The Success of Stephen King as a Screenwriter

3667 Words8 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Film analysis stephen king

The Success of Stephen King as a Screenwriter

Movies are becoming more and more popular with new special effects and stories that are intriguing and gripping. Movies now have lasting effects on viewers, since the stories are becoming more involved and more in depth. Screenwriters are constantly trying to create better screenplays to have made into motion pictures, yet there are thousands, if not millions, of screenwriters out there trying to earn a wage. The Writer’s Guild of America reports that in one year an average of 40,000 screenplays will be submitted and out of those only 120 will be made into motion pictures. (Field 5) Stephen King, who has no affiliation to being a screenwriter, has written numerous novels that almost everyone knows without them having ever read one word. Stephen King has a way of writing that appeals to both readers and film lovers. King who is an author of books has beaten out millions of screenwriters in the movie business. What is funny is that King himself does not expect a movie adaptation when he writes his stories. Stephen King’s writing style is the main reason why King’s novels are almost always found on the big screen. King purposely uses images in his novels that tell stories themselves. These images help enhance the story as the reader reads King’s work. These images are ones made by the reader and are limited to just the images we see on screen. Of course some of the better King movies do have wonderful imagery that can be associated with the same image the reader would have made in his mind. One popular movie that was based on King’s work is Stand by Me, which has terrific examples of this imagery.

Stand by Me is based on King’s novella “The Body” which can be found in Different Seasons. “The Body” is a coming of age story about a boy named Gordie Lachance. Gordie is faced with the death of his brother, but is confused about his feelings. He knows he should be mourning for him, but he does not seem to have any remorseful feelings towards his brother. The story is about Gordie and 3 of his close friends on a journey through the woods to find a dead body. Throughout their journey they face all types of obstacles and go through a series of ups and downs. In the end they find the body and face a climatic altercation with the neighborhood gang. The four boys end up scaring the gang away and go home wi...

... middle of paper ...

...y of King’s stories it is good to stop and actually take in the image that King is describing to us. The image that he gives us isn’t just for graphic purposes but actually to enlighten the story. A lot of symbolism can be found in the images King chooses, as explained above. King has a director’s mindset and uses images that a good director would use. It’s up to the reader to take these images and learn and analyze them to fill gaps in the story. A story can become much more complete when looking at a picture rather than reading in between the lines.

Works Cited

Bare Bones: Conversations on Terror with Stephen King, ed. Tim Underwood and Chuck Miller (New York, NY: Carroll & Graff Publishers, 1992) 282.

Bergmooser, Mark. “The Outsider’s guide to selling to Hollywood.” Writer’s Digest Vol. 78 (1998): 34.

Field, Syd. Selling a Screenplay: The Screenwriter’s Guide to Hollywood. New York, NY: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc., 1989.

King, Stephen. “The Body.” Different Seasons. New York: Penguin Books USA, 1982. 293-436.

Mayer, Geoff. “Stand By Me,” Metro (9/1/1992): 56-59.

Wukovits, John F. Stephen King. San Diego, CA: Lucent Books, Inc., 1999.

Show More
Related

  • Philip K. Dick: One of the More Prolific Science Fiction Writers of the 20th Century

    1772 Words  | 4 Pages

    Philip K. Dick is one of the more prolific science fiction writers of the second half of the 20th century. His dark plots, themes, and characterizations differ greatly from those who preceded him. This has seemingly translated well onto the big screen, as at last count, nearly ten of his novels and short stories have been adapted into films. Several of these films have garnered critical acclaim for both their movie credentials and use of source material. Blade Runner, originally released in 1982 and based off a 1968 novel entitled Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? along with A Scanner Darkly, a 2006 film based off a book of the same name released in 1977, are two such examples. They provide an excellent base to compare the adaptations in terms of visual style, plot authenticity, and characterization. Both movies took alternate routes, yet both were very well received, though one’s financial success is far greater than the other.

    Read More

  • Review of movie Stand By Me

    998 Words  | 2 Pages

    Stand By Me is a movie based on a novel by Stephen King. It tells the story of four preteens, who during a boring summer day, embark on a journey to find the body of a dead twelve year old, who has been missing by news accounts, but known to them, to be lying in the woods near a river bank. The story is told as an historical narrative about the lives and relationships of the four main characters in this movie, Gordy, Chris, Teddy, and Vern. In this essay, I will discuss how communication, and self-concept, affects the characters, and their interactions.

