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Another go at Kings 'The Stand'Follow

#1 Nov 21 2014 at 5:21 PM Rating: Excellent
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As the title says, they're planing to do The Stand as a movieseries (source) with four parts. Not sure what I expect since King adaptations tend to be okay-ish but seldom overwhelming for me.
While I watched part of the miniseries when it was on TV some 12 or 15 years ago I honestly can't remember much of it other than recognizing Gary Sinise (or Lt. Dan as I knew him then).
#2 Nov 21 2014 at 5:45 PM Rating: Good
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My mother loves the TV series. I remember watching it all the time (any time it came on TV). I do remember the ending getting all weird, hand of god wrapping around a nuclear bomb to destroy the demons or some ****. Randall Flag right?

I have not read the books, so I don't know how it would compare.
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#3 Nov 21 2014 at 6:09 PM Rating: Decent
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The Stand is one of those stories where it's been long enough since I've read the book, and long enough since I've watched the series, that I honestly can't remember which differences were in which. Both are good. I recall that there are differences, but not so major that it's story changing/ruining. IIRC, in the book Flagg was a bit different (I want to say less rock and roll and more just straight up evil, but memory is fuzzy). Oh. And the gathering of "good" survivors to fight against Flagg and his minions was a bit more detailed in the book I think.

Either way though, the series was pretty good and if you don't want to spend the time reading the book, it's "good enough" to get the story. I'm not opposed to the idea of a film series, but I have to agree that the track record for film adaptations of King's work has been spotty at best. Maybe, this time, someone will do it right. Again though, unlike say LoTR where there was no really decent TV or film version and thus Jackson's version was excellent, the TV series of Stand is pretty darn good, so there's a bar that must be reached for a film series to be worth it for audiences that's a lot higher than it was for LoTR.


I guess what I'm saying is that I'm not sure if the multi-film format will work here. I'm also not sure if audiences will wait years for the story to unfold. It's just not that grand of a story and it would suffer if it was stretched out. A TV series worked perfectly because each week you saw the next part. Assuming each film would come out like once a year, I just don't see it working. Maybe I'm wrong though.
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#4 Nov 21 2014 at 6:56 PM Rating: Excellent
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I thought the miniseries was... okay. Nothing great but about as good as a 90's TV miniseries was going to get. There were some differences such as the main "bad woman" being a composite of three different characters from the novel. I don't know if things like that mattered so much as I think it just failed to capture the idea of a desolate and empty nation ravaged by plague and the acting wasn't exactly great. Gary Sinise and Molly Ringwald aren't exactly the finest actors of our generation. The most memorable thing from the series was Bill Fagerbakke saying "M-O-O-N that spells 'Moon'"

Plus, not matter what format, the ending feels sort of rushed (well, the climax feels rushed, then the ending drags forever) and the whole "Hand of God" thing is sort of hokey no matter what. That'll need some reworking.

Agreed about four presumably 2+ hour movies feeling like a bit much. I get it because it's a long story and deserves a full telling if you're going to attempt it but, unlike a miniseries, people expect each movie to have its own self-contained set-up, climax and conclusion and I don't think the novel is well set up for that.

Edit: Looking at the IMDb entry made me say "Holy crap, Laura San Giacomo! I remember when she was a person who... existed"

Edit II: LOL @ Fagerbakke getting Google censored.

Edited, Nov 21st 2014 7:01pm by Jophiel
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#5 Nov 23 2014 at 7:10 PM Rating: Good
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TirithRR wrote:
My mother loves the TV series. I remember watching it all the time (any time it came on TV). I do remember the ending getting all weird, hand of god wrapping around a nuclear bomb to destroy the demons or some ****. Randall Flag right?
I have not read the books, so I don't know how it would compare.
Jophiel wrote:
and the whole "Hand of God" thing is sort of hokey no matter what. That'll need some reworking.
The Hand of God thing is taken directly/exactly/literally from the book, so kind of hard to change it.
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#6 Nov 23 2014 at 7:23 PM Rating: Good
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Friar Bijou wrote:
TirithRR wrote:
My mother loves the TV series. I remember watching it all the time (any time it came on TV). I do remember the ending getting all weird, hand of god wrapping around a nuclear bomb to destroy the demons or some ****. Randall Flag right?
I have not read the books, so I don't know how it would compare.
Jophiel wrote:
and the whole "Hand of God" thing is sort of hokey no matter what. That'll need some reworking.
The Hand of God thing is taken directly/exactly/literally from the book, so kind of hard to change it.


They didn't have to make it a literal energy hand though, they could have used a random bolt of lightning striking the nuke.
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#7 Nov 23 2014 at 7:35 PM Rating: Good
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Ya, the visuals of a giant, golden, glowing, hand coming down from the heavens and grasping the nuclear weapon right before explodes is just... bleh.
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#8 Nov 24 2014 at 8:45 AM Rating: Decent
The miniseries illustrate, for me anyway, how not to make a movie or series of a King novel. It failed entirely (again, just imo though), although it is fairly popular. King characters rarely work on screen the way they are in his books. They need a bit of work, or they can come across as absurd and totally lacking any connection with reality. (sure, it's television, I get that. Hyperbole and making things larger than life is normal and inevitable. But still)

And then you get mediocre actors, or some that really were not at their best, like Molly Ringwald (godawful performance), Rob Lowe and even Gary Sinise didn't do that well imo.

The Stand isn't that easy to get on a movie screen. The ending is ridiculous, even in the novel. That's easy enough to change though, happens quite a bit in series or movies based on books. Watchmen, Game of Thrones (not the ending obviously), Under the Dome (again, no idea about the ending, but the story itself has been altered)...

