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Old Kentucky Shark posted:I don't think Tom would have had much of a problem with Audra because it's well established that IT can hypnotize vulnerable adults; once they were that close to IT, she and Tom probably sleepwalked through the tunnels together. Its actually mentioned in the book he makes it all the way to IT's door, and the shape on it looks like his father to him, though it doesn't say he ever went inside. He apparently spent far longer than the losers, just lost wandering around in the darkness after it was all over before getting out.
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Sep 29, 2017 09:57
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Has anyone started Sleeping Beauties? Thoughts? I looked on Amazon to see what people are saying, but it's pretty evenly split between five-star "OMG I LOVE STEPHEN KING I LOVE EVERYTHING HE'S EVER WRITTEN!" and one-star "LIBTARD MAKING FUN OF OUR GREAT PRESIDENT THIS IS TRASH" reviews, so no real info there.
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Sep 29, 2017 13:01
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April posted:Has anyone started Sleeping Beauties? Thoughts? I looked on Amazon to see what people are saying, but it's pretty evenly split between five-star "OMG I LOVE STEPHEN KING I LOVE EVERYTHING HE'S EVER WRITTEN!" Sounds like everyone from this thread already reviewed it.
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Sep 29, 2017 13:53
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I would objectively be amazed if Sleeping Beauties turns out to be good
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Sep 29, 2017 15:25
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Is the writing quality/prose in Sleeping Beauties noticeably diluted, different, or subpar due to Owen King's involvement here? There's nothing I hate more than lovely writing. The NYT, Amazon, et al. are giving it positive reviews, though.
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Sep 30, 2017 01:08
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the premise is dumb and it's a million pages long
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Sep 30, 2017 01:40
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chernobyl kinsman posted:the premise is dumb and it's a million pages long Stephen King Microcosm 1990-present
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Sep 30, 2017 01:42
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Seriously though he probably shouldn't have quit drugs
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Sep 30, 2017 01:42
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Hearing really good write ups so far the Gerald's Game movie. Anyone seen it yet? I'm one of the few who liked the book (read it twice) and can really picture the film working, sort of the way Misery did; in terms of structure anyway (being trapped, etc.). Mel Mudkiper posted:Seriously though he probably shouldn't have quit drugs You're probably joking but there's an argument to be made there about drug usage related to creativity. It's a fine line. Many musicians are noticeably worse when they get sober. Some get worse as they get more hosed up. Still making my way through On Writing and finally got to the part where he actually talks about writing. It's interesting and good, but one thing I take strong exception to is his rather stubborn insistence that you really don't "need a plot". I think this tendency shows up in his work a lot, usually to his detriment. I can see how sticking rigidly to something can hamper creative new ideas you might have along the way but I suspect that also that doing that takes a LOT of the fun of the writing process which is mainly why he doesn't do it. Not that it would make his stiff worse or better, just less fun to do. I get the idea of "free forming" and seeing where the story takes you but, much like a jam band for instance, I think the lack of a goal leads to rough landings/endings. I think this applies to pretty much anything. An NFL running back can improvise but there's still a play that's called. An intent at least. A painter can go full "zen" with a canvas but I think it usually helps to have some idea of how you want it to turn out or "end" and that doing some research or studies usually leads to better outcomes. You can take a blind road trip somewhere with no plan at all (which I've done) but it's usually good to know when you're coming back, how much money you have, a map, etc. A guitar player can come out and "jam" for two hours but it usually helps to have a song written somewhere. I most appreciated King's lessons on economy of language in this book; the idea of eliminating unnecessary words, overblown vocabulary and superfluous exposition - things I REALLY need to learn regarding how I write - and allowing the viewer to insert details that relate to their life experiences to add flavor and atmosphere that they can relate to. King could have probably made this whole post on a Twitter account, for example, and written it much better. BiggerBoat fucked around with this message at 19:38 on Sep 30, 2017 |
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Sep 30, 2017 19:19
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BiggerBoat posted:Hearing really good write ups so far the Gerald's Game movie. Anyone seen it yet? This seems like it would be pretty hard to adapt to film.
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Sep 30, 2017 22:34
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BiggerBoat posted:Hearing really good write ups so far the Gerald's Game movie. Anyone seen it yet? I enjoyed it, and thought they did a surprisingly good job translating it into film. Been a while since I read the book but pretty much every major detail I remember from it was in the movie, so they seem pretty spot on too.