    Read More

  • Analytical Essay on Tim Burton's Style in Film Directing- Edward Scissorhands

    933 Words  | 2 Pages

    Indisputably, Tim Burton has one of the world’s most distinct styles when regarding film directing. His tone, mood, diction, imagery, organization, syntax, and point of view within his films sets him apart from other renowned directors. Burton’s style can be easily depicted in two of his most highly esteemed and critically acclaimed films, Edward Scissorhands and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Burton ingeniously incorporates effective cinematic techniques to convey a poignant underlying message to the audience. Such cinematic techniques are in the lighting and editing technique categories. High key and low key relationships plus editing variations evinces the director’s elaborate style. He utilizes these cinematic techniques to establish tone mood, and imagery in the films.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Rob Zombie

    1416 Words  | 3 Pages

    His experimental and unique perverse screenwriting has shocked and inspired numerous people. His aesthetics painted horror vividly and presented itself dramatically. His musical and cinematic vision was a healthy extension of his devilishly, clever, and demented mind. His modes of publication with music, film and print, had and still a tremendous fanbase. He has gained our attention in every media related forum and we can’t look away, even if we try. He has left us cheering, screaming and on the edge of our seats. We leave feeling bad about ourselves for watching his visual storytelling unfold. “You know, it’s like, I’m going to sit here for 90 minutes and watch these guys get fucked up with no hope. That’s what I love about these films, you walk out feeling bad about yourself, saying “Why did I enjoy that? What does this say about me as a person?” It is a cathartic experience that horror lovers can have again and again. Not acting on those horrific urges, but instead, becoming one of his characters that were just never really understood and that evil is real. Evil never dies and revenge always wins or at least in horror

    Read More

  • John Patrick Shanley's Doubt

    2373 Words  | 5 Pages

    Douglas Light said that our imagination is better than any answer to a question. Light distinguished between two genres: fantasy from fiction. He described how fantasy stimulates one’s imagination, which is more appealing, but fiction can just be a relatable story. In the same way, Books and movies are very different entities. In the short parable Doubt, the readers are lured in to the possibility of a scandalous relationship between a pastor and an alter boy. The readers’ curiosity is ignited because they are not given all the details. Therefore, their mind wanders further than the plot to create a story and characters that acted on one’s imagination; thus, the story became entertaining- flooded by the questions of what? Who? How? By which the reader can only answer. At this point, the readers create their own movie in a way. They will determine important aspects: how the character speaks, looks like, and reacts. Whereas, in the movie, the reader has no choice but to follow the plot laid out in front of them. No longer can they picture the characters in their own way or come up with their different portrayals. The fate of the story, while still unpredictable, was highly influenced by the way the characters looked, spoke, and presented themselves on screen. The movie leaves little to viewers' imaginations.In order to be entertained by literature or art, the viewer needs to feel that they can use their imagination and not be confined to a plot that reveals all.

    Read More

  • The Alfred Hitchcock Signature in his Films, Shadow of a Doubt and Vertigo

    382 Words  | 1 Pages

    All directors of major motion pictures have specific styles or signatures that they add in their work. Alfred Hitchcock, one of the greatest directors of all time, has a particularly unique style in the way he creates his films. Film analyzers classify his distinctive style as the “Alfred Hitchcock signature”. Hitchcock’s signatures vary from his cameo appearances to his portrayal of a specific character. Two perfect examples of how Hitchcock implements his infamous “signatures” are in the movies, A Shadow of a Doubt and Vertigo. In these movies, numerous examples show how Hitchcock exclusively develops his imagination in his films.

    Read More

  • Hand Washing Prevention Essay

    1068 Words  | 3 Pages

    The focus of health care is and has always been, practicing good hygiene, living a healthy lifestyle, and having a positive attitude reduces the chance of getting ill. Although there is not much prevention we can take for some of the diseases but we can certainly practice good hand hygiene to prevent infection and its ill effects. Research proves that hand washing is surely the most easy and effective way to prevent infection in health care. The question for this research: Is Hand washing an effective way to prevent infection in health care? It led to the conclusion that due to the high acuity, high patient: staff ratio, and lack of re evaluation certain units in the health care facilities cannot adhere to correct hand washing guidelines. Hand

    Read More

  • Is Gun Ownership a Right?

    1204 Words  | 3 Pages

    Around 1788, James Madison stated that the Second Amendment was written to assure the southern states that Congress would not “undermine the slave system by disarming the militia, which were then the principal instruments of slave control throughout the South” (Bogus 1). Gun control laws, which are laws that determine how guns are used and who can own them, originated from the second amendment. Throughout American history, gun control laws have continually been altered. Beginning in the 1930s, President Roosevelt won the approval of the National Firearms Act of 1938, which “prohibited sales to individuals under indictment or convicted of crimes of violence” (“History of gun-control”). About thirty years later, the assassination of John F. Kennedy once again put gun control under the national spotlight. President Lyndon B. Johnson responded by implementing the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 and the Gun Control Act of 1968. These acts “prohibited all convicted felons, drug users, and the mentally ill from buying guns” (“History of gun-control”). Twenty-five years later, background checks ...

