Authors: Hans-Ake Lilja
Frank Darabont:
Let’s see…well, Laurie Holden, who was my leading lady in
The Majestic
and recently played the motorcycle cop in
Silent Hill
. She’s probably best known to fans as Marita Covarrubias from
X-Files
. Gorgeous and incredibly talented. Very excited to be working with her again. Also, Andre Braugher—a hugely talented man. I’ve been a fan of his since
Glory
. Frances Sternhagen, who is a legend, will play Irene…folks may remember her from
Starting Over
,
Outland
and
Misery
. Alexa Davalos…wow, a remarkable young lady, a stunning new talent. Let me be the first to predict she’s going to have an amazing career—remember, you heard it here first. Sam Witwer, a terrific young actor who played Crashdown on
Battlestar Galactica
. Plus, a few of my stalwarts who I love working with again and again: Bill Sadler (Heywood in
The Shawshank Redemption
and the father of the two dead girls in
The Green Mile
), Jeff DeMunn (who’s been in every movie I’ve made starting with
The Shawshank Redemption
)…and, hey, I just cast Brian Libby! The real hardcore fans will recognize him as The Prisoner from my Stephen King short,
The Woman in the Room
…plus, he was Floyd in
The Shawshank Redemption
. It’ll be great to work with him again.
Lilja:
Some time ago there where a rumor that Michael J. Fox was going to star in it. Was there any truth in that?
Frank Darabont:
I remember that rumor! That was a persistent one! No, I’ve actually never met Michael J. Fox, nor had I ever gotten any indication of interest from him. But I am a fan. I was watching
Back to the Future
just last night…it’s been all over satellite TV the last few weeks…love that movie, and love him. I’m very sorry he’s dealing with the severe health issues he’s been facing. He’s very courageous. Nobody deserves that…except maybe the assholes in power in this country who are blocking stem cell research at every turn. Those preposterous, uncompassionate turds. God, if you’re listening: let them get sick. We’ll see how fast the arguments go away and the funding happens.
Lilja:
The next one is
The Long Walk
. I hear that you have just optioned the film rights for it. How do you plan on realizing it? Some might say that it’s just a bunch of kids walking and impossible to turn into a movie…
Frank Darabont:
It is just a bunch of kids walking. And talking. And getting shot. That’s why I love it. It’s a very intense ensemble character piece, another one of those “people in a contained pressure-cooker situation” stories that Steve does so well and seems to specialize in. To me, it’s an existential metaphor for our mindless obsession with war—kids being sent off to die for no reason other than “just because.” I don’t think it’s a coincidence that King wrote it in the shadow of Vietnam, though we’ve never really discussed that part of it, that’s just my interpretation. It’s a remarkable and pointed piece of fiction, especially considering he was basically a kid when he wrote it. In fact, is it true he started writing it in high school? I suppose I’ll ask him, I’ve always wanted to know. Anyway, chances are
The Long Walk
is more of an art house film than what we’d consider a mainstream Hollywood movie. When I do make it, I’m sure the budget will be even lower than on
The Mist
…a lot lower.
Lilja:
How far away is
The Long Walk
?
Frank Darabont:
Hard to say at this point. I’ll get there eventually. Just like I finally got there with
The Mist
.
Lilja:
In the book
Creepshow—The Illustrated Stephen King Movie Guide
(released in 2001), the author, Stephen Jones, said that you were planning an official adaptation of King’s story “The Monkey,” probably for cable TV. Is there any truth to that, and if so, what’s happening to it?
Frank Darabont:
The same answer as with
The Long Walk
. “The Monkey” is a story I’ve always loved, but I have no idea what its commercial viability might be these days as a theatrical feature. It’s gentle and old-fashioned Steve King storytelling, not
Saw 2
or
The Grudge
. So maybe doing it as a cable film would be the best option available. I don’t know, we’ll see, maybe I’ll be surprised. But I will get to it one day.
Lilja:
Am I missing any King adaptation? Do you have more of them up your sleeve?
Frank Darabont:
Steve and I have kicked the idea around of doing
The Dark Tower
some day. Man, I love those books—they’re glorious, Steve’s magnum opus. But to be honest, it’s merely been idle talk. I’ve told him the thought of adapting that saga makes me break out in a cold sweat, curl into a ball and weep. It’s just so metaphysical and trippy, so much of it almost impossible stuff to visualize on screen. Not to mention it’s just staggeringly huge and massive! I don’t think I’d even know where to begin! Hey, you thought
The Green Mile
was long? You ain’t seen nothin’ yet! I’m afraid
The Dark Tower
might make the expanded
Lord of the Rings
trilogy look like a short subject. As long-winded as I am, I’m probably better off sticking to Stephen King’s short stories and novellas.
Lilja:
What else are you working on? I read that you were involved in the fourth Indiana Jones. How does it feel to work on something like that and then find out they aren’t going to use your script?