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Sep 30, 2017 23:05
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withak posted:This seems like it would be pretty hard to adapt to film. That's what the reviewer said as well but I'm inclined to disagree. Yeah, a lot of it takes place in the mind of the protagonist, which is always an issue with adapting King, but in this case, almost all of the exposition can be handled via flashbacks and hallucination fever dreams where they can cut away. The rest is just the actress reacting, struggling and emoting. Think James Caan in his solo scenes in Misery or Dee Wallace in the car in Cujo When I read it, I recall thinking it'd make a good movie that was cheap to make and wouldn't be hard to film at all. poo poo, you could stage it as a loving play if you could find a stray dog that was trained well enough to play ball and stay on script. It's practically one set. Speaking of that bolded part, The Long Walk should be a no brainer by now. King is on fire as far as cinema goes at least so let's get that fucker made. Huh...I guess no one's watched GG. I'm gonna give it a go tonight and report back. Pretty sure I'm the only goon here who liked the book. Here's the AV CLub review: https://www.avclub.com/apologies-to-it-but-geralds-game-shows-how-to-really-a-1818816026
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Sep 30, 2017 23:07
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BiggerBoat posted:Hearing really good write ups so far the Gerald's Game movie. Anyone seen it yet? It was fairly close to the book. Better than I expected it to be. Some really gross out scenes the flesh tearing off her hand as she pulled it through the cuffs at the end made me wince
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Oct 1, 2017 00:13
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So Gerald's Game on Netflix. I liked it pretty well. It was extremely faithful to the book, almost to a fault, and they did a great job showing Jessie's pain, desperation, fear, panic and discomfort. A lot of it hit home on a very visceral level. Only thing i can think that was different from the book was that I think they skipped a night, which was probably for the better for pacing, but lessened the idea that she might die of thirst or starvation and detracted a little from her straits. Maybe I'm misremembering the book but it seemed like she was in the bed for one more day/night. The way it was filmed and presented is very spot on to how how I pictured it in my head. If you didn't like the book, I can't see how you could possibly like the movie though, and it seems few people liked the book so maybe the movie sucks too. It was THAT faithful, including the "twist" which somehow felt even flatter than the way it was handled in the novel and was my only real complaint with the movie. The twist didn't bug me in the book but here it did for some reason and felt weirdly tacked on; almost unnecessary. Made me reconsider why so many here disliked it because I didn't think it was needed here at all and it felt extraneous so I saw it through different eyes. I think with the book, I was already invested and just kept plowing through the epilogue but here it seemed weirdly out of place and added a layer that wasn't needed.
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Oct 1, 2017 03:18
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BiggerBoat posted:So Gerald's Game on Netflix. I think this is pretty spot-on, but I'll add this. I read the book a few times when I was younger & really liked it. My husband had never heard of it, never watched the trailer, had no idea what it was about AT ALL, so we were coming at it from two entirely different perspectives. I enjoyed it, because of how closely it stuck to the book, but wasn't surprised/shocked by anything I saw. I thought that the Moonlight Man looked kind of goofy, but overall, it was decent. My husband, on the other hand, was blown away. He did not expect the level of darkness that he got, especially the eclipse sequence. To him, the movie was shocking and deeply disturbing, and he was still saying "that was a total mind gently caress" this morning. I guess what I'm getting at is, a lot of how "good" the movie is depends on your expectations, or familiarity with the source material. If you go into it already knowing everything that happens, it's a decent way to kill a couple of hours. If you have no idea what you're getting into, well, you have NO IDEA what you're getting into.