Four movies does sound like one too many. The novel itself feels like three parts: the 'accident' and the spreading of Captain Tripps, the gathering of good and evil in their respective cities, the final fight. Nevertheless, the book does need a fair amount of time. I love the book because King really did a great job on the buildup of the story. (definitely in the uncut version) It creates a certain atmosphere, a connection with the survivors, which was almost completely lost in the miniseries.

I hope they can get it right, or that this even happens to begin with.

Contrary to the sequel King is apparently planning to write for The Stand. Now that's something I hope he never gets done. But who am I kidding? He probably already wrote the darn thing since the rumour started last week.

#9 Nov 24 2014 at 8:50 AM Rating: Excellent
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Friar Bijou wrote:
The Hand of God thing is taken directly/exactly/literally from the book, so kind of hard to change it.

It's one of those things that you can't really film without it looking stupid. And, frankly, you can't really write it without it sounding stupid either but you're probably a little more forgiving as a reader than as a viewer.
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#10 Nov 25 2014 at 8:52 AM Rating: Good
This would be wonderful. The dude who played Flagg in the mini-series was pretty good, but McConaughey would be ******* awesome.
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#11 Nov 25 2014 at 8:57 AM Rating: Good
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I cannot say I share the love affair with McConaughey. I don't think he's a bad actor. Just not seeing him as Flagg at the moment (just after watching intersellar).
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#12 Nov 25 2014 at 10:23 AM Rating: Good
Watch True Detective or Mud. Then you'll get it.
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#13 Nov 25 2014 at 11:47 AM Rating: Good
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To be honest I've only really seen maybe four movies with him in them that I can remember.

Dazed and Confused
Frailty
Wolf of Wall Street
Interstellar

Maybe a few others in passing. Not much I can remember from them.
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#14 Nov 25 2014 at 12:20 PM Rating: Good
His brief appearance in Wolf of Wall Street should be enough for you to see him as Flagg, but if not True Detective is just about the best show I've seen on TV since Breaking Bad ended & he goes to some very dark places in it. Then you'll see him as the walking dude.
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#15 Nov 25 2014 at 4:49 PM Rating: Excellent
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Omegavegeta wrote:
His brief appearance in Wolf of Wall Street should be enough for you to see him as Flagg, but if not True Detective is just about the best show I've seen on TV since Breaking Bad ended & he goes to some very dark places in it. Then you'll see him as the walking dude.


He certainly proved he can do dark and gloomy to me. Before that I mostly knew him as the dude from A time to kill and the trailers of all those romantic comedies.
#16 Nov 26 2014 at 1:01 AM Rating: Good
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Shaowstrike the Shady wrote:
Friar Bijou wrote:
TirithRR wrote:
My mother loves the TV series. I remember watching it all the time (any time it came on TV). I do remember the ending getting all weird, hand of god wrapping around a nuclear bomb to destroy the demons or some ****. Randall Flag right?
I have not read the books, so I don't know how it would compare.
Jophiel wrote:
and the whole "Hand of God" thing is sort of hokey no matter what. That'll need some reworking.
The Hand of God thing is taken directly/exactly/literally from the book, so kind of hard to change it.
They didn't have to make it a literal energy hand though, they could have used a random bolt of lightning striking the nuke.
1. Flagg uses sparkly magic to seal shut underlings lips
2. Sparkly magic ball hangs around during exposition
3. Trash shows up with nuke
4. ?????
5. Sparkly magic looks "handish" in shape and sets off nuke.
6. Profit (for Boulder Free Zone)

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#17 Nov 26 2014 at 1:13 AM Rating: Good
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Omegavegeta wrote:
This would be wonderful. The dude who played Flagg in the mini-series was pretty good, but McConaughey would be ******* awesome.
TirithRR wrote:
I cannot say I share the love affair with McConaughey. I don't think he's a bad actor. Just not seeing him as Flagg at the moment (just after watching intersellar).
McConaughey strikes me as handsome/creepy, a great combination for Flagg.
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#18 Nov 26 2014 at 4:56 AM Rating: Good
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Friar Bijou wrote:
1. Flagg uses sparkly magic to seal shut underlings lips


It was 1994, they didn't have access to The Matrix's revolutionary face-sealing technology yet.
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#19 Nov 26 2014 at 8:16 AM Rating: Excellent
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Friar Bijou wrote:
McConaughey strikes me as handsome/creepy, a great combination for Flagg.

Yeah, you need someone who can flip the switch between charismatic and dangerous in an instant.

The only real choice here is Alan Rickman.
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#20 Nov 26 2014 at 5:38 PM Rating: Decent
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Jophiel wrote:
Friar Bijou wrote:
The Hand of God thing is taken directly/exactly/literally from the book, so kind of hard to change it.

It's one of those things that you can't really film without it looking stupid. And, frankly, you can't really write it without it sounding stupid either but you're probably a little more forgiving as a reader than as a viewer.


Honestly, I think that's the issue with King and film/TV adaptions in general. A lot of King's stuff requires quite a bit of suspension of disbelief. They work in book form, but largely because you're reading a King book. Put the exact same thing on screen and much of the time it just comes off as ridiculous.
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#21 Nov 27 2014 at 3:22 PM Rating: Good
Creep show was amazing. Hell, The Shining, The Shaw Shank Redemption, The Mist, & The Green Mile are probably better movies than books. The Stand is pretty much considered his best book & even the TV mini-series with crappy special effects was decent. I very much look forward to a big budget adaptation.
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