With Hollywood still insisting on remakes rather than search for original ideas, Stephen King’s Carrie is the latest in the firing line to be set for another shot at the box office and young Chloe Moretz is set to play the lead role with Kim Peirce taking the part of director.
The 1974 original was a big success, earning Sissy Spacek (Carrie) and Piper Laurie (her mother) Oscar nominations, and the cast included John Travolta, William Katt and Amy Irving. For those unfamiliar with the book or film, the story focuses on Carrie, a shy girl bullied at school and raised by an overbearing, detached-from-reality religious nut of a mother, and the film contained one of the most iconic and famous endings of all time.
Moretz, known for roles in 500 Days of Summer, Let Me In and Kick-Ass, was apparently sought after by the studio and is fast becoming one of the most popular young actresses around. Aside from previous successes, she has just completed Scorsese’s Hugo and stars alongside Johnny Depp in the upcoming Dark Shadows.
While Moretz herself isn’t really a cause for concern – she has proved herself to be a talented and versatile actress – the real issue on the minds of critics is whether a remake is necessary and whether it will be any good. Unlike many of Stephen King’s film adaptations, Carrie was an excellent film, with a script that kept true to the book (unlike The Shining) and stellar performances from all the cast. More importantly, for a film made in 1974 it has stood the test of time – indeed, of all of King’s story adaptations, many are crying out for a decent version, with It and the Tommyknockers among them. Despite its success and cult status, The Shining could also benefit from being redone and staying true to the original story. Carrie seemed of all the films to be among the ones that didn’t need a remake, but perhaps those in command suspected it would be the biggest hit. Maybe they’re right.
We’ll have to see how Carrie turns out!
In terms of “The Shining” though I always liked Nicholson’s version. True, the climax was quite a bit different than the original, but the emotional/psychological development and the sense of horror was quite well done. “It” on the other hand left a lot to be desired. The Antismokers got their fingers in the pie and managed to castigate Beverly’s adolescent rebelliousness that set the stage for conflict with her abusive, controlling, antismoking husband, and the literal interpretation of the “spider” at the end was anticlimactic. I also felt that the sense of horror did not live up to the book as well as it had for Nicholson’s “Shining.”
I’d love to see “It” redone properly!
– MJM
Apparently It is being or has been redone (i read 2011) but haven’t seen anything about it. Did the antismokers really play a part in the film?
The Shining i thought was a pretty good film before i read the book. I then watched the film again and turned it off halfway through – i realised it doesn’t really explain much of what’s happening. Apparently King had quite a lot of issues with it too
In the book Beverly was a rebellious kid and played the “leader” of the group in a lot of ways. One of the ways King set her up for that role in the story was by having her sneak a few smokes AND had her beaten by her abusive father for smoking. She then went on to marry an abusive spouse who was also antismoking and would beat her. When he discovered she’d gone back to her childhood town this is what he did:
” He went inside and bought a carton of Camels. The proprietor wished him a good evening. Tom wished him the same.
He tossed the carton on the seat and got moving again. He drove slowly on up Route 7, hunting for his turnoff. Here it was—Route 3, with a sign which read HAVEN 21 DERRY 15.
He made the turn and got the Ford rolling faster. He glanced at the carton of cigarettes and smiled a little. In the green glow of the dashlights, his cut and lumpy face looked strange, ghoulish.
Got some cigarettes for you, Bevvie, Tom thought as the wagon ran between stands of pine and spruce, heading toward Derry at a little better than sixty. Oh my yes. A whole carton. Just for you. And when I see you, dear, I’m going to make you eat every fucking one.”
That entire aspect of Beverly was slashed from the movie and I’m pretty sure King wasn’t happy with it. I understand he gave a talk at a college back in the 90s at one point and lit up on stage after making some derogatory remarks about being told he shouldn’t smoke. LOL! I just remembered a scene from my own college days: The “Harrisburg Seven” was a group of religious antiwar protesters famously arrested during the Vietnam War. Dan and Phil Berrigan were priests and Elizabeth McAllister was a nun, all three seen as ringleaders of the group. They gave a talk at my Catholic college one evening, all in plain clothes, and after Sister Elizabeth gave her inspirational spiel she sat down on stage to listen to one of the Berrigans. When she pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one up the entire auditorium gave an audible gasp! It was acceptable for priests to smoke, but DEFINITELY not for nuns to smoke!!! LOL!
Re The Shining: there was an original, with Nicholson, and a remake. The original had more atmosphere, but the remake, which I didn’t care for, stayed closer to the book for the ending.
– MJM
That was the made for TV version wasn’t it? If i remember rightly, they filmed it in the actual hotel King stayed at that inspired the book after he had a ghostly encounter there (the Ghost Hunters/TAPS team later went there to investigate, had some freaky stuff happen too).
I remember that in the book of IT, haven’t seen the film since i read the book though so completely forgot about all that. Although what amazes me is that you managed to find that section – the book’s huge!
Heh, if you think the Shining is huge, you should check out the Stand and the Dome! :>
Or, better yet, Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series. WoT may be the longest single piece of fiction ever written (I think it’s up around 4 million words and drawing to a close at this point.) although, sadly, Jordan died after a dozen volumes with two still to go. Fortunately, his legacy is being VERY well handled by Brandon Sanderson who turned out a wonderful 13th and is due to finish the final, 14th, volume from Jordan’s notes sometime later this year.
See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wheel_of_Time
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandon_Sanderson
A highly recommended duo of authors who could keep just about anyone into the swords ‘n sorcery genre quite happy for the better part of a year!
🙂
MJM
P.S. I can’t take all the credit for finding that passage btw: I knew it was there and probably COULD have found it fairly quickly, but I did a Google cheat with the keywords Beverly, Camels and one or two other items.
You mean IT? I have the Stand but haven’t read it yet, got a few of his books on the to-do list including the new one. Recently finished Cujo, enjoyed that.
I noticed how in every book he has smokers. An interview I read of his highlighted the stupidity of the anti smoking hysteria – he smokes three a day and his doctor said if he has three he may as well have thirty. And these people are trusted health advisors!
The Stand got a bit too religious for my taste. I’ve noticed King pushes a bit on what I imagine are his own “There is a God who is Righteous and stands against Evil” beliefs in a number of his novels, which is fine if it’s not overdone … In The Stand I felt it was a little overdone, although also WELL-done! :>
I hadn’t expected to like his newest work, (1963?), as it had a distinct sci-fi element (time travel) and I’ve never felt he did sci-fi as well as he does horror. However he surprised me and I found the book to be quite good!
“It” and “The Shining” are his two highlights, but I’ve read and enjoyed virtually everything he’s written.
– MJM
The Shining was really good, but i think highlights for me are Duma Key, Rage and Christine. IT stands out partly because writing something that long and complex is quite a feat, it says in the notes it took about 5 years or something