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Oct 1, 2017 12:12
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April posted:I think this is pretty spot-on, but I'll add this. I read the book a few times when I was younger & really liked it. My husband had never heard of it, never watched the trailer, had no idea what it was about AT ALL, so we were coming at it from two entirely different perspectives. I enjoyed it, because of how closely it stuck to the book, but wasn't surprised/shocked by anything I saw. I thought that the Moonlight Man looked kind of goofy, but overall, it was decent. My husband, on the other hand, was blown away. He did not expect the level of darkness that he got, especially the eclipse sequence. To him, the movie was shocking and deeply disturbing, and he was still saying "that was a total mind gently caress" this morning. I guess what I'm getting at is, a lot of how "good" the movie is depends on your expectations, or familiarity with the source material. If you go into it already knowing everything that happens, it's a decent way to kill a couple of hours. If you have no idea what you're getting into, well, you have NO IDEA what you're getting into. It WAS very much a mindfuck and pulled no punches. Good post. There were several scenes that had me wincing and grimacing (in a good way I mean) and were very effective. I thought the performances, the direction and the pacing was very good. Only thing I might change would be to make the Moonlight Man a little more shadowy and harder to make out or discern. Meaning, make him more of a suggestion and give him a "double take" style of appearance. Not sure how to describe what I mean but the film did it a few times, where you BARELY saw him and then when Jessie looked back couldn't see anything. The more revealed he was, the less scary it got somehow because I think it would have worked better as a way to show that Jessie MAY have been imagining him. Maybe it's because I already knew the score though. The eclipse scene and the father/daughter flashbacks were very well done and really loving creepy. I think you could make a really good play out of this but I'd leave out the epilogue if I were doing it.
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Oct 1, 2017 17:19
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As someone who never got round to reading Gerald's Game, am I missing anything vital if I just watch the movie first?
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Oct 1, 2017 18:55
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BiggerBoat posted:So Gerald's Game on Netflix. This was pretty much my take too. Granted, I read the book almost a decade ago so my memory was a little foggy but everything seem pretty much in line with the book. Also even though I expected it the scene where she cut her wrist and slid her had through the handcuff freaked me the hell out. Fantastic gore effects there. Also, the moonlight man was played by the giant/fireman from Twin Peaks!.
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Oct 1, 2017 19:09
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hyper from Pixie Sticks posted:As someone who never got round to reading Gerald's Game, am I missing anything vital if I just watch the movie first? No. The film is almost a literal translation of the book.
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Oct 2, 2017 03:56
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April posted:I think this is pretty spot-on, but I'll add this. I read the book a few times when I was younger & really liked it. My husband had never heard of it, never watched the trailer, had no idea what it was about AT ALL, so we were coming at it from two entirely different perspectives. I enjoyed it, because of how closely it stuck to the book, but wasn't surprised/shocked by anything I saw. I thought that the Moonlight Man looked kind of goofy, but overall, it was decent. My husband, on the other hand, was blown away. He did not expect the level of darkness that he got, especially the eclipse sequence. To him, the movie was shocking and deeply disturbing, and he was still saying "that was a total mind gently caress" this morning. I guess what I'm getting at is, a lot of how "good" the movie is depends on your expectations, or familiarity with the source material. If you go into it already knowing everything that happens, it's a decent way to kill a couple of hours. If you have no idea what you're getting into, well, you have NO IDEA what you're getting into. This is pretty much exactly how me and my wife experienced it. I found the abuse scene extremely uncomfortable. Stuck with me a few days as well.
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Oct 3, 2017 19:17
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I dug On Writing but if you want to read the exact polar opposite of that read Story Engineering by Larry Brooks. It's fascinating to compare them side by side in regards to writing technique and the philosophy of the author. Brooks even mentions On Writing a few times and how much he hates it, which is amusing because I think both books offer sound advice on the craft.
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Oct 3, 2017 20:04
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Al Cu Ad Solte posted:I dug On Writing but if you want to read the exact polar opposite of that read Story Engineering by Larry Brooks. It's fascinating to compare them side by side in regards to writing technique and the philosophy of the author. Brooks even mentions On Writing a few times and how much he hates it, which is amusing because I think both books offer sound advice on the craft. Just ordered a copy. I love On Writing a whole bunch and it really reinvigorated my passion for writing, but I totally see how a lot of it just doesn't apply to aspiring authors. I was waiting for his chapter about crafting his stories just to see how he explained himself. Hahah.
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Oct 4, 2017 09:24
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Drunken Baker posted:Just ordered a copy. I love On Writing a whole bunch and it really reinvigorated my passion for writing, but I totally see how a lot of it just doesn't apply to aspiring authors. I was waiting for his chapter about crafting his stories just to see how he explained himself. Hahah. I'm not a writer, and Gary Braunbeck is relatively unknown, but I enjoyed this one a lot. It's similar to On Writing, in that it combines autobiography, the writing process, what makes a good story, etc. https://www.amazon.com/Each-Their-Darkness-Gary-Braunbeck/dp/0984553517
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Oct 4, 2017 11:19
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I never read Gerald's Game but watched it on netflix the other day. I thought it was pretty decent but I didn't like the "twist" near the end at all. It just made his previous actions seem weird/bizarre. Also at the very end where she confronts him it felt pretty awkward. I thought she'd at least ask why he didn't kill her, but instead all she said was "you're smaller than I remember. It just seemed kind of pointless. She could have at least asked for her ring back.