    Read More

  • Gun Control: Less Government Restrictions

    1856 Words  | 4 Pages

    Gun control laws are getting stricter and stricter as time goes on. The first gun control law was “passed by Congress in 1927 when it outlawed the mailing of firearms" (Thomas16). This law meant that all concealable firearms could not be shipped through the mail. The reason why was guns were able to be bought and traded through the post office. suddenly there was a consontration on gun control this was due to the fact that "after the assassination attempt on FDR’s life the major concern of gun control was brought up" (Thomas 15). Because many American’s didn’t want criminals to be allowed to purchase guns, gun laws got stricter. This led to the firearms act of 1934. "The firearms act of 1934 imposed a $200 tax on full autos and sawed-off shotguns. These laws also made people go through FBI background checks to obtain these weapons" (Thomas 16). Full autos are firearms that will continue to fire as long as the trigger is held down. Sawed-off shot guns are shot guns that have extremely short barrels allowing them to be concealed.

    Read More

  • 1984 And Hunger Games Comparison Essay

    841 Words  | 2 Pages

    From a structural perspective, movies and novels appear as polar opposites. A film uses actors, scripts, and a set in order to create a visual that can grab and keep the attention of their viewers. However, an author strives to incorporate deeper meaning into their books. Despite these differences in media, 1984 and The Hunger Games present unique, yet similar ideas.

    Read More

  • Vivaldi Timeless Music

    663 Words  | 2 Pages

    If you take some time and think about music and its history, you will recognize that the pieces from the “ancients” tend to live longer than the more recent pieces. Those are the music pieces that live with time, and live with you. Talking about timeless music, perhaps you are more familiar with classical composers like Beethoven, Mozart or Chopin. However, you would be surprised when you find out that you actually have come across more pieces from other composers than you thought. One of them is Antonio Lucio Vivaldi – the father of many timeless string concerti.

    Read More

  • Imagery in Macbeth

    1246 Words  | 3 Pages

    Shakespeare blatantly makes use of his fantastic imagery, and provides the audience with feelings that could not have otherwise been felt. Imagery plays an enormous role in this play, and without Imagery this masterpiece may not have been considered so. A picture does tell a thousand words, but imagery might just tell more.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Film A Clockwork Orange

    645 Words  | 2 Pages

    Adaptation is an essential part of the motion picture industry, with a majority of films based on literature and other forms of source material coming out of Hollywood every day. One of the most controversial examples of adaptation, at the time, was the great Stanley Kubrick’s 1971 dystopian drama A Clockwork Orange, based on the novel by Anthony Burgess. In a futuristic society ruled by gangs, corruption, and “ultra-violence,” psychotic teen Alex (wonderfully portrayed by Malcolm McDowell) volunteers for a government-regulated experimental treatment to rid himself of his wrongdoings after committing an act of murder. Through the film, we follow this tragic anti-hero’s journey to discover the central theme of fate - whether the government controls human order, or if there is a freedom of choice. Although the film was originally blasted by critics for its excessive use of violence and sexuality, it has since become recognized as one of the most psychologically captivating pieces in cinema, earning its place among AFI’s “100 Years...100 Movies” list. Clockwork Orange’s fascinating mise-en-scène (staging, lighting, costuming), cinematography, music selection, use of voice-over-narration, and narrative structure brilliantly establish the novel’s realistic satire of the dystopian future, making the film one of Kubrick’s most successful adaptations.

    Read More

  • Antonio Vivaldi

    557 Words  | 2 Pages

    Vivaldi's music is particularly innovative as he gave brightness to the formal and the rhythmic structure of concertos. He repeatedly looked for harmonic contrasts, creating innovative melodies and themes. Vivaldi’ main goal was to create a musical piece meant to be appreciated by the wide public, and not only by an intellectual minority. The joyful appearance of his music reveals a transmittable joy of composing. These are among the causes of the vast popularity of his music. This popularity soon made him famous also in countries like France, at the time very closed into its national schemes. He is considered one of the authors that brought Baroque music to evolve into an impressionist style.

    Read More

  • Handwashing Essay

    996 Words  | 2 Pages

    In addition, healthcare workers’ handwashing technique differs from the one you use at home. It is “important that all surfaces of the hands are cleaned thoroughly to dislodge and wash away pathogens” (Burton & Ludwig, 2015, pg. 261). The spread of pathogens in a healthcare setting happens with high likelihood. Therefore, it is imperative to wash one’s hands in the following situations. First, upon entering the patient’s room, secondly, anytime your hands are visibly dirty, third, between caring for two patients in the same room, forth, immediately after removing your gloves, and finally after touching body fluids, secretions, excretions, or contaminated

    Read More

More about The Success of Stephen King as a Screenwriter

Open Document