BOX OFFICE KING
Most Stephen King novels pit good against evil, and his latest is no different
The Dark Tower features Matthew McConaughey as the Man in Black and Idris Elba as the Gunslinger. We don’t have to tell you who is good and who is evil. Countless King novels have moved from the page to the big screen. For our money, Shawshank Redemption, The Dead Zone and the original Carrie rank among the best while such fare as Silver Bullet and Maximum Overdrive are among the worst. And then there’s The Running Man, which is so bad, it’s kind of good. Here are five other movie-related tidbits from the author’s world:
1
King enjoys taking small roles in his movie adaptations. He has appeared in Maximum Overdrive (1986), Pet Sematary (1989) and Thinner (1996) among others.
2
The Guinness World Book of Records says King’s books have been adapted into more films than any other living author.
3
Another King book is coming to the big screen later this year. The scary clown movie It is slated to be released on Sept. 8. The movie is a remake of a previous 1990 made-forTV movie. A number of King’s works have been made more than once for the screen. Titles include The Shining (1980 Jack Nicholson; 1997 Steven Weber) and Carrie (1976 Sissy Spacek; 2013 Chloë Grace Moretz).
4
Actors who have got a break in King movies: Kelly Preston (John Travolta’s future wife) and Alexandra Paul (future Baywatch lifeguard), both featured in Christine. And we can’t forget Jerry O’Connell. He played Vern Tessio, the chubby kid in Stand By Me, and grew up to be a leading man.
5
The Shawshank Redemption (1994) didn’t win an Oscar for best picture. It lost to Forrest Gump.