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Oct 5, 2017 13:23
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He also looked too goofy to be scary. Like an animatronic from The Smurfs dark ride or something.
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Oct 5, 2017 22:29
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Yeah, the twist didn't work at all and was a big reason many hated the book. I never minded it in the novel but, man, did it ever fall flat in the movie and now, seeing it played it out, I can understand the negative reaction better.
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Oct 6, 2017 01:03
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I mean part of the "twist" in the book is that it's also still left ambiguous how much was real and how much wasn't.
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Oct 6, 2017 01:10
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I saw Stephen and Owen on their book tour last night in Toronto. Haven't been to something quite like that before but it was pretty neat. First Owen did a reading, then dad, then they sat on stage and asked each other questions about writing and just kind of shot the poo poo. Took some questions from the audience at the end. To be honest I've never read any of Owen's work but they were both pretty charming and funny. One lady did ask something like "why did Under the Dome get canceled" and King just deadpanned "because it was bad." 1200 seat venue and your ticket got you a copy of the book after. 400 were signed and sadly I wasn't lucky enough to snag one of those.
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Oct 6, 2017 15:23
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I have trouble wanting to read any of Kings books that don't touch on the Dark Towers. are there any of them worth reading?
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Oct 7, 2017 16:56
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BraveJoe posted:I have trouble wanting to read any of Kings books that don't touch on the Dark Towers. are there any of them worth reading? most of them are better than the dark tower books
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Oct 7, 2017 16:58
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BraveJoe posted:I have trouble wanting to read any of Kings books that don't touch on the Dark Towers. are there any of them worth reading? Yeah, pretty much anything he wrote in the 70's to the mid-80s is better than The Dark Tower series.
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Oct 7, 2017 17:20
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hell even in the books that are connected to the Dark Tower usually the worst parts are the parts that reference it
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Oct 7, 2017 22:27
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DirtyCheeseburgers posted:I saw Stephen and Owen on their book tour last night in Toronto. Haven't been to something quite like that before but it was pretty neat. First Owen did a reading, then dad, then they sat on stage and asked each other questions about writing and just kind of shot the poo poo. Took some questions from the audience at the end. A friend of mine went and was one of the lucky ones. Sounds like it was pretty good!
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Oct 9, 2017 05:31
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You guys didn't lie when you said that that the dark tower movie completely misses the mark, shameful for King to have endorsed this generic mess.
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Oct 9, 2017 08:59
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emanresu tnuocca posted:You guys didn't lie when you said that that the dark tower movie completely misses the mark, shameful for King to have endorsed this generic mess.
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Oct 9, 2017 09:40
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emanresu tnuocca posted:You guys didn't lie when you said that that the dark tower movie completely misses the mark, shameful for King to have endorsed this generic mess. I'm still amazed that both IT and the DT films weren't turned into a TV miniseries, where they'd both have worked much better without the absurd marketing pressure that fatally compromised the latter.
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Oct 9, 2017 18:25
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I put things on top of the books on my shelves when I don't have another home for them. Knick knacks and other poo poo, I've been doing it for years and not really thinking about it. I was looking at my shelf today and noticed this. All things serve the beam.
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Oct 10, 2017 00:52
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So in the Mr. Mercedes miniseries... is there the subplot where Brady is planning on killing the dog? It made me sick to my stomach when I read it, and don't really want to relive that even though I know there's a payoff when his plan backfires.
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Oct 10, 2017 09:16
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Phanatic posted:I'm still amazed that both IT and the DT films weren't turned into a TV miniseries, where they'd both have worked much better without the absurd marketing pressure that fatally compromised the latter.
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Oct 10, 2017 09:19
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Casimir Radon posted:So in the Mr. Mercedes miniseries... It's there, but it's only a quick scene that seems rushed and not well put together. It does serve it's purpose to advance the plot later, but my wife had no idea what happened until Brady spells it out for the audience.
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Oct 10, 2017 13:20
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