Frank Darabont:
Pretty awful. It was a wasted year or more of my life, and I have only so many years to devote. I worked very closely with Steven Spielberg, applied all my passion and skill, and gave him a script that he loved. He was ready to shoot it that very year—2003, I think? Maybe 2004? Well, no matter. The point is, Steven was ecstatic. We both were. It was going to be his next film. He told me it was the best script he’d read since
Raiders of the Lost Ark
. That’s a quote, and I’ll always treasure it. As a screenwriter, you dream of making a guy like Steven Spielberg happy and excited. Then George Lucas read it, didn’t like it, and threw ice water on the whole thing. The project went down in flames. Steven and I looked like accident victims the day we got that call. I certainly don’t blame Steven for it. He wasn’t in a position to overrule George, and wouldn’t have overruled him even if he could. He and George have been close friends for a long time, and they’ve had an agreement for years that no Indiana Jones film will ever get made unless they both completely agreed on the script. It was just such an awful surprise, after all my hopes and effort. I really felt I’d nailed it, and so did Steven.
Yes, as you can imagine, I would rank that very high on my list of professional disappointments. More than that, it was emotionally devastating. For somebody who, as a young man, was inspired to want to be a filmmaker by Steven and George, by movies like
THX-1138
and
Star Wars
and
Raiders of the Lost Ark
, it was the ultimate kick in the nuts. In fact, it’s the main reason I quit my career as a “writer-for-hire” (writing for other people for a living). It’s not the only reason, but certainly a main reason. I swore never to go through that again. From now on, my intention is to write only for myself on projects that I produce or direct.
You know, I am trying to turn it into something positive. When life hands you a blow like that, I think you should move on as well as you can, or you risk becoming an embittered shithead. I’d rather do the former and not the latter. The experience did get me to refocus my energies on my directing career, which for me always came second to writing. Now it comes first. So maybe it was a blessing in disguise. I don’t know…we’ll see how it goes with
The Mist
and whatever comes after. If I direct some hits, I’ll look like a winner. If I direct some flops, I may eat my words and beg my agents to find me a job rewriting somebody’s next movie.
Lilja:
How about more books? You have already written
Walpuski’s Typewriter
,
which is a very good book, and you have also done a story in
Hellboy: Odder Jobs
. Is writing something you want to continue with?
Frank Darabont:
Yes. As we just discussed, writing is a vital part of what I do…it’s part of who I am, really. I can’t imagine not being chained to this computer. I’m not sure I’d know what to do with myself. I’ve spent twenty years here professionally. I’ll certainly keep screenwriting, though hopefully not “for hire,” assuming the directing goes well. And, yes, I have a novel or two I’d like to try my hand at.
Lilja:
In an interview I did with Stephen King, he said you wanted to do a limited edition of
The Mist
(as a book). Can you tell me what you want to do?
Frank Darabont:
Well, I’d love to reprint Steve’s story in a gorgeous but unpretentious small edition. Even though he’s not fond of limiteds, he’s thinking it over right now. The last time I heard from him, he said to me, “Frank, I might agree to this, but only if you agree to also include your screenplay adaptation, plus some of the pre-production monster art you’ve been doing.” My reply was, “Gee, Steve, twist my arm.” My name on the spine of a book alongside Stephen King’s? Are you kidding me? Hell, yes! I’m there!
Lilja:
In the same interview Stephen King says he isn’t that fond of limited editions. What is your comment on that?
Frank Darabont:
When I read your interview with Stephen King (wonderful interview, congratulations), I had to laugh when I read his comments about limited edition books. I laughed because he and I have had this debate many times. It is a loving debate, as only friends can have. After I read the interview, I sent him an email that said: “Steve, contrary to your notion that people who buy limiteds never read them, I’ve read every single one of mine, some of them more than once. I had the gigantic
’Salem’s Lot
limited from Centipede Press, all twenty pounds of it, resting on my stomach for three nights in a row as I lay in bed. Not only did I enjoy every word of it, but it also strengthened my stomach muscles. And last year I reread that gorgeous
The Stand
limited edition published some fifteen years ago that looked like the
Bible
and came in a wooden box.” (That
The Stand
limited was actually a gift to me from Steve, which was incredibly generous of him!)
I went on to tell him: “I agree it’s absurd to put a book on a shelf and never touch it, as if it were some holy relic instead of a book. That’s like being afraid to open a bottle of wine because it’s too expensive and rare, or afraid to drive a classic car for the same reason. Wine is meant to be drunk, books are meant to be read, classic cars are meant to be driven—and I do all three!” (He responded by suggesting that I refrain from doing all three at the same time.)
As I’ve told Steve in the past, I really feel that presenting a beloved book as a limited edition is a way to honor that literary work and the author responsible for it. The people who create these limiteds do so because they love the books; it shows in the care and quality and effort they put into creating them. I feel it’s a huge compliment to the book and its author. I became email friends with Jared Walters (who runs Centipede Press) because I was so knocked out by that awesome huge
’Salem’s Lot
he published. So, I got in touch to compliment him on it; I sent him a fan letter. And it was very clear to me as we emailed back and forth that he published that limited for one very compelling reason: Jared read
’Salem’s Lot
when he was younger, and it changed his life. He loves that book so much that he wanted to honor it, make something special of it, like putting a painting in a perfect frame and hanging it on a wall with just the right lighting. (Jared still hopes to do
The Shining
some day as a limited, and I hope that Steve will eventually allow him.
The Shining
is the very first Stephen King book I ever read, so it’s very special to me; it’s the book that turned me on to King and led me to be a lifelong fan. It stands as one of Steve’s all-time best works, and my personal favorite.)