Nordling here.
Our good friend Drew McWeeny has scored the exclusive - HitFix reports tonight that Steve Kloves and David Yates are teaming up again after the success of HARRY POTTER to adapt Stephen King's seminal work, THE STAND for the screen, in a multi-film series. Now that's a team up I can root for. Kloves got to the heart of the Potter books and for him to be scripting King's best novel for the screen is a godsend. I like Yates as a director, but I hope he doesn't go 3D for these films. He may feel the studio pressure on that front, but these films, if done right, could become genuine classics of the horror genre and I'd rather see them in glorious old fashioned 2D.
For those unfamiliar with the book, the miniseries, or the comics (how's living under a rock treating you?) THE STAND concerns a worldwide outbreak of the "superflu" that kills almost the entire population of the planet. The survivors find themselves caught between the forces of good, represented by Mother Abigail, and the forces of evil, represented by Randall Flagg, also known as the Walking Dude. It's epic horror and it's never been duplicated, although many have tried. It's a huge cast of characters, spread all across the country, and it's considered Stephen King's best work. If any screenwriter can find the true soul of the piece it's Steve Kloves, and Yates bringing him in for this is terrific. The fact that this will span multiple films (I'm betting three, these things tend to run in threes) gives Kloves and Yates a lot of room to play and to give all the various characters their own space.
I'll especially enjoy the casting on this one, and anticipate the rabid fervor of fans on it. Who would play The Walking Dude? Any speculations? I'd say Dennis Quaid for Stu Redman, but he may be too old now. How about Kyle Chandler? Or Nick Andros - I quite liked Rob Lowe's take on the character in the miniseries, but I'm sure they'll find someone more that character's age. And for Larry Underwood, I'd prefer a real-life musician/actor for the part. Any ideas, Talkbackers? Walton Goggins IS Trashcan Man, by the way. You all know it.
Oh... and for the cheap seats...
RATED R, PLEASE.
Nordling, out.
