Stephen King On What Hollywood Owes Authors When Their Books Become Films

BevVincent

EXCLUSIVE: Josh Boone’s passion for Stephen King movie adaptations left me regretful I didn’t publish an interview I did with King several years ago, when an influx of book adaptations done with input from authors raised questions of just how much influence Hollywood owes book writers. While studios once paid big checks to authors and invited them to go away, The Twilight Saga‘s Stephenie Meyer, The Hunger Games‘ Suzanne Collins, Harry Potter‘s JK. Rowling, The Fault In Our Stars‘ John Green and Fifty Shades Of Grey‘s EL James all have been given input that authors used to only dream of. This was back when Anne Rice went public (and later apologized) with ire that Tom Cruise was given the role of Lestat in Interview With The Vampire or Tom Clancy whined to the New York Times about his objection to creative liberties taken on Patriot Games.

King’s had more books adapted or optioned than any living author, and he has seen it all. Here, he explains why his options come cheap but with ticking clocks, and what he expects from the resulting film and TV adaptations. I lost momentum on this several years ago because of a family tragedy, but King’s philosophy still holds true and he gave me permission to go ahead and publish it as a companion to Boone’s story on Revival and The Stand.

Q&A

Lou_Sytsma

Fascinating interview.