not a movie completely baffles me, especially in a time when fantasy films are becoming increasingly popular. The movie takes place in the Kingdom of Deain the king is murdered and his son Peter who would become the King is framed for a crime he didn’t commit, and he is locked in a tower. His brother has taken the throne and Peter sets in motion his plans for escape to confront those who wronged him.
This story is fantastically interesting and involving. I think it is a film that can be done on a decent budget and do very well at the box office. No one has ever attempted to adapt this into a movie. The good this is that the story is timeless so it is not to late to get something started on it.
The Talisman
Here is another book from the 80’s that has yet to be made into a movie. It actually almost happened though! Check this out! You had Hollywood power producers Steven Spielberg, Frank Marshall, and Kathleen Kennedy all involved at one point. They tried to make it into a movie for 15 years but never got it off the ground. At one point they had it all set up to go as a 4 hour TV mini-series for ABC but it all fell apart due to the financing. King then wanted to try and get it back onto the big screen but it never got off the ground. Now nothing is happening with it.
The story follows a 12 year old boy who sets out on a mission to walk from the seacoast of New Hampshire to the California coast so that he might find the talisman that will save his dying moms life. This quest takes him into a parallel medieval universe.
It is amazing that with the best talent in Hollywood involved the movie didn’t get done. If they can’t do get it off the ground then who can?
What are some other awesome Stephen King stories would you like to see made into a movie?
Stephen King is my favourite writer (Waiting for "Under the Dome")!
I also think "The Stand" Could be made into a trilogy, if you have a great cast, even if the mini-series was actually good.
I love Stephen King's novels, but I have a fear about movies made with his books. Only a few movies became to be a good movie. However, if be well produced, I'll be there to see!!
I have been waiting for years to see The Talisman on the big screen. It's an awesome book, and I hope someone can make it happen.
When I saw the title of this list I thought to myself, “Eyes of the Dragon better be on it.” Thank you.
I thought that imdb.com had it that TNT was making "The Talisman" a miniseries. I am really hoping that it gets off the ground, since that and the sequel "Black House" are my favorite books of all time. After watching the demo scenes a few months back, my mouth really started to water, but fear there isn't enough steam behind it to get going.
I also have to say that there needs to be a greater focus on some of his short stories. I have to say that "The Mist" was one of the better adaptations, and I think it is because the source material was short enough to make a decent movie. The two short stories that I think would be really good are "The Raft" and "The Ledge." The former would be a really intense little suspense thriller that wouldn't require a huge budget (except for special effects), and the latter is a story that would be great if it was narrated throughout. I know that "The Ledge" probably wouldn't make it to any screen, but go read "The Raft" and tell me if you will think twice about swimming out to the dock in the middle of a lake!!
Some of the books you would probably have to make for a lot of The Dark Tower to make sense like Insomnia and The Talisman and Black House as well as Eyes of the Dragon and maybe a better 'Salem's Lot.
My first Stephen King book was also Eyes of the Dragon, I read it in like 3rd grade, followed by It (p.s. as a little kid reading about other little kids in horrific situations scared the piss out of me!) I would add The Regulators/Desperation. They made Desperation into an awful straight to DVD release but it could be much much better!
MY first stephen king book was ALSO eyes of the dragon, 5th grade… it is more of fantasy than scary, stephen king being more known for the latter. it does feel so right to be in a movie, better than some of neil gaiman's… if done on film beautifully, could easily become a modern classic.
Insomnia is my favorite King book and I would love to see a movie version, as long as tehy stayed true to the story line, which i know is difficult with such a detailed author.
Greetings to all in that mighty name of “Jesus”:
Each Christian of whom know him in the power of His resurrection…or, maybe I should say…those who are well acquainted with the fact, that He truly did come back from the dead…also appeared to His disciples.
Thomas was invited by Jesus to feel the nail prints within His hands. So, those who also have been convinced by only having His spirit to convince them, having never had the opportunity to feel the nail prints in his hands, as did Thomas: Jesus said blessed are those who have seen and then believed, but greater are the blessings that rest upon those who have never seen, but still believe.
I am a full time writer and an ordained minister. I have written three books so far. My first book: Reviving the dead church, by reminiscing the day of Pentecost. The second one is: Beyond the Golden Sunset and by the Crystal Sea. My third book: Off to visit the Prophet Elijah, on this one, the contract to publish has been completed and soon the book will be published.
Warm regards
William Dunigan
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The Dark Tower series would make for some very epic movies. But to keep the story intact it would have to be split into too many movies. There are seven books with the last one itself being over one thousand pages…. maybe too epic for Hollywood?
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Eyes of the Dragon and The Dark Tower. no less!
I must be retarded, because I thought that that movie Insomnia with Robin Williams and Al Pacino was based off of the Stephen King novel. The book sounds MUCH better than that crap movie was.
I love Stephen King, but so may of the movies they make from his work, meh. I remember seeing Thinner and laughing at the costuming used to make people get all skinny/scary. I have seen better costumes on the kids in my neighborhood at Halloween!
I really want to see Cell brought to the big screen. I know that there were talks of someone having the rights and working on it -was it Tarantino? I can't remember exactly ….
But my first Stephen King book was Firestarter and it has been love ever since. I actually just finished reading Gerald's Game, but I don't think I'd want to see that as a movie just because of how gory it is, I really don't need to see a woman almost kill herself to get out of some handcuffs.
Your list rocks and if any of these make it big screen soon, I'll be stoked.
The Eye of the Dragon is my first Stephen King book too. it is also a book that i read together with my mom and brothers, i think i was about 14.But we would love to see this made into a movie. its one of those book that was both mesmerizing and frustrating to read. The Dark Tower was an amazing read and i cant wait to see that J.J Abrams with it!!
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