News From The Dead Zone #101

Breaking News from the Dead Zone

If you missed last night’s airing on C-SPAN 2 of a Writing Discussion with Stephen, Tabitha, and Owen King, it will run again on Saturday, May 17, at 8:00 a.m. It’s worth catching, because he read from the first pages of the book he is currently working on, which sounds like a re-imagining of a failed novel from the 1980s called The Cannibals at one time and Under the Dome at another. The snippet he read had to do with a woman getting a flying lesson. A twenty-five year old quote from King about the novel: “I’ve gotten about four-hundred-and-fifty pages done and it is all about these people who are trapped in an apartment building.  Worst thing I could think of.  And I thought, wouldn’t it be funny if they all ended up eating each other?  It’s very, very bizarre because it’s all on one note.  And who knows whether it will be published or not.”

King was on the NPR program Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me yesterday playing a game called, “You’re the Warmest, Fluffiest, Most Unthreatening Friend Ever.” Three questions about nice things to ask the man who has scared us to our wits for decades.

Christian Slater and Wes Bentley have signed up to star in the adaptation of “Dolan’s Cadillac.” The thriller follows a young man (Bentley) who seeks to avenge his wife’s murder by the untouchable Las Vegas mobster Jimmy Dolan (Slater). Emmanuelle Vaugier rounds out the key cast on the project, which is scheduled to begin shooting in Saskatchewan and Quebec on May 14. Erik Canuel will direct from Richard Dooling’s adapted screenplay. (Dooling, as you may recall, was King’s collaborator on Kingdom Hospital)

News From The Dead Zone #41

Breaking News from the Dead Zone

Lisey’s Story entered the USA Today mixed fiction/non-fiction bestseller list at #1.

Craig R Baxley (Kingdom Hospital, Storm of the Century) hopes to direct a film version of Gerald’s Game starring Nicole Kidman, adapted by King.

If you’re looking for one of the oddest Stephen King collectable items, check out an auction starting today for a signed bench.

At his appearance in New York last week, King said the he has spoken with Peter Straub about the final book in the Talisman trilogy. He sees the story as “sort of a 24 thing” where Jack can only travel back to our world for brief periods because it accelerates his death.

Marvel Spotlight: Dark #14, on sale on January 17, will have a feature on the Dark Tower graphic series. “We’ll talk to the creative team that will unite Marvel Comics with the concepts of one of the giants of modern fiction, getting an inside look at Robin Furth, Peter David and Jae Lee and we’ll even talk to Stephen King himself! So if you’re a longtime fan of DARK TOWER or curious as to what it’s all about, you’ll want to check out this issue.”

News From The Dead Zone #15

Breaking News from the Dead Zone

The countdown to Desperation (ABC, May 18) has begun. A few people have reported seeing a trailer on television. The current issue of TV Guide (Without a Trace cover) has a small paragraph about the three-hour movie with accompanying photos.

King discusses his depiction of Malden, Massachusetts in Cell in this interview.

Sci Fi Channel will run Kingdom Hospital in four-hour blocks on Tuesday nights starting April 11. The network has also purchased the replay rights to ‘Salem’s Lot (miniseries), The Langoliers, Rose Red and Storm of the Century.

Check out several batches of photos from the upcoming Nightmares and Dreamscapes series at Lilja’s